Scent of the Day: Amber

The weather here has been wildly dynamic. In one day I can shift from yoga pants and a spaghetti strap tank to several layers of wool. Late last night Madame Wind Element decided to make her presence known. She moves through the canyon, announcing her arrival as we here her dance through the trees. The sound is very much like the ocean waves.

This Moonday morning beckons for something warm, I've already got a ridiculous amount of wool on from cashmere fingerless gloves, two cardigans, thermals, a crochet skirt, a scarf around my neck and a second larger one draped over my shoulders. Who would guess I am in sunny California! However, within a few hours I may be peeling it all off.

One of the very first accords I ever created was Amber. I now have several different varieties of Amber accords. The material "Amber" within the realm of botanical/natural perfumery is either a fossil resin from the fir tree, Pinus succinifera or most often an accord. There is quite a bit of confusion with the term because it is used to define many different types of scented items. The etymology of the word stems from the Arabic anbar, referring to ambergris. Ambergris is a substance produced by the cachalot whale. In modern times many fragrance developers have created incense and perfumes called Amber, which are composed of a variety of ingredients including many synthetics aroma chemicals.

As a botanical perfumer I have created several Amber accords utilizing resinous materials such as Labdanum, Benzoin, Conifer, Frankincense, as well as Woods, Patchouli, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Clary Sage and Vanilla. Some of my accords are so complex they venture into the terrain of a full fledged perfume.

This is what is on the drawing table for today. Greg has asked me to make more of his signature Amber, friends are asking for the release of the perfume I have been calling Amber and there are accords that need to be made for existing perfumes.

Amber accords are found in Lyra, Aurora, Sierra, Vera and Greenwitch. I've selected to display Lyra as our Scent of the Day poster child, since of the the five mentioned, her Amber accord is the most prevalent.