My lovely baby girl on our walk todayThis delightful creation by Herm ès is full of Eastern promise. Unlike many other amber fragrances it's not totally dominated by the amber note. There is a smoky, almost cinnamon spiciness to it. Narguilé means hookah, a smoking pipe in which the smoke passes through perfumed water. Ambre Narguilé has a warm heart, giving it a North African tinge, an almost Oud-like leatheriness.Ambre Narguilé must have a strong cinnamon note as my husband asked me if I had just eaten cinnamon yogurt when I put it on. The spiciness reminds me of Chinatown by Bond No 9. So much so, that I’ve had to compare it next to Chinatown. Smelling them both side by side, they both have a spicy aromatic feel but Chinatown is much sweeter and lacks the amber element.The perfumer for Ambre Narguilé is Jean-Claude Ellena, who also created Van Cleef & Arpels First in 1976, Sisley Eau de Campagne in 1974 and Hermes Jardin Sur le Nil in 2005.At the Herm ès website Ambre Narguilé costs £160 for 100ml, which isn’t cheap. But it’s comparable to Chinatown which is £130 for 100ml.Yesterday I also managed to have a quick sniff of Comme des Garçons Luxe Champaca, which I will come back and review soon.
