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Myrrh

post #1 of 18
7/4/09 at 12:04pm
Thread Starter 
Compiled from the Note Identification Project thread:

Myrrh, India, Soma Luna, tinctured Nutty, woody, with a strange latex undertone.

Myrrh tincture: warm woody resin

Myrrh - Definitely the best myrrh sample I have smelled. Perfect "latex" note on top of a sweet, nutiness. My own homemade myrrh resin did not tincture up as nicely as this. Anone who wants to know, difinitively, what myrrh smells like, this is it.

Myrrh, natural crystals, origin Somalia, tinctured in ethanol, ratio approx. 1:1 in volume. These crystals were another story - much harder to crush and didn't dissolve well. In fact, there is still quite an amount of "sand" in my tincture. Almost unscented in its un-tinctured state, myrrh was a great satisfaction . It reflects what I identified as the myrrh note in perfumes. Moist, earthy, almost leathery, with just the tiniest spicy aspect, but also luminous and golden. As I always stated, it reminds me of freshly picked and sliced mushrooms. After having experienced the real thing, I can say that the best and truest myrrh note I have smelled is in Serge Lutens La Myrrhe.
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post #2 of 18
10/18/09 at 8:47pm
Thread Starter 
Myrrh is a resin, and the three forms I have encountered are resin tears, tincture and essential oil, which I think was resin in a solvent. I have never heard of myrrh absolute, but that doesn't mean it won't exist somewhere in the world.

Other than that, I'm not certain what you mean by "other" myrrh. Can you be more specific?
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post #3 of 18
1/13/11 at 4:45pm
really want to like mhyrrh, but i find it so medicinal, I haven't learnt how to use it yet, so i will diulte it down and experiment
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post #4 of 18
5/7/11 at 7:46am
Myrrh extrait, Essentially Me: Not particularly sweet but leathery and dry instead, largely dominated by an unbecoming latex-like aroma.
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post #5 of 18
2/27/12 at 9:36pm
could someone please describe the smell of myrrh to me? thanks
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post #6 of 18
2/27/12 at 9:41pm
This short thread might be a good place to start: Myrrh.
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post #7 of 18
2/27/12 at 9:47pm
Myrrh smells like itself.

I could describe it - dusty, medicinal, resinous, slightly bitter, dark, sharp, astringent, cooling - but really, myrrh smells like itself. The two best ways of experiencing it are:

1. Get some raw myrrh resin and burn some.

2. Find some myrrh essential oil and smell it.

Both aren't too uncommon. The resin is smokier but sweeter; the essential oil more medicinal and slightly ''rubbery".
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post #8 of 18
2/27/12 at 9:58pm
A little bit sweet, resinous, gummy, and almost but not quite edible smelling.
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post #9 of 18
2/27/12 at 10:24pm
violin and bow rosin
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post #10 of 18
2/27/12 at 10:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugandaraja View Post

Myrrh smells like itself.

I could describe it - dusty, medicinal, resinous, slightly bitter, dark, sharp, astringent, cooling - but really, myrrh smells like itself. The two best ways of experiencing it are:

1. Get some raw myrrh resin and burn some.

2. Find some myrrh essential oil and smell it.

Both aren't too uncommon. The resin is smokier but sweeter; the essential oil more medicinal and slightly ''rubbery".

It's a very resinous scent, but hard to describe if you don't know resin. I find it a clean scent. (Myrrh was used as a mouth disinfectant and you can still buy myrrh toothpaste in some health food stores.)

I also recommend burning some on charcoal and smelling the oil.
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post #11 of 18
2/27/12 at 10:38pm
To me, myrrh smells like a blend of sweet amber and pine sap. It's a base note, and I find it works well in fragrances that have coniferous wood smells in the top and middle notes (e.g., cypress, pine, fir, etc.), because it has the effect of sustaining those wonderful coniferous smells well into the drydown.
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post #12 of 18
2/28/12 at 1:06am
Astringent. Sharp. Medicinal. Superficial but commanding.

Its not very deep and inflated like some other resins.
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post #13 of 18
2/28/12 at 1:14am
somewhere between blue and indigo ...

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post #14 of 18
2/28/12 at 5:40am
Sharp, medicinal, and pungent.
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post #15 of 18
2/28/12 at 6:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugandaraja View Post

Myrrh smells like itself.

I could describe it - dusty, medicinal, resinous, slightly bitter, dark, sharp, astringent, cooling - but really, myrrh smells like itself. The two best ways of experiencing it are:

Medicinal, resinous, slightly bitter, dark, sharp, astringent are all words I would use to describe myrrh as well.

One exercise I would recommend is smelling myrrh and opoponax side by side. One readily discerns why opoponax is sometimes called sweet myrrh.
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post #16 of 18
2/28/12 at 3:15pm
To me myrrh has always smelled like sharp, dry, resinous anise.
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post #17 of 18
10/21/12 at 10:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentsitivity View Post

Medicinal, resinous, slightly bitter, dark, sharp, astringent are all words I would use to describe myrrh as well.

One exercise I would recommend is smelling myrrh and opoponax side by side. One readily discerns why opoponax is sometimes called sweet myrrh.

this was so helpful!! i was just smelling Opium, and was thinking how to differentiate opoponax from myrhh
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post #18 of 18
3/13/13 at 5:36am
La Myrrh from SL does not smell sharp at all, nor bitter, its so nice sweet beautiful sandalwood note, its probably a take on the note from artistic point of view, and i love it very much.

and myrrh in Amouage Gold w smells exactly as described above, sharp, dark, medicinal....not so much resinous..synthetic, but hard to make distinction among other synthetic notes there who add to sharpnes, and bitternes, like civet
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