X Twist Myrrh — Clive Christian, 2017

Anise opens with a cool, liquorice sharpness that reads almost medicinal, the way old apothecary bottles smell when you pull the stopper. It doesn't linger long. Peru balsam takes over in the heart, soft and honeyed, a bridge between the bright top and the ancient base.

Then myrrh. Church resin, dry wood, smoke that never quite burns. It sits close to the skin and stays there, quiet but unmistakable. The whole composition is spare, three notes with nowhere to hide, and that restraint is the point. Nothing competes, nothing decorates. Each note arrives, says what it came to say, and makes room for the next.

A fragrance that trusts its ingredients more than most houses trust an entire palette.