Il Mondo di Odore

Ambrein: The Missing Link Matriarch AMBRE VIE (2012) I learned of Matriarch , a small natural-perfume niche house out of Washington state, from Marlen Harrison at The Perfume Critic , who reviewed Ambre Vie not too long ago. In a comment on the post, I inquired as to the nature of ambreine (listed among the notes) and, specifically, whether it was a component of synthetic ambergris. Christi Meshell, the perfumer, was kind enough to share the following very helpful information: Ambreine has multiple meanings with the same spelling: one as a constituent of ambergris and the other as a refinement of labdanum. The alcohol ambrettolide (ambrain, ambrein), is what gives it the characteristic aroma, and it is also found in true ambergris from sperm whales, so to answer your question: yes. The ambreine I used for Ambre Vie comes from a refinement of labdanum resinoid from the cistus plants in Andalusia. This proprietary process is only carried out by one company in the world....