Opoponax oil

Say ituh-POP-uh-naks oil

Sweet, warm balsamic resin with honeyed, powdery and slightly animal tones.

What it is: Natural oil from distilled gum resin of sweet myrrh (Commiphora guidottii).
Where it comes from: Somalia, Ethiopia
When you smell it: Dry-down: what stays.
What perfumers do with it: Classic oriental ingredient; lends sweet resinous warmth and diffusion to ambers and powdery bases.
Worth knowing: The perfumery name was borrowed from Opopanax, an unrelated parsnip-family plant, a mix-up that has stuck for centuries.
Rules: Limited. IFRA caps opoponax at low levels in finished products.
Also called: Sweet myrrh oil; bisabol myrrh; Commiphora guidottii or erythraea