There are of course different shapes, colors and stages, of ambergris. Some pieces are black and still reasonably soft, they have an unpleasant smell! The smell is described as animal, musky, earthy. Depending on how long ambergris has been in the ocean, the smell can vary considerably. Here, too, it differs per person how the smell is received. The older pieces are more dry, harder and are gray / brown, in all kinds of gradations.
One of the properties of ambergris is to bind scents, which is often in the base of a perfume. A scent with a pinch of ambergris in it stays much longer than a scent without amber. Ambergris is therefore still used in the perfume industry and is worth a lot of money. For example, the block that comes from the sperm whale of Texel is estimated at a few tons.
Ambergris should not be confused with Amber (amber).
As a vegetable alternative, the fragrance Labdanum can be used, the resin of the cistus rose also corresponds to the fragrance aspect. Just like Ambrette seed and angelica (Angelica) are used as an alternative to the Ambergris.
Are you going to look for ambergris during your beach holiday?
