Myrrh – Bitter and Sweet, Vanilla and Mushroom

Tom Ford Myrrhe Mystère Eau de Parfum

 In the fragrant resin family, myrrh is almost always overshadowed by its famous older brother, frankincense. Often, myrrh goes as if in addition to incense, it is rarely discussed independently, especially in detail. I think that this is completely unfair: from the point of view of both botany and chemistry (the substances that determine the smell and the olfactory profile itself) frankincense and myrrh are quite different.
​
Today one can finally focus entirely and only on this extraordinary plant, the resin that is obtained from this plant, the perfume materials obtained from this resin and the fragrances that contain these materials.

Both frankincense trees of the genus Boswellia (lat. Boswellia) and myrrh (officially - Commiphora myrrh, lat. Commiphora myrrha) belong to the family Burseraceae (lat. Burseraceae). To use the analogy of a large human family, frankincense and myrrh are like cousins. From the Greek, the official name translates approximately as "bringing resin."

Resin (gum-resin, to be more precise) is formed in special cells of the tree bark. Once upon a time, people saw resin oozing from the tree injured by animals chewing on the bark. Then they began to make incisions on the bark of trees and collect harden pieces of its resin. Trees after such a procedure require from 6 months to 2 years to recover, otherwise, especially if there is little rainfall, the tree might wither and die.

The word myrrh comes from ancient Greek (μυρρα, σμυρνα), randomly from Arabic (مر meaning "bitter"). Therefore, sometimes it is also called bitter myrrh, which is to some extent a tautology.
In biblical times, good incense could cost more than gold - so the gifts of the Magi were not at all symbolic. At the same time, myrrh, as a rule, was three times more expensive than incense, although incense has always been much more in demand. Now frankincense resin is produced annually at several hundred tons, myrrh - 4-5 times less: 50 years ago this value was about 70 tons per year.

Myrrh essential oil is obtained by steam distillation. The extraction of essential oil from resins requires some knowledge and skill, so distillation is usually carried out not on the spot, but the resin is taken to a specially equipped production facility.

Myrrh oil is an oily, but not very viscous, pale yellow to pale orange or amber liquid. The smell is warm-spicy, often with a very distinctive, sharply balsamic, slightly medicinal top note, without any terpene notes. The sweetness builds up to a deep, warm-spicy and fragrant dry scent that is completely unique and hard to replicate. Metallic and very characteristic gardenia-mushroom nuances are often noted in the smell of myrrh.

The essential oil cannot boast of any particular persistence. The taste of myrrh oil is warm, somewhat sharp, but very rich and pleasant. Over time, myrrh essential oil thickens, but the smell, as many believe, only gets better.

Myrrh essential oil, as expected, performs well in oriental fragrances, woody-balsamic fragrances and heavy narcotic floral bouquets. But it is also indispensable in realistic woody, "forest" accords, where it works great together with mossy and coniferous notes, petitgrain, juniper berry oil, etc. To a limited extent, myrrh oil is also used in the food industry for flavorings.

Even more popular are the products of myrrh extraction: resinoid and absolute. In the first case, this is a direct extraction of aromatic substances with alcohol (the tincture is then cooled to get rid of heavy ballast substances) or a classic two-stage extraction in the second case. After extraction, the alcohol is removed by distillation under vacuum. At the end of this procedure, a small amount of a low-volatility, odorless, high-boiling solvent is often added, this has two main goals: firstly, the extract does not "burn", and secondly, it remains liquid and is much easier to work with.

Pure absolute is a dark brown soft viscous mass. The smell of the absolute is deep, vanilla-ambery and often phenolic-smoky (somewhat similar to guaiac), balsamic, with the above-mentioned earthy-mushroom (and often lactone-coconut) and licorice-gourmand tones, which are often described as reminiscent of creamy toffee. Myrrh extraction products, due to the content of rather heavy substances, are much more stable and long-lasting than essential oil.

Aromas where myrrh would play a major role or be included in the name may not be so many, but they certainly exist. The profile of myrrh is still quite specific, as they say - for an amateur, but there are definitely such amateurs.

Even if we forget for a moment that the white "candies" of this collection are designed to be layered and combined with other fragrances, Myrrh is quite viable as a standalone fragrance. Jacques Cavalier managed to notice and fix all the important features of the myrrh profile, without overloading or weighing down the composition.
​
Allegra Myrrh stands a little apart from all the amplifying enhancers and varied splendor of the collection: it will take the fragrance into a slightly pensive, detached mood. It is the most philosophical and mystical fragrance of the collection, so if you urgently need to turn a perfume wardrobe of carefree fun into an insidious weapon of femme fatale mystery, then you know what to do.