Ambre Gris

This is an oriental and feminine juice created by Guillaume Flavigny, built essentially around a spicy, balsamic and floral accord on a warm, slightly animalic base — that of ambergris.

Balmain lays claim to a noble and mysterious raw material

Christophe Decarnin worked in the ateliers of the house of Balmain from 2006 to 2011. He gave the house a second wind, bringing more modernity to Balmain's creations while respecting the authentic spirit of its style. In his view, all that was missing was a fragrance to elevate his new, contemporary, free and sensual designs. This is why the house of Balmain decided to create Ambre Gris. This fragrance pays homage to one of the most mysterious and coveted raw materials in perfumery. Ambergris is also known as floating gold. It is a rare and precious material that comes from the sperm whale and is shaped by ocean currents, winds and sea salt. Its scent thus seems to rise from the depths of the sea. Ancient legends even claimed it was a kind of stone spat out by underwater springs. This animalic substance has been used since antiquity for its warm, balsamic, salty and sensual character. It is precisely all of these facets that are found in Balmain's Ambre Gris.

The many facets of ambergris in perfumery

Ambre Gris is a fragrance that belongs to the woody oriental family. Nevertheless, it is difficult to confine this juice to a single olfactory category, given how complex and fascinating it is. It opens with a spicy, radiant start built on cinnamon and pink pepper. Then tuberose flower enriches the fragrance, making it more heady and sensual. Immortelle softens the composition overall with its honeyed and tobacco-like facets. Its character, close to that of hay and coffee, evokes the full complexity of ambergris. It is precisely at this moment that this raw material makes its entrance. Here it is dosed with extreme precision so as not to become too heady. Its character is also enhanced with myrrh and benzoin. Finally, Ambre Gris closes with base notes that are even more woody and smoky, wrapped in an airy veil of white musk. Ambre Gris comes in a bold bottle. It rests on a thick block of glass forming an architectural, elegant cube. The whole is tinted a taupe gray, an elegant and subtle color echoing ambergris. Finally, it is topped with a spherical metal cap, a nod to the famous disco balls of the 1950s.