Gustav Klimt painting and amber oil

Ambers are that rare sort of perfume that deliver the right mix of thrill, love, comfort and familiarity for me.  I really feel that I’ve found my happy place with that radiant, warm golden glow. There are other fragrant friends now of course but ambers were my first true love. You remember them. They have a place. They are etched into memory. As Malcolm Gladwell would say they are "sticky".  Unfortunately most amber perfumes these days are generic as increasing numbers are launched in a paint by numbers, tick the box style.  But there are some beauties out there waiting to be discovered. I like a range of ambers from the caramelised sweetness of Hermes' L’Ambre des Merveilles by Jean-Claude Ellena, to the pumped up vanilla plushness of Thierry Mugler's Alien Essence Absolue.   There is the nectary, sweet, thick, herbal Ambre Sultan from Serge Lutens. Surely this was an innovative if not groundbreaking perfume at the time of its release in 2000. Andy Tauer's L'Air du Desert Marocain, that dry paean to the Moroccan desert is another that I adore. Ambre Russe from Marc-Antoine Cortichiatto of Parfum d’Empire is the other amber I’m strongly drawn to. It's a deeply boozy, spiced up drunken Rasputin of a perfume. Perfect for a slightly out of control Let's Go Crazy sort of evening.

Annick Goutal’s Ambre Fétiche and vintage French postcard

 I can go on forever about my love for amber  perfumes but I have one true love, an irrational devotion to Annick Goutal’s Ambre Fétiche. Wearing this for me is akin to the feeling you get when you see an old friend after an absence and everything just slots into place. There are no awkward hesitations, pauses or forced conversation. Everything just flows naturally like it has always done. The feeling is so right; it’s as if you’ve come home to that perfect place. It’s deliciously perfect and feels as if Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal made it just for me. Ambre Fétiche was released in 2007 as part of a collection called Les Orientalistes.  The other perfumes in the range are Encens Flamboyant, Musc Nomade and Myrrhe Ardente. By the time I tried them Myrrhe Ardente had been removed from the collection and unfortunately I still haven’t managed to sniff this one. Of the three I have tried, without exception they are all interesting perfumes that don’t fall into the pretty floral category. Encens Flamboyant is interesting incense; it’s cold, piney and has a slightly unfriendly edge. It’s not the one for me – it's a bit chilly.  Musc Nomade is a velvety smooth musk (and I can actually smell this one, often they pass me by as I'm anosmic to many of the musk formulations) with a hint of rose. Nice, but again it wasn’t my perfume.  As I said Ambre Fétiche is the one for me.

 

Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal

It’s one of the best perfumes in Goutal’s vast array of gems and my favourite, (although I am finding that Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille 2011) is stealthily gaining a hold on me). Interestingly the house of Annick Goutal seems to be known for its pretty, feminine florals or Eau de Colognes, yet that’s not the whole story. In fact there are a broad range of perfumes in the collection and there is something to attract those who are looking for a touch of the unusual or decadent as well as light, fresh fragrances.

Annick Goutal

Annick Goutal was a woman who turned her hand to many different pursuits until she struck gold with perfume. Although Annick Goutal died in 1999, her house continues under the stewardship of her daughter Camille and  perfumer Isabelle Doyen who Annick has collaborated with since 1986.

The opening of Ambre Fétiche always grabs me with its slightly dusty cocoa vibe. It has a strong patchouli facet up front.  There is a fleeting touch of leather that delivers a slight roughness. Sometimes I pick up on this and other times I don’t. Sometimes I get iris, and other times I don't.  But what I always recognise as amber – that mix of benzoin, labdanum, styrax and vanilla is beautifully done here and always present.  It’s warm and enveloping.  What I really love about Ambre Fétiche is the glorious smoky incense that mingles in with the amber. It adds a smoky layer that weaves in and out while the golden warmth wraps me in its enveloping flame.  The incense stays throughout with an ember's glow that dampens to smooth vanilla amber in the latter stages. It doesn't have that treacly sweet or powdery aspect that many ambers have, it remains quite dry due to the incense.  To me this always feels like the perfect blend of a flame's allure followed by the slow meditative burn of the embers. It has a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde nature with its potent opening and its snuggly dry down.

Charlotte Rampling (currently the face of NARS) and Lou Doillon (daughter of Jane Birkin) Epitome of French Style

 I’m not one to conjure up Orientalist painting imagery, I’ve never travelled anywhere that I would term Oriental, so for me the mood of Ambre Fétiche is resplendent with a smoky sensuality that the French do so well.  Women come to mind when I think of Ambre Fétiche….Charlotte Rampling with those incredible feline eyes. I can imagine Lou Doillon singing in a Parisian bar with her slightly gravelly voice, showcasing her androgynous look that the French have perfected over the years.

Nina Simon Lilac Wine (1966)

I also hear Nina Simone’s low-pitched velvet voice when I wear Ambre Fétiche. Such a deep soulful voice with a golden warmth which  pitch perfect for this perfume. Have you heard her sing Lilac Wine? She delivers a beautiful rendition of the James Shelton song (covered by Eartha Kitt, Jeff Buckley, Miley Cyrus and The Cinematic Orchestra). Nina Simone sings of being ‘hypnotised by a strange delight’. She is drowning her sorrows over a lost lover, drinking wine from a lilac tree as this potion slowly clouds her mind. Ambre Fétiche is the perfume that gives me a safe sort of intoxication; it's my Lilac Wine.

Disclosure: From my own collection

-Guest Contributor, Megan, Creative Planner at Meganinsaintemaxime and ÇaFleureBon reader

For an in-depth interview with Camille Goutal of Annick Goutal Parfums by EIC Michelyn Camen click here