Binah

[coulrophobe]

The Womb, Shabbathai, the Uppermost Feminine in the Godhead, Supernal Mother, Divine Sorrow, Supernal Shekhinah, and the source of the 50 Gates of Understanding.

The first note to hit me is the sweet, syrupy ooze of myrrh... I love most incense, but myrrh is just a bit to heavy and sticky for me. There's also an initial sourness to the blend, but luckily, that seems to evaporate on my skin. I'm also getting a hint of floral - roses, I think, but they're not as overpowering as roses are with my chemistry.

All in all, this seems well-blended to me, but just not my thing. Myrrh and roses just aren't notes that work well for me.

[aidenraine]

Oh man, this is the most pungent floral blend I've smelled in a long time. It actually burned my nose. There's something like soap mixed with tuberose. I definitely smell Dove soap in here though.

 

Yikes.

 

Now it's public restroom handsoap.

 

 

Floral floral... after a while that's what it settles into. Just a generic floral perfume. Meh.

[Undine]

When skimming over the reviews I had a hard time understanding how they could all be about the same scent, but now I understand. Yes, myrrh and roses, maybe a little frankincense? I wouldn't rule out tuberose either although I'm not great about distinguishing it. Although I don't know if Binah actually has woods in it, it does have a woody scent. To me, it's sweet, but not in a cloying way, and the resins prevent the (tube?)rose from becoming soapy.

 

I like it very much. I find it very ceremonial and sacred-smelling. It makes me think of being in a cathedral... of the Goddess! It makes me think of candles, pews, and censers. I have an impulse to anoint a white candle with this and burn it. I could also see using it as a room scent for ritual or meditation.

 

I don't know if I would wear it much regularly, because it does smell sacred and rather heavy, but I don't think that's its main purpose.

 

On my scale, a 4.5 out of 5.

Edited November 10, 2005 by Undine

[joseybird]

A deep, soapy, "gummy" myrrh and heavy florals...no, more like a heavy wool blanket stored in the attic for 10 years after being stored with medicines and pontifical incense. A heady, meditative blend (which, I'm sure, was its intent!) with a feeling of *history.*

[SeaMonkey]

This is like incense and wood, with resin thrown in. Its a little medicinal. Its a heavy scent that I don't know that I'd wear every day

[voodoobaby]

Binah is, to me, quite floral. There seems to be some sort of medicinal, almost metallic thing going on around the florals, and some wood, but I really can't pick out any notes. It's sweet and deep and definitely reminds me of the Mother God. Very pretty.

[Voleuse]

On first application, this is sweet incense, with a little earth to ground it. There's a floral note as well, and resin, I think--it's very warm. It's pungent, actually, and almost syrupy sweet on me.

 

As it settles on me, it becomes less overpowering, and morphs to light incense and wood. It's pleasant, and steadying--not a perfume, really, but a nice scent, nonetheless.

[minouska]

In the imp: spicy, earthy, floral.

 

On my wrist: sharper, but with the same earthy floral. I smell myrr, and roses or jasmine (some heady floral), and maybe cedar? Possibly some patchouli?

[amrita]

Wet, I get myrrh, and something makes me afraid this is going to turn into powder.

 

I smell fresh fennel root.

 

The fennel fades within ten minutes; the myrrh is also long gone; I just smell powdery florals (probably lilies?). A rose note is starting to emerge.

 

The rose fades within five minutes, and I'm left with just powder.

 

The rose/powder is too distracting to use for meditation purposes, so... off it goes...

[SnornL]

I like this blend far more than I thought I was going to from reading the reviews... I generally avoid floral notes as much as I possibly can, especially rose and jasmine (probably my two most hated notes ever). Because I mostly hate florals, I can't really pick which one is in this, but it's quite lovely. The main thing I like about this scent, however, is the myrrh: upon initial application, it's not that strong, it just adds a spicy deepness to the femininity of the floral (and at this stage, there's something a little green and herbal feeling in there too), but as the scent dries, the myrrh keeps coming forwards until it's all that remains on my skin. No powderyness at all, which is the way most florals tend to go on me.

