The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Ambre of the Sea arrived in 2023 from Habibi NY, a brand built around emotional resonance rather than status. The name says everything: this isn't a fragrance about the ocean as concept, it's about what the ocean leaves behind. Salt in your hair. Skin that's cooled then warmed again. Habibi NY tasked Christian Provenzano with translating that liminal moment into scent.
What makes this composition unusual is the ambergris placement. In most marine fragrances, the animalic note is buried, a whisper of civet, a hint of castoreum. Here, ambergris arrives early and stays late, threading through the heart and settling into the drydown alongside sandalwood and musk. It doesn't smell like the beach. It smells like warmth on wet skin, the thing the beach actually does, not just the idea of it. The licorice adds an unexpected dimension: a faint medicinal sweetness that bridges the cool violet and the warm plum.
The evolution
The opening hits clean. Bergamot, sea salt, a sharp hit of violet, that immediate freshness that makes you lean in and check your wrist. Forty minutes in, the marine note softens. Licorice emerges, faint and anise-forward, not medicinal but present, the fragrance making a decision. The rose and plum arrive quietly, not floral in the traditional sense but more like the memory of sweetness. By hour two, ambergris has taken over. It starts close to the skin, then spreads, a warm, animalic hum that smells like skin, not perfume. The drydown holds for hours: musk, patchouli, sandalwood, all pressed together. What stays longest is the ambergris. Even the next morning, there's a faint salt-warmth on fabric.
Cultural impact
Habibi NY's Ambre of the Sea entered the market at a moment when gender-neutral perfumery was shifting from niche experiment to industry standard. Rather than positioning marine fragrances as purely summery or aquatic, the 2023 release threaded ambergris through its structure in a way that expanded what the aquatic category could be. The Reserve Collection signaled Habibi NY's ambition to move beyond their established aesthetic, and Ambre of the Sea served as the statement piece. The inclusion of ambergris, an ingredient with deep historical ties to perfumery but fraught with sustainability concerns, added cultural weight.



















