The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Balsamir began with a question the Perris Monte Carlo house had been sitting with for years: what happens when a resin stops being a supporting player and becomes the entire composition? Luca Maffei and Antoine Lie, the two perfumers behind the 2025 Gold Collection release, were tasked with finding out. The brief was simple in wording, complex in execution: take Somalian myrrh and build outward, not downward. No dilution. No softening the edges. The result is a fragrance that does what Perris Monte Carlo does best, takes a single ingredient family and pushes it to its most concentrated, most honest expression.
The choice of Somalian myrrh as the focal point wasn't accidental. Somali myrrh carries a slightly medicinal, almost camphorated quality that distinguishes it from the sweeter, more vanilla-adjacent myrrhs of other origins. Maffei and Lie paired it with pink pepper and mandarin orange to lift that resinous weight, preventing it from becoming heavy or one-dimensional. The heart, opoponax, davana, labdanum, adds a honeyed, herbal complexity that transitions the fragrance from sharp opening to warm, enveloping middle. The base then layers Balsam Fir, Tolu Balsam, Virginia Cedar, and Tonka Bean to extend that warmth for eight to ten hours. It's a structure built for endurance, not just impact.
The evolution
Somalian myrrh opens Balsamir with a sharp, almost antiseptic clarity. The pink pepper arrives within minutes, citrusy and bright against the resin's medicinal edge. The mandarin zest doesn't linger, it flickers and fades, leaving space for the heart to emerge. Opoponax and davana arrive around the thirty-minute mark, softening the composition into something honeyed and herbal. Labdanum adds a sticky, ambery warmth that feels almost waxy. By the second hour, the base notes begin their slow takeover. Balsam Fir and Tolu Balsam arrive together, their coniferous and vanilla-adjacent qualities braiding into the remaining myrrh. Virginia Cedar provides structure, dry, woody, almost pencil-shaving in its clarity. The tonka bean sweetens everything just enough to keep it from turning austere. By hour four, the fragrance has settled into a warm, resinous cocoon that stays close to the skin for another four to six hours. On fabric, it lingers until the next wash.
Cultural impact
Balsamir joins a small but distinguished lineage of resin-focused releases in the niche fragrance world. Since its 2025 debut, it has attracted wearers who seek resinous compositions without the syrupy sweetness of mainstream orientals. The fragrance occupies a specific space, contemplative rather than performative, warm without being heavy, natural-smelling without being boring. Those drawn to it tend to value depth over decoration, seeking a fragrance that feels like an intention rather than an accessory.