 

I've tried about half the sephiroth blends so far, and this is my second favourite (after Chesed). It's totally spot on at evoking Binah - divinely feminine and with a great sense of power, I absolutely adore it.

[Diana]

Wet: a dry spice note, almost like allspice or nutmeg; a resin kind of note too

 

Dry: There is a dry sweetness now, but it's punctuated by a sharp spice note. This is starting to smell like some of the various Voodoo oils; it has some slightly soapy floral notes and a resiny base, kind of myrrh-like. It reminds me a bit of Erato or Hymn now. A bit too cloying & floral for my tastes, but if you like the swoony florals, you might want to give this a shot.

[edenssixthday]

Binah - Oh wow, this is gorgeous. On my skin, it's myrrh, myrrh, and more myrrh. I was really astounded by the reviews where people said they couldn't smell myrrh, because it's the first note I detected as well as the last. It's also got a slight bit of floral underneath the myrrh, and I'm inclined to believe there's a bit of rose in this blend along with a drop of carnation. I'm really in love with this blend and could easily wear it for daily wear or special occasions. The scent has really incredible throw for about the first 60-90 minutes, at which point it begins to stick a lot closer to the skin. Absolutely the best of the Sephiroth blends, in my opinion.

[LiberAmoris]

Binah is beautiful, even though ultimately, I’m not sure if it’s me---I smell myrrh and a floral. The floral doesn’t strike me as rose. It smells more like a white flower of some kind, a bulb flower.

 

First applied, the notes don’t seem too distinguished on my skin, but within a half hour, they’d stratified themselves into something I couldn’t stop sniffing. It’s like if a lily unfurled from a grave, or a clutch of flowers in a windowsill witnessed an act of cruelty. Something that very powerfully merges opposing forces. Nicely done!

[provocateur]

In bottle: Very medicinal.

 

On skin, wet: Woodsy and resin. Which usually means myrrh and / or sandalwood (for me).

 

On skin, dry: Well hello florals! I can definitely pick out some lily and perhaps some jasmine.

 

Conclusion: Thanks for the wild ride but I don't know if I'll get in line again.

 

Rating: 1/5

[steffanina]

Binah-

 

In Bottle: Kind of...generically resinous-spicy.

 

Wet: Sudden wood-and-chocolate bloom! Must be vetiver. And spices. Kind of yummy undertones.

 

Dry: This isn't bad! It's amberish, but there's a little cloying undertone that I think will keep it from being a favorite.

 

Overall: Not bad.

[supremegoddessofall]

Strong florals, a bit of something sharp. Maybe a touch of citrus?

[QueenFae]

This one is indeed very difficult to decribe for some reason. When I first tried it on, it was incredibly familiar to me, I just can't place the familiar notes!! I agree that there is a general resinous/woodsy base to the blend. But it is very sweet, and it's that lovely sweetness that I am having trouble idetifying. I'm thinking perhaps there is amber there, with a lovely floral that smells a bit like jasmine to me. It's a sticky sweetness that almost goes a little bubble gum on me. Like I said, this intensely reminds me of another BPAL, I just can't think what. Oh!! I'm now thinking this is reminding me of Hungry Ghost Moon. Maybe I'm just crazy

 

All in all, this is a beautiful blend. I can't imagine anyone sniffing this and not thinking: Yuuuummmm!!

[500ml]

In the vial this was definitely woodsy with a splash of alcohol, odd. Dry this scent really works for me, it's a mix of incense and floral. Nothing too heady and I'm sad I can't really recognize any of the floral notes. In a way it reminded me a bit of Cairo, it's like a slightly lighter version.

[LadyCrow]

In imp: Deeply resinous-woodsy.

 

Wet: The resin is almost astringent wet. The blend settles into a sweet bottom note and a resinous, astringent top note.

