A Shade Of Amber (Scent Review: Ambre Gris, Balmain)

When Ambre Gris first came out, it was a Europe exclusive, so the perfume community was craving it badly. Then all of a sudden, it was available at a discounted price and it became a mad rush for everyone to get it. Then it became discontinued, and then everyone else who didn't get at a discounted price wanted it more. I was one of those people who got it discounted (I can never resist a good bargain!) but for some reason or another, my bottle languished in my "forgotten" pile. I remember it being a solid ambre, a note that became a flavor of the month for me. I think it came to a point that I thought I already had too much ambre in my wardrobe, and maybe that was the reason for my neglect of Ambre Gris. The bottle just spoke to me the other day, and I wore it (I love the bottle, too, and the bottle is a solid crystal) The first thing I noticed is how sweet this was - not  a woodsy ambre, but more a floral one - it has pink pepper in it, and that's probab;y what sweetens the whole thing. I don't get woodsy as much anymore, but more floral. The immortelle is more pronounced (perhaps today's cold weather brings it out) and yes, now I do get the ambregris rounded by a bit of tuberose - not the indolic kind, but, again, a sweet interpretation. It's perfectly blended, if a bit, shall I say it, dated already? It smells like something that was big maybe ten years ago - I am thinking it's the pink pepper that's making me say this. I want to say it is unmemorable, but I don't know if I really feel that way because I am getting a whiff of it now, and it is appealing. Solid but unexciting perhaps is more apt.