The 7 Virtues Amber Orchid Review

The 7 Virtues Amber Orchid by Olya Bar

I can still tell you the exact floral I wore in 1998. Warm, a little dirty, and most importantly, big and memorable. I think most floral perfumes of the 90s behaved this way. The 7 Virtues’ newest release, Amber Vanilla, is clearly written in that same key, the brand’s first true warm floral, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise. But it’s not a re-issue. It’s that decade filtered through a nose that knows what warm florals have become since, and what they needed to lose to feel current again.

The 7 Virtues Amber Orchid promo via the brand.

Founder Barb Stegemann put it plainly when we spoke about the launch: “With Amber Orchid, I reimagined a sexy 90s night-time perfume with a modern take. It’s still bold, sexy, and long-lasting, with comforting second-skin notes and a playful pop of golden apple that gives it the 7 Virtues DNA. We’re back in the Romance Era, whether that’s a night out with friends, a new crush, an old romance, or getting lost in a great novel. Romance is on our terms.”

That’s the pitch. Golden apple, magnolia, vanilla orchid, amber, and sandalwood make up the composition, and Stegemann has said the big warm florals of the past simply needed updating for how people actually live now, kept warm, kept sensual, but rebuilt for a nose that didn’t grow up wearing the originals.

I’ll admit my bias here: I’m a sucker for romance, for nostalgia, and for a good vanilla addiction. Big florals are where my interest in fragrance started; I grew up around them, and I’ll always keep a soft spot for the category. I still reach for my vintage archive from the 90s more often than I’ll publicly cop to. But I also love watching someone take that same DNA and hand it to a younger consumer who’s discovering warm florals for the first time, usually somewhere between the Sephora shelves and a TikTok recommendation. Stegemann nailed the translation. And she made it genuinely delicious in the process.

Apple Pie via Unsplash.

I had a feeling, walking into this fall, that The 7 Virtues might give us something apple adjacent, and I wasn’t wrong. Here, the florals are doing the work of framing a basket of golden apples, freshly picked and just waiting to become a pie. There’s something so decadent about autumn specifically: its palette, the last stretch of summer’s harvest, the way everything tastes a little richer once the air turns. I think about wrapping myself in my amber-colored suede trench and spritzing it liberally with this one. It sits somewhere between an apple pie indulgence and the flirtatious nature of an appletini. The vanilla reads generous, almost indulgent on my skin, and somewhere underneath the sweetness there’s a faint salted edge to the vanilla, the same one I’ve come to expect and look for in nearly every 7 Virtues release. It lands like a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into your skin.

Notes: golden apple, magnolia, vanilla orchid, amber, sandalwood.

Olya Bar, Editor.

Disclaimer: Amber Orchid was kindly gifted to me by the brand, but opinions are always my own.

You can purchase AMBER ORCHID exclusively at Sephora USA, Canada and on the brand’s website (travel sizes too) here. 

B-Corp certified and purpose-driven, The 7 Virtues creates intense aromatherapy fragrances with clean, responsibly sourced ingredients. Each perfume is infused with vanilla to blend seamlessly with others, empowering you to create a signature scent that’s uniquely yours. Compliments guaranteed.

The 7 Virtues Amber Orchid by Olya Bar

Thanks to the generosity of The 7 Virtues, we have a 50 ml bottle of AMBER ORCHID  for one registered reader in the USA or CANADA. You must register, or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please comment on what sparked your interest about Olya’s review, if you have tried other perfumes from the brand and where you live. Draw closes 9/28/2026.

ÇaFleureBon has written extensively about The 7 Virtues over the years. Please read Olya’s review of Strawberry Jam here, Blackberry Lily, Clementine Dream here, Ida’s review of Lotus Pear here, Santal Vanille here, The Three 7 Virtues You Should Be Wearing Right Now also by Ida Meister.

Enjoy Olya’s reviews of Buttercream Haze here, Cherry Ambition here, Amber Vanilla here, and Sandi’s Candied Lychee here. Cherry Ambition received a Best of Scent 2023 award from Sandi and Olya

Barb Stegemann was Michelyn’s Hall of Fame recipient of 2023

A note from the brand: The 7 Virtues is Leaping Bunny certified and the only B-Corporation certified by Sephora. As part of their partnership with Days For Girls, partial proceeds from each bottle will advance menstrual equity in North America by funding education, advocacy, and product distribution. All The 7 Virtues perfumes are hypoallergenic, vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free. Made without phthalates, parabens, sulfates, formaldehyde, or UV inhibitors and infused with sugarcane alcohol.

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