 

Drydown: The resins stick around for a fairly long time, but eventually mellow out enough that the sweet and woodsy notes are more prominent. Still, I can't smell the florals that others have mentioned, because somebody's shoved a chunk of resin incense up my nose. I want to say there's a smidgen of red patchouli involved in this in some way, but it's difficult to pick out.

 

By the time the resin finally goes away, what remains in the drydown is lovely and complex -- but whenever I find myself starting one of these sentences with "by the time," the scent is not destined to become a fave.

[cranberry]

This turns very powdery on me as soon as it is applied. It’s rather like what Haunted did, so it makes me wonder if black musk is here, or perhaps the amber is turning bad on me. Whatever it is, it pretty much kills the blend for me.

 

After it’s been on a few hours, it’s a purely amber scent now, turning into a second skin kinda scent. I’m liking it at this stage, but I don’t know that I can take the beginning to get here.

[alicia_stardust]

I smell sweet, gummy tree resins. Warmth. Water. Femininity. This dries into a slightly glowing resin with a touch of floral. The most notable part of this is the myrrh which I consider to be a feminine resin. It is shadowed and knowledgeable, layered, deep. There is just the right amount of floral and sweet to temper the shadowy resin. Beth really knows her Sephiroth to have created this, and all the others, with such insight; they accurately evoke each Numeration.

[agnusdei]

Binah starts out as green and herbal over a base of sticky resin. The herbal element sort of reminds of me lavender, but not as sharp as lavender can sometimes be, more fresh and slightly bitter. Perhaps something more along the lines of sage or rosemary? Whatever it may be, the herbal phase seems to only last a few minutes before I'm left with a beautiful incense smell. Thick and dark and sweet, with just a bit of a spice. It very much reminds me of church incense, a swirl of smoke over softly smoldering resins in a divine atmosphere. I can pick out myrrh for sure, and I think there may be a very understated floral (rose?) mingling with the incense and adding a little sweetness. With time it becomes gentler, more powdery and translucent, and the sweetness becomes more apparent. It reminds me a bit of an understated, less rose-dominated version of All Saints; they bring to mind the same kind of church associations to me. The wet stage had me a little unsure, but when dry Binah is really gorgeous. Another winner from the Sephiroth!

[hlinspjalda]

In the vial: Resinous, almost pitchy, like an evergreen sap.

 

Wet: Warmly spicy resinous, quite delicious. There might be something citrusy in there too, maybe lemon or bergamot?

 

Half an hour: Woody spicy with a touch of citrus. Oh, dear, I really like this one.

 

One hour: Oh, my, this is nice. I think it's cedar, but it's working on me in a really nice way. There's also some spice, and the overall general impression of herbs that I always get from the Sephiroth.

 

Two hours: Delicious! This goes in the category of Sephiroth that work well on me. I wonder how hard it would be to get some more?

 

Four and a half hours: There's something in this that makes me think of Schwarzer Mond. It's mitigating the tendency of cedar to go yucky on me. I only have a partial imp, so I definitely want some more of this.

 

Eight hours: Very long-lasting! It still reminds me of Schwarzer Mond. But it also reminds me of The Blasphemare Reliquary, specifically, the very sweet resin I think is the boswellia in that one.

 

Yup, I need more of this one.

 

[zankoku_zen]

Erm... this one smells like myrrh and roses, although I swear its got the cat pee overtinge of jasmine.

 

It smells like sour incense.

[stellans]

In the bottle, I get the deep, deep herbal notes others have mentioned but no incense. However, once it is applied to my skin, the herbs give way totally to deep, deep incense! This blend needs very little on to cast a wide net of scent, and it lasts almost all day without needing refreshing. In my Carnaval Diabolique scent locket, there is the herbal/incense blending but there is a strange after-scent/taste of...soap?!?!? I think Binah is lovely to wear, but only on my skin. I just didn't like tasting soap when I sniffed my locket -- a first for me with BPAL!

Edited September 16, 2011 by stellans