Myrrh is a resinous substance that is harvested from Commiphora trees and has been used in religious rites since ancient Egyptian times. It has a reddish-brown color and a woody, pungent, warm aroma with a touch of medicinal. The concentrated oil form of myrrh delivers a warm, earthy smell of black liquorice. Myrrh has a smokier and sweeter smell than essential oils, which are distilled through steam and have a more medicinal quality. Some perfumers claim that it smells like incense with deep oriental woods. Myrrh can range from bitter and astringent to warm and sweet. It has a sepulchral quality, leading some to categorize it as Gothic or moldy. Some facets of myrrh are intensely bitter, while some smell like sweet licorice, anise, or rubber. Sweet myrrh smells aromatic and smokey, whereas bitter myrrh smells like burnt rubber or plastic, having an unpleasant odor. Overall, myrrh smells woody, warm, resinous, smoky, medicinal, astringent, spicy, and has a cooling scent effect.