AMOUAGE
AMBER SOGARA ATTAR
2023
PERFUMER
Elise Benat
aldehydes
rose centifolia
ambrette
PATCHOULI
JASMIN SAMBAC ABSOLUTE
VETIVER
‘In 2021, Chief Creative Officer Renaud Salmon reintroduced the world of Amouage Attars to an expectant public with six new treasures. Now, in 2023, he adds two more exquisite creations to the collection. Amber Sogara and Santal Sohar are the House’s latest expression of an ancient, highly-revered form of perfumery. These modern creations draw inspiration from the natural treasures of our Land, the Sultanate of Oman. A crystal twinkle of Aldehydes uplifts the luscious silkiness of Rose Centifolia blooms caressed by the diaphanous muskiness of Ambrette. A canticle of light and might echoing still in the antic halls of Al Sogara.’
I have to say, I wasn’t overly impressed with the first 6 ‘new’ attars that Amouage launched in 2022. All were great quality, but most of them were adding very little to what was already out there as (much) more affordable, sprayable niche fragrances. With the 2023 new additions, Santal Sohar and Amber Sogara, I’m seeing a leap forward in what I wanted from these attars.
Amber Sogara is the lighter and more traditionally feminine one of the new duo (alongside Santal Sohar). It focuses on a bright, aldehydic rose.
Don’t mistake this naming for an amber fragrance. When I close my eyes I picture white, light pink, maybe some light green hues. It’s a fresh, almost dewy take on rose that feels very simple, but beautiful.
My favorite of the previous six attars was definitely Rose Aqor, which is a warmer rose, that I may prefer. Yet Amber Sogara feels like a style of rose that is a nice addition to the Amouage line-up and I wouldn’t have minded a release like this in sprayable format either. It’s probably my third favorite of the new attars behind Santal Sohar and Rose Aqor.
The aldehydes add an almost aquatic feeling. In the first moments it’s like a bouquet of flowers, sprayed with cold water on a warm Summer’s day is the feeling that I get from this. After a while however, it starts to turn into a warmer, still dewy, but also more jammy type of rose. This gets quite sugary later in the wear, which wasn’t my favorite part of it, but it never became too much and remained elegant.
Performance on Amber Sogara was interesting. Initially on the subtle side, to the point that I found it a bit hard to discern what I was smelling, but after a while it started to radiate and become much more noticeable to my nose.