Ambroxan hey, yeah good stuff. I tell you what my favourite combo is, Amyris and Virginian Cedarwood what a combo that is second to none, aroma is awsome and as far as longevity goes nothing beats it. Amyris is like literally king of the fixatives, your looking at about 2000 hours of pure strength. It's like 84% sesquiterpenes it's very fatty so I generally do a 50% dilution with Triethyl Citrate works like a charm, especially in a Woody (oriental) blend.
@@sammacer yeah for sure, it's a little unique like Balm of Gilead also known as Balsam of Poplar which teams up quite good with German Chamomile. Amyris you'd think it would be like Sandalwood but nothing like it, works in better with the Cedarwoods. As far as Ambergris goes check this out. Ambergris - Dragons Blood Resin - Teakwood - Tonka Bean - Oakmoss. Nobody uses Dragons Blood I have no idea why, if you want an incredible effect in the base of a chypre fragrance or you could even do it in a Aromatic (aquatic) merge Dragons Blood and Ambergris together then add in a bit of leathery dry wood like Teakwood since theirs a bit of Iso E Super in Teakwood. Tell you what that kicks arse. 😁😉
I rocking pure Ambergris macerated to perfection in jojoba oil smells like a gourmand vanilla honey and musky oceanic. No perfume blend can't beat this and it's natural that means no dizzy no headache
Great video! I loved getting more insight on this somewhat controversial ingredient and hearing about the different forms from different companies. I have a few questions. 1) You mentioned that the whales vomit the ambergris. It’s my understanding that it actually comes out to the other end. I realize there are many theories about this, but to come from the intestines up through the stomach seems to be harder than just going out the back side, or, sadly, causing major problems, which eventually brings about the demise of the whale; then the ambergris floats up to the surface during decomposition. 2) Were ambroxides made to actually mimic the smell of ambergris or the fixative properties? I know that different forms of ambergris can vary greatly in smell, but most of what I read previously has stated ambroxides don’t exactly smell like most ambergris, but are used for the similarities in performance. Thanks again for these great videos, and I look forward to seeing more from you!
Amazing video. As usual, very helpful and informative. Thanks for bringing a breath of fresh air with your perfumery tutorials. I am sure many of others can agree we had been seeing a lot of repetitive information regarding perfume making and the information you provide is definitely stuff I had not heard of before. Thanks!!
Hello - Hoping you see this comment, as I may be going crazy. Normally, I hate - loathe even, Ambroxan in fragrances. (i.e. Matiere Premiere Santal Austral and Encens Suave, BDK 312 Saint-Honore, etc.). However, I LOVE MFK Baccarat Rouge 540, both the edp and extrait, and do not even smell it in those. I also don't mind it in Dominique Ropion's Iris Shot, where I barely even detect it. So, there are many, many perfumes I won't even try if Ambroxan is listed. Do you know why this could be such a contradiction for me? Thanks so much! Brandee in CO.
Hey Sam, thank you for your information! If i want to make it stronger, is 1% or 2% percentage from formula or the percentage of total formula (with alcohol).
Ambroxan smells totally differently to me than to most people, like a harsh chemical burning rubber smell, worse than sticking my nose directly into rubbing alcohol. I was puzzled as to why several well-loved fragrances smelled absolutely horrid to me, or why something called "Milk" would smell so acrid. It didn't click until I tried Not a Perfume, which was awful, and then the Superdose which was absolutely unbearable. I went into the Le Labo boutique and picked up Another 13, not knowing what it was, then immediately put it down and asked the rep if that was based on ambroxan. It's in so many fragrances now and totally ruins them for me unless it's in the smallest quantity. And it's everywhere so I get nauseated by someone's scent trail at least once a week. Any idea why I might perceive this molecule in this way? I tend to get the same notes others do on non-ambroxan based fragrances so I don't think there's something generally off with my sense of smell.
Very interesting! Some people have different genes where they can smell a molecule differently: some people hate the smell of coriander for example since it’s soapy to them. What you have with ambroxan must be very rare
I've had the same exact experience with Ambroxan. It smells like isopropyl alcohol to me and is very abrasive. I also think it smells absolutely nothing like ambergris. Sauvage and Bleu de Chanel smell horrific to me and I can't understand why they're so popular. But I also agree with you that when Ambroxan is used sparingly it can work well. I think the problem is that the stuff is just so overdosed in fragrances and often ruins what could have been something great.
