Annette Neuffer
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Petitgrain and bergamot crackle sharply against black pepper and cardamom, creating an almost peppery-citrus friction that feels deliberately challenging rather than fresh. The ginger and saffron add a subtle medicinal warmth, grounding what might otherwise feel like a generic spice accord into something with real architectural intention.
The myrrh emerges like smoke slowly filling a room, its resinous sweetness absorbing the rose trio into a unified, slightly powdery floral mass that never reads as conventionally pretty. Frankincense and elemi resin layer in, whilst tuberose and jasmine add an animalic depth, transforming the composition into something that smells like preserved botanicals in a Renaissance apothecary.
Beeswax and benzoin create a soft amber warmth that never feels gourmand, whilst sandalwood and labdanum build a creamy, resinous base that allows the myrrh to resurface with renewed prominence. Vanilla and opoponax add subtle sweetness, but the fragrance remains decidedly woody and incense-forward until its fade.
Avicenna Myrrha Mystica is a fragrance that refuses to whisper. It announces itself with the crackling intensity of a spice merchant's stall—petitgrain and bergamot ignite immediately, but they're deliberately roughened by ginger and black pepper, establishing a restless, almost abrasive opening that signals this won't be a comfortable skin scent. What's remarkable is how Neuffer orchestrates the transition from this peppery burst into the heart's dense floral-resinous mass. The Somalian myrrh acts as the composition's anchor, its smoky-sweet fatness absorbing the three-rose combination (Bulgarian, Moroccan, Persian) and preventing them from cloying; instead, they read as aged, slightly candied florals seen through a veil of temple incense. The frankincense and elemi resin layer underneath, creating that characteristic olfactory architecture of ancient apothecaries—all precious gums and hardened resins that smell simultaneously medicinal and luxurious. Tuberose and jasmine push toward animalic territory rather than prettiness, their indolic edges sharpened by the composition's refusal to soften.
This is a scent for those who approach fragrance as intellectual exploration rather than olfactory comfort. It's intellectual without being cold, layered without becoming muddled. The wearer is someone drawn to minimalist aesthetics and medieval herbalism; someone equally at home in a library corner or trailing myrrh smoke through candlelit rooms. It suits autumnal contemplation and winter's austerity far more than it does casual spring afternoons.
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3.9/5 (80)