One of the fun things about reviewing perfume is that very often they become history lessons in a bottle. In the case of the new fragrance Isabey L’Ambre de Carthage it was two history lessons. I learned about the history behind Isabey and I learned a bit more about Carthage and together there is an interesting similarity when it comes to reconstruction.
The House of Isabey was one of the “it” perfume houses of Paris during the 1920’s. The juice was housed in beautifully detailed flacons and it made for a complete package of luxury for the fashionable Parisians of the time. If the historical account, or the modern PR, is to be believed Isabey was one of the greatest perfume brands of that era. Like many things in Europe World War II signified a change and Isabey was a casualty of the post-war economy.
Carthage the ancient civilization also has a similar story as it rose to prominence beside the other major regional powers of Syracuse and Rome. The peak of Carthage’s influence was when Hannibal invaded Italy by using elephants to cross the Pyrenees to the north. Hannibal would have to return home and lose a battle to a Roman commander, Scipio Africanus, who would use Hannibal’s own tactics against him. As Carthage’s power waned it would be sacked by the Romans only to be rebuilt and to become the fourth most important city in the Roman Empire.
Both Isabey and Carthage survived being lost only to arise again. The Isabey perfumes are being slowly re-created and released and in 2002 Gardenia was the first to begin the reconstruction of The House of Isabey. It was followed in 2009 by Fleure Nocturne which was based on the Isabey Bleu de Chine of the 20’s. Now in 2011 we get the third reconstruction L’Ambre de Carthage. When you see the original flacon of L’Ambre de Carthage and compare it to its modern counterpart you will see that in the modern retelling of the Isabey story the effort is going into the perfume and not the bottle. If L’Ambre de Cathage is any example the fragrance can stand on its own without fancy crystal enclosures to distract from the perfume.
L’Ambre de Carthage is meant to evoke the port city feel of Ancient Carthage and the mélange of fragrant goods from different areas that were brought there to be sold. The opening is rich warm amber bolstered by bergamot to add a bit of citrus to the titular note. Jasmine tea and osmanthus intertwine in the heart over a curling spiral of incense. A heady patchouli along with a particularly creamy sandalwood make up the basenotes.
L’Ambre de Carthage has above average longevity and above average sillage.
Sometimes when you get a second chance things come back even better than before. Based on these first fragrances The House of Isabey looks like it will have as successful a second reconstruction as Carthage.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample purchased from Luckyscent.
–Mark Behnke, Managing Editor