What Is Ambergris?

If you’re like me, you didn’t how important whales were when it came to designer fragrances? That’s right, I’m talking about whales, sperm to be precise. The mighty whale is responsible for one of the key ingredients of many colognes and perfumes, ambergris.  It has been used by the perfume industry for centuries and or all intents and purposes is whale crap.

That’s right, there’s a good chance that you have whale crap on your wrist or other fragrance hot spot no your body.

Where Does Ambergis Come From?

Remember, you asked. Sperm whales love eating squid. But they don’t eat the calamari we do, they pretty much eat the whole thing. Unfortunately, the beak of a squid can’t be digested, even by whales. In fact, the beaks of a number of giant squids have been found in ambergris on the sea in the past.

It is believed that the intestines of the whale produce this substance to coat sharp, hard, indigestible food before it is excreted without causing any damage to the whale. Don’t get disgusted. Ambergris still has a long way to go before it makes it into your perfume bottle.

This floating, white excrement is found in a number of oceans and even washes up onto the shore. When it’s fresh, it pretty much smells as you would imagine. But after spending months in the ocean, the excrement hardens eventually and gets a crusty wax-like texture and black or dark gray color.

By this time,  believe it or not, the original odor has been replaced by an earthy, marine and sweet fragrance.

Ambergris In Cologne

Most of the wonderful fragrances which you find in designer fragrances are quite volatile. This means that they have a tendency to evaporate quickly. In order to prevent this from happening, perfume manufacturers are forced to use a fixative compound with low volatility which can absorb all these high volatility compounds and make them last for a longer period of time.

Ambergris just happens to be among the best fixative compounds out there. It doesn’t just help your perfumes retain their fruity and floral fragrances for a long period of time but adds a unique fragrance of its own too.

This is the main reason why ambergris is present in so many perfumes. But, because of the huge demand and high cost involved, manufacturers soon started searching for replacement compounds. Luckily, they have managed to chemically synthesize it and have managed to create a number of ambergris compounds.

One of the most important of these compounds is known as Ambrox. But this doesn’t mean natural ambergris isn’t used even today.

Now, let us take a look at a few of the best fragrances from around the world which contain ambergris:

• Aramis Gentleman: This perfume is an update of the original classic and is meant to appeal to the modern man with its cool black pepper and warm ginger scent.YSL L’Homme Parfum Intense: The perfume has a lot of bergamot and lemon inside and the ambergris gives it the perfect drydown.

• Creed Green Irish Tweed: Creed is well known for using large amounts of ambergris in their perfumes. They have always demanded the highest of quality as well. This remains one of the most popular fragrances among men and you just can’t mistake its unique sandalwood and ambergris base.

• Acqua di Parma Colonia Ambra: All of the perfumes from the Acqua di Parma range use the finest of ingredients and this perfume certainly isn’t an exception. It provides a brilliant, rich and sophisticated scent.

• Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio Essenza: Acqua Di Gio found immediate success when launched in 1996. Essenza is a reinterpretation of the original and has a spicier edge to the citrus from the original. It doesn’t lose its freshness, though.

• Roja Parfums Danger for Men: This is a terrific example of the power of ambergris. It combines herbs and spices like cumin and tarragon with some floral notes that come through slower.

• Tom Ford Oud Fleur: This fragrance is woodier than anything else. It has notes of patchouli, rose, resins, oud, and sandalwood. It’s a great choice for any black tie events.

• Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Swimming in Lipari: This fragrance is inspired by the Tyrrhenian Sea which surrounds the largest Aeolian Islands to the north of Sicily.

Interested In These Colognes Or Any Others?

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