Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
12/14/2023
NicheOnly
44 Reviews
NicheOnly
2
Well, it's definitely not Xerjoff
I welcome the Sospiro brand to EssenceVitae after years of moderator tomfoolery with a review of their only 2023 release Deep Ocean Amber. Sospiro has another 3 releases coming next year that they teased at both Cannes TFWA and ScentXplore, so be on the look out (one of them is a cherry gourmand fragrance).
Impressions as I go through the wear, without looking at the notes: Warm spicy & floral right off the top. I think that is violet...? I naturally started to think it was a twist on Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum, sans the prominent sweetness. But then, I began to notice Angels' Share. At least in the air, the balsamic amber you have here is the exact same one used in Angels' Share, albeit it clearly lacks the prominent sweetness of both OSM & AS. In the deep drydown, the scent has a hint of cinnamon which further showcases vibes of the aforementioned Kilian. But there is something in the back here that smells dry-animalic-woody, I am guessing it's styrax.
After pyramid: I think amber is clearly the #1 accord here, so the benzoin & labdanum are prominent. The name feels like a double entendre, because the ambergris (listed as a base note) I'd say is not as evident. I did some of this testing indoors and some of it outdoors - what I'd say is that the amber here smells like Angels' Share *indoors* with a hint of sweetness (but it's moderate, unlike AS & OSM) and outdoors, the amber smells more like those from Carner Barcelona.
Evolution: Aggregate scent is always led by the amber accord. Up-close it first smelled warm spicy & floral, perhaps mildly boozy (about 5 minutes into the wear). Then the styrax really kicks in at about 10-15 minutes and is noticeable for the rest of it as the initial elemi-amber combo dies down a bit, giving it a mild animalic flair.
Very hard to bring up comparables, but think Oud Satin on 0.5x strength + styrax or Angels' Share - sweetness + styrax. I'd say moderate-to-strong sillage for the first 2-3 hours and then the scent dies down, lasting around 9-10 hours. Overall, a bit too much styrax in the base which takes away from the "good, but not great" opening. €330/100ml doesn't capture my attention. I rate it a 6.0/10 - it's the epitome of average product.
Impressions as I go through the wear, without looking at the notes: Warm spicy & floral right off the top. I think that is violet...? I naturally started to think it was a twist on Oud Satin Mood Eau de Parfum, sans the prominent sweetness. But then, I began to notice Angels' Share. At least in the air, the balsamic amber you have here is the exact same one used in Angels' Share, albeit it clearly lacks the prominent sweetness of both OSM & AS. In the deep drydown, the scent has a hint of cinnamon which further showcases vibes of the aforementioned Kilian. But there is something in the back here that smells dry-animalic-woody, I am guessing it's styrax.
After pyramid: I think amber is clearly the #1 accord here, so the benzoin & labdanum are prominent. The name feels like a double entendre, because the ambergris (listed as a base note) I'd say is not as evident. I did some of this testing indoors and some of it outdoors - what I'd say is that the amber here smells like Angels' Share *indoors* with a hint of sweetness (but it's moderate, unlike AS & OSM) and outdoors, the amber smells more like those from Carner Barcelona.
Evolution: Aggregate scent is always led by the amber accord. Up-close it first smelled warm spicy & floral, perhaps mildly boozy (about 5 minutes into the wear). Then the styrax really kicks in at about 10-15 minutes and is noticeable for the rest of it as the initial elemi-amber combo dies down a bit, giving it a mild animalic flair.
Very hard to bring up comparables, but think Oud Satin on 0.5x strength + styrax or Angels' Share - sweetness + styrax. I'd say moderate-to-strong sillage for the first 2-3 hours and then the scent dies down, lasting around 9-10 hours. Overall, a bit too much styrax in the base which takes away from the "good, but not great" opening. €330/100ml doesn't capture my attention. I rate it a 6.0/10 - it's the epitome of average product.
NicheOnly
