Opoponax

What it brings

A velvety resinous softness that rounds out incense and prolongs amber.

Origins and uses

Opoponax, or opopanax, is a gum resin drawn from shrubs of the genus Commiphora, in the same genus as the myrrh tree, which grow in the hot regions of East Africa, mainly Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is also called bisabol. Burnt, it has long been used as incense, and according to Pliny the Elder it was already part of an ancient perfume, the "royal perfume", since recreated by the Osmothèque in Versailles.

Its smell is balsamic, round, soft and velvety, both warm and earthy, with a fruity, herbaceous impression. In perfumery, it is used mainly as a base for amber fragrances, where it blends with tonka bean, benzoin, vanilla or Peru balsam.

In our catalogue, opoponax appears in the heart of Interlude Man by Amouage, with incense and amber, and in the base of Jubilation XXV Man, from the same house, and Fat Electrician by Etat Libre d'Orange, with myrrh and vanilla.