kemi.cocoain Ambers, Spices & Gourmands · London ·
QuestionAmber and ambergris, are they the same thing?
Daft question from a primary teacher. Half the threads in here say amber and the other half say ambergris. Is the amber in a perfume the same thing as the whale stuff, or something else entirely? My Year 4s did whales today and now I can't stop wondering.
12 comments
dex_in_brooklyn
ok so I always figured amber was just ambergris with the gris chopped off, like how we say mise for the whole station. your welcome to correct me
frankie.incense
Fun fact: ambergris forms in the gut of sperm whales and only turns sweet after months or years of sun and sea, as the ambrein in it oxidises into ambroxide. So the whale part is definately ambergris, dex. Amber in perfume is another animal [pun only slightly intended]: it's a family of warm scents, and the club's page on labdanum, the rockrose resin that does most of the work in an amber accord is where I'd start.
Footnotes welcome.
hamish_heather
Aye, and in the shop amber is a colour, nothing more. Easy to loose track of which amber anybody means.
ingrid_berlin
The gift guide for young women in Mademoiselle Bulle files its picks under fresh florals, gourmand, fresh and clean, and bold. Same songs, other titles.
kemi.cocoa
And Mum's old bottle says 'oriental' on the box. So one family, a lot of names, and a whale on the side.
priya.cardamom
Summary for anyone landing here later: 1) ambergris is the whale material, 2) Ambroxan, the molecule that has largely taken its place, 3) amber is the family, built mostly on resins like labdanum and benzoin. The Class on the seven fragrance families, where amber used to be called oriental covers the naming part.
nell.wattle
Okay, nerd moment: the part that gets me is that the whale stuff starts out smelling awful. The club's page on how ambergris ripens at sea says it's pale, soft and faecal when fresh, and it's the months or years at sea that turn it pleasant. Rant over.
dex_in_brooklyn
I was wrong and you're all being very nice about it. Whale, family, molecule. Got it.
mo_from_leicester
So when my aunties call a scent 'very amber' they mean warm and resiny, not whale. Good to have the proper word at last.
juniper_jules
Studio notes: amber as a family makes sense to me the way celadon is a family of glazes more then a single recipe. Anyone else?
teddy.tonka
Lurker here. Whale to molecule in one thread, best thing I've read all week!
kemi.cocoa
Told the Year 4s it's a whale thing after all, just not the thing in most perfumes. They were thrilled about the faecal part, obviously.