in the belly of the whale - Escentric's Molecule 02

Molecule 02 is another one of Escentric's single aromachemical fragrances, created by Geza Schoen in what seems to be a fit of "I like this one the best"-ness. Ambroxan (known as 8α,12-Oxido-13,14,15,16-tetranorlabdane by picky chemists), has a very interesting pedigree. The substance was created to be a substitute of ambergris, or whale bile. This particular chemical is synthesized from sclareol¹, which is obtained from the essential oil of Salvia sclarea, or clary sage². Hurrah for vegan sources! The current method of extraction utilizes either gasoline or ethanol as a solvent, though I've read some studies attempting to use funguses, specifically Hyphozyma roseonigra³, to extract it. Even with all that effort, I have a major disconnect trying see this chemical as a substitute for the fragrances touted as amber, but never having smelled the actual substance of ambergris I cannot make any educated commentary as to how close Ambroxan is. It's nice to think of Mr. Jonah living with this for so long, but that could just be me thinking along romantic lines.

As a fragrance, Molecule 02 has the same oddities of Molecule 01, in that from a first-hand experience, it disappears into your skin fairly soon after application. One could blame nose fatigue, but on trials with others, I found that it actually did grow fainter at odd times. I'm not sure what the actual percentage of Ambroxan is in the product; I've heard some nattering about how much people could smell the substance and how much nose fatigue it might or might not cause. I know that given a range of time and body temperature, I could spawn a reliable recurrence of scent. I had to be warm within the first hour; if I was chilly, the scent got flaky on me.

In terms of what the stuff really smells like in this incarnation, Molecule 02 seems to stay in the same vein of scent as Molecule 01, where there's a distinct woodiness to the product and a musky undertone. Molecule 01 is smoother, but I like the more direct, sandalwood-ish nature of Molecule 02, and the nice green vegetal smell underlying it. At this dilution, I can easily detect distinct similarities with another favorite of mine – Mostly Musk. Since MM is discontinued, Molecule 02 is a welcome addition.

I believe I like Molecule 02 better than Molecule 01 for my own sensory purposes, but I'm not sure whether or not it will have the same gorgeous sensual largess for others. Only time will tell.

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1. Ref here
2. Ref here
3. If you look it up online, it's all confusing. It's a yeast found in soil and therefore in worm and insect intestinal tracts. ;)