I have been on a quest to ‘simplify’ my perfume collection. I have accumulated so much over the years and want to keep just the ones I truly love. I have a lot of bottles I loved when I first bought them, but now feel ambivalent about. I remember when I first bought Ambre Gris by Balmain. I remember there was a big commotion because it was wrongly priced at one of the e-retailers and people were buying it by the bulk. It was such an attractive price that I bought it blind. Balmain is a solid house, and it would be a solid fragrance at the very least.

I am wearing it today – this bottle is about ten years old now – and it is still wonderful, just as I remembered it. I haven’t worn it in a while, but I saw it from my boxes and took it out, wanting to finish it off. The benzoin and cinnamon top notes are perfect for this cold morning, and the amber is nice and dry and powdery. It is a scent that whispers, and it’s beautiful in its subtlety. I read that it has become some sort of collector’s item now, and people have been hoarding it. I will wear it this winter, and I am no longer int hat collector’s mode of trying to preserve this. I will enjoy it, and when it is gone, will gladly let it go.