The Pit & The Pendulum

[girlmadasbirds]

The depths of despair, a dark Ecclesiatical triumph: the incense of the Inquisition.

strong incense... it smells like Cathedral, sandalwood, and cedar. the cedar gets a little overpowering at times, but after a while, it mellows out.
i think this would be a great room scent. Edited May 10, 2006 by Shollin

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Super-pine with the smoke of aged wood. To me it smells the way half-rotted timbers underground should smell, ancient beams precariously holding back the earth.

On me: Mostly pine, but it goes somewhat powdery on the skin. It has a VERY strong throw - my mother can smell it from across the room. Al-Azif was a lot sweeter to me, but there are similarities between the two blends. I think that I am not getting any resins out of this blend, and maybe that's what isn't making this a real winner to me. It's just powdery instead of slightly sweet.

[Mary Mayhem]

In the bottle: Something sweet and something woody.

 

On wet: Wood on the onset, sweetens a bit as it dries. I'm guessing the insense is what's sweet in this.

[fiddlehead]

The Pit and the Pendulum starts out with a strong scent of wood. I get more of the "Polished pews" feel that people mentioned in Cathedral than with Cathedral. But eventually the wood scent recedes and it smells to me just like Cathedral, with almost the identical incense note. It lasts all day on me and I really love it. Cathedral is really great though, so I didn't feel like I needed a bottle of this as well.

Edited April 21, 2006 by fiddlehead

[euterpe414]

This has got to be my holy grail "religious incense" scent! Although I am anything but Catholic, I have always adored the scent of the incense that they use during mass at my grandmother's church. This is the exact same scent (oddly more so than Midnight Mass, which I also love), and I am ecstatic to have found it! I am definetely going to use this as a room scent (and perfume of course)for when I'm feeling particularly nostalgic.

[locuraelegantia]

it's a very dusty incence, it doesn't remind me of chuch, so much as it reminds of of an old castle. It really doesn't morph at all on my skin. I like it, but I think I'll use it for a room fragrance instead.

[aedes]

I loved this in the decant I got, but now with my bottle, making a spray, I'm not as in love with it any more.

 

It's a very smokey blend. Like "*cough* can we open a window?" smokey. Almost reminds me of Brimstone or Grandmother of Ghosts in the husky, ashen charachteristic. But! There are lots of good things about it, too. There's a little bit of sassafrass in there, I could swear. Smells a little bit like Laudanum, it has the sweet sassafrass and the warm, sexy myrrh going on.

 

So it's still a very cool scent, though the smokiness makes me feel a little dirty if I put it on after a shower. So a good night-time scent.

[Miss Lynx]

This is a really nice, warm incensey scent - I don't find it redolent of despair at all; it smells very comforting to me. But I probably have different associations with church incense type scents than someone with a more repressive religious upbringing might have.

 

It's gentle and warm, with a touch of spiciness and a slight sweetness to it. There's a bit of darkness there, but not of a menacing sort - it smells more to me like something I'd wear or burn for a Wiccan ritual. But again, that may be my background talking.

 

I was strongly tempted to order a 5 mL, but it's so close in scent to Cathedral and Midnight Mass (more the latter than the former - it's a bit lighter and sweeter than Cathedral), both of which I have imps of already, that I decided I wasn't sure I really needed a bottle of any of them until I make a little more headway on using up the imps. But it was a very close call...

 

Grade: B+

[gingersnapp]

OMG. This is what I wanted from Cathedral and Midnight Mass. Rich, heady incense from my youth spent in Catholic school and weekly mass. This is exactly what holiday masses smelled like. I can't describe it any better than this.

 

Gorgeous. To die for.

[juniperus]

Bottle: sharp, churchy incense; franky, myrrh, oh baby. Have I mentioned that one of my foci is the Papal Inquisition in Aragon and the writings of Nicholas Eymeric? Wheeeeee!

Wet: Same, less sharp. I'm all about this.

Dry: warm and resinous and formal. I am far, far from Catholic, but this smell is one of the things I love about stepping into the nave - that and the windows.

Later: mellow and dusky and resinous and wonderful. Not a lot of stay, but that's what reapplication is for - wish I had more than an imp!

[tinyvulture]

This is my new favorite, #1 scent. It smells exactly like church incense, with a touch of mint. Underneath the woods and resins there is just a hint of sweetness. A warmer, richer version of Cathedral. Amazing!

[bifemmefatale]

In the imp, this smells smoky, but on, frankincense and a lovely sweet sandalwood blossom out. I really like this, and I wasn't expecting that. Spicy sweet sandalwood....I bought this for my hubby, but I think I'll keep it! Unlike other testers, on me this does not have much throw.

[gwyllgi]

Incense is one of those scents I thought I'd love, which generally ended up smelling like an attic on me. Cathedral nearly broke me. Given this, I was a bit leery of this.

 

Although it's definitely incense, it's a much sweeter incense than Cathedral; rather than smelling like an attic, it smells more like what I remember of church. It's a much more wearable incense scent, and absolutely beautiful when burned. It's not too heavy, but it has decent throw, and hours later it's still wafting from my skin.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: strong incense.

on: i think there's a lot of myrrh in this, which probably won't end up being a good thing.

2 hours later: very sweet, resinous incense.

8 hours later: incensy and resinous.

overall: this is really nice on me. in fact, it's beautiful. however, i like my midnight mass a lot more.

