What is ambergris? Previously, people who found pieces of ambergris on the coasts believed that it was the saliva of a dragon or some mythical creature. In fact, ambergris is a substance that is formed in the intestines of sperm whales and is excreted from the body after eating tons of fish and plankton. The more she stays in the water, the better her aroma will be. But fresh ambergris is a sharp smell of already spoiled fish.
Foundation of the perfume industry?
Amber is used in perfumery. In appearance, it is an irregular shape with many lumps of dark gray color. The composition of ambergris consists of 60-85% amine (a substance similar in composition to cholesterol). Immediately after collection, it is soaked in alcohol, and after 3-6 years it becomes one of the components of the perfume composition, which has the most unusual aroma. It has also been actively used and is used for culinary purposes (as a spice), for medical purposes (diseases such as asthma, typhoid, epilepsy were treated with it). What smell doesambergris? This substance initially has the smell of stale fish, and over the years it acquires a resinous-tobacco musky aroma with a light sea barely perceptible trail.
In perfume compositions, it is used not as a fragrance, but as the main attractive and persistent element - an aphrodisiac. It is known from history that the most popular seducers always carried a piece of ambergris with them, which helps them attract the interest of women and kindle passion. A remarkable property of this substance is the ability to give resistance to any spirits. It is even difficult to imagine that one tenth of a drop of such perfume will be enough for the fragrance to last for about a day. This is achieved due to the fact that about 70% of ambergris consists of compounds that fix the fragrance on the skin and slow down its disappearance.
Second Gold
Currently, almost all ambergris mined is bought up by perfume companies to create perfumes and oils. The uniqueness and value of this aromatic substance is commensurate with the price of gold, so some perfume manufacturers synthesize ambergris artificially, but there are also companies whose fragrances contain real, natural ambergris. Some of the perfumes that contain this substance are listed below: "Opium" by Yves Saint Laurent (1977), "Dune" by Christian Dior (1991), "Givenchy" L'Interditde Givenchy (1957).
Amber is also used to create oils that have a beneficial effect on the skin, soothing and givingsensuality. Ambergris oil is both skin care, lifting, correction and a positive effect on the body as a whole. In medicine, ambergris is used to normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract, eliminate convulsions, stable functioning of the nervous system, and in senile dementia. It is used in the creation of the homeopathic preparation "Ambra 30". However, this is a topic for a completely different material. You can endlessly enumerate the beneficial properties of the marine substance, but still ambergris, mainly, finds its use in perfumery. The average global annual production of such raw materials is tens of kilograms, and the cost of one kilogram reaches 600-800 US dollars.
