Amber : Sweet Labdanum ~ Perfume Notes and Fragrance Materials

The classical amber in perfumery is a sweet, rich accord of labdanum and vanilla. It is a pure fantasy accord like fougère or chypre, and despite the fact that its name evokes the fabled material, ambergris, it does not attempt to reproduce this animalic marine scent. Perfumery amber is so called, because the golden color of the blend resembles the semi-precious amber jewel. Sweet and voluptuous, perfumery amber is quite versatile, and whenever one encounters a fragrance named Amber or Ambre, it is likely to be a warm, vanilla and labdanum based blend.

Labdanum, a resinous material obtained from the Mediterranean species of rockrose (Cistus ladanifer or Cistus creticus,) smells rich, leathery, smoky and sweet. Its warm incense undertone lends it a dusky, somber quality, while the top notes reminiscent of freshly cut wood offer an interesting bright counterpoint. Although a beautiful and complex material, it is heavy and opaque, with a tendency to easily overwhelm other facets of the fragrance. Yet, rounded out with vanilla and other sweet woody notes, labdanum based accords become radiant and sensual. While it is not the only material around which to create an amber note, it is one of the most classical.

An example of such a distinctive and famous accord is De Laire Ambré 83, a specialty base built around labdanum and vanilla. De Laire was an outfit devoted to making fragrances, but it was their unique and distinctive accords that made them much more famous (such as Mousse de Saxe found in many Caron fragrances.) Ambré 83 can be found in many legendary fragrances, from Coty to Guerlain. Guerlain Mitsouko relies on it to lend its base an autumnal golden glow, while in Chanel Bois des Îles, sweet amber softens the dry woods. Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan is a modern example of this classical idea, and its bold composition can be considered a gold standard for sweet labdanum based ambers.  Another interesting recent amber perfume is Christian Dior Mitzah, in which the traditional Ambré 83 sensuality is interpreted in an airy, luminous manner.

Besides serving as a main accord, sweet amber is frequently used in oriental accords and floral compositions to accent their voluptuous quality. It is also essential for the classical chypre and fougère compositions, where it forms a beautiful marriage with musk and oakmoss. Caron Pour Un Homme is a great example of how a touch of warm amber can play up the velvety sweetness of lavender. At the same time, crisp, dry ambers like Ambroxan and its ilk are becoming far more common, as they offer a more transparent, brighter quality appreciated in today’s perfumery.

In niche fragrances, on the other hand, the classical ambers have seen quite a revival. It pairs beautifully with incense notes, which also serve as an important effect in a niche perfumer’s palette.  Tom Ford Amber Absolute is an essay on Ambré 83 embellished with chocolate absolute.  Annick Goutal Ambre Fétiche layers it abundantly with incense, in order to convey an opulent effect of gold brocade. This new family of dark, sweet ambers also proves that some ideas in perfumery are timeless for a reason—their abstraction allows us to fill in the blanks with our own imagination, fantasies and dreams.

Here are some other sweet amber fragrances (in order of my favorites):

Histoires de Parfums Ambre 411
Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Précieux
Hermès Ambre Narguilé
Armani Privé Ambre Soie
Parfums d’Empire Ambre Russe
L'Artisan Fragrances L’Eau d’Ambre and Ambre Extrême
Anné Pliska
L’Occitane Ambre
Serge Lutens Rose de Nuit
I Profume di Firenzi Ambra de Nepal
Etro Ambra
E Coudray Ambre et Vanille
Lorenzo Villoresi Ambra

Photograph of amber stone that inspired perfume amber is from la-gem.com

Comments

[zazie]

I've always been confused by the term "amber" in perfumes - I thought ambery notes were bases trying to replicate the smell of ambergris! Thank you for rectifying that.

I like amber accords very much, as abstract smells, but they do sometimes overwhelm the compositions: as they are tenacious accords and do not evolve in time, I usually get bored very quickly by niche "amber" perfumes.
On the other hand, it seems I love many Ambré 83 perfumes: bois des iles and mitsouko in particular. I find a similarity in the dry down also with Attrape coeur and une fleur de cassie. Do they feature Ambré 83? I think I read so about attrape coeur. These perfumes all share a soft cuddly base, that make them so appealing to me, but there is so much more going on than just a soft pillow ending. I wish the niche world took example...

[Andy]

Yes, I always thought of ambergris when I read of amber in fragrance notes. But this makes much more sense. I guess this type of amber is more like the smell of the fragrant amber resins made in India, which often seem to be a deep, incense-woodsy-musky vanilla. It makes so much more sense to me now why so many fragrances without any animalic facets have amber in them—because it's a completely different material!

[Debbie]

This is a wonderful education. Thank you Victoria!

[[email protected]]

Whilst I was dimly aware that ambergris and amber were different concepts/smells I had not properly grasped the details of the difference and am very grateful for the enlightenment. Like Zazie I find the modern treatment of amber often smothers the rest of the composition especially in niche perfumes (and I would not wear any on your list for that reason even though when I smell them on others/a scent strip I like them very much).Even my beloved L'Air de Rien can turn into a huge amber which suffocates me if I try wearing her two days in a row. And I won't even mention Le Labo Labdanum (oh dear I just did). Mitsouko, Bois des Iles and Attrape Coeur are as far as I can travel on the amber train! Thank you for a fascinating article. Nicola

[Victoria]

Attrape Coeur definitely features Ambre 83, and as for Une Fleur de Cassie, I am not sure. I need to re-smell it. It had a very nice amber note in it, that's what I recall.

