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Ambre Gris
Eau de Parfum
by Balmain

The Scoop
We have been longing to have a bottle of this ever since we saw a magazine article featuring the uber-glam disco ball topper. Happily, we love the juice just as much. The opening is unexpectedly fruity and sweet, with a hint of salty ocean breeze, and just when we start wondering if we might be headed for a pina colada, velvety woods and exotic spices insinuate their way into the mix, and the fragrance becomes rich and luxurious and warm. There is an ever so discreet purr of animalic muskiness, and the immortelle adds an autumnal sweetness to the cedary woods– but there is also a surprising airiness from the tuberose that makes this a definite year rounder of a scent. The elements are so smoothly blended that it’s difficult to pick out notes – but the overall feeling is elegant, sophisticated and delightfully easy to wear. This isn’t a fragrance that is going to jump out at you and say “wear me to a gala!” This is an everyday sort of scent: soft-spoken enough for the office, lovely enough for a date night, distinctive enough to stand out from the masses without making a big fuss about it. Like that perfect cashmere cardigan – it goes anywhere and everywhere and you can’t imagine how you ever got along without it. Effortlessly beautiful.

Ambre Gris Notes
Pink pepper, cinnamon, tuberose, immortelle, myrrh, smoky gaïac wood, benzoin, white musks, ambergris

Ambre Gris - 100ml

	$80	100ml


Curious about this fragrance?
	$3	.7 ml

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Here's what other people are saying about Ambre Gris...

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Warm, vaguely seductive, but sugary too, more like a gourmand than a woody, oriental. I can't stop smelling myself. It's sophisticated, but almost powdery at first. The it evolves a warm, soft heat, hitting the pleasure center of the brain. A great scent to leave behind on a silk scarf before sneaking out the door.

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Anonymous - from

this perfume has a very slight odor of something metallic in it, maybe even blood smell... it's rather vague but it definately there...

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tally - from papillion, ne

This one is great!! It's great for a night out on the town! Very bold and very sexy! Defintely stands apart from the rest.

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Anonymous SD 2 NYC -therapist from NYC

This fragrance is a people magnet. If you don't like it, it's probably a chemistry conflict in your blood :-)

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GradeA -Project Coordinator from

quite pleasant aroma but I wouldn't buy a whole bottle of it... it doesn't last

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tally - from Omaha

Emily - you are a snob - and by the way, it's Nana De Bary. Not Nanaberry - twit.

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John - from Winston-Salem

Pink by Nanaberry is MUCH better and made with better ingredients. This is a dept store perfume from a huge house - meaning, the ingredients just will be cheaper and they just will cut corners to be able to make a profit on this scent, as they have so much upkeep. A niche perfume is almost always better because they can afford to be creative and use better ingredients. They do not have to placate the masses like a Balmain would. This is indeed an "uninteresting dept store frag" as the below reviewer said. It is not "snobbish" to eschew these for those of higher quality. You also support the true craftspeople by buying niche instead of putting money into the pockets of Balmain's million dollar PR team. Now if supporting the smaller company is snobbery, call me a snob.

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Emily - from San Fran

"Uninteresting department store frag." LOL. Oh, we ARE snobbish! Amazing what some people will say in their attempt to overcompensate. I like this fragrance. I like the fleeting salty ingredient, whatever it is. The drydown is very pleasant. Definitely different.

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Mitsouko - from

uninteresting dept stpre frag.

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Anonymous -chef from nyc

This is a real chameleon of a scent. A first whiff out of the bottle and I was thinking 'Nice, light, a bit sweet" then, after a few dabs on the wrists it was "SWEET...far too sweet for me" and panicked thoughts of having to wash it off. But a couple of hours later it's developed into a sophisticated womanly perfume, still the lingering almond sweetness, but joined now with an animalic quality that prevents it tipping over into too-sweet territory. I still don't love it, but can understand why some people do, and I do have to admire Ambre Gris.

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Louise -TV Producer from Sydney

Just goes to show how chemistry is everything! On me this is a soft, somewhat sheer but very long lasting scent. Just sweet enough with a hint of floral - perfect for the office or a night of dancing. I don't get heavy anything from this lovely fragrance!

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chris -teacher from el paso, tx

This actually reminds me of the long gone Pink by Nanadebary. Nice to be reacquainted with a long lost friend. Light. Subtle. Perhaps not the best staying power, but pleasant. A lot to like, but a very small dose of that.

