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I love most incarnations of myrrh and this is a really nice one. Its bittersweet, medicinal edge is tempered by the tonka, and tonka's earthy sweetness is reigned in by the inclusion of the aromatic herbal crispness of lavender. There's the barest tinge of something smoky and acrid, which calls to mind imagery of blazing, blackened amber, and yet this is a very cool scent, and I don't get a feeling of warmth from it at all. It makes me think of the sadly discontinued Sonoma Scent Studio Ambre Noir, a fragrance that goes hard with the smoky amber, so maybe this could be a possible, though less extreme, dupe.
I can't help thinking this is Jo Malone's answer to Fevé deliciouese but when I actually got my nose it I realised it isn't a Tonka bean classic. It opens with promise of depth and that almondy, vanilla goodness with sharp, dense, sweet gourmand harmony. I say that but it's a slightly underwhelming opening all the same. I like tonka when it's darker and more bitter, almost coffee like hints but this leans more toward a slightly headache inducing vanilla/resinous powdery accord. Also, this is not very unisex to me an leans toward the feminine, even for a seasoned fragrance lover who will pretty much wear anything. There's not a sign of the myrrh promised as this settles, when I first sniffed the opening I commented to the SA, "huh? This is another Jo Malone, 2 note fragrance that doesn't smell especially of either note." That is pretty much the story here. The opening has something balsamic in there no doubt and it has an amber feel but as it dries down becomes more like a sandalwood and just a tonne of vanilla with some femspicing. This ceases to be a gourmand fragrance very quickly and lacks the foody, natural tones of the Dior. It's maybe the aroma chemicals used to taint this vanilla/tonka accord with something resembling 'Myrrh' but it kinda smells cheap when it's dried down. I don't hate it exactly but I'm not really enjoying it. I kinda think with more elements added and something to make it 'pop' is just sadly lacking here. The very deep dry down after 5 or 6 hours there's a transformation to a more tonka like to tonka bean and a really nice creamy amber skin scent which won me around a bit. This is cause I could smell a little more of the background which is somehow masked by a cleaner vanilla/almond accord throughout but it really wasn't enough to save this one, too little too late. Performance isn't bad and when applied heavily (like I did) it projects quite impressively for the first couple of hours, unfortunately I didn't enjoy it but undoubtedly it was there in a pungent cloud. Not a patch on resent Tonka releases but worth a sniff but completely not to my tastes. Oh and to the person who thinks this smells like Z&V This is Him I can almost get where you are coming from something about myrrh & Tonka, it does give off a sandalwood vibe. However that is where the brief similarities end and Z&V is by far superior to this in terms of smell there's no competition.
I love it.