One of the richest and longest-lasting of the natural green notes, this is a classic perfumery material that should probably be in every perfumer’s palette, though it does require some practice to use successfully. In addition to it’s own odour, often desirable for itself, it is a very useful fixative for other green notes and has the handy property that it blends in very quickly with other materials, making it easier to evaluate your fragrance as you’re composing it, as distinct from most of the synthetic green notes (of which there are many), that can have quite a different odour impact after the fragrance mixture has had a chance to mature for a few days or weeks, than it did at the point of mixing.
Arctander describes the resinoid like this: “Galbanum Resinoid is an extremely interesting fixative with an odor of its own. It is useful in lavender, fougere, Oriental bases, chypres, pine fragrances, woody bases, moss odors, and in certain floral types. Its use in hyacinth is almost classic.”
He describes its odour like this: “intensely rich-green, woody-balsamic, yet with a dry undertone, and it has the typical ‘green peppers’ foliage-like note which is so pronounced in the essential oil”
There are no IFRA restrictions on the use of this product (49th Amendment; other than Class 1 and Class 6, for which it is not approved) and of the 26 potential allergens required to be declared by the EU it contains only 0.5% Limonene.