The finest gum extracts from Somaliland — frankincense, myrrh and opoponax — combine in this resinous and sophisticated scent. Berbera is a powerful woody amber suitable for layering, as is common in the Middle East, as well as a standalone manifesto. Opoponax brings nuances of leather and old wood, myrrh swirls in a cola note, and frankincense soars high and dry. A charred-around-the-edges fragrance to uplift your soul and deepen your mystique.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Berbera suits a close, deliberate atmosphere where scent is noticed in passing rather than announced from across the room. It feels made for someone who wants a smoky resin trail that reads intelligent and composed, with a dry, mineral edge that lingers on fabric and skin.
How to wear
Best in cool weather or evening air, Berbera benefits from a light hand: one to three sprays are enough to let the incense and resins unfold without becoming dense. On skin it stays dry, smoky and slightly leathery; in the air it projects a refined woody haze with good longevity.
Who it’s for
For wearers who like incense, smoky woods and resinous ambers with structure rather than sweetness. It will appeal to those drawn to dry, textured compositions, leathery nuances and a more contemplative, niche style of perfumery.
Release year
2024
The nose
Fabrice Pellegrin and Coralie Spicher. Pellegrin is known for polished, material-driven compositions that balance natural richness with clarity and modern structure, while Spicher brings a similarly precise, contemporary hand to the formula. Together, they shape Berbera into a vertical incense fragrance where resins, woods and spice feel lifted rather than heavy, with frankincense kept bright and dry across the wear. Their work here fits Nissaba’s terroir-led approach: the perfume reads less like a conventional amber and more like an olfactory study of Somaliland’s gum resins, rendered with texture, transparency and long diffusion.
Collaborators
Sébastien Tissot, Nissaba’s founder, developed the concept by giving the perfumers a regional palette of premium Somaliland materials rather than a conventional marketing brief. His role was to define the terroir, ingredient focus and sustainability framework that guided the scent’s structure and identity.
Nissaba’s story
Nissaba builds fragrances from specific places and their raw materials, with a strong emphasis on traceability, natural sourcing and environmental responsibility. The house treats perfumery as a form of terroir expression: refined, minimal in presentation, and anchored in the ecosystems and communities behind each ingredient.
Berbera’s concept
Berbera is named for the Somaliland port city that connects desert, sea and trade, and the fragrance translates that geography into smoke, resin and dry spice. The composition centers on frankincense, myrrh and opoponax, with the idea of a vertical incense structure that feels airy at the top, leathery in the middle and ambered at the base.
Extra info
Berbera is part of Nissaba’s terroir-based collection and is built around Somaliland gum extracts, especially frankincense, myrrh and opoponax. The brand describes it as suitable for layering in the Middle Eastern tradition as well as wearing alone.
The finest gum extracts from Somaliland — frankincense, myrrh and opoponax — combine in this resinous and sophisticated scent. Berbera is a powerful woody amber suitable for layering, as is common in the Middle East, as well as a standalone manifesto. Opoponax brings nuances of leather and old wood, myrrh swirls in a cola note, and frankincense soars high and dry. A charred-around-the-edges fragrance to uplift your soul and deepen your mystique.
All about this fragrance
Vibe check
Berbera suits a close, deliberate atmosphere where scent is noticed in passing rather than announced from across the room. It feels made for someone who wants a smoky resin trail that reads intelligent and composed, with a dry, mineral edge that lingers on fabric and skin.
How to wear
Best in cool weather or evening air, Berbera benefits from a light hand: one to three sprays are enough to let the incense and resins unfold without becoming dense. On skin it stays dry, smoky and slightly leathery; in the air it projects a refined woody haze with good longevity.
Who it’s for
For wearers who like incense, smoky woods and resinous ambers with structure rather than sweetness. It will appeal to those drawn to dry, textured compositions, leathery nuances and a more contemplative, niche style of perfumery.
Release year
2024
The nose
Fabrice Pellegrin and Coralie Spicher. Pellegrin is known for polished, material-driven compositions that balance natural richness with clarity and modern structure, while Spicher brings a similarly precise, contemporary hand to the formula. Together, they shape Berbera into a vertical incense fragrance where resins, woods and spice feel lifted rather than heavy, with frankincense kept bright and dry across the wear. Their work here fits Nissaba’s terroir-led approach: the perfume reads less like a conventional amber and more like an olfactory study of Somaliland’s gum resins, rendered with texture, transparency and long diffusion.
Collaborators
Sébastien Tissot, Nissaba’s founder, developed the concept by giving the perfumers a regional palette of premium Somaliland materials rather than a conventional marketing brief. His role was to define the terroir, ingredient focus and sustainability framework that guided the scent’s structure and identity.
Nissaba’s story
Nissaba builds fragrances from specific places and their raw materials, with a strong emphasis on traceability, natural sourcing and environmental responsibility. The house treats perfumery as a form of terroir expression: refined, minimal in presentation, and anchored in the ecosystems and communities behind each ingredient.
Berbera’s concept
Berbera is named for the Somaliland port city that connects desert, sea and trade, and the fragrance translates that geography into smoke, resin and dry spice. The composition centers on frankincense, myrrh and opoponax, with the idea of a vertical incense structure that feels airy at the top, leathery in the middle and ambered at the base.
Extra info
Berbera is part of Nissaba’s terroir-based collection and is built around Somaliland gum extracts, especially frankincense, myrrh and opoponax. The brand describes it as suitable for layering in the Middle Eastern tradition as well as wearing alone.