Some helpful hints with the purchase of Ambergris.Shop New Zealand White Ambergris

New to ambergris …

If you are a novice with ambergris you may have become somewhat confused about what it actually is. Some online sites will try to tell you it’s whale vomit and some say it’s whale faeces. Others will claim it is a substance formed in the Sperm Whales’ gut to protect against squid beaks etc. The good news is it is none of those. Ambergris is in fact the pheronmone compound created in a gland of the Sperm Whale and is extruded via a bile duct into the small intestine to be ejected into the ocean. For more on this visit ‘What is Ambergris’.

You may also be led to believe that ambergris is a note in perfume and other fragrances. This myth has been created by the manufactures of Ambroxan, a petro-chemical that has largely replaced ambergris in the synthetic perfume industry. Ambroxan has an odour and the synthetic industry has tried to claim that it mimics ambergris. Ambergris includes a variety of aromas and it is possible that somewhere there is a piece of ambergris that smells similar to ambroxan. But it is not correct to say that ambroxan mimics ambergris in its aroma profile.

Ambergris is foremost a fixative. It also has excellent exaltation qualities. And most importantly ambergris contains mammal pheromone, which is universal even with humans. Ambergris is also an improver. It rounds the sharp edges that may exist in some essential oils and blends the perfume base without affecting the profiles of individual scents.

Because ambergris is a natural ingredient it evolves and develops in the alcohol it is macerated in, much the same way a fine wine ages and develops over time. A natural perfume containing essential oils and absolutes and fixed with ambergris will continue to improve over time, whereas a petro-chemical based perfume will not.

Various types of ambergris …

Those more advanced in their knowledge of ambergris will be pleased to learn that the Ambergris.Shop collection has useful variety. Because the large block floated in the ocean for about 10 – 15 years the ambergris within it cured at different rates. The collection comprises five categories:

Upper Crust: This ambergris has been exposed to sun, wind, rain and surf. It has cured the most. Upper Crust is light in density and is chalky in texture often with a slightly dusty exterior. It is usually off-white or light silver grey in colour. The aroma profile varies, mostly mild musky and sometimes animalic or marine. The tincture is usually light grey, light brown or pink.

Outer Crust: This ambergris has been partly submerged and partly exposed to sun, air and rain. It is of medium density with a chalky/waxy texture. Outer Crust is often white, off-white with occasional light grey areas. It is mostly very mild and sweet smelling. The tincture is mostly clear. Outer crust is probably the most versatile tincture.

Upper Core: This ambergris has been surrounded by Upper Crust and Outer Crust so has not been exposed to air or sea. However it has acquired some curing from being next to the exposed crust. Upper Core is waxy in texture and moderately dense. It is usually cream, off-white or light brown or grey. It has a mild sweet and sometimes almost ‘buttery’ aroma. The tincture is mostly golden. It is versatile and also suits feminine fragrances.

Lower Core: This ambergris has been submerged without any air or sea exposure. It is dense and waxy. Because it has been next to the base it has a stronger aroma profile than the upper grades. It is usually light/medium grey or brown. Sometime pieces may have a darker patina due to oxidisation after the piece has been exposed to air. This is because the ambergris is curing. The interior of the piece will still be light in colour however. Lower Core is often animalic, leathery and sometime fecal in aroma. The tincture is ususally grey, brown or darker pink. Core ambergris has a very high ambrein content which produces a high quality tincture. The stronger smelling Lower Core provides good exaltation qualities to a finished perfume.

Base: This ambergris has also been entirely submerged. It is very dense and waxy. It often has a stronger aroma, mostly fecal. It is brown or grey coloured. The tincture is dark, mostly brown or sometimes grey. Like Lower Core the Base tincture make a very good exalter. Base ambergris is mostly represented in larger pieces – 200 grams up to about 2 kilograms.

Manufacturing natural perfume or considering ..

Bespoke and boutique natural perfume manufacturers will have faced issues with reliability of supply of authentic ambergris for their creations. This may have led to considering the use of ambroxan, a petrochemical synthetically manufactured to substitute ambergris. They will have also noted that the world is awash with synthetic perfumes. One needs only to go to a country like Dubai to realise the overwhelming abundance of cheap perfume on sale, EDPs @ 100ml for less than $10.

There is no doubt it would be futile trying to compete in the synthetic perfume market. The petro-chemicals developed in European labs are sent to be manufactured in cheaper economies such as India and Pakistan. It has not taken those manufacturers long to learn of the recipes by using GCMS etc. and thereby manufacturing their own chemicals leading to knockoffs of major brands flooding the market.

However there is a thoroughly undernourished niche market for good quality mid-priced natural perfumes throughout the world. This market comprises more discerning customers who would be happy to pay $200 -$300 for 100 mls of a high quality Chanel or Tom Ford fragrance if it contained entirely natural ingredients, which of course they will instead contain mostly if not entirely petro-chemicals.

Those customers are sometimes allergic to these chemical or have a adverse reaction. Ambroxan is nick-named Ambroxan the Toxin for a reason. Many of those customers know that there is no safety net for the dispensing of the petro-chemicals, unlike the food and drug industry which is government controlled. The fragrance industry only has the IFRA which is owned and operated by the largest supplier of petro-chemicals in the world so therefore it’s self-regulatory.

There is no doubt the ambergris industry has taken a radical change in the last two decades. Today the web comprises many fake and scam sites seeking to entrap customers with overpriced and almost invariably fake material. That’s if the customer receives anything at all. Fortunately, Ambergris.Shop is one of the few genuine vendors of authentic ambergris remaining in the world. Because of this Ambergris.Shop maintains realistic pricing of USD$10 a gram rather than the prohibitive pricing of $20 – $40 a gram or more that the rogue vendors charge.

The numbers …

To help put ambergris into perspective as a viable option as a fixative a simple equation is provided. To simplify this equation a 5% tincture is used. A industry standard for ambergris tincture is 3% but the result can easily adjusted for that.

50 grams of ambergris = $500.

50 grams added to 1 litre of ethanol @ 5%. This will make 1.05 litres but we will allow the .05mls as spillage.

To make a Parfum requires about 35/65% perfume base to tincture, however we will simplify that with 33/66 with 1% spillage. That will make 1.5 litres of Parfum with a 5% ambergris tincture.

An EDP is generally about 17 -18% perfume base so the Parfum would be doubled in volume to 3 litres using pure ethanol. This would give an EDP with 2.5% ambergris tincture.

3 litres of EDP would provide thirty 100ml bottles of finished product. Each bottle would have a retail value of at least $200. That’s a realistic price for the target market.

30 x $200 = $6000. At $500 the ambergris makes only 8.3% of the retail value of the finished product. That makes ambergris a viable option as a fixative in natural perfume. If adjusted to the industry standard of 3% ambergris tincture then the percentage of cost for the ambergris would be about 5%.

Ambergris is clearly a viable option. There is one certainty. If a perfume manufacturer were to resort to using cheaper ambroxan they would likely create mediocracy. Only with ambergris will one create a masterpiece.