BON PARFUMEUR
403 – MYRRH SHADOW
2025
PERFUMER
Quentin Bisch
Amelie Jacquin
bitter orange
grapefruit
blackcurrant bud
basil
cinnamon
timut pepper
cypress
cedarwood
akigalawood
patchouli heart
myrrh
benzoin
cosmone
vanilla
‘The scent of a vanilla perfume, as if coming from another time, like something out of a tale of a thousand and one nights. Perfumed emotions, nostalgic scents of the past. The heart is marked, and so is the memory. The depth of woods and spices meets the roundness of balsam resins and vanilla.’ – Bon Parfumeur
It’s hard to follow-up 502 – Iris Cartagena, which was my favorite new release of 2024. 403 – Myrrh Shadow does a commendable job, albeit less exciting to me. I do clearly prefer it over other newcomers from the prior year, 602 – Bois Narcotique Intense & 107 – Nappa Tuberosa. It lacks a wow-factor, but ultimately, it’s up there with the better releases from Bon Parfumeur.
I first smelled 403 – Myrrh Shadow in stores and instantly felt that it was a lighter, more powdery scent than I was expecting from a resinous myrrh with ‘shadow’ as a subtitle and that impressions stands after wearing it. I’m not instantly reminded of myrrh or resins, but much more of powdery vanilla and spices.
Texture wise, it’s a mix of dry airy and an almost fizzy quality from the top notes. You don’t get a strong citrus or fruity scent, but you get the texture. It creates this fizzy vanillic air that instantly reminded me of Zoologist Harvest Mouse or Penhaligon’s The Omniscient Mister Thompson.
As it dries, the more resinous, balmy, smooth side of 403 – Myrrh Shadow reveals itself, but I’d still argue the scent stays more on the generic spicy vanilla side. As per the brand’s description, it finds its ’roundness’, but it’s not as resinous of an overall experience as for example Ormonde Jayne Vanille des Afriques or Gallivant Istanbul, which would have my preference for this style.
That being said, a quality release by Bon Parfumeur, which I think generally speaking have stepped their game up in the past year or two. I don’t get the ‘shadow’ concept, nor the ‘nostalgic scent of the past’ that the brand prescribes, but an adequate, modern, clean take on resinous vanilla.