Midnight Amber

Midnight Amber dispenses with the usual citrus preamble entirely. The brand lists amber, warm resins and bois de rose as top notes, which tells you the fragrance starts where most ambers end: there is no bright opening to wait out, just a warm resinous glow from the first spray. Bois de rose, the old name for rosewood, is the one that gives the entrance any lift, contributing a slightly spicy, faintly floral woodiness that keeps the resins from feeling airless. The heart is spare. Geranium brings a green, peppery, faintly rosy sharpness that cuts across the sweetness and does most of the work keeping the composition upright, while patchouli adds earth and a damp cellar depth underneath. Neither note is there to be admired on its own; both exist to stop the amber going flat. The base closes on vanilla and orange, an unusual pairing that reads almost like candied peel, and it lends the last hours a soft, faintly gourmand sweetness that suits the very dark brown juice in the bottle. This is the least complicated fragrance in La Collection Royale and, depending on taste, either the most focused or the least interesting. Longevity is good, projection moderate after the first hour. Cold weather and evenings suit it; daylight and heat do not.