Labdanum is a beautiful material, but it is not that easy to use, like many other resins.

[Victoria]

Sometimes, it is ambergris, and sometimes it is amber. Deciphering fragrance notes by reading them is a thankless task. :)
Like you, I like those Indian ambers, which are usually labdanum or opopanax based.

[Victoria]

You are welcome, Debbie! I am glad that it is helpful!

[Victoria]

Then, it is a good shorthand for what to avoid! :) I like ambers in all of their guises, but I admit that they can be difficult to wear. Tom Ford or Annick Goutal's ambers, beautiful though they are, really call for a certain mood for me.

[Style Spy]

This makes me want to pour all my ambers in a bathtub and wallow in them - and happy timing because we have a cool(ish) front passing through today. The tough part todaywill be deciding which one to spritz...

[green jean]

thank you. and i have more fragrances to put on my to-sample list.

[Nick]

Dear Victoria,

Another great article.

Do Guerlain in the case of Mitsouko or Chanel in the case of Bois Des Isles still order the De Laire base and include it in their fragrances or
do they interpret it as an archetypal base?

Does Tom Ford Amber Absolute use the De Laire base or is it an interpretation?

[Isa]

I love amber, but it's a tricky note because sometimes it gets "foody" in the drydown of some perfumes and it smells like a big pot of stewed meat and vegetables. Or maybe it's not amber what I smell there. I would love to know what it is! I'm talking about the drydown of perfumes like L'Instant pour Homme, Laura Biagiotti Roma, Opium pour Homme, Ambre Fetiche, Kenzo Flower Oriental... They start nice or gorgeous (Ambre Fetiche) but after some minutes or half an hour, I start to get that foody scent and it ruins it all for me :(

On the other hand, there are beautiful ambers I adore, like Histoires de Parfums Amber 411, L'Artisan Ambre Extrême, the discontinued Zara Ambar...

[Victoria]

What a vision! :) Ambers are made for this kind of cool, autumnal weather.

[Victoria]

You are welcome! There are so many amber focused fragrances!

[Victoria]

Since De Laire is no longer in operation, these bases are simply duplicated. Ambre 83 type exists commercially in numerous forms, and perfumers can make these bases too to use in their own work. It is a bigger problem for the Osmotheque--as companies stop making these old bases, and as the existing stocks dwindle, replicating old fragrances becomes difficult.

Even Mousse de saxe name has fallen back into the public domain, and it is now owned by Pierre Guillarme of Parfumerie Generale!

[Victoria]

Difficult to say, as I do not get this effect myself. Maybe, you should try to find some labdanum and smell it on its own.
Zara's Ambar was very good!

[Nikki]

Great article! So informative...I love amber and am starting my fall/winter amber perfumes like Mauboussin, Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan and so on but I really would like to try Reminiscence Patchouli which has a heavy Labdanum base...but I don't know where to buy it in the USA...Bathing in amber is quite the image, thank you!

[k-amber]

A good surprise. I like semi-precious amber very much, specially the color, and my "k-amber" comes from it. I was not sure it is related to amber in perfumery so closely, though I like comforting amber fragrance.

Kaori

[k-amber]

Sorry ,..it was related, not it is related. Darn, I was interrupted. :(
Kaori

[sweetlife]

"Perfumery amber is so called, because the golden color of the blend resembles the semi-precious amber jewel."

So THAT's what it is! I cannot believe I had to wait almost six years to read that sentence. Why does no one mention this? Harrumph! Thank you, V.

I was very much in love with labdanum in particular and amber in general when I first started exploring perfume. They had exactly the kind of rich, funky resonance that was missing from all the shrill, thin scents I'd had access to thus far. Then, all of a sudden, I was full up. Now I only like them on the dry side. I'm sure eventually I'll come around again, though.

[Nick]

Thank you Victoria,

Very interesting indeed.

These bases now sound quite romantic when one thinks of the antiquated formulas which are now harder to replicate, but which 'made' some perfumes.

[Paeonia9]

Just had to add my favorite amber to the list...Rochas Absolu.

[Victoria]

Reminiscence Patchouli can be found at Beautyhabit. I agree, it has such a nice, rich amber note.

[Victoria]

I also love amber stones, and one of my favorite pieces of jewelry is a necklace of small golden ambers on a transparent string.

[Victoria]

:)

[Victoria]

I am not sure why this is never mentioned, maybe because it is taken for granted by the perfumers. I remember Jean-Claude Ellena writing in one of his essays that "amber" accord in perfumery is one of the first original abstract compositions. It did not try to approximate anything, but to evoke a color of exotic amber stones through its warm aroma and golden hue.

[Victoria]

Some of these bases are so good that they could be perfumes in themselves. In fact, today they would suffice as perfumes, because our taste is for much simpler blends than was the case in the past.

[Victoria]

Oh, thank you! Rochas Absolu is a great amber. I love the touch of orange that gives such a delicious twist to the warm vanilla rich accord.

[Robin]

Someone just brought back Hemani Amber Cream for me from the Middle East..... I am totally new to thinking about perfumes and it is quite hard to describe, but it is lovely. Any ideas about what might be in it?

[Robin]

besides the amber, obviously

[Victoria]

Robin, I am not familiar with that product. 

[Brian]

Thank you for a fascinating and captivating website. Over twenty years ago I purchased blocks of what was called "amber". I still have them. They still have a strong scent as if they were just purchased. I do smell vanilla and other scents that I do not know how to describe. Different merchants offered "amber" in different colors, consistencies and varying scents,though similar. Any information about what I have will be appreciated.