Iranian Galbanum

[Dark Alice]

IRANIAN GALBANUM
Iranian Galbanum possesses a complex tart, green, resinous scent that is strangely amorphous and mercurial. There is a balsamic woody tone to it at times, and at others, it appears metallic and aldehydic. Galbanum corresponds to the Fool and the element Air, and embodies the qualities of innocence and surrender. The scent is calming and meditative; the oil can be utilized for self-reflection, initiating new beginnings, and soothing wounded souls.

This is a harsh green, piney, resinous scent. I could smell it all the way from the package. It's like having a pine rubbed in your face with a harsh resin. It is so gross and just blech! I am so glad I got to try it but there is no way I am going to hold onto it.

[joyfulgirl]

whoa, this smells yellow to me. intensely yellow. and yes, very stong. it reminds me of a yellow dandelion torn to shreds. bitter and yellow-green and juicy. on my skin the juiciness of it dies down after a few minutes, but the bitter intenseness remains. whew. also glad i got to try it, but not something i'd ever wear on its own.

Edited November 15, 2012 by joyfulgirl

[fairestrocza]

Iranian Galbanum is fresh and earthy at the same time; very herbal, with a touch of sweetness on the drydown. It reminds me of the scent of grey/green fuzzy stems, crushed underfoot on a hike in the mountains.

 

I don't think I would ever wear this alone, but it is fantastic for nose-education purposes. I can now sense the role it plays in some of the blends that I like, and I think Galbanum has some definite potential for layering. I find it fascinating that it is present in such divergent scents as Black Tower, Penis Admiration, Staged Moon Landing, and Aperotos Eros. None of those scents have a strong Galbanum presence up front, but I can sense it in the background, and it seems to give each of those blends a little lift. I'm glad I picked up a bottle of this one.

[strahlend]

Wow. This is a crazy scent. It's woody, herbal, green and almost waxy in a way. It manages to seem earthy and airy at the same time.

Very interesting.

I think it would certainly add an interesting dimension to anything it was paired with. Depending on the context it could green up a wood or incense scent, could add an unexpected earthiness to a sweet blend, or add an almost resinous element to something already leaning in that direction. I'm excited to experiment with this one, it seems like a secret ingredient for adding a little twist.

[zankoku_zen]

Herbal piney resin that dries down to a smooth, sandalwood-type powder. It sort of makes me think of cedar at times.

 

Very intense. Woody, sandalwood, powdery.

[jolarocknrolla]

Whoah! Strong green pine, woody and almost piquant ... kind of wonderful for Christmas actually this might be a good oil to dilute and burn as a room scent or to wear VERY SPARINGLY as it has incredible throw.

[sunlitgarden]

Galbanum was not a note I was familiar with, so I went into this with a totally open mind. Unfortunately, I reacted quite badly to it. It's a strong, vegetal smell, that reminded me immediately of a compost heap. Others, who are not as familiar with composting, might not have such a bad reaction, but it smelled like rotting plant matter to me. I am now wondering if this was an ingredient in a few blends that went "composty" and bad on me, and am considering it a death note.

Edited December 2, 2012 by sunlitgarden

[hlinspjalda]

I bought this bottle unsniffed because galbanum is in some of my best loved scents.

 

In the bottle: Not at all what I was expecting, and yet a very familiar note. Green, gummy, stemmy, but also woody. It took me a couple of minutes to place the aspect of it that smelled like food, and then I realized: it also smells like faraway asafoetida, being used maybe in the house next door.

 

Wet: Less woody than in the bottle, and more green, but a great deal more aromatic too. There are some very high notes in this, very heady, almost menthol or camphoric.

 

One hour: Much less high now, more of a slightly tart green resin with one pungent medium-high aspect. The impression of asafoetida has dulled down into a planty kind of scent, more like what I imagine the unrefined sap smells like than like the dried crystals one uses for cooking.

 

Three and a half hours: There's almost an anise-y tinge to it now, a sort of woody spiciness. It's less green and sticky in impression, too, and the hint of asafoetida has long gone.

 

I'm not sure what I'll do with this bottle. It'd be good for educational purposes, but I doubt I'll ever wear it, so I guess sell or swap it. Too bad; I was hoping for it to be that mysterious singing resinous note that loves me so much in The Blasphemare Reliquary. But at least now I understand galbanum a lot better.

[Little Bird]

Bitter, herbal green that reminds me slightly of Pine-Sol. As it dries down, it has more of a dry wood undertone to it. It's very heavy and lasts a long time on me (even with the small amount I tested), but I don't like the sharp & bitter qualities to it. Green, woody and kinda earthy smelling...

[mymymai]

ITI: Sharp, green, acerbic newly cut saplings and crushed insects. I do not like this at all based on the imp scent.

 

Wet: Ok, it's still green and bitter, but I get something more resinous on my skin and something just a touch powdery. The green is now a crushed grass with dandelion stems. The resinous quality keeps developing to the extent that it rivals the intensity of the green, but does not overpower it.

 

Dry: It's back to acerbic and green, but still resinous. It's taken on a slightly smoky and woodsy quality, but not enough to make me want to get anything more than the sniffie I have.

[milo]

Wet, bitter, scorched herbs. It smells like I forgot that I was cooking and left the herbs on high. After a bit, still planty, kind of bitter. Fades fast into a baked plants, less herbal, like baked weeds, or grass. I knew this wouldn't be my thing, but I want to try all the single notes and for their properties related to the description. I honestly can't imagine this as something anyone would wear as a perfume, but it certainly isn't like anything I've smelled before, and interesting in it's own right.

[Aveya]

Sniff: Dirt! Fresh twiggy half wild soil.

Skin: Gets greener. Still has a dirty bite to it, something similar to patchouli in the DIRT note. But much brighter and higher than patchouli. Very green, mushroomy, and dirty.

 

Dry: It loses the green element and turns more towards rotting wood. It's strangely pleasing to me though. Like hiking after a rain - where fallen trees are falling apart at the touch but there's still this element of life. Strong "mushroom" vibe still. I could see how this would be an interesting element in a blend. I've seen this pop up in scent descriptions before but I never knew what it was. 

 

Amusingly I'm testing Indonesian clove on my other hand - and the two smells FANTASTIC together. Like, omg amazing. So fun story there. While I don't like this scent on it's own, I am 100% open to this in other blends now.

 

Verdict: Mushroom's wearing sandalwood.