Ambergris
31 fragrances with this note
Part of accords: Amber, Marine / Salty, Salty
- Latin name
- formed in the body of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
- Origin
- found on ocean shores; in modern fragrances mostly synthetic substitutes
- Raw materials
- tincture of natural ambergris (rarely); ambergris molecules
- Extraction
- infusion in alcohol; synthesis
- Olfactory group
- amber, marine
- Position in the pyramid
- base
- Synthetic substitutes
- Ambroxan, Ambrox, Cetalox, Ambrocenide
Ambergris is one of the most mysterious substances in perfumery. It forms in the digestive tract of sperm whales and then drifts across the ocean for years. Sun, salt and water slowly turn it into light grey-white lumps that are occasionally found on beaches.
How it smells: fresh ambergris smells unpleasant, but aged ambergris is remarkable: a salty-marine, warm, skin-like scent with shades of tobacco, wood and faintly sweet musk. It is barely noticeable on its own, yet it makes a fragrance full, radiant and extremely long-lasting.
Natural ambergris is very rare and expensive, and in many countries trade in it is restricted. So modern fragrances almost always replace it with synthetic molecules — Ambroxan, Cetalox and others, some of them derived from plant materials.
What it pairs with: with marine notes and salt — the “scent of the sea on skin”, with woods and vetiver — modern woody-amber compositions, with rose and oud — oriental luxury, with musk — a soft “second skin”.
Good to know: do not confuse ambergris with “amber”: the latter is composed from plant resins and balsams and smells honey-sweet, while ambergris is salty and animalic.
Fragrances with Ambergris
