a gallery of resins

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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.

File:Myrrh.JPG

found in Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia

100g of Myrrh resin from the Dhofar region of Oman, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

FRANKINCENSE/OLIBANUM

File:Oman Dhofar Frankincense.jpg

Frankincense trees

taken by Eckhard Pecher

File:Bag of frankincense at Dubai spice souk.jpg

Found in Oman, Yemen, and Somalia,

Bag of frankincense at Dubai spice souk, taken by Liz Lawley.

LABDANUM

File:Cistus ladanifer f.JPG

rockrose, or Cistus ladanifer, courtesy Wikimedia Commons

IncenseWikiVers

found in the Mediterranean, generally.

image from incense wiki, uploaded by en:User:Sjschen,

PERU BALSAM, ALSO KNOWN AS TOLU

File:Koeh-140.jpg

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

File:Treesmed.gif

amber, found all over

from http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/na/treeslrg.gif

 

GUM BENZOIN

File:Koeh-133.jpg

Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen

Comments

  1. MichaelAugust 11, 2010 at 11:24 AM

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EllenAugust 11, 2010 at 11:52 AM

    Michael, 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

    ReplyDelete
  3. hotlanta lindaAugust 11, 2010 at 1:14 PM

    Great scenic tour to help one remember the details of the scent!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tamara*JAugust 11, 2010 at 10:14 PM

    I luuurve all of these scents in my perfumes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. La Bonne VivanteAugust 25, 2010 at 8:03 AM

    thanks for the correction on the amber, Ellen and Michael! As you can see, I do get confused...

    ReplyDelete

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