Ambergris by Alyssa Ashley c1973

The perfume was launched in 1975 under the Houbigant Parquet division of perfumes.

 "Gift of the sea. A clean, forceful scent throbbing with unexplored depths..."

Fragrance Composition:

I was very happy to receive a small sample of this rare cult favorite perfume. At first sniff, it was sharp, almost medicinal and with an aromatic citrus scent, maybe bergamot, also detected what I think is either vetiver or clary sage, white musks, ambergris. Then a hauntingly sweet, warm, and compelling familiar scent. Smells a lot like Johnson’s Baby Shampoo to me in the dry down. Houbigant Musk Oil (under the division of Alyssa Ashley) is a wonderful floral musk that is the ultimate skin scent. Just a little dab will do.

I have since read 4 different perfume reviews that Houbigant Ambergris became Monsieur Musk, which was originally by Houbigant, but last produced by Dana. Unfortunately, the truth is, they are two different fragrances.

Alyssa Ashley was bought out by Houbigant once upon a time, in case you were not aware of it. Alyssa Ashley and/or Houbigant Musk, Ambergris, and Civet were the same products as I understand it.

Both the Civet and Ambergris spray mists say "Houbigant" on the front of the bottles, but if you turn the bottles around they say "Alyssa Ashley Inc. Div. Houbigant Inc. New York, N.Y. 10019 written length wise on the back. These were the black aerosol bottles with silver caps with the eye logo for the Civet and the wave logo for the Ambergris (which also looks like it could be the fins of a whale breaking the ocean's surface).

Fate of the Fragrance:

It was discontinued sometime in the 1980s. It was still being sold in 1986.

In 2011, the Alyssa Ashley brand released a new fragrance, Ambre Gris in association with the Perris Group.

• Top notes: bergamot, pink pepper, lemon
• Middle notes: jasmine, rose
• Base notes: amber, labdanum, sandalwood, vanilla