Ambrette Perfumes & Fragrances

Ambrette smells soft, warm and pear-like, with a musky, slightly wine-y heart and a powdery skin-close finish. It is the finest vegetal musk in perfumery and one of the gentlest natural fixatives.

The seed is Hibiscus abelmoschus (also called Abelmoschus moschatus), a tropical plant native to India and now grown commercially in Ecuador, Peru and Madagascar. Dried seeds are steam-distilled or solvent-extracted to yield an oil rich in ambrettolide, a large-ring macrocyclic musk that is chemically similar to deer musk but plant-derived. Ambrette is one of the few natural alternatives to animal musk and a key ingredient in clean, ethical perfumery.

Ambrette is a base note. Perfumers use it as the soft musky heart of modern niche compositions (Chanel No. 18, Hermes Hiris), to add radiant skin-close warmth to iris and rose, and to soften florals and woods. It pairs beautifully with iris, rose, sandalwood, musks and tonka.

Ambrette performs year-round across every gender.