Hello hello. I finally signed up because I need answer to this question… which is better of the 2 Ambre Sultan (Lutens) or Kalemat Black (Arabian Oud)?
I ordered a couple of samples recently to compare… one being Ambre Sultan and the other was Costume National Soul. Of those 2 I prefer Ambre Sultan. I had a lot of anticipation for Soul while Sultan was just extra. If "ladies' crotch" was a flavor of cotton candy. That's what Soul smells like to me… a dirty, sexy, thick cotton candy. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
So then I tried Ambre Sultan and I was surprised at how similar they were… with Sultan being lighter yet stronger at the same time. It's been around so I'm sure many of you know it. For me, it opens sweet, spicy, and amazing, but after a few minutes it got powdery and I was a bit turned off. And I started to second guess whether it was a truly fem scent (which I don't want) and if so how feminine it was. I had written it off, but later in the dry down I got exactly what I was looking for although unexpectedly. The herbal tea came out. It was beautiful and opulent… not to mention the longevity (10+ hours for me). My whole foray into fragrance 10 or so years ago hinged on the gourmand (coffee and herbal tea). Within the past couple of years I've reconnected with scent beyond gourmand.
Enter Kalemat Black. I've read many reviews and have watched most videos about all 3 of these (above mentioned) scents. 1 comment in particular got me… that Ambre Sultan is the expensive version Kalemat Black (although I've seen good deals on Sultan). Would anyone agree? The herbaciousness (or is it herbicacity sp?) is what matters most to me and then performance. I don't really want to smell like a Cinnabon (Kalemat Black?), but I do want to smell like that cup of tea that Indiana Jones would sip in the Temple of Doom… between boulders of course.
I ordered a couple of samples recently to compare… one being Ambre Sultan and the other was Costume National Soul. Of those 2 I prefer Ambre Sultan. I had a lot of anticipation for Soul while Sultan was just extra. If "ladies' crotch" was a flavor of cotton candy. That's what Soul smells like to me… a dirty, sexy, thick cotton candy. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
So then I tried Ambre Sultan and I was surprised at how similar they were… with Sultan being lighter yet stronger at the same time. It's been around so I'm sure many of you know it. For me, it opens sweet, spicy, and amazing, but after a few minutes it got powdery and I was a bit turned off. And I started to second guess whether it was a truly fem scent (which I don't want) and if so how feminine it was. I had written it off, but later in the dry down I got exactly what I was looking for although unexpectedly. The herbal tea came out. It was beautiful and opulent… not to mention the longevity (10+ hours for me). My whole foray into fragrance 10 or so years ago hinged on the gourmand (coffee and herbal tea). Within the past couple of years I've reconnected with scent beyond gourmand.
Enter Kalemat Black. I've read many reviews and have watched most videos about all 3 of these (above mentioned) scents. 1 comment in particular got me… that Ambre Sultan is the expensive version Kalemat Black (although I've seen good deals on Sultan). Would anyone agree? The herbaciousness (or is it herbicacity sp?) is what matters most to me and then performance. I don't really want to smell like a Cinnabon (Kalemat Black?), but I do want to smell like that cup of tea that Indiana Jones would sip in the Temple of Doom… between boulders of course.
