Guerlain Myrrhe & Delires


The smell of myrrh is plangent, melancholic, secretive. My touchstone myrrh perfume is Diptyque L'Eau Trois, which highlights the resin's herby aromatics. But most myrrh fragrances tend to be root beer float-sweet, a frothy sort of licorice milk. I'm thinking of Huitième Art Myrrhiad and Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente here. Mellower is the moreish Christian Dior Bois d'Argent, and weirder is Serge Lutens La Myrrhe with its airy aldehydes.

Myrrhe & Delires by Guerlain hoes another row altogether, dispensing with the bubbles and ice cream. Here, secretive myrrh is gently coaxed into sociability with pale licorice and violet offering moral support. A pastel bouquet of peachy rose and jasmine lends the myrrh a sentimental side, and soft-focus vanilla and sueded woods provide a discrete plinth.

This Thierry Wasser creation is wistful and feminine. The orchestration swirling around myrrh's minor chord is delicate and uplifting, the contrast serving to highlight the resin's jolie-laide appeal while also complimenting it. Myrrhe & Delires is subtle subtle subtle -- a tender petal of a perfume.


Photo of Mabel Normand

9 comments:

  1. Katie, this sound exciting. You know how I like me a bit of myrrh now and again, Bois d'Argent still holding its position as my all-time-favorite to wear. Your decription intrigues me. 'Wistful and feminine'...these words are whirling up a dozen pre-Raphealite concoctions in my head based on scent memories.

    Its name, Myrrhe & Delires is pretty great as well.

    While on the topic of myrrh, have you sniffed 450 by Farmacia SS Annunziata? No one told me that it would be all about iris and myrrh! What a pleasant surprise.

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    1. I do know about you and myrrh, and you smell gorgeous in Bois d'Argent. And now you're telling me about another myrrh/iris?! I'm going on the hunt for it.

      BTW, I just "visited" you in the form of your sculpture in St. Giles. I always say hello to you when I pass it.

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  2. "Wistful and feminine" and "subtle subtle subtle" are calling my name all right. I am a big Bois d'Argent fan as it happens, and look forward to trying this one, licorice note notwithstanding.

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    1. This one goes on your "to sniff" list for sure, Vanessa.

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  3. Katie Pucoriquena -

    This sounds interesting to sniff, but not something I would wear. I lovers me the mysterious, non-sweet Myrrhvana, but this may not be what gets me there.

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  4. This may be a tad too dainty-lady for you.

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  5. That's my new disco single: "Stefush (Too Dainty-Lady For U)"

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  6. Myrrhe & Delires was a surprise for me: it's much more subtle than any other perfume in the line and I fell in love with it. Not a FBW love but a decant has recently joined my collection. I think you described it perfectly (and I think Vanessa will like it).

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    1. It has an old-fashioned air about it without smelling like a total throwback.

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