Is Maître Parfumeur et Gantier depressed? Lazy? Complacent? Thinking about “retirement?” If not, why hasn’t the (badly designed) brand’s website been updated in years; Cuir Fétiche (2011) isn’t on the site, nor is Bois de Turquie, released in 2008! And what about the ugly bottles people have been making fun of for ages? Keep the bottles if you must, Maître Parfumeur et Gantier, but at least nix the cheap plastic “jewels” (that often fall off) from the caps. Still…I always try new Maître Parfumeur et Gantier fragrances.

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier’s latest perfume, Ambre Doré, opens with the aromas of vibrant oud, saffron-scented leather and “green” (geranium?) styrax. Ambre Doré’s “character” is tougher than most amber perfumes, which is fine by me (I like my ambers rough and ‘scratchy’…if they’re too smooth and sleek I’m bored). As Ambre Doré’s opening burns off there’s a musky barnyard moment or two (we’re talking a dry-manure-in-the-distance aroma) followed by the scent of bananas steeped in turpentine…

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