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my Blue Whale is a bit green

i have a murky memory of a discussion about whale vomit being used in perfumes and an odd chunk of jelly on the beach could be worth thousands.


has any one heard of this?
 
that is as gross as it is cool

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Katie Puckrik talked about it her latest review for Hermes' Eau des Merveilles. From what I've read online, it may or may not contain it, which is understandable, the stuff is very rare and very expensive.
 
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Ambergris is very expensive and most fragrances, even Creed's, use imitation ambergris.

Both Azzaro Pour Homme and Live Jazz contain ambergris scents.
 
Ambergris is very expensive and most fragrances, even Creed's, use imitation ambergris.

Both Azzaro Pour Homme and Live Jazz contain ambergris scents.

God i hope so. I'm in love with Creed's Original Vetiver, and the idea of being in love with whale barf is really questionable...
 
What you're talking about is Ambergris.

I have 2 boys, ages 8 & 13. Both of them are used to me making them smell different things. The younger one's into it, but the older guy couldn't be less interested.

Yesterday, I received 10ml of 3% tincture of ambergris. I let my older guy smell it and asked him what he thought.

He said, "This is interesting. It's actually the first thing I've smelled that I kinda like." Then I said, would you like to know what it's made from?

Needless to say, he didn't seem quite as interested in it after my explanation. But the younger guy thought it was hilarious & ran around yelling, "Whale puke! Whale puke!"

Good times. :thumbup1:
 
I have 2 boys, ages 8 & 13. Both of them are used to me making them smell different things. The younger one's into it, but the older guy couldn't be less interested.

Yesterday, I received 10ml of 3% tincture of ambergris. I let my older guy smell it and asked him what he thought.

He said, "This is interesting. It's actually the first thing I've smelled that I kinda like." Then I said, would you like to know what it's made from?

Needless to say, he didn't seem quite as interested in it after my explanation. But the younger guy thought it was hilarious & ran around yelling, "Whale puke! Whale puke!"

Good times. :thumbup1:
:lol::lol::lol:

That's awesome, Evan! I would love to have had whale puke for my kids to "blind sniff test" when they were teens. :thumbup1:
 
It's my understanding that ambergris comes from somewhere in the whale's head. There's a part in the book, Moby Dick where a sailor cuts his way into the (dead) whale's head & eventually emerges, to the delight of the crew, with the precious ambergris.
 
It's my understanding that ambergris comes from somewhere in the whale's head. There's a part in the book, Moby Dick where a sailor cuts his way into the (dead) whale's head & eventually emerges, to the delight of the crew, with the precious ambergris.
Indeed, there are numerous mentions throughout the book. There is even a whole chapter devoted to, and named after, Ambergris.

You can read it in its entirety HERE.
 
I thought that it was produced in the whale's digestive tract somewhere. There seems to be some thought that it protects the lining of the intestines from squid beaks and other hard objects that the whale swallows.
 
It is not vomit in the usual sense. I think the author of Moby Dick tool some creative license. More like a cat's furball from their intestines as Nid Hog said. It also has to float around in the ocean for a long time aging to have any value. It is not obtainable from a freshly killed whale. Nor are live whales given ipecac or some such to induce production of this stuff.

As recently discussed in Basenotes, it is unlikely many frags contain true ambergris anymore since a good synthetic was developed (at a tiny fraction of the cost of real ambergris no doubt).

I seriously doubt Original Vetiver contains real ambergris. It's one the newer Creeds. I tend to think some of the older Creeds probably used the real deal and thus jacked up their price point years ago. Notice too that the older Creeds are disappering (Tabarome, Vetiver, Ambre Canelle). But when synthetics came along, they didn't reduce prices. Go figure.
 
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I have 2 boys, ages 8 & 13. Both of them are used to me making them smell different things. The younger one's into it, but the older guy couldn't be less interested.

Yesterday, I received 10ml of 3% tincture of ambergris. I let my older guy smell it and asked him what he thought.

He said, "This is interesting. It's actually the first thing I've smelled that I kinda like." Then I said, would you like to know what it's made from?

Needless to say, he didn't seem quite as interested in it after my explanation. But the younger guy thought it was hilarious & ran around yelling, "Whale puke! Whale puke!"

Good times. :thumbup1:

Ah, good times! :thumbup:
 
It's my understanding that ambergris comes from somewhere in the whale's head. There's a part in the book, Moby Dick where a sailor cuts his way into the (dead) whale's head & eventually emerges, to the delight of the crew, with the precious ambergris.


What you are talking about is Spermaceti, which is a different substance obtained from sperm whales to make candles and other waxy things.
 
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It is not vomit in the usual sense. I think the author of Moby Dick tool some creative license. More like a cat's furball from their intestines as Nid Hog said. It also has to float around in the ocean for a long time aging to have any value. It is not obtainable from a freshly killed whale. Nor are live whales given ipecac or some such to induce production of this stuff.

As recently discussed in Basenotes, it is unlikely many frags contain true ambergris anymore since a good synthetic was developed (at a tiny fraction of the cost of real ambergris no doubt).

I seriously doubt Original Vetiver contains real ambergris. It's one the newer Creeds. I tend to think some of the older Creeds probably used the real deal and thus jacked up their price point years ago. Notice too that the older Creeds are disappering (Tabarome, Vetiver, Ambre Canelle). But when synthetics came along, they didn't reduce prices. Go figure.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the ambergris in Creed is synthetic - there's a strange chemical twanginess to it that isn't apparent in the extensive Milliseme range, but is noticeable in Fleur de The Rose Bulgare. Kind of a metallic sourness that mars that one for me. It actually smells a little like rubbing alcohol. I'm not really sure what real ambergris smells like, but I doubt it smells like that.



...
 
I was reading about this stuff a few months ago, and now all the industry is now provided for the same way it was provided in centuries past: beach combers collect it for sale. Ambergris collected in this manner is harmless to the environment and to the animal. Before whaling the true source of ambergris was unknown, it just washed up on the beach.

Phil
 
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