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Constance -medical professional from Alameda, CA

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Anonymous -housewife from Texas

mm... this one blooms. Not to say that the floral notes are the star here, not at all. I mean to say that this scent truly transforms from first spritz to meld with body warmth and chemistry, blossoming into something so very hot, indulgent, and enveloping. It blooms. When first sprayed, I was almost wondering if I'd been sold the wrong thing. Surely this light, generic, and even watery scent was only a EDC - not the Eau de Parfum that the label promised! Ah, but let it settle a while. half an hour later - the blooming began. Pink Peppercorn, a nice bit there, and benzoin and tuberose happily sweetening things up. The immortal flower, or Imortelle is not known to me outside of this one fragrance, so I'll assume it's a supporting pillar of this overall excellent heavy and elegant scent. The cinnamon, myrrh, both delightfully understated, and oh yes, grand finale, heart of the bloom, is our beloved ambergris. Reviled by PETA, so I assume we're talking synthetic here, the note of ambergris is final dollop of rich, frothy, decadent delight in this fantastic concoction. This sweet, heavy, and moderately dark and sexy number is a real stand out for today's fragrance market. More at home in the early days of our previous century - a femme fatale this one is. Bravo.

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Zhara -Haflacrat from Gleann Abhann

Agree with all those who rated this with 5 stars. I LOVE it. And so does hubby. It's very hard to describe, but it's true that there is a certain animalic smell to it. Sweet, lovely, totally different. And who doesn't love that? :)

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Anonymous - from

Forgot to add this---try it when you just get out of the shower. Spray it on the cleavage, behind your knees and inside your arms. I cannot tell you what happens when you do and you pass others----POW

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Lynn Manieri -Instructor from San Mateo, Ca

This is really incredible. It is the middle note that is a real killer here! When you first spray it you think, and ?? Then....POW!!!! Long lasting!!

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Lynn Manieri -Instructor from San Mateo, Ca

I was excited by the really nice salt air at first smell; then in about 5 minutes, it disappeared. An overpowering, spicy amber incense/soap mess took over. After an hour or so, if I really dug my nose into it until I became numb to the loud department store quality, I could almost detect sweet chocolate and tuberose, but not enough to win me over. I didn't get any cedar/wood. I MIGHT be able to wear this on clothes more easily than on my skin or hair, since it sort of smells like dryer sheets.

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Anonymous -Cook from S. Chicago

i will get another sample to try because i got SO many good ones in the mail i absolutely fainted and forgot which ones i loved best. it was pleasant and rich and perfect for cooler weather. You must try for yourself as we all have different chemistry! i am very loyal to Lucky Scent.

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louises people model and talent inc. -agent from st pete

This is my favorite scent for a sophisticated evening. It has a powdery almond quality with subtle notes of candied rose petals. It reminds me of something one would wear to a black-tie affair. The bottle is also exquisitely chic.

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Camilla -Beauty Blogger (www.beautyinchelsea.com) from NYC

I really like this one. It smells refined and warm. The top notes are tenacious but it gets softer in the drydown. I def get a slightly anamalic drydown. Just enough. I also got this at a ridiculously inexpensive price, but I still love this site.

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Anonymous - from

Nice mostly Amber smelling fragrance on me...good staying power. Nice for fall and winter. Luckyscent is a great place to find Niche and HTF fragrances overall. I will continue shopping here even if they made a little spelling mistake.

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parfumnut - from

Ignore my idiocy, I though the previous reviewer meant that Balmain choosing to use the word ambre was incorrect. And I was like no, no that's what its called- Ambre Gris, rather than noticing that Luckyscent actually spelled it wrong calling it "Amber Gris." Yes, stupidest thing I've ever said on the internet.

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Anonymous - from

This scent is lovely. The opening notes, on my skin, smell similar to Serge Luten's Gris Clair. (However, just the opening notes and they are not alike after that. And bear in mind YMMV!) I don't detect any of the tuberose at all, sadly enough. Its just smokey and full of amber not the least bit floral. And also note to previous poster: the misspelling is intentional, take a look at the photo of the bottle.

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Anonymous - from

There's nothing fresh about this one. It's a heavy, generic, department store scent (though the bottle is great).

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Jane -writer from Los Angeles

I don't mean this disrespectfully at all because perfume acts different on everyone but I completely disagree with the former post. This manages to remain clean, fresh and light without having to be a soapy, lemony smell. You smell the incensey/smokey/spicy notes but they aren't used in the normal deep, resinous way Im used to. I think Luckyscents description is dead on.

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Anonymous - from

This is VERY sweet and strong. I get chocolate & tuberose--nothing animalistic--and the closest thing to salt is a browned-butter note. Also, this is definitely a fall/winter scent. More than one spray will knock people out.

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Anonymous -Housewife from San Diego

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Ambre GrisEau de Parfumby Balmain

Ambre Gris
Eau de Parfum
by Balmain