Dries Van Noten Rock the Myrrh Perfume Review

Dries Van Noten Rock the Myrrh Eau de Parfum is certainly an ode to myrrh. It was warm, spiced, and woody with rich, balsamic resins that were sweet, thick, and almost chewy at times. The cypress and pepper were there in the opening, while the cypress amplified the aromatic quality of the composition for the first few hours. It wasn’t a totally linear fragrance, but the difference between the opening and the dry down wasn’t night and day either; it flip-flopped between being more resinous, more ambery to woodier and spicier before becoming more of a soft, spiced amber in the end.

Rock the Myrrh Notes

It is described as “an overdose of myrrh” that is “joined by resins of benzoin and cistus dressed up with cypress and pink pepper.”

• top notes: cypress, pink pepper
• heart notes: myrrh, patchouli
• base notes: suede, benzoin

What does Rock the Myrrh Smell Like?

It opened with fresh cypress, a hint of pink pepper, and thick resinous sweetness. There was a fiery aspect, too, not smoky or ashy, and not quite lit incense. Rock the Myrrh was quite aromatic; warm, spicy, and a little jammy with sweet, spiced woods underlying the gooey resins. After 15 minutes, there was a subtle layer of leather that helped to balance out the balsamic quality of the myrrh.

Through the next three hours of wear, Rock the Myrrh vacillates between warm, spicy, and woody and sweeter and more noticeably thick and resinous. It seemed to settle into a spiced amber-wood base in its drydown that was smooth, warming, and balanced.

Longevity

It lasted for 10 hours until it was a skin-scent and about 16 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were moderate with the sillage dropping faster than the projection within the third hour of wear.

Personal Notes

I did enjoy this one quite a bit, enough that I’ll re-wear at a later date to get a better grasp of just how much I enjoyed! I’m not surprised at all, given the notes are exactly the kind of ones I gravitate toward (which means I do have scents in the same vein already!). I was impressed by the longevity and sillage; the kind of sillage where I can sit at my desk and get subtle wafts every now and again without feeling like I’m choking on the scent.

These are more subjective feelings based on what I like (or don’t like) in a perfume as well as considering the fragrance against other perfumes I own and love.

Testing Methodology

For testing, I used a fraction of a 2ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

I purchased my sample as part of a discovery set in May 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime, so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.

Availability

Rock the Myrrh is available for $305.00 for 100ml or $375.00 for 200ml (refill).

If possible, I highly recommend trying a fragrance before purchasing a full bottle because fragrance can wear differently just because of skin chemistry. Skin chemistry can effect not just the longevity of a fragrance but also what notes are prominent or hidden.

Rock the Myrrh Samples

We recommend trying one of the brand’s discovery sets before investing in a bottle.

Where to Buy

• Selfridges
• Dries Van Noten