Amber perfumes

An accord, not an ingredient

Fossil amber is not used for scent, so the amber in a pyramid is a composed effect. The classic recipe combines labdanum, benzoin and vanilla. Labdanum is a sticky resin from the cistus, or rock rose, and smells dark, honeyed and faintly leathery. Benzoin is a sweet, vanilla-like balsam. Together they create the golden warmth perfumers call amber, which can then be shaded with woods, spices or musks.

Amber, ambergris and Ambroxan

Three similar words appear on pyramids. Amber is the resinous accord. Ambergris is a rare natural material from the sea, and its salty, skin-like glow is nowadays mostly rebuilt with molecules such as Ambroxan, also written Ambrox or Ambrofix. Phrases like dry amber or black amber describe variants: less sugar and more resin in the first, a darker, smokier shade in the second.

Ways amber appears here

• Argos Love Triumphs Over War keeps amber at the head of a base with white musk, Mysore sandalwood, cashmere wood, patchouli and vanilla, under a heart of violet, clove, cinnamon, geranium, gardenia, iris and ylang-ylang. Argos files it as floral, oriental and woody.
• Byredo Rose Of No Man's Land pairs amber with papyrus beneath Turkish rose petals, raspberry blossom and Turkish rose absolute. Byredo calls it floral.
• Sospiro Il Padrino places dry amber in the heart, between patchouli blossom and sandalwood, above labdanum, vanilla wood and Siam benzoin. Sospiro files it as oriental.
• Les Eaux Primordiales Ambre Superfluide sets amber with black vanilla, tobacco, rum and benzoin below a honey and apple opening. Les Eaux Primordiales calls it honeyed, spicy amber.
• Xerjoff Alexandria II combines amber with Laotian oud, musk, sandalwood and vanilla under cedarwood, lily of the valley and Bulgarian rose. Xerjoff lists woody and oriental.
• Reinvented Enigmatic Aura opens on saffron alone, moves through jatamansi and nagarmotha and rests on amber, musk, cashmere wood and vanilla.
• Stéphane Humbert Lucas Soleil de Jeddah puts amber in the heart with iris roots and earthy notes, between a lemon and chamomile opening and a base of iris butter, Russian leather and vanilla. See all of Stéphane Humbert Lucas.

Choosing an amber perfume

Look at what the amber is paired with. Resins, labdanum and oud give a dry, dark and smoky version. Vanilla, tonka and caramel make it sweet and comforting. Florals, citrus and aromatic herbs above it keep it lighter, and an amber under iris or rose turns powdery. Amber is a base note, so a perfume built on it tends to stay on the skin for a long time, and extrait concentrations bring out its density.