GOLDEN AMBER

Golden amber in perfume evokes warm resins softened by sweetness, sometimes with a powdery or gently leathery edge. The word golden suggests the character of the impression rather than a particular extracted substance. It can give a composition a rounded, enveloping feel, with a balance between syrupy richness and darker resinous depth. The degree of sweetness depends on how the accord is built.

An accord is a combination of scented materials. Paraphrase Perfume describes a classic golden amber construction using benzoin, labdanum and vanilla: sweet resin, darker leathery nuances and powdery richness brought together. This is one approach, not a compulsory formula. Golden amber is a perfumer’s interpretation, rather than distilled fossilized amber, and its appearance in a note list does not establish which ingredients a fragrance contains.