Between Ambre Sultan and Serge Lutens, a story of memories and reflections
More than a perfume, Serge Lutens offers us a journey. A trip to his Morocco, that of his escapes, the one he carried like a burden on his face, until he discovered it as a gift… that he offers us with Ambre Sultan!
Between Ambre Sultan and Serge Lutens, a story of memories and reflections
Ambre Sultan, is one of those scents that are rarely revealed, arrive without flashy advertising, but intensely mark the olfactory landscape with its delicate and languid paw. To create this magnificent perfume that Serge Lutens qualifies as Arabic before being an oriental, he drew from the depths of his memories of Morocco, of its scents of spices and incense and of course of this divine amber which embalms the bazaars. The poet perfumer dreams of this Morocco in which he likes to find himself and with which, a long time ago, he was confronted.
For Ambre Sultan, Serge Lutens declares to have made peace with his face with Moroccan features, which smaller, caused him so much trouble while the Algerian war was living its most dramatic hours. “One day, an adult turned other children against me. I came home and looked at myself in a mirror. What does the child think? Nothing at all… but more than thirty years later, I am starting this perfumery. Ambre Sultan is a reconciliation with an image of myself. “Said Serge Lutens for the creation of Amber Sultan. Let us not forget that in this fragrance by Serge Lutens burns a scent of man, a haunting olfactory memory.
Far from the fresh calone scents of the time, Serge Lutens therefore stands out from his great olfactory families to offer a piece of his blessed Morocco. To avoid what he contemptuously calls the “Marketing Adam and Eve”?
No need to look for bombastic advertising, Ambre Sultan only dresses very accurately two sultans skillfully adorned for his visual. And nothing else. Why do that, anyway?
Ambre Sultan an Arab perfume above all, leader of oriental perfumes
No need to look for any sophistication in the Amber Sultan bottle. The beauty is in the juice or rather in the amber color of this unique fragrance which reveals itself to our eyes as a treasure of Morocco.
Ambre Sultan was born from the mixture between a piece of amber from Lutens’ first trip to Marrakesh ech and thuja wood in which he kept it for years. So spices, aromatics, woods and stones will adorn this fragrant masterpiece.
From the top notes of laurel and myrtle, we are already propelled on a distant journey that will take us to the heart of this fragrance thanks to a precious spicy and aromatic blend of cinnamon, coriander, cumin and angelica . Finally, the deep wake of this sensual journey will be mixed with precious patchouli wood and sandalwood to better blossom in tree moss and styrax. Benzoin and taulu balm thus coat with a sweet intensity the wild animals offered by ambergris and labdanum. Vanilla adds a hint of gluttony to this intoxicating cocktail to finish entangling us in the thousand arms of this amber sultan!
Ambre Sultan is therefore a perfume created by Serge Lutens for admirers of Serge Lutens. But it goes well beyond and bewitches all those who dare to venture on this intense and rare olfactory trail that creates great perfumes. Hesitant as always between softness and violence, purity and darkness, Ambre Sultan was at the origin of many other oriental perfumes which tried to reproduce this formidable composition. Without equaling it. Because Ambre Sultan does not “fit in”, he is unique.
Released in 2000, “ Ambre Sultan ”is a fragrance that really goes off the beaten track. “Ambre Sultan” is an ode to oriental scents, mainly those of Morocco. Indeed, Serge Lutens lived several years in Morocco and he was able to draw inspiration from all its atypical scents. “Ambre Sultan was born from a piece of amber offered to Serge Lutens during his first trip to Marrakech in 1968. For several years, Serge Lutens kept it in a box of thuja. Over time, one has become imbued with the other ”. “Ambre Sultan” is defined as a fragrance that is at once warm, round, sensual and addictive.
An English perfumer to create an oriental fragrance
< p> In order to create an original and magical fragrance, Serge Lutens called on a British perfumer Christopher Sheldrake. The latter began his career in Grasse, within the Charabot company. After spending 23 years as a perfumer at the heart of the Quest company, he decided to join Chanel as “Director of research and development”. Since 2005, he has orchestrated the perfumes of the house of Chanel with Jacques Polge. Christopher Sheldrake is one of the most innovative, authentic and talented perfumers, but he prefers to stay in the shadows. He also produced almost all of Serge Lutens’ perfumes. He likes to work with heavy, sensual, intoxicating materials, spices and oriental scents.
Ambre Sultan, the notes of the sun
We will find here a “classic amber” enriched with powdery and vanilla notes. Both rich and sweet, “Ambre Sultan” is made up of labdanum and vanilla, as well as resins from styrax and benzoin, associated with balsam from Peru. “Ambre Sultan” soars over bay leaves, reminiscent of the maquis, the dry, even dusty heat that emanates from it. Laurel is quickly joined by coriander, a plant native to the Middle East par excellence and found in many Moroccan dishes, mainly such as tagine. In the heart, angelica brings a softer tone. It expresses a rather bitter herbaceous note with a hint of anise. It is associated with myrtle, a characteristic bush of the Corsican maquis. Many legends claim that myrtle symbolizes love for the Mediterranean basin. The base is both suave, sensual and enveloping. It combines tolu balm, styrax, labdanum, patchouli, Siamese benzoin and sandalwood. Tolu balm is obtained from the resin of balsam trees. Some civilizations used it to purify the souls of the deceased, but also to relieve those who remain … Labdanum is a very popular resin in perfumery that offers warm, vanilla and resinous tones. Cistus labdanum absolute is obtained by extracting a resin from the leaves of a small Mediterranean shrub, cistus. As for the styrax, it is a shrub from the Far East, which offers a resin that is both soft, vanilla and balsamic… Here, Serge Lutens has concentrated in a bottle of very many oriental scents… An extraordinary fragrance.
Spicy