Perfumes with an amber base scent are the sultry bombshellls of the perfume world. They appear  sophisticated and warm, but can get downright naughty on a summer’s night when the sun is lingering on the horizon. Amber base scents came from ambergris, which is produced from sperm whales and must mature over a long period in the ocean until it gives off its characteristic heady redolent odour that makes it so alluring as a perfume fixative. It is fiercely expensive and difficult to procure in its natural condition. Since the 1950s, scientists have experimented with artificial ambergris, the most popular of which is a derivative of sclareol, a synthesis  of the clary sage plant.  The clary sage plant only produces small amounts of sclareol  and it is difficult to purify to the standards required for the perfume industry.  Alternatives such as cis-abinoel from the fir balsam tree have been used by perfume houses, partly to keep costs  down and partly as a reaction to the endangered status of sperm whales. Several countries have banned the use of real ambergris in perfumes. In 2013, scientists produced an alternative to existing artificial ambergris by isolating the DNA of sclareol and growing it in a lab in large amounts. Sustainable production of ambergris will allow the perfume houses to experiment more widely with amber as a base note in perfumes.  

Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan is tough stuff, militant in its strident unrelenting amber heaviness. It is amber with no compromise and has a spicy Middle Eastern souks at dusk quality.  Lutens, who lives in Morocco, is often inspired by the culture and scents of that region and Ambre Sultan is no exception. Lutens perfumes are not for the frivolous. They require confidence and maturity. Ambre Sultan is an amber for aspirational people, climbers with a streak of ruthless that doesn’t show up until the deal has been done and the blood is on the carpet. 

In contrast, Hermes L’Amber de Merveilles  is so pretty and soft, its the amber of warm honey and delicate honeysuckle goldenness, amber that is tamped down with vanilla into a powdery veil with a glimmer of tobacco leaf. L’Amber de Merveilles is the polite face of amber and layers beautifully with other perfumes in the Hermes stable as well as the nutty gourmands from Laura Mercier, especially Vanille Gourmande and Creme de Pistache. 

Aroma M Geisha Noire is amber with elegance but it is the elegance of secret places in sepia tones, doorways half way down dark streets that lead to forbidden places in the middle of the afternoon.  Its silage is soft but invasive and long lasting. The nose behind Geisha Noire is Maria McElry who has turned her fascination with Japan’s geisha culture into an indie perfume house, which explains the calmness and meditative quality of its combination of black amber, sandalwood and tonka bean. This is amber meant for rituals and slow unfoldings. 

Ambre Russe, by Parfums D’Empire, is a beguiling contradiction. It opens with a flamboyant rush of vodka and champagne but melts downwards into Russian spices, tea and incense. It is icy but warm, an infused blend of cinnamon and coriander and tea mixed with juniper and birch, twisted inside leather before finally going all mystical and mysterious with incense and smoky notes that evoke the Russian Orthodox churches. Ambre Russe is one of a line of perfumes from the niche house Parfums D’Empire started by Marc-Anthoine Corticchaito, whose Ph.D. was based on his development of a technique to analyse the aromatic extract of plants using carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance. Parfums D’Empire describes itself as “an invitation to conquer the realms of the senses”. 

And then there is Shalimar, Guerlain’s exquisite paean to love and desire. Inspired by the love affair between Shah Jahan and his favourite wife Mumtaz, which was so all consuming and intense that Shah Jehan created the ‘Gardens of Shalimar’ for her and built the Taj Mahal to memorialise her after her death. Jacques Guerlain created Shalimar in 1921 but did not release it until four years later. Shalimar opens with a sharp burst of citrus and takes a meander through rose, jasmine and bergamot before drying down into a hedonistic swirl of vanilla iris, Peru Balsam and amber.  Guerlain produced a number of beautiful bottles and advertisements for Shalimar over the years, but perhaps one of the loveliest is the tiny bottle encased in a cardboard plinth in a Presentation Avion that was offered as a complimentary gift to passengers travelling on the early Air France flights from Paris to New York in the 1960s. Shalimar, over 90 years old, is still one of the world’s best selling perfumes, its heady amber richness and romantic origins appealing to women of all ages.  There are stories, perhaps apocryphal, of an unnamed Saudi prince who has all his tobacco infused with Shalimar so that he exudes the scent of amber whenever he lights a cigarette.  Of such things are amber legends made.