"Music is a calm, moonlit night; it is the rustle of summer leaves; it is the distant sound of bells at dusk. Music comes straight from the heart and speaks only to the heart: it is love!"
This is one of my absolute favorite quotes, spoken by one of my favorite composers, Sergei Rachmaninoff.
You might ask me why I began an article dedicated to perfumes with a quote about music, and here is why.
Music and perfume share so much in common. It begins with musical notes, carefully chosen and placed upon a staff to create a symphony and a musical harmony—and it is exactly the same with perfume notes, meticulously selected to create an olfactory symphony and harmony.
Then we arrive at the emotional experience. Music awakens within us the exact same feeling as a fragrance does. These past few days, while listening to Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, I was suddenly transported back in time to a rainy April day—a day when, right before a concert at the Romanian Athenaeum, I was listening to those specific piano passages.
It was my very first encounter with Rachmaninoff, a deeply moving moment because, after long searches, I had finally found the Russian composer I had always imagined. It wasn't Tchaikovsky, nor Shostakovich... it was Rachmaninoff, a composer I discovered between the lines of a book: Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie.
The music, the scent of rain, the contemplation of nature, and the aroma of a perfume—all gathered into a bouquet of emotions that I can relive all over again, simply by listening to that concerto or catching a breath of that fragrance.
Thus, hearing unites with olfaction, music intertwines with aromas, and a symphony of emotions is created within our souls. It is a harmony and an emotion I recently relived while smelling the latest fragrance launched by Bon Parfumeur: 403 Myrrh Shadow.
What can I put into words, what could I possibly say when everything is poetry?
Cross-rhymes timidly hide within the powdery brushstrokes of an old book—a book of love poems whose author remains forever unknown. It has not lost its worth; having remained hidden within an ancient library, the passing years have not only embellished the poetry within but have also magnified its value.
An old library with a warm-ambery scent of sweet, perhaps slightly weathered wood, yet blessed with a light that falls upon the books just as dew settles on flowers on early spring mornings. A warm, gentle light that heightens the cozy, sweet aroma, as well as the powdery traces of dust settled over the ancient volumes.
A book of love poems whose verses speak of mystery, of the sacredness of love, and of music—verses where you find words steeped in meaning and emotion, where you encounter both the sacred and the profane, both Eros and Agape.
Contrasts, rhymes, music, and dust.
Myrrh Shadow is precisely like the description above—a poem composed of olfactory notes written in verses filled with meaning and warmth.
The fragrance was co-created by one of my favorite perfumers, Quentin Bisch, alongside perfumer Amélie Jacquin. It opens in a sweet, warm, and enveloping manner with luminous notes of bitter orange, blackcurrant leaf, and grapefruit—notes that are quickly hidden within the depth of the heart: basil, Timur pepper, and cinnamon. The base is warm, ambery, and sweetly vanillic, featuring notes of myrrh, vanilla, benzoin resin, patchouli, musk, and cedar.
The perfume balances on the fine line between the sacred and the profane. It possesses a deep, mystical, and spiritual side—myrrh, basil, and benzoin resin compose this trio of sacred inspiration. Yet, on the other hand, the fragrance holds a distinct mystery and dark, obscure brushstrokes, sensual and seductive facets, and an alluring, balsamic magic.
Eros—carnal, sensual love—and Agape—spiritual love—intertwine in Myrrh Shadow with such mysterious depths and mystical intensity that the fragrance becomes a poem dedicated to love in all its forms.
It is a complex, unisex, and exquisitely crafted fragrance that seduces, embraces, and soothes you all at once, like a contrast of lights and shadows written in verses upon olfactory rhymes.
And returning to music, I would associate it with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1—mysterious, mystical, filled with passion and soul, yet also brimming with beauty, warmth, and gentleness. Or perhaps, with a painting by Caravaggio.
I leave you now to imagine it for yourselves and to contemplate the artistic inspiration this fragrance offers you.
If you are curious, you can order both the perfume and samples to test it from their website, www.bonparfumeur.com.
