White Whale

“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago […] I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” H. Melville

The creation of the fragrance was a journey in itself. See the process described by Perfumer Christian Alori:
"The starting point, and the centerpiece of the fragrance is ambergris. I had worked on an ambergris accord, using some natural ambergris as a target reference while working in the Paris IFF office. I pulled the accord out from my library and was ready/eager to use it in abundance!
"During our brainstorming, we clearly envisioned rustic and rough woods. Contrary to smooth and polished, this ship was made to take on hardship. The harshest conditions that weather and the ocean can offer. We used cedarwood, cistus labdanum, patchouli, vetiver, cypress and oakmoss.
"We were careful dosing in the salty seawater nuances. Here’s where we probably went through the largest number of reworks and modifications, in order to reach the right balance with the other elements. Black pepper to give a cold, fresh airy feeling, combined and amalgamated so well with the salty water notes.
"Up until here, the fragrance was telling a story of dark and rugged life at sea. We decided to bring some light and warmth into the picture, countering with softness using osmanthus and violet. We wanted to bring that nostalgic and familiar smell of books using orris concrete and olibanum.
"We finalized the pursuit of the mythical white whale with a touch of boozy absinthe for the fellow crewmen before meeting their fate. We used armoise heart."