Amber · Accord · Top notes, Heart notes, Base notes
Amber
Amber is a warm, sweet and resinous perfume accord, usually built from labdanum, benzoin and vanilla. It smells like sweet incense and warm resin, with a slightly powdery edge. Amber is not made from fossil amber and is different from ambergris. The accord usually forms the base of a perfume and gives the amber family its name.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does amber smell like?
Amber smells warm and sweet, like heated resin or sweet incense. It has a vanilla-like side, a little powder and sometimes a leathery touch from labdanum. On skin, amber feels thick and enveloping, especially once the perfume settles.
Amber can differ from one perfume to the next, because every perfumer builds it their own way. Some ambers are sweeter and closer to vanilla, others drier and woodier. The label dry amber is usually used for a drier, less sweet version.
What is amber made of?
Amber in perfume is an accord. Its main material is labdanum, a resin from the cistus shrub, combined with benzoin and vanilla and often with tonka, styrax or synthetic molecules. Fossil amber, the hardened tree resin, has almost no smell, so it is not used to make this note.
The word amber comes from the Arabic anbar, which originally meant ambergris from the sperm whale. Over time the name moved to fossil resin, and in perfume it became the name for a warm resinous impression. In Indonesian, the word ambar also usually means fossil resin.
What amber does in a blend
Amber usually sits in the base notes and can already be felt in the heart. It gives a warm, sweet, thick base that makes the spices, flowers or woods above it feel rounder. The amber family, once commonly called oriental, takes its name from this accord.
Labdanum, benzoin and vanilla form the backbone of amber, while tonka adds a toasted-nut sweetness and incense adds smoke. Patchouli makes amber darker. In Middle Eastern perfumes, amber often comes with saffron, rose and oud.
Amber in hot, humid weather
A dense amber feels most comfortable when the air is cool, in the evening, during the rainy season or indoors with air conditioning. On hot, humid afternoons amber can feel heavy, so choose one with citrus or fresh notes and apply it lightly.
