In the previous article, we explained that amber only appears in perfumes by name. For over two centuries, the idea of the amber accord has dominated perfumery, which has little to do with real amber (or its scent). Does this mean that this fossilized resin, in its natural form, is not suitable for perfumes? Not necessarily.
Although amber seems to be overlooked by perfumers, it does not mean that its scent has gone entirely unnoticed. In ancient times, this fossilized resin was used by the Greeks and Romans to incense homes and temples. This is the first valuable clue—while amber in its raw form does not have a scent, it releases one under the influence of heat and burning. However, Baltic amber, especially succinite, requires very high temperatures for this process. Therefore, obtaining a perfumery raw material from it is not an easy task.
OIL OF BALTIC AMBER
Amber has also been used for centuries in traditional pharmacy. One of the popular remedies derived from it is the so-called amber oil. What is that exactly? It is produced through anaerobic, controlled burning (known as dry distillation). This process yields several raw materials from amber: rosin, succinic acid, and amber oil.
Today, only a few facilities still produce amber oil through dry distillation. Setting aside its purported medicinal properties, it must be admitted that amber oil has an incredibly intense scent. However, it is not the most pleasant. The almost black liquid is extremely smoky and biting to the nose. It smells of greases, kerosene, and resembles the scent of birch tar or juniper tar. It is hard to imagine it being suitable as a perfume ingredient in this form.
However, archival photos and records show that in the 20th century, some producers of plant oils and extracts attempted to include such oil in their offerings to perfumers. To enhance its scent, they subjected it to rectification, which is the process of purifying it from certain odor compounds. Today, it’s difficult to find such a product on the market, so I decided to undertake the rectification of amber oil myself.

Through multiple distillations in a rectification column, I managed to obtain a fraction that was far removed from the original oil in both scent and appearance! The nearly black liquid transformed into a pale yellow, almost transparent fluid with a thin consistency. The most smoky and biting aspects of the scent disappeared. In their place emerged a fresh, expansive, yet piercing and very intense, dark greenness. Industrial aspects remained, evoking the scent of gasoline or fuel oil, but it became much more “perfumery” and refined. With the right formulation and in small concentrations, notes of pine needles and violet leaf began to emerge.
Encouraged by these results, I began to explore whether there was anything else that could be derived from amber.
ARTIFICIAL MUSK FROM THE AMBER
Natural animal musk has always been highly valued by perfumers. Perfumes that used it were considered the most precious and high-quality. Due to the enormous demand, it was not easily available even in the 18th and 19th centuries, and its prices were often exorbitant. This led to various attempts to counterfeit it and to search for substitutes.
At that time, a chemist named Marggraf was working in Germany. Among his numerous achievements, we can especially thank him today for inexpensive, widely available sugar. He was the one who came up with the idea to extract it from beets.
Marggraf also experimented with amber. In one of his works (Chymischer Schriften, 1768), he described a method of combining amber oil (yes, the same one from the first part of the article) with nitric acid. As a result, a substance was produced that bore no resemblance to the original oil. Instead, it had a distinctly animalic scent, earning it the name Moschus artificialis —or in English, “artificial musk”.
Marggraf himself did not utilize his discovery (just as he did not profit from his sugar idea), but other chemists followed up on the concept, and it is said that a lot of this artificial musk was exported to Poland. This was essentially the first documented attempt to use and introduce a musk substitute into the perfume market, occurring long before the invention of Baur’s musk, which officially began the era of synthetic musks in perfumery.
Based on this forgotten recipe, I recreated Marggraf’s amber musk. The result turned out to be better than expected!
The result was orange-brown, waxy chunks that dissolve perfectly in alcohol. The scent is incredible! It indeed has something animalic about it. Although it doesn’t smell exactly like natural musk, the animalic aspect is very pronounced. Additionally, it has many other facets—tart and fruity (reminiscent of blackberry), fluffy, soft, and sweet. You can even sense aldehydic nuances! Amber musk also shares a very valuable property with natural musk: it superbly fixates and binds the fragrance composition.
EXTRACT OF BALTIC AMBER
At the same time, I also tried to obtain the scent of amber without relying on amber oil. I aimed for the fragrance of the resin without having to burn it.
In perfumery, resinoids are typically obtained from resins by dissolving them in organic solvents. However, amber presents a more challenging case. This fossilized resin is millions of years old, resulting in its polymerization. Consequently, it retains far fewer fragrance compounds than fresh resin and is also difficult to dissolve.

I looked for ways to dissolve amber in order to extract as broad a range of its remaining fragrance compounds as possible, while avoiding polymers that do not have aromatic properties and would make the extract difficult to apply, leaving a varnish-like residue on the skin.
I finally managed to select the right solvents and extraction parameters to obtain an amber extract. It resembles amber oil in color but presents a completely different scent profile. The aroma is distinctly balsamic and warm, somewhat reminiscent of labdanum (rockrose) resin, yet it also shares some similarities with turpentine. This is not surprising, as turpentine is indeed derived from pine resin.
Despite its very intriguing scent profile, this extract has a significant drawback—it is unstable. It contains mostly very volatile fragrance compounds and, unlike most resins, it does not serve as an excellent fixative for perfumes.
However, it doesn’t have to be a problem if we accept this fact and come to terms with the unique charm of natural amber extract. While it may not be a foundational, long-lasting ingredient, it is intriguing enough to be used effectively in creating the opening of a fragrance composition.
It turns out that Baltic amber is far more versatile in terms of fragrance than one might expect. From the same resin, three distinct raw materials have been derived, each with a completely different scent profile and properties. It is quite astonishing that with such potential, amber has never truly found its place in perfumery in its natural form.
But this is not the end of my experiments with amber, as my search has led me even further. Stay tuned for the next article…