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Friday, February 13, 2009

Mirra & Mirra by J & E Atkinsons: Perfume Review


And my hands dripped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh
Song of Songs 5:5


Myrrh is a complex smell, and it is hard for me to find a myrrh-centered fragrance that I could fully love, because some of the facets of the note I don't enjoy at all and some I absolutely adore. For example, although I typically like earthy scents, myrrh's particular brand of mushroomy earthiness makes me uncomfortable. As does its medicinal quality. And I especially don't appreciate the almondy undertone the note sometimes manifests. Basically, for me to like a myrrh fragrance, it either has to have a very strong frankincense note as well, which would emphasize the delightfully resinous side of myrrh and cover up the sides I don't like, or focus on the vanillic sweetness of myrrh.

The latter is done less often, and perhaps that is why I am particularly drawn to such fragrances. Mirra & Mirra is exactly such honeyed myrrh perfume. It smells sweet and thick, and although the fragrance is alcohol-based and has a regular sort of consistence, one can't help but expect it to be gooey and oozing suggestively out of some ancient-looking phial. It is a rather straightforward scent, in which under a layer of vanilla, a certain sweet spice and maybe even over-ripe fruits (?), one intuits rather than truly smells another, darker, drier, incense-ier layer. Mirra & Mirra is delectable, sensual and incredibly addictive.

Newlondonpharmacy.com carries the whole range of Mirra & Mirra products. Share a myrrh bath, anoint each other with myrrh body lotion and celebrate tomorrow a la Solomon and Shulamite. Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

Image, Song of Songs III by Marc Chagall, is from rollins.edu.

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14 Comments:

Blogger Marina said...

:-))) Супер!

9:59 PM EST  
Blogger elle said...

I think BH carried this several centuries ago and I got a sample from them. Loved it. Trying to remember why I didn't purchase it at the time. Budget woes? Probably. Thank God for NLP - they really do carry great stuff. Happy Vday!! :-)

10:32 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
Happy VDay to you too!
New London Pharmacy really does seem to have stuff no one else carries. I just randomly clicked and saw something called Sacred Locks. Would go great with all the myrrh methinks. :-)

10:41 PM EST  
Blogger Flora said...

Sounds like my kinda perfume. I love myrrh! Espcially sweet, "honeyed" myrrh....

11:16 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Donna,
I think you would really like it.

7:19 AM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

sounds so like the perfect down to earth valentine...right here in this late winter of this city, which is more like a lovely June day in, let's say, Kent, he is wearing L'Eau d'Ambre Extreme and I am clad in something I received as a present and feel awful in, although he seems to love it...Dama by Laura Tonatto, a fragrance that is 'fine', but lacking in depth, complexity and the right kind of intellectual space, for me. Can I buy Mirra & Mirra online from outside the US?

8:12 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

EEM,
Is Dama a violet scent? Or a rose one?
I am sorry, I am not sure if you can buy Mirra & Mirra from aboard.

4:10 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Willie Wonka,
Maybe someone should :-) Unless it is something political, which I suspect it is :-)

4:12 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mmmm..sounds yum!!

Happy Vday!

7:05 PM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

Dear Colombina (Marina), whether rose or violet, I feel there is a bit of trouble between me and Laura Tonatto. There is a loveliness to the fragrance, which I attribute to rose and oppoponax, and a pungent joy, which, probably stems from the violet. An unsurprising vanilla makes the whole into a sweet, but, not as Plaisir for it doesn't circumscribe itself into an edible connotation. There is a Tocade genteel acquiesence in the opening stage, and a bit of laughter in the middle. I guess what I don't like about Dama or any other Laura Tonatto up till no, is the journey, the very short olfactory journey. You, my private Theophrastos, explain to me what is reluctance I feel even when sniffing obviously good stuff such as Plaisir.

7:02 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Lavanya,
Thank you, to you too!

8:05 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

EEM,
Perhaps Plaisir and others are too simple for you. You are looking for more layers, for more facets, for subtext, you want to read between the lines :-) Which I completely understand.

8:07 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

J&E Atkinsons have now stopped producing the Mirra & Mirra range. MadMolly.co.uk has taken on all remaining stock, so if you need any they have it - fragrance, body lotion, shower cream, bath tablets, bath cream and deodorant. Hope that helps

3:19 PM EST  
Anonymous I-Coloniali said...

This is a lovely gently smoky amber with a hint of a Guerlain Elixir Charnel impression--opens fresh with a vanillic undertone that is warm and serious, not too sweet, not confectionary at all. The usual amber accord unfolds with sweet resins and incense over a bit of a more strong-willed wood-note.

Andrea

10:09 PM EDT  

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