What does ambergris smell like? The ocean's rarest treasure

Ambergris is one of the strangest materials in perfume. It forms in the gut of sperm whales, drifts in the ocean for years and sometimes washes up on a beach, where a lucky walker might find it. For centuries it was worth more than gold by weight. Today it is rare, controversial and mostly replaced by chemistry. But its smell is still the dream behind many modern perfumes.

What does it smell like?

It depends on age. Fresh ambergris smells unpleasant, like faeces and the sea. Over years of floating in salt water and sunlight, it slowly changes. Well-aged ambergris is prized for a smell that is:

• Marine: like sea air, seaweed and salty skin after a swim
• Sweet: soft and slightly earthy, a little like tobacco or old wood
• Animal: a warm, intimate, skin-like smell
• Mineral: dry, like warm stones
• Glowing: a clean, almost "alcohol-like" brightness without any harshness

Most of all, ambergris is valued for what it does to other materials. It makes a perfume feel rounder, more radiant and longer-lasting.

Where it comes from

Ambergris is produced only by sperm whales (and, more rarely, their small relatives). Sperm whales eat large numbers of squid. Squid beaks are hard and sharp and cannot be digested. Scientists think the whale's gut coats these sharp pieces in a fatty substance to help them pass. Over time, this mass can grow into a lump.

Only a small share of sperm whales, often estimated at around 1%, ever produce ambergris. The whale passes it, and it floats on the ocean, sometimes for years, before it washes ashore. Finds have been reported on coasts around the world, including the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, Australia, New Zealand and the Bahamas.

How it changes with age

• Fresh: soft, dark and strong-smelling, with a faecal, marine odour.
• Aged: sun, air and salt water slowly harden it and lighten its colour from black to brown, grey and even near white. The smell becomes sweeter, softer and more complex.

Pale grey ambergris is usually considered the finest. The main compound in it is ambrein, which has little smell on its own. As it ages, ambrein breaks down into smaller molecules, including ambroxide (the basis of today's Ambroxan) and ambrinol. These give ambergris its prized scent.

How it's used in perfume

Ambergris is not distilled. Perfumers grind it and let it sit in strong alcohol for months, sometimes years, to make a tincture. The tincture is then added in small amounts to a perfume. It acts as a fixative, which means it helps the other materials last longer and blend more smoothly.

A short history of ambergris

• Name: The word "amber" comes from Arabic ʿanbar, which first meant ambergris. The French ambre gris means "grey amber", to separate it from yellow fossil amber.
• Ancient and medieval world: Ambergris was burned as incense, used as medicine and traded across the Arab world, Asia and Europe. In China it was poetically called "dragon's spittle fragrance".
• Europe: During outbreaks of plague, people carried balls containing ambergris in the belief that pleasant smells protected against disease. It also flavoured food and drink. King Charles II of England is said to have loved eggs with ambergris.
• Whaling era: From the 1700s to the mid-1800s, whalers killed huge numbers of sperm whales, partly in search of ambergris. A worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling was agreed in 1982.

Is ambergris legal?

It depends on where you are. Laws change, so always check local rules.

• CITES, the international treaty on endangered species, generally does not treat naturally passed ambergris as a whale product.
• United States: sperm whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and possession and trade of ambergris are treated as prohibited.
• Australia: commercial import and export are banned under federal law, and states have their own rules.
• India: sale and possession are illegal under wildlife protection law.
• United Kingdom and much of the European Union: collecting and selling beach-found ambergris has generally been allowed.

Because of these differences, most global brands avoid real ambergris.

Real vs synthetic ambergris

Today almost all "ambergris" in perfume is an accord built from synthetic molecules. The most important is Ambroxan (also sold as Ambrox and Ambrofix), first made from clary sage around 1950. Others add salty, woody or musky sides. Labdanum, a plant resin, has also long been used to suggest an ambergris feel.

Real ambergris is richer and more complex than any copy, but it is rare, costly and legally tricky. Synthetic ambergris is consistent, affordable and needs nothing from whales. For most people, it is the way to enjoy this smell.

What ambergris pairs well with

• Musk: for a soft, skin-like warmth
• Citrus and bergamot: for a bright, clean opening
• Sea and salt notes: to bring out its marine side
• Woods like sandalwood and cedar: for depth
• Florals like rose and iris: to give them a radiant glow
• Vanilla and benzoin: for a sweet, golden feel

Perfumes to try

Most of these use ambergris accords rather than natural ambergris. Brands rarely say which.

• Molecule 02 by Escentric Molecules: pure Ambroxan. A clean way to understand the core of the ambergris smell.
• Ambra Aurea by Profumum Roma: a rich, golden, salty-sweet ambergris perfume.
• Another 13 by Le Labo (2010): a soft, musky, ambergris-like skin scent.
• Aventus by Creed: fruity and smoky, with an ambergris-style base.
• Sauvage by Dior (2015): a fresh, mainstream take on the ambergris idea, built on Ambroxan.

How to wear ambergris

• Ambergris-style perfumes sit close to the skin but last a very long time.
• They work in every season and feel especially good on warm skin in summer.
• Spray on skin and clothes. The glow tends to grow through the day.
• If you ever get to smell a real ambergris tincture, try it on skin. It changes slowly over hours.

Who will love it

People who love clean, salty, skin-like scents with a quiet, luxurious feel. If you like the sea, warm skin and perfumes that seem to glow rather than shout, ambergris is your note.