As part of our ongoing feature – Fragrance Family Friday – today we focus on: Ambrée. What fragrances are found in this category, and which should you try? (Find a link below, too, for the perfect set to help you explore this category at home…)
With their spices, musks, incense and resins, the Ambrées are rooted in perfume’s own history, using many of the same ingredients today that were first enjoyed in the orient – India and Arabia – at the dawn of fragrance creation.
Ingredients like heliotrope, sandalwood, coumarin, orris, vanilla and gum resins are classically used within an Ambrée fragrance structure – though these can be tweaked, for men, women (and fragrances designed to be ‘shared’).
Seductive, voluptuous and with a va-va-voom, Ambrées tend to feel ‘grown-up’ – and many have a warm, heavy, diffusive richness that’s more suited to after-dark wearing. They linger sensually on the skin: they’re heavy on the base notes, which tend to last longer. However, there is a new ‘mini-family’ of fresher Ambrées, with a lighter touch, and a more ‘daytime’ feel.
Many of the original fragrance families have additions and cross-overs of sub-categoreies, so none of them are set in stone, and you’ll find much discussion in books and online, on eactly which fragrances should be in which families. Nobody seems to absolutely agree! So we’ll focus instead on some fragrances you might like to try under the umbrella heading of ‘Ambrée’…
Memoize London are a niche house that excel at crafting exquisite scents – Ambrées being a particular passion of theirs – celebrating ‘the importance of creating a harmonious balance between fragrance and emotion’. The discovery set has been curated to explore the Seven Deadly Sins, with ambrées being the perfect family to explore the sultry, addictive theme, hence why five of the eight fragrances are Ambrée in nature!
TRISTISIA
FAMILY: Ambrée
TOP NOTES: red roses, jasmine
HEART NOTES: vanilla
BASE NOTES: oudh, patchouli, civet, amber
A wonderful Ambrée blend with rich red rose and white jasmine top notes beautifully balanced with creamy vanilla heart wrapped in warm base notes of oudh, patchouli, civet and amber.
Avaritia:
FAMILY: Ambrée
TOP NOTES: orange , bergamot, armoise, Geranium
HEART NOTES: jasmine, cedarwood
BASE NOTES: patchouli, musk, amberwood, sandalwood
Moreish woods with unsparing jasmine will leave you craving for more. An Ambrée blend of amber and patchouli, with sweet musk, interlaced with vanilla and spices, and a top note of citrus and herbs.
ERA
FAMILY: Ambrée
TOP NOTES: saffron
HEART NOTES: iris, ylang ylang, jasmine
BASE NOTES: myrrh, amber, oudh, leather
A sophisticated and rich Ambrée fragrance that reveals a saffron top note that mingles with a beautiful iris, ylang ylang and jasmine heart. Exotic, warm base notes myrrh, amber, oud and leather create the depth in the blend.
SUPERBIA
FAMILY: Ambrée
TOP NOTES: rose, ylang ylang, orchid
HEART NOTES: cedarwood, sandalwood, saffron
BASE NOTES: oudh, leather, amber, musk, patchouli
A luxurious fragrance opening with floral top notes of rose, ylang ylang and orchid infused by fine woods resting on a bed of rich oudh wood, leather, amber, musk and patchouli notes.
BLACK AVARITIA
FAMILY: Ambrée
TOP NOTES: grapefruit, honey
HEART NOTES: ambrette, cistus labdanum, incense, Kashmir fusion, oudh, violet
BASE NOTES: amber, cedarwood, musk, powder, sandalwood, vanilla, vetiver
A woody Ambrée fragrance leading with top notes of grapefruit and honey. A luxurious heart of ambrette, cistus, incense fusion, kashmir fusion, oud and violet, rests on a base of sandalwood, cedarwood, amber, musk, vanilla and vetiver.
There’s much to explore in this sumptuous set and we know you’re going to adore it as much as we do. Apart from the five ambrée fragrances we’ve highlighted as a must-try, here; there are a three fragrances to explore, included in the set: Luxuria, a beautiful floral fragrance, opening with waves of juicy cassis and raspberry; Gula, a complex floral weaving jasmine and galbanum with sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla and black musk; and Invidia, a floriental (sub-section of ambrées) marrying white tuberose, orchid and ylang ylang with undertones of woodiness and tobacco.
So prepare to have your senses tantalised by these opulent ambrées and their equally fabulous floral and floriental friends – and be one of the first to discover this new fragrance house…
