Warmth and sensuality, why are we so seduced by amber perfumes?

What is it about oriental perfumes that we like more and more? The amber current (oriental) is gaining prominence among the novelties arriving in perfumery and is even opening the way for Arab niche firms and giving a second golden age to perfumery classics such as Shalimar, whose creation is inspired by the beautiful love story that led to the building of the Taj Majal. Today we invite you to discover the secrets of fragrances that evoke the most precious essences of the Middle East.

Warm, enveloping notes such as vanilla, incense, patchouli and benzoin leave a sensual halo for hours on the skin, making us feel comforted and even more attractive. It's the power of raw materials from the Orient.


In addition to the ingredients, amber or oriental fragrances are characterised by their potency and duration. Perfumers explain that a typical Western fragrance usually has a concentration of 12-15 %, while a Middle Eastern fragrance usually has a 20 % concentration.


As for the duration, to give you an idea, perfumers leave their fragrance tests on a mouillette and it should last up to a week on the blotter!

Created in 1921, Shalimar was not presented in society until 1925, on the occasion of the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Modern Industry, where it won a prize for its bottle design. This perfume is considered to be the first genuine oriental perfume and is inspired by the love story that led to the construction of the Taj Majal - the name of the perfume means "temple of love" in Sanskrit. It is a fragrance that expresses a fascination with the Orient.


The bottle, produced by Baccarat, is a design by Raymond Guerlain and reproduces the Mughal gardens, and the juice is the work of Jacques Guerlain, which Thierry Wasser, the current nose of the maison, has kept to this day.


"Shalimar's fresh and delicious burst becomes a sensual mist as the powdery, vanilla notes emerge from its sweet and sensual base", Jacques Guerlain, Guerlain's perfumer and nephew of the maison's founder.


Sensual and with a forbidden touch, Shalimar combines flowers with a sparkling hint of bergamot, balsamic notes of vanilla, tonka bean and the unmistakable Guerlinade, Guerlain's olfactory hallmark.

When Yves Saint Laurent created Opium in 1977, he did not know the impact the perfume's launch would cause - the name of the perfume alone caused a stir when it was linked to drug use. The guideline he gave perfumers Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac in approaching its composition was that it had to be a scent "that could be worn by an empress of China". The result was an oriental, intense and sensual fragrance.


The perfume we enjoy today is a reformulation launched in 2009 that has kept the intoxicating imprint of the original with a fresh top note marked by mandarin and bergamot, followed by lily, jasmine, carnation, patchouli, amber, opoponax and vanilla.

Edouard Flechier is the mastermind behind Poison (1985), a fragrance that gave birth to a whole saga of amber perfumes at Dior. Captivating and provocative, it explores the wildest facet of seduction. It is the opposite of romanticism. Breaking. Intoxicating (it was even banned in some New York restaurants because of its intensity). It was a turning point in modern perfumery and a turning point for women's fragrance trends at the time.


The alchemy of the perfume combines spices, flowers, amber notes, honey accords, opoponax and musk. Its bottle, shaped like an amethyst-coloured apple, stands as an invitation to sin.

Heir to a previous collection for the Middle East (Arabian Nights), Nightology was created in 2021 to appeal to the Middle Eastern public, but has become a benchmark collection of amber perfumes in both the East and the West.


Based on an olfactory constellation, five perfumes make up the Nightology universe, all made with the highest quality raw materials and with an exceptional fixation that has made the brand number one at Debenhams and in Switzerland.


Vivid Velvet, Suede Breeze, Intimate Elixir, Wild Temptation and Exquisite Lily offer an intense and penetrating olfactory experience in which flowers, woods and spices combine to create an "oriental explosion of sensuality", in the words of perfumer Emilie Bouge, author of two of the fragrances (Vivid Velvet and Exquisite Lily).

Amber fragrances are commonplace at Penhaligon's, which has explored them in depth through the Trade Routes collection, which allows us to travel through smell to the Far East. This line of fragrances develops an olfactory history through the ingredients that arrived in London at the end of the 19th century from the Middle East. The perfume Lothair recreates the fragrances that could be felt on the Tea Clipper ships, which sailed loaded with exotic raw materials to British shores. Empressa is inspired by the silks that arrived in London to dress the powerful women of the 19th century. And Levantium combines rum, flowers and spices.


The brand's latest novelty, The Omniscient Mr Thompson, Penhaligon's (Portraits collection), reveals itself as a captivating scent infused with soft spices. Powdery orris, sesame milk and sweet vanilla unfold in a trail as addictive as it is sensual.

Oman's past in perfume culture is in the DNA of Amouage, a niche brand founded in 1983, which was born out of the love of the Sultan who wished to restore the art of Arabian perfumery. Since then, the brand has created exquisite fragrances in keeping with its name, "amwaj", Arabic for "waves", and "amour", French for "love", meaning "waves of emotion".


Renaissance opens an olfactory chapter that takes us on a journey through the Sultanate of Oman through four fragrances that establish links between nature and the emotions aroused by its contemplation: Crimson Rocks (Domitille Michalon-Bertie, Ashore (Mackenzie Reilly), Meander (Mackenzie Reilly) and Enclave (Julie Rasquinet).

An overdose of woods with spicy and ambery notes. Wonderwood is a display of excess, disturbing and luxurious.


Addictive, this perfume reveals itself as a warm fragrance that unfurls notes of green mandarin, neroli and thyme that give way to a surprising note of mint and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, ending with sandalwood, cashmere, amber, incense and oud.

The name of this perfume, Volcano, leaves no doubt about its power… Bulgarian rose, Indonesian nutmeg, red ginger, patchouli, incense, cistus, benzoin and Agarwood evoke the power of nature.