Ingredient Guide
One of the main components of the scent of ambergris, ambroxide is also well known under the names Kao (in Japanese)’s Ambroxan and Firmenich’s Ambrox. It is a synthetic molecule discovered in the 1950s as an alternative to the scent of ambergris. Since ambergris is not a fragrance material with a reliable supply, ambroxide is often used as a substitute. Interestingly, ambroxide is produced through several steps from a substance called sclareol, which can be isolated from clary sage.
It has a dry, ambery, woody scent, sometimes with salty or skin-like facets. Because its scent is highly complex, it is widely used as a base to make perfumes more complex. Its large molecular size also makes it a fixative that helps retain scent on the skin.
The first perfume said to have helped popularize it was Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue (2001, Olivier Cresp).
Ambroxan is an ingredient that really excites me. It is like a black-and-white photograph: very modern, and never dated.
Sonia Constant
What Does It Smell Like in Perfume?
Ambroxide is a transparent ambery-woody material reminiscent of dry wood, warm skin, and a faint saltiness. It gives richness and diffusion from the heart to the base of a perfume, supporting a long-lasting trail without becoming overbearing. It is not natural ambergris itself, but a fragrance ingredient based on a single compound modeled on a major aromatic component formed when ambrein in ambergris oxidizes. Alongside chemically synthesized versions, there are products such as Ambrox Super, made using renewable raw materials and biotechnology.
How to Choose Ambroxide Fragrances
Molecule 02 is a straightforward introduction to Ambroxan itself, with just one aroma material. Escentric 02 adds the brightness of citrus and green notes. One presents the material on its own; the other develops a fuller composition around it.
Comparing Ambroxide Fragrances
Molecule 02 (Escentric Molecules)
Ambroxan is the only aroma material. Fresh, smooth and mineral in character, the fragrance presents the material itself without adding other scent notes.
Escentric 02 (Escentric Molecules)
Ambroxan is the starting point for bright citrus and juniper, with a green jasmine-bud note and a gin-and-tonic accord. The same material as Molecule 02 becomes a more complex composition.
Find Your Next Fragrance
To explore more perfumes, open our Fragrance Finder. Choose “Favorite fragrances & notes” on the home screen, then search in the “Favorite notes” field. Select a note you like from the results and press “Next” to continue. You can start with notes even if you do not yet have a favorite perfume.
