Hermes Ambre Narguile


Ambre Narguilé was the only one of Hermès Hermèssencesssssss that grabbed me when I first read the descriptions of the line. Just look at this role-call of listed ingredients: benzoin, labdanum, musk, vanilla, caramel, honey, tonka bean, grilled sesame seeds, cinnamon, rum, coumarin and white orchids. No wonder I was tweakin'. I was a fully-fledged amber bunny those years ago, with my high rotation choices ping-ponging between Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan, Tom Ford Amber Absolute, L’Orientaliste Ambre and Le Labo Labdanum 18, among others. (For the full list of my amber conquests, consult my review of Histoires de Parfums Ambre 114.) It was my perfume pen pal Dan Rolleri who brokered my first encounter with Ambre Narguilé. He included it in a Santa's smorgasbord of decants in the very first care package he ever sent to me. At the time, Ambre Narguilé was too much on the sweet side for me to enjoy, but intervening years of living in our Juicebox Dynasty has now enabled me to appreciate perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena's deft hand with shadings of sugar. My recent enthusiasm for neat bourbon (okay, maybe one little rock) has also enhanced my understanding of the adult pleasures of Ambre Narguilé. Sure it's sweet, but the veils of booze and tobacco layered within ain't no kid stuff. P.S. This review was a special request from YouTube makeup guru nurberxo. nurberxo, a.k.a Nur, wears Ambre Narguilé as her signature scent. I'm a big fan of her practical, accessible and inspiring makeup tutorials:
Ambre Narguilé is available from Hermes.com starting at $145 for 2 oz

19 comments:

  1. Hi KP
    Firstly can I just say thank you SO much for your wonderful blog and reviews. I've been digging around it/them for a while now. What started as simply enjoying your witty, comforting ramblings during a time when I was a bit down and stressed has developed into..into what.. sneaking up to town after work for crafty week night sniffing sessions in Liberty’s, blagging samples the length & breadth of Oxford St, dragging my husband to Kensington to sit in a leather chair in Les Senteurs while I waft 100s of paper sticks under his nose, squealing when samples arrive from Lucky Scent and then kicking myself when I realise I’ve been fooled by seductive prose into spending money on something sweet & gourmand , fashioning my own rustic wooden sample holder with a power drill, wood stain and pine off-cuts, and finally yesterday becoming a 'Basenoter'...although you have also dammed me to spend eternity being tortured by the (permanently) lingering scent on my coat sleeve of one Portrait of a Lady whom I will never, ever be able to afford. But life is cruel.
    Back to your post: My husband is Turkish and I just thought you and your fumies might be interested to know that ‘narguile’ is the Turkish word for a shisha pipe/water pipe/ hookah and is actually pronounced ‘nar-ghee-lay’.

    Thanks again, your posts make me happy.
    Charlie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Charlie! Thanks for sharing your journey into full-blown perfume obsession. I can see it all just as you describe it, and am happy my blog has been along for the ride. And yes, Portrait of a Lady is beautifully tenacious on clothes, is it not? One of my little tricks when encountering new delights on perfume shopping trips is to spray the tester all over the inside of my coat, so that I can live with it for a while. Portrait of a Lady had a good long first visit with me in just that way.

    Liberty and Les Senteurs are 2 of my very happiest places in London, especially since the SAs are such a delight at both shops.

    Thanks for the narguilé pronunciation tip: I'd noted the acute accent, but was mislead by the French pronunciation website I'd listened to for guidance. My attempt to be ultra-correct backfired, I'm afraid.

    Thanks for watching/reading/smelling, Charlie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Katie, loved your review! I've never tried the hubble bubble pipe so I can't comment on the similarity but I found this one really gourmand, like a cinnamon dusted plum pastry. I totally get the raisins and stewed fruit you're talking about.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AN reminds me of a flaming plum pudding -- rather tasty...AnnieA

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Amber Bunny:

    While I'm not down with Hermes most of the time (Terre D'Hermes being the exception so far), you tempt me with your hallucinogenic pipe resin raisin raison d'ete reaction.

