FRAGRANCE | Ambre Impérial EDP by Van Cleef & Arpels: Soft, cozy, and controlled

Most designer houses these days have some sort of premier collection with uniformly designed bottles and packaging that, needless to say, are priced higher than their normal offerings. Although still not as exorbitantly priced than other brands, Collection Extraordinaire is Van Cleef & Arpels's answer to this trend. Ambre Impérial was one of the first bottles we got from this line but for some inexplicable reason, was left unopened for so long. Time to bring it out.

Housed in a sleek but very straightforward black bottle, the fragrance feels like a soft but warm and comforting hug. Its ambery sweetness is given a minimal, spicy zing and brightness in the opening, far from the sharpness and potency of MFK's Grand Soir. Ambre Imperial is much softer by comparison.

After several minutes, the sweetness introduces a vanillic character into the fold, further adding to the pillowy softness of the scent. As if this wasn't enough, it gets gently puffed with a powdery accord not long after. If powdery scents scare you, fret not because it never gets too powdery. It never gets too sweet either. In fact, all of the key elements—amber, spice, vanilla, and powder—are all still here in one cohesive blend, the amount of each carefully controlled so nothing outshines the other. As the drydown kicks in, a muted, woody base gradually starts showing, that balance still maintained.

Like I said, this is a soft scent, so if you're looking for power, you'd be severely disappointed. I'm a bit, actually, so I tend to keep on respraying because it's easily lost in the air after a while. It's a very polite scent that can easily be worn by either man or woman at any time of year. I think it's best for intimate settings or for when you simply need a cozy fragrance while snuggled up in bed. As long as you're not after strong projection, Ambre Impérial may be worth a try.