What does Fir Resin smell like?
You expect a forest and get a jar of jam. Balsam fir absolute smells of cooked blackberry, blackcurrant jelly and fir honey. The conifer side stays in the background like a green shadow. There is a balsamic, gum-like note too. On skin the resin lasts a long time. It gives ambery bases a dark, fruity roundness.
Origin and production
The resin used in perfume comes mainly from balsam fir (Abies balsamea), which grows in Canada and the northeastern United States. It is gathered from small blisters under the bark and solvent-extracted into an absolute. Known as Canada balsam, it was once also used in optics to glue lenses.
How perfumers use it
Fir resin pairs with ambers, saffron and dry woods. It stretches a base and softens it without adding sugar. Baccarat Rouge 540, composed by Francis Kurkdjian in 2015, uses it with saffron and an ambery wood. The Extrait makes it denser. Tom Ford Oud Minérale sets it next to a marine oud. Montblanc Legend Night uses it to darken a fougère.
How to wear it
Fir resin suits autumn and winter. Baccarat Rouge 540 projects hard, so one spray will do. The Extrait lasts even longer, often into the next day.