The Ambers of Chapter One

Four of the eight Chapter One extraits sit in the Amber family, and each puts the warmth somewhere different: dry amber under fruit in 02 What Remains of Summer, amber woods under tea in 08 Beyond The Horizon, amber with blonde tobacco in 07 The Last Golden Hour, and resin under plum in 05 Plum Beneath Snow. Amber is an accord, built rather than found, and it gives a fragrance its glow in the later hours on skin. This essay reads the four side by side, from the one where amber stays in the background to the darkest, so you can find the warmth you want before you choose the bottle.

Dry amber under fruit: 02 What Remains of Summer

"Heat held a little longer than it should be." Ripe mango and bright pomelo, with a ginger edge, over dry amber and vetiver. The amber here is dry, and it stays underneath while the fruit leads. If you want warmth without sweetness, start here. What Remains of Summer, Note by Note follows each of its five notes.

Amber woods under tea: 08 Beyond The Horizon

"The line where the day opens out." Bright bergamot and ginger dissolve into smoky black tea and warm amber woods. 08 opens bright and settles warm, and its amber keeps company with wood and smoke. If you already wear 04 Tea Beneath Clouds, 08 is the tea fragrance with amber woods beneath it. Beyond The Horizon, Note by Note reads it from the bergamot down.

Amber and tobacco: 07 The Last Golden Hour

"The light, just before it goes." Warm amber and blonde tobacco, bitter orange against dried fruit and rum, with tonka and vanilla beneath. Of the four, 07 is the one that names amber first, and it is the sweetest. Seven notes are listed, more than any other bottle in the chapter. The Last Golden Hour, Note by Note takes all seven in turn.

Resin under plum: 05 Plum Beneath Snow

"Dark fruit, warm under a cold sky." Syrupy plum and spice laid over smoked oud and resin. 05 lists no amber note. Its warmth comes from the resin, which The Notes describes as tree sap, hardened and warmed, the smell of incense before it is lit. Its own description calls it opulent, and a little severe, and it is the darkest of the four. Plum Beneath Snow, Note by Note reads the bottle itself, and Oud Without the Mythology covers what lies beside the resin.

Choosing between them

Read them in pairs. For amber with fruit, 02 and 07 go from fresh to dried, ripe mango and pomelo against dried fruit and rum. For the deepest warmth, 05 and 07 sit side by side, plum and resin against tobacco and rum; Chapter One for the Colder Months reads them for autumn and winter. For amber with smoke, 05 and 08 both carry it, 05 through oud and 08 through black tea; Three Kinds of Smoke sets them beside 01.

All four are on one page under Amber, and Find Your Fragrance sorts the whole chapter by family. The Woods of Chapter One reads the same four again by the wood beneath them. The Fruit of Chapter One follows the fruit in 02, 05 and 07, and Ginger and Spice in Chapter One the heat in 02, 05 and 08. Each is an extrait at 30% concentration or more, composed and made by hand by Dave Martin in La Conner, Washington, and each comes in 10 ml as well as 30 ml and 50 ml, so you can get to know a fragrance before a larger bottle. How to Wear an Extrait covers how much to apply.

Where the warmth goes next

Dave's next releases are for fall: darker, fruit-forward fragrances and smoky incense, with soft musks and skin scents worn close beside them. Each release is a limited run of about 35 bottles in all, and people on the list get two full days to buy before it opens to everyone. Beyond Chapter One has more on where the chapter leads.

If two of these are close for you, write to Dave. He answers every email himself and will tell you where he would start, for yourself or as a gift, and he can add a handwritten note to the order.