Same. When I first started smelling this in crowded malls post pandemic, I thought it was disinfectant being pumped into the air. There is a sweetness to this ingredient, but in a body decomposition nauseating way, to me. The smell is everywhere in perfumes now. I wonder how much of the appeal of this ingredient stems from modern perfume social media marketing.
Got some ambrox super from scentfriends and it doesn't smell at all, both in diluted and in solid form, it has no smell and I know the smell of Ambroxan, can I say it's fake or bad ?
I have purchased ambroxan not ambrofix or either the super version and it does not smell anything. I dilute it in ethanol. Can I fix this particular issue?
I'm not a fan of ambrox, since it overdosed in mannny blue fragrances in the market. And in my country, some local brands in Indonesia made men targeted fragrances with the ambrox vibe either as their fixative or what ever it is, it just leaving metallic and screechy cheapy aroma to my nose. Thank you for sharing and add reference for me to the difference between brand for ambroxide 💜
Dude, your content is the best about perfumery. Such a clear communication. Do you think is possible to create a minimal scent using maybe two EO + the ambrofix? Would you give any suggestions for a woody/airy or woody/fresh result? Thank you!
Cetalox strangely has an almost similar profile perhaps softer. When I first got the two: Ambroxan 10% (by Kao) and Cetalox 10% I thought there was an error in my order.
@@sammacer That's fantastic. I never liked chemistry in school if the teachers had just made the material interesting and given us a relation between the formulations of numbers and letters towards a real life situation like scents and food and nature etc. Then I would have had an idea on how those molecules tie in with the real world. If they had given us those base molecules to work with to make a perfume I would have been so excited that I would have gone on studying chemistry as well at the university. Sorry I'm a super bubbly person.
Hello Sam. First of all, I would like to say that I enjoy watching your videos. I'm sending this message to ask you what is the probability of me being able to find the original formula (1982) for Drakar Noir. I know it's been reformulated several times but I'm interested in the original formula. Can you help me? Thanks.
A wonderful video Sam. Great point about the stereospecificity in the manufacturing process. The mystery of Cetalox solved! I've seen some perfumers also order large batches of the material in crystal form. Is that how all ambroxes come before they're diluted or is that a unique trademark of a patented molecule?
I'm going through your back catalogue of videos and they're great. You're a boffin! If you haven't already, I'd appreciate a discussion on solvents. What are they, how many different types and what scents they add --if any -- to the perfume.
Fantastic explanation! Gladly the spermwhales haven't filed a class action lawsuit, for you showing a humpback whale when talking about spermwhales patent.😂
good video, not many of us in this field.. i enjoyed watching this video about ambroxan.. validating exactly what i know of it... i love creating fragrances, so satisfying creating something, a few months ago i made a 100ml bottle formula with ambroxan 10% (used lot) with Galaxolide, used some fruit Fleuressence's, cis's, aldehydes/musks/B currant/ dash of jasmine/ oakmoss/dmyrcenol/birch/rose/bergamot/rose/patchouli/vanille/ etc.. there is more, i think you get the idea... waited 36 days, it was Great, the scent was like Creed Aventus but way more Fruity, i sprayed some on myself and went out.. people were going nuts over the smell.. they loved it ! friend asked me if i would sell him a bottle... told him i only had the 1 100ml bottle, he asked me to make him a bottle.. i go home and discovered i lost my notes(Recipe) (accidently threw it away) i tried by memory.. not the same... i bought myself a log book now..
excellent video Sam! you explain it in a very clear way! Could you please tell me if there is actually a difference of nuances between ambroxan and ambrofix smell or if they just have the same aroma? it would help me a lot! thank you so much
@@sammacer That is surprising, I thought Daz was an English household staple. Oh btw, do you know why cedramber (cedryl methyl ether) is often referred to as the closest smelling synthetic compound to ambergris when ambroxan is the most closely related to the real thing?
Watch my video on single molecule fragrances, I show how to make it. I don’t sell it since my brand is about my own creations and I don’t like to copy others, but countless brands do copy it online
Great vid - exactly what I get from Ambrofix - the diffusion and projection are astounding, but can certainly be a loud foghorn at times. Careful dosing is critical. Thanks!
This is great. Thank you so much. I used to be a chef and recently I've been enjoying fragrances and their compositions. I enjoy making my own layers and watching this will allow me to expand my ideas. Subscribed.
