Cistus Ladanifer is only plant with distinctive amber notes similar to those of ambergris, it is also known as “vegetable ambergris”. Cistus is a source of a range of widely used perfumery materials such as absolutes and essential oils. All the Cistus materials exude gorgeous aroma.

Some of them are more animalic and some are more sweet and velvety ambery, but all of them are resinous, warm, leathery, incense, balsamic, with wine, oak, moss, and wood nuances.

I am so much overwhelmed and hypnotised by exceptional beauty of Labdanum materials that I have devoted one of my new perfumes, Sola Laudanum, to the Spanish Cistus from Almaden de la Plata nature reserve near Seville in Andalusia.