An amber (the perfumer’s, not the resin)

Teaching accord A teaching accord for learning: not a commercial perfume formula, not a finished perfume, not safety-assessed; do not make it for skin.

In perfumery "amber" names this accord, not the fossil resin. Both of its main materials are base notes: it lasts longest on the strip.

Read the essay · Its fingerprint in the Olfactory Genome · Its trail in the Spatial Sillage Lab · As a scent instruction (the Device API draft)

The record

Each field carries its evidence: open a chip for the source, the quoted words and the confidence. A field with nothing behind it says so and stays empty.

Name

An amber (the perfumer’s, not the resin)

house interpretation

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

the house’s name for this teaching accord

confidence C

Purpose

teaching

house rule

the house’s own reading, labelled as such

the site’s rule: every accord on record is a teaching accord; the house’s own formulas are never published here

confidence B

Structure

A perfumer’s amber: labdanum and vanillin as a warm, sweet, resinous base, lifted by a balsamic resin.

perfumery convention

the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source

the trade’s convention; the review on file says amber notes are base notes serving as fixatives (KLE-1), and labdanum is taken for perfumery for its fixative properties in place of ambergris (LAB-1)

confidence B

Family

amber (the Osmothèque’s "Ambré")

perfumery convention

Shalimar GUERLAIN 1925 EXT Ambré Ambré Doux Jacques Guerlain

OSMO-1 · Osmothèque, Conservatoire international des parfums · read 2026-09-30

the family as the Osmothèque classes a fragrance of this structure

confidence B

Components

Under each component, the evidence for its place in the accord. Teaching parts are a house interpretation for learning: modeled, not measured, not a formula.

Component	Role	Teaching parts	Volatility
Labdanum absolute documented the extraction of its exuded resin (which has the commercial name of labdanum “gum”) for the fragrance/perfumery industry, because of its aromatic and fixative properties, replacing ambergris LAB-1 · Frazão et al. (2024). Labdanum Resin from Cistus ladanifer L. as a Source of Compounds with Anti-Diabetic, Neuroprotective and Anti-Proliferative Activity · read 2026-09-30 confidence A	base perfumery convention Notably, there are odorants (in particular amber notes) which are base notes serving as fixatives but also enhancing the perceptibility of a perfume KLE-1 · Kleoff et al. (2022). Synthesis of odorants in flow and their applications in perfumery · read 2026-09-30 the review: amber notes are base notes serving as fixatives; labdanum as an amber note is the trade’s convention confidence B	45 parts modeled modeled teaching proportions, a house interpretation for learning: modeled, not measured, not a formula, not for making confidence C	not on record why no volatility class on record for labdanum-absolute
Vanillin perfumery convention the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source the trade’s convention confidence B	base documented Typically, fresh and citric odorants, e.g., limonene, are top notes, while warm and sweet odorants such as vanillin are base notes KLE-1 · Kleoff et al. (2022). Synthesis of odorants in flow and their applications in perfumery · read 2026-09-30 the same sentence: "warm and sweet odorants such as vanillin are base notes" confidence A	35 parts modeled modeled teaching proportions, a house interpretation for learning: modeled, not measured, not a formula, not for making confidence C	base modeled modeled the molecule record’s volatility class (modeled: the house’s volatility table is a set of site constants, not measurements) confidence C
Frankincense perfumery convention the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source the house’s choice among the balsamic resins on record confidence C	heart perfumery convention the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source the trade’s top / heart / base convention for this material confidence B	20 parts modeled modeled teaching proportions, a house interpretation for learning: modeled, not measured, not a formula, not for making confidence C	not on record why no volatility class on record for frankincense-resin

Substitutions

• For labdanum absolute: Historically the other way round: labdanum stood in for ambergris.
  documented

  the extraction of its exuded resin (which has the commercial name of labdanum “gum”) for the fragrance/perfumery industry, because of its aromatic and fixative properties, replacing ambergris

  LAB-1 · Frazão et al. (2024). Labdanum Resin from Cistus ladanifer L. as a Source of Compounds with Anti-Diabetic, Neuroprotective and Anti-Proliferative Activity · read 2026-09-30

  confidence A

Regulations that apply to a component

• Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 (labelling of fragrance allergens)

Odour descriptors

• balsamic
• amber
• vanilla
• sweet
• lemony
• piney

In history

• Tiemann and Haarmann patent a vanillin synthesis, 1874
• The launch of L'Origan: Coty, 1905
• The launch of Shalimar: Guerlain, 1925
• A resin in a Carthaginian tomb, identified as labdanum (6th–5th century BC)

Fragrances of this family

• L'Origan
• L'Heure Bleue
• Shalimar
• Tabu

Sources

1. OSMO-1 · Osmothèque, Conservatoire international des parfums. Collection Osmothèque, juin 2015 (PDF list: name, house, launch year, concentration, family, sub-family, perfumers). www.osmotheque.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Col… · read 2026-09-30 · no reuse licence stated; short quotes and single facts only, under fair use (quoted, not reproduced)
2. KLE-1 · Kleoff M, Kiler P, Heretsch P. Synthesis of odorants in flow and their applications in perfumery. Beilstein J Org Chem. 2022;18:754–768. doi.org/10.3762/bjoc.18.76 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY 4.0
3. LAB-1 · Frazão DF, et al. Labdanum Resin from Cistus ladanifer L. as a Source of Compounds with Anti-Diabetic, Neuroprotective and Anti-Proliferative Activity. Molecules. 2024;29(10):2222. doi.org/10.3390/molecules29102222 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY 4.0

Our text and structure are CC BY 4.0; quoted source text stays under its owners’ terms.

this record as data: /data/accord/amber-teaching-accord.json · version 3 · updated 2026-10-01 · confidence B