Great video as always. I have always loved the smell of ambergris; I've got a sample of a tincture of beach-harvested ambergris around here somewhere. I was watching Nose last night and was wondering if you knew what important differences there were in the olfactory composition of the three grades of ambergris (black, grey, and white) if I wanted to play with creating my own ambergris accord?
Great Video. But ambroxan is not amber like right? I mean you can make an accord with labdanum and vanilla - that would be amber? 🤔 and ambroxan would be ambre? 😅
Amber is a very confusing term because it's used in three different ways: 1) actual amber, which is fossilized tree resin (it exists, but is very rare in perfumery), then 2) a mixture of labdanum and vanillin, like you mentioned above, and finally 3) relating to ambergris/ambroxan, which is a completely different scent profile than #2. They are all referred to as "ambery", unfortunately.
Exactly, couldn't have put it better myself. While ambergris is unrelated to the labdanum + vanilla amber accord in perfumery, ambroxan is found in very small amounts in labdanum, so there is some crossover! So adding it doesn't make the amber accord, but rather is one route for building upon the amber accord and extending it.
In your experience what's the best way of dilute to 10% the Ambroxan? Because I've tried with DPG but was a bit instable (some cristal doesn't dissolve even after a long time)
Ambroxan is the one note I just can’t do. It’s in far too many scents, and often in large doses (headache in a bottle for me). Moreover it smells synthetic and cheap to me due to the sheer number of body sprays which employ it. It obscures the other notes in a scent.
Listen son, why don't you EVER talk about WHY you and others "feel" the need to have top notes, middle notes, and base notes! Why not make a perfume with ONLY base notes? Does that scare you? Why not make a perfume with ONLY middle notes? So far I"m not impressed with you.
Listen son, not sure I LIKE the sound of your language. So far I”m not impressed with you. 😂 But on a serious note, of course you don’t need to use all of the notes if you don’t want to, in fact, many “linear” perfumes find success with mostly base notes only. However, many successful perfumes contain a balance of all 3 notes and it’s good to learn how to compose those since skipping some notes only makes things more simple. Furthermore, using a balance of all 3 helps prevent common issue people have with performance aspects like projection.
@@sammacer True that but then why do people try on colognes and perfumes at stores? The initial scent is deceptive and will NOT be an accurate indication of the scent most of the time. I say this is ridiculous! People should only buy the scent they are after. If they want multiple scents, then purchase multiple perfumes and put them all on at once. I'm sticking with my original logic that it makes MUCH more sense (scents?) to only use base notes. I'm not impressed so far.
Yeah I see what you mean but it's not really recommended by any professionals to just smell it quickly at the store and then buy it (that's just pushy salespeople). The best way is to get samples and try seeing how they evolve on your skin and only buy if you're happy with the whole profile. If top notes and mid notes were disallowed, it would be impossible to get great projection or use most of the smells. You would be very limited in how the perfume smells and a lot of people want something outside of that.
@@sammacer I don't think Matt makes perfume, or he would know he can make them however he wants to. If he wants all bases, absolutely can do. But if he wants something with character or fun, a mix of all tiers is justified. I also like to layer store bought and make them unique! You can have mashed potatoes by squishing white potatoes, or you can have mashed potatoes with cream, butter, salt, pepper and make them 10 times better. Personal preference. Look, I can voice my opinion without sounding like a @*#%
@@sammacerI have a question on what makes a note a top, middle, or base. Is it the length of time the ingredient lasts, the concentration of it, or both? I saw a fragrance review of this oud based cologne and there was one type of oud as a base note and another type of oud as a top note and I'm a bit confused at oud being able to be both.
Awesome! Sam: would you say this molecule goes in "Kenzo pour Homme"? I´ve been loving that perfume forever, though the new edition is not quite the same (i think some constituent was outlawed or something and they changed the original formula), but it would be helpful to know your opinion ( since i don´t have a very "sharp" nose). Also, i´ve checked out your "Aquatics" video, it´s great, but i would love if you could vlog the "Marine" theme specifically, that what smells of the Ocean. Many thanks!!
@@sammacer Thank you anyways, Sam!... I actually bought this and Cetalox, and i love both smells... Do you think there is a way to make a perfume with JUST ambroxan? Or something that smells like this molecule?
