Opoponax

Opoponax is a novel by Monique Wittig published on September 1, 1964 by Editions de Minuit and awarded the Prix Médicis. It tells the story of a little girl, from kindergarten to the end of her schooling, and displays a narrative mode that blurs the usual markers of the narrator. Nevertheless, it is not precisely this opoponax that is discussed here. Indeed, opoponax is also a natural raw material widely used in perfumery.

What is opoponax?

Opoponax (which can also be spelled oppoponax) is an herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It grows in a tuft on a long stem leading to small white or yellow flowers. It comes from a shrub growing in the Middle East and Africa, mainly in Somalia, Ethiopia or Eritrea. As one might expect, opoponax is a plant that needs a hot climate to develop. However, as strange as it may seem at first, the part that interests perfumers is not its flower but its stem. Indeed, in perfumery, opoponax is famous for the resin derived from this part. Likewise, opoponax is a substance often used as incense and serves in particular to purify and disinfect the air. Moreover, opoponax has stimulating and relaxing properties. In the seventeenth century, physicians were convinced that it aided the healing process and poultices were even prescribed. The remedy was thus administered to Louis XIV when he suffered from a tumor. In perfumery, however, opoponax is instead used in the form of a balm.

The use of opoponax in perfumes

Today, all the greatest perfume houses use opoponax. This ingredient offers a balsamic, rounded, soft and velvety scent. Opoponax is both warm and earthy, giving fragrances that contain it a multifaceted olfactory sensation. It leaves behind a fruity, herbal and very rising sensation. Its effluvia are mostly used as a base for oriental or amber fragrances. Nevertheless, when opoponax is used in top notes, it brings the characteristics of a solvent. It is an ingredient that blends wonderfully with tonka bean, benzoin, vanilla or Peru balsam. Very often, even though opoponax is an essential ingredient in many fragrances, it is not a raw material that is highlighted. It serves more as a support.

Opoponax is a kind of indispensable element of perfumery, serving as the backbone of many essences. As such, it features in some globally famous formulas such as that of the iconic Shalimar by Guerlain. Likewise, it is the star ingredient of Opoponax des Néreides, a very resinous juice combining a blend of citrus with a base that is more vanilla and woody. Finally, it is highly favored by the greatest luxury houses and is notably present in the essential Poison by Dior, Coco by Chanel or Flower by Kenzo, pairing in the latter with white musk and leaving behind a sensation of freshness and cleanliness.