    Boozy sweet and smoky is how I roll, when I say I roll like something, like say, a Turkish cigarette rolled after breakfast.

    Sincerely yours,
    Stefush

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ok, I already loved Ambre Narguile but now, thanks to you, my under eye circles just got a whole lot less noticeable. Nur is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stefush, Ambre Narguile may well Amber Bunny-ize you!

    Fleurine, I'm going to try some of Nur's tricks for my own party-hardy circles.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Katie:
    Do you like dislike Ambre Russe by Parfums D'Empire because you treat it like the forgotten step-child of the ambre family? I kind think it might be the heir-apparent...
    Just thinking out loud...thanks in advance... :) Fleurine

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fleurine, with your comment in mind, I tried Ambre Russe at Scent Bar today, and discovered I'm on the "dislike" side of the fence. Okay, I only smelled it on the blotter. (I was smothered in too many other things to give it a test drive.) But it gave me the same feeling Fougere Bengale (from the same line) does: too spice rack-y. Spice and coffee, it seemed like (though I've just checked the notes and no coffee is listed.) This heir is not yet apparent to me...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh no! thanks so much for trying it, anyway.... I think it has tea and cumin (?) not coffee...whatever....I need to try Ambre Sultan myself,,,but I read in some review that it has an oregano note and I got scared...so who is your next in line to the throne?
    thanks again
    Fleurine

    ReplyDelete
  11. Katie, re pronounciation, that's not to say you're wrong, I'm pretty sure The French hold the Intellectual Property rights to 'language' so have carte blanche to fiddle with it as they please...and, as I gather from watching the excellent recent BBC documentry on perfume, if any Frenchman has carte-blanche to fiddle with anything it's Jean-Claude Ellena...he's basically the Gustave Flaubert of perfumery.

    I wonder what perfume Madame Bovary would wear?

    Charlie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Charlie, my husband just told me to explain that I speak "redneck French."

    Madame Bovary would wear Chanel Bois des Îles parfum.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fleurine, I nominate Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Pour le Soirs - both the cologne and the absolue - as my current hit picks for ambers. I've got the absolue myself. Oh! And also Parfums de Histoires Ambre 114 and Parfumerie Generale L'Ombre Fauve. Those are on the powdery side of amber, and the MFKs are more syrupy.

    ReplyDelete
  14. And Fleurine, Lutens' Ambre Sultan is a more on the grassy/spicy side than the others I've just listed.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think we would have to differentiate between what Madame Bovary would be able to wear, and what she would *want* to wear.

    She would want to wear Chanel No.5, as a way to depict her longing for "the good life," but she'd have to settle for something less pricey and more commonly available. And that's where I'll stop because I don't want to seem like I'm insulting anyone's choices.

    But which one symbolizes her personality the best? Maybe something that is innocent initially but has a hidden sensuality.


    Maybe Flaubert wouldn't like me romanticizing this character so much, since he himself had a fairly low opinion of her, but this is a smelly blog, not a book club!

    Take that, Monsieur Flaubert, you silly goose.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nora, my Bois des Îles extrait nomination for Madame Bovary is what she would *want* to wear. It's luxe (Chanel) and sensual (oh that cashmere sandalwood) and decadent (pure parfum).

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rather late comment, however have just scored a sample of Bois des Iles from a lovely boy in Selfridges and I happen to be spending Christmas in a provincial French market town. Apparently, KP, this festive season I will mostly be Emma Bovary.

    Nora, am coming to the conclusion that there is definitely room in the world for such a thing as a smelly book club.

    Charlie

    ReplyDelete
  18. Charlie, Selfridges is the very place where I experienced the parfum version of Bois des Îles! I like this perfume book club.

    ReplyDelete