a gallery of resins
I don’t know about you guys, but I sometimes get confused about the differences between all the different resins out there used in pefumery. So I compiled a gallery, so I could remember a little better….
MYRRH
Somali man collecting myrrh.
from “Beautiful Somalia”, by the Somalia Ministry of Information and National Guidance.
found in Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia
100g of Myrrh resin from the Dhofar region of Oman, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
FRANKINCENSE/OLIBANUM
Frankincense trees
taken by Eckhard Pecher
Found in Oman, Yemen, and Somalia,
Bag of frankincense at Dubai spice souk, taken by Liz Lawley.
LABDANUM
rockrose, or Cistus ladanifer, courtesy Wikimedia Commons
found in the Mediterranean, generally.
image from incense wiki, uploaded by en:User:Sjschen,
PERU BALSAM, ALSO KNOWN AS TOLU
tolu is found in Central and South AMerica.
from Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen.
AMBER
Wood resin, source of amber.
Photo taken by Emmanuel Boutet
amber, found all over
from http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/na/treeslrg.gif
GUM BENZOIN
Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
Nice roundup of some of these resins LBV. I always find them quite mysterious smelling and the history of their use fascinating. A point on amber - I think amber is usually a base accord in perfumery, achieved by combining labdanum and vanillin in particular. I could be wrong but I don't think amber resin itself is used, but was historically traded.
ReplyDeleteMichael, you're quite right about the "amber" note. I posted about the complicated amber issue on my blog a while back. Here's the link: http://perfumenw.blogspot.com/2010/05/amber-and-fossilized-amber.html
ReplyDeleteGreat scenic tour to help one remember the details of the scent!!
ReplyDeleteI luuurve all of these scents in my perfumes!
ReplyDeletethanks for the correction on the amber, Ellen and Michael! As you can see, I do get confused...
ReplyDelete