Prada Amber pour Homme Intense


I'm fascinated by the scent of myrrh. This bittersweet balsam works a sticky, spicy mystery into some of my high rotation favorites: Diptyque L'Eau Trois, Prada No. 10 Myrrhe, Etro Messe de Minuit and Christian Dior Bois d'Argent. My fevered response to its resinous, scalpy smell marks me as a regular myrrh-maid. So when I picked up on the myrrh in the beautifully-burred oriental skin scent that is Prada Amber pour Homme Intense, I was delighted -- and surprised. Mainstream fragrances rarely feature such ancient embellishments. Amber PH Intense also features another Queen of Sheba pop pick: labdanum, especially noticeable in the long fadeout. Both labdanum and myrrh are soft here, easing the powdered cocoa patchouli into a cushy situation that hovers close to the body while inviting closer inspection from interested parties. And interested parties might be interested to know that Amber PH Intense isn't really too pour homme at all: labdanum and myrrh-loving femmes are encouraged to give this one a spin, too.
Amber pour Homme Intense is available at Sephora.com, starting at $55 for 1.7 oz
For more on Prada Amber pour Homme Intense, click here.

14 comments:

  1. Katie Pour Myrrh Intense:

    This one is growing on me. I am a fan of the Amber Pour Homme (I like the soapiness of it, oddly.) And I agree with what you say in your review.

    If Amber Pour Homme is a soapy and squeaky-clean kid, then Intense is that same kid at midnight after some chemicals and some interest from the opposite sex. Or maybe the next morning. A little roughed-up in a good way?

    I will have to wear this today and use your review as a backdrop. Great job as always.

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  2. How strange - I was planning on picking this up @ Macy's today (although I loath "shopping" for fragrance there....it's not really "shopping" - it's more like defending yourself against the most uneducated and forceful group of SA's one will EVER encounter). In fact, I'm only going to Macy's because it is convenient and I accidentally overpaid my bill last month.

    I think this will be a great addition to my collection - and as Stefush said, I really like the soapiness of this fragrance...but I'm not so sure I want to smell like a kid at midnight after a chemically-induced trip to "3rd base" with the girl that sits behind him in Algebra Class..... ;-).

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  3. Marko - it doesn't, really. It's just that Amber Pour Homme is really squeaky, and Intense is more spicy, a little more up-tempo and daring. It's definitely nothing close to anything someone in high school would find appropriate.

    Also, shame you didn't have me wait on you when I worked for Macy's Men's Fragrances. I wasn't forceful, and I had a wealth of knowledge about all the stuff I had to sell. Which is why, eventually, I stopped working there. They preferred I knew more about credit card sales than fragrance lines. So it goes.

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  4. Marko, I agree about SAs. I don't mind ignorant people UNLESS they do not know they are ignorant, which sadly describes far too many people at perfume counters. Sometimes I want to ask, "Do you even knkow what perfume is?" --AnnieA

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  5. @Stefush - sorry, no offense from my slight rant regarding Macy's SAs. I've always dreamed I would work at a fragrance counter someday, but like you, I would be more interested in making sure the customer got the "right" fragrance instead of just "making a sale" (even if that meant sending them to another store....)

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  6. Marko - I did that constantly. Customer service is totally all about getting the person right, not the sale right. I was known all over NH and MA as "Steve From Macy's." Still am to Neiman's and Barney's, actually. It's funny.

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  7. Katie - myrrh-maid!! I love that!!

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  8. So far I have to say that I've been pleasantly surprised by Amber Pour Homme Intense. I pretty much ignored it when it first popped up on perfume counters because I figured the last thing I needed to smell was an intense version of the powdered sugar-scented soap that is Prada Amber Pour Homme. But this new version has some interest to it, kind of a mellowed out (and therefore more wearable) Borneo crossed with Prada's original Amber for women.

    'Bout time Prada's men's scents did something to catch up with it's women's.

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  9. Borneo crossed with Prada Amber for women, eh, Spike? Both of those connect-the-dots with Chanel Coromandel, a long-time solid of mine. So no wonder I'm looking favorably on Amber PH Intense!

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  10. Ugh, I am now lemming this something fierce. I loathe that powdery, talc-y amber so common in men's orientals, and the original Amber PH had it in spades, so I dismissed it and made no effort to smell the Intense, figuring it'd be more of the same. A cross between Borneo and the original Prada (which I dig mightily) sounds more my speed, and "dusty mystery" made my heart skip and my wallet quiver a little. Damn you, Puckrik!

    Side note: I wish perfumers would put down their out vials for two seconds and give good ol' myrrh a fresh spin on the turntable. There is nothing quite like it for nose-glued-to-wrist addictiveness, and a good dose of it can really smooth out the edges of a fragrance and lend a bit of sweet-spicy creaminess, like cardamom pods in a cup of cocoa.

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  11. *Oud, not out. Clearly my morning coffee had no effect.

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  12. Darryl, I could stand to hear some myrrh-inflected melodies myself.

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  13. Just got around to trying this, and -- wrist to nose -- listened to your video and kept nodding along. Yup, Katie got it exactly right!

    I would add that the patchouli-chocolate-amber combination in the drydown is very similar to l'Instant pour Homme Intense (another intense that is better than the original). Thanks for the great review.

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    Replies
    1. Sounds like our noses are aligned, Scott. I've not had a chance to try L'Instant PH Intense...shall keep a nose out.

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