A. This is a good question, and a chance to learn about resinous fragrance materials. Let us look at each material in turn.
Resinous Fragrance Materials
Several fragrance materials are obtained from plant resins. Extracts obtained from plant resins are called resins. These generally smell sweet, soft, and warm, and a scent with those qualities is described as balsamic. These characteristics make them a good match for oriental notes (in Japanese) and woody notes.
Opoponax
Also known as sweet myrrh, opoponax is a resin obtained from a tree closely related to myrrh that grows in Somalia and Ethiopia. Its name comes from the Greek opo, meaning “juice,” and panax, meaning “healing.”
Like myrrh and frankincense, it is also used as incense. It has a balsamic warmth similar to myrrh, but with a more honey-like sweetness and roundness.
Styrax
Its formal name is Liquidamber (liquid amber), and it has maple-like leaves. Incisions in the bark cause a gum resin to be secreted, with a cinnamon-like smell. It also has a balsamic scent and is often used in leather notes (in Japanese).
Balsams
Balsams are somewhat different from resins. Resins form from tear-like, gummy liquids that seep from trees, whereas balsams do not necessarily come from trees and are often obtained from flower pods or twigs.
The two main types used in perfume are Peru balsam, chiefly produced in El Salvador, and Tolu balsam, native to Colombia. Peru balsam has a scent combining cinnamon and vanilla facets with earthiness and bitterness, while Tolu balsam has a soft floral scent alongside cinnamon and vanilla.
Frankincense
This gum resin, also called olibanum or nyūkō in Japanese, is collected in Arabia, Oman, Somalia, and elsewhere.
The bark of small shrubs is stripped, or incisions are made in branches, and the hardened beads are gathered from the tree. Steam distillation extracts the essential oil, which has a refreshing, citrus-like scent with green nuances as well as woody warmth. It is also called the “king of amber-family (in Japanese) perfumes,” and has a spicy aspect too.
Benzoin
Two well-known types of benzoin come from Styrax tonkinensis from Siam and Styrax Benzoin from Sumatra. Benzoin refers to the resin extracted from their trunks.
It is also called ansokukō in Japanese. The resin is a thick, sticky liquid, once called “tears of benzoin”. Because the liquid seeping from the trunk had the shape of teardrops, people in the past believed the tree was crying. Benzoic acid takes its name from being a principal component of this resin.
Sweet but not cloying, rich but not heavy, its fragrant material contains a few percent vanillin.
Myrrh
Also called motsuyaku in Japanese, this is a resin obtained from the myrrh tree, which grows wild in the Middle East, Somalia, Ethiopia, and elsewhere. Like frankincense, it belongs to the Burseraceae family.
The name myrrh comes from Hebrew and Arabic words meaning “bitter.” It is woody and aromatic, reminiscent of lemon or saffron, with a pungent and slightly medicinal smell. It is also warm, and is a first-rate fixative for prolonging a fragrance.
Labdanum
Also called cistus labdanum, cistus, or ciste, it is known as rockrose because it has a relative described as a rose that blooms among rocks (it is not a member of the rose family). It grows in the Mediterranean and produces beautiful flowers resembling wild roses. In summer, when its growing regions become extremely hot, it secretes a strongly scented resin to protect itself from the harsh climate. This resin has a distinctive, animalic, soft, sweet, and sensual scent.
Smell the essential oil and you will find depth like port wine or a richly sweet, matured single malt, with an intense sweetness reminiscent of spirits.
Galbanum
It differs somewhat from other resins, suggesting a plant-like smell rather than a warm, woody one.
It comes from a plant in the Apiaceae family. Making incisions in the root or between the root and stem releases a gum resin that can be collected. This is galbanum.
Its harvesting is almost monopolized by Iran, and its smell is green and raw-vegetal, woody, spicy, animalic, and rubbery.
The Scent of Amber
In general, amber means the gemstone: a mass of tree sap. In the perfume industry, however, amber refers to an “amber note (in Japanese)” created to evoke amber’s golden color and radiance. Unlike actual amber resin, it is made chiefly from resins such as labdanum and benzoin, together with vanillin (or natural vanilla): a sweet, warm composition (in Japanese).
Conclusion
In other words, amber is not a single natural fragrance material, but a combination of natural fragrance materials created in a laboratory. Resins, chiefly labdanum and benzoin, and vanilla are essential to amber. Some resins already have a sweetness reminiscent of vanilla, but an amber note emphasizes that sweetness by adding vanilla. In many cases, the synthetic fragrance material vanillin is used in its place. If you “do not particularly like fragrances with a strong amber character,” you may dislike the sweetness emphasized by vanilla or vanillin.
Also, although we speak of resins as one category, there are many different types, so it seems quite possible that you like some and dislike others. Labdanum and benzoin are often used in amber notes, and it may be those that do not appeal to you.
By trying various types of scents and looking into their ingredients, I think you can identify, to some extent, which resins you prefer.
コメント