What Does Myrrh Smell Like? Perfume Ingredient Guide

What does myrrh smell like in perfume? Myrrh smells bittersweet, balsamic and warm, with an earthy, slightly medicinal edge. It adds an ancient, mysterious depth to a fragrance.

Botanical name	Commiphora myrrha
Plant part	Gum resin from the bark
Origin	Somalia, Ethiopia and Arabia
Extraction	Resinoid and steam distillation
Note	Base
Scent family	Woods & Resins
Odour	Bittersweet, balsamic and warm, with a medicinal, mushroom-like edge
Perfume uses	Ambers, incense and woody blends
Key molecules	Furanoeudesma-1,3-diene, curzerene, lindestrene
Odour impact	Medium
Odour life on a strip	Very long: lasts for days
Found in	Bebop Allure, Lantern Reed, Lissom Linden, Pizzicato Bliss, Rose Rondeaux, Santal Foy, Whistle Moon

Used within IFRA limits. Impact and odour life are our own studio guide, judged on a smelling strip.

What Is Myrrh?

Myrrh is a resin that seeps from cuts in the bark of Commiphora myrrha, a thorny tree of the Horn of Africa and Arabia. The resin hardens into reddish tears, which are distilled or extracted for perfume.

What Does Myrrh Smell Like?

Here is how strongly each facet of myrrh comes through, from our own smelling-strip notes.

How Perfumers Use Myrrh

Perfumers use myrrh to add depth, warmth and longevity. It pairs well with frankincense, rose, vanilla and woods, and is a classic in incense and amber blends.

One of the oldest perfumes

Myrrh was burned in temples, used in embalming and famously given as a gift to the infant Jesus. It has been traded for over five thousand years.

Smell Myrrh in Prosody London Perfumes

For myrrh at its most expressive, try Whistle Moon. Myrrh deepens the base with oakmoss, adding warmth beneath neroli and cinnamon. You will also find myrrh in Bebop Allure, Lantern Reed, Lissom Linden, Pizzicato Bliss, Rose Rondeaux and Santal Foy.