Study #23
Miller et Bertaux (2016)

A coriander fizz, cola pop, crushed myrtle leaves, the opening of No. 23 Newsletter is the headline: "Incense for Artsy Tree Huggers." Why, that's me! Mmm, myrrh, lots of it, tacky and dark, bittersweet as the aldehydes settle, the crunch of fennel seeds, that burst, it smells vibrant yet cool. There is zero citrus here but a huge slug of tawny cedar brimming from under the effervescence.

Going from fizzy and crunchy to slightly smoldering and will-o'-the-wisp glow, it feels like a dusty, tiny abandoned church in the pines and I've lit some sandalwood incense from within, heeding to Smokey the Bear, safety first, and saluting to the majesty of the decay. Shards of stained glass remain, illuminated from the filtered light that enters, and I think to myself, there is no other place I want to be, but here, right now.

I got the helichrysum with its slightly burnt aspect and also a waxy woody aspect like aldehyde MNA. That's an objective impression unbiased by the blurb which is always more meaningful. So then looking at the ingredients declared, there is some correspondence. Nice fragrance.