The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
X Twist Myrrh arrived in 2017 as part of Clive Christian's limited edition X line, a series that plays with single-ingredient focus twisted through unexpected companions. The concept is simple on paper: build the composition around myrrh and see what the resin asks for. What followed wasn't a showcase of the note itself, but a conversation between it and the softer materials Clive Christian is known for working with. Satin magnolia, tuberose, jasmine, aniseed, and Peru balsam enter not as a floral bouquet but as texture, as the things that make myrrh feel lived-in rather than museum-precious. Each material brings its own density, its own register, and together they build something that doesn't so much feature myrrh as let it speak in company.
What makes this composition interesting is the tension between myrrh and the white florals at its core. Resins tend to read heavy, almost ecclesiastical, but pairing myrrh with magnolia and tuberose shifts the gravity. Magnolia brings a lustrous, satin-like quality that softens myrrh's edge without dulling it. Tuberose adds a creamy, almost carnal depth. Star anise introduces a cool, licorice-tinged counterpoint that keeps the whole thing from sinking into pure sweetness. And Peru balsam, a close cousin to myrrh in the resin family, anchors the base with a warm, slightly vanillic glow. The result is a chypre-adjacent structure where the resin doesn't dominate. It leads, but it listens.
The evolution
The opening is all myrrh, and there's no negotiating that. It arrives dense, almost smoky, the way church incense lingers in heavy fabric. The resin holds the foreground with quiet authority, its warmth carrying the kind of weight that asks you to slow down rather than rush through. Then something shifts. The aniseed surfaces, cool and faintly licorice-edged, slicing through the resin like a window opened in a warm room. That sharp coolness keeps the composition honest, preventing the warmth from collapsing into something too thick, too opaque. Magnolia and tuberose follow, and they don't sneak in. They arrive fully formed, creamy and white-petaled, softening myrrh's solemnity into something you might actually want on your skin at seven in the evening.
Cultural impact
X Twist Myrrh sits within Clive Christian's limited X line, a series that distills individual ingredients into focused, unconventional territory. The myrrh-centric structure of this particular release makes it a study in how a single resinous material can be reshaped by unexpected company. Rather than leaning on myrrh's solemn, incense-like associations alone, the composition pulls the note toward something more intimate and more wearable, softening its ecclesiastical edge without losing its gravity. The fragrance bridges the ceremonial weight of traditional resin perfumery with a warmth and approachability that invites everyday wearing.
