Annick Goutal Ambre Sauvage (Les Absolus)

Amber folded into “savage” leather against a backdrop of smoky darkness dotted with iris and aromatic lavender which eventually give way to streaks of frankincense and myrrh — that’s the essence of Ambre Sauvage, a new release from Annick Goutal. It’s a fragrance with echoes of other creations, from Goutal’s own Ambre Fetiche to MPG‘s Ambre PrecieuxAndy Tauer‘s new Amber Flash, and even Unum‘s LAVS. Some of those are better fragrances, in my opinion, especially for the price.

Les Absolus. Photo source: NST.

Les Absolus. Photo source: NST.

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Annick Goutal L’Ile au Thé & Hermès Le Jardin de Monsieur Li

With summer underway, I thought it might be worth looking at two fresher, lighter fragrances that were recently released: Annick Goutal‘s L’Ile au Thé and HermèsLe Jardin de Monsieur Li.

ANNICK GOUTAL L’ILE AU THÉ:

Source: annickgoutal.com

Source: annickgoutal.com

L’Ile au Thé is an eau de toilette created by Isabel Doyen. The fragrance comes in two different bottle designs, one for women and one for men, but they are the same scent. As a side note, Annick Goutal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amore Pacific since 2011.

The women's bottle. Source: Annickgoutal.com

The women’s bottle. Source: Annickgoutal.com

The Goutal website describes L’Ile au Thé and its notes as follows:

L’Ile au Thé is an infusion of well-being, an invigorating and soothing perfume to be shared.

Between the sea and volcanoes, a stroll in the fields of mandarin trees and tea plantations, waving in the wind of an Asian island. The crystalline mandarin bursts into freshness, contrasting, in a soft and soothing breeze, with the tea, green and leathery, and the osmanthus, carnal and fruity, like a caress on the skin…

[Notes:] mandarin; tea absolute; osmanthus; and white musk.

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