[edenssixthday]

The Pit and the Pendulum is a really nice incense scent. It's warm and smooth and incredibly comforting. The scent in the bottle doesn't change much when it touches my skin, although it gets a little softer. This blend has only the lightest throw on my skin, not enough to notice unless my nose is near my arm. The staying power is really good. After 2 hours, it's still as strong as when I first applied it, while this is the point for me when most BPALs have started to fade. I don't really like wearing incense blends, but I think I may use this one as a nice, comforting evening scent or even use it in my oil burner. It's really a lovely blend and if you like incense, I recommend picking one up right away.

[Orodemniades]

Wet, this is woodsy sandalwood with a dry, powdery sweetness.

 

Dry: pure light sandalwood and cedar with no incense whatsoever.

 

Overall: It's okay, but nothing I feel the need to keep.

 

Oro

[hologhost]

Wood and resins. Surprisingly light and refreshing. Maybe a bit of myrrh? Similar to Penitence, but lighter.

[dawndie]

I got the bottle in a swap with Copia. Thanks babe!

 

In bottle: pretty vague wood, like walking through Home Depot

 

On skin: the incensey resins appear full-force. I'm bad at reviewing, because instead of conjuring pretty images on their own, I compare scents to other BPALs I've tried, which may or may not be helpful Hey, it's helpful to me! This reminds me a lot of how Cathedral starts, lots of woody resins.

 

Half-hour later: still lots of resins, almost sticky on my wrist. Cathedral ended up more pencil-shaving "woody" on me, and P&P stays pretty true. This is very much like Midnight Mass with resins instead of "church incense."

 

In conclusion: a nice counter-balance to Midnight Mass. Not quite the "Ecclesiastical Doom!!" that the description promises, but I like it!

[forspecial_plate]

I too am in search of the perfect church-incense scent. My ex bf turned me on to Demeter Holy Smoke, and I'd like to find a similar bpal. On to the review...

 

The first thing I notice about the Pit and the Pendulum is that it's much sweeter than I was expecting, having read the reviews. This is sweet enough to remind me of a dessert food or maple syrup. I think that's frankincense. Then as it settles in, I'm starting to get cedar (which I love). Up close I can smell the cedar, and the dry dustiness mentioned in other reviews. It is like a sweeter Aureus. Have I mentioned that I love it? : )

 

It lasts a long time, and the sweetness does almost become cloying. It's not every day that I'm in the mood to wear this. I can't imagine Al Azif being much sweeter but apparently it is. I'm still not sure I'll be seeking out a 5ml of this one, but I might.

 

[edit: I just want to say, 8 months later, that I did get a whole bottle of this, and it's a really great woody blend. It's not as sweet as I seemed to think it was here. It's a great part of my collection....woody and smokey, sort of sweet but not cloying at all.]

Edited May 2, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[steffanina]

The Pit and the Pendulum-

 

In Bottle: Cedar, sandalwood. I think!

 

Wet: Mm, I like the sandalwood! Large bloom of that on my skin, but there's something more. Something more woody than just sandalwood.

 

Dry: This got a little cedar-intense on me, and I'm not as partial to cedar. It evokes too many hamster-cage visions.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[nancybridget]

They say inquisitional incense. I saw grandma's basement.

 

This is an odd, yet comforting scent. Right now I'm torn.

[sterlingspider]

I seriously could bathe in this stuff.

 

I got an imp in a decent circle on a whim, I've since bought about 2.5 bottles and 4 imps, and would still happily buy more, though it's not quite a dire all out search anymore. I'm incredibly sensitive to perfumes, so of course the first BPAL scent I find that I react this strongly to just HAD to be an LE, and one which people seem to like hoarding at that.

 

Unfortunately unlike florals and musks which my chemistry amps to the point of nausea for me this has NO throw and practically dissapears within a half hour. I have taken to wearing this in a perfume ball to get a bit more throw out of it then when it's on my skin, and there's many a night that I go to sleep practically snorting my necklace. I am one of those people that can be chased out of a room but the wrong perfume, yet I have literally gotten it on my nose from getting to close to the wand in my imp and not minded.

 

When wet there's a lovely sort of sandalwood bite with a hint of something warm and sweet in the background (amber? myrrh?). This is when for me it is at its most perfect.

 

Within 10 minutes the sandalwood fades almost completely leaving a diffuse sweetness, like freshly washed skin still warm from a bath. Amber soon becomes the dominant note but not as powdery as BPAL amber normally gets on me. The woody scent eventually comes out a bit more but it's much softer and barely perceptable, just enough to give body to the ambery sweetness and keep it from turning to powder.

 

Pit and the Pendulum is a 4.95 out of 5 for me. I think the only thing that could make this better is if I could keep it at that wet woody stage, before it gets so sweet. What I really want to know is where all of it went! I fall in love with something LE and no one's selling it! There are very few reviews on here considering the amount of P&tP hoarding that must be going on.

Edited November 8, 2006 by sterlingspider

[supremegoddessofall]

Cedar and something herbal. There's something dark here but I don't know what it is. Some musk?

Edited October 31, 2006 by supremegoddessofall

[kraken]

In the Bottle: Sharp and green-woodsy and not as incensy as I thought it would be, though it does remind me of the smell of a wooden box that holds incense.

 

Initial Wet: The greenness fades quickly and the incense comes through. There's a still a faint green-woodsy note, possibly cedar as others mentioned, that turns into a lovely sandalwood. It's a very light scent, barely noticeable nose-to-wrist.

 

Initial Dry: The incense really comes out, smelling almost exactly like a sandalwood-frankincense-myrrh blend that I burn. It's warm and smoky and woodsy. The scent begins to amp as it dries, giving it a nice, but not overwhelming, throw.

 

Drier Dry: After reaching a beautifully blended peak, it begins to fade rather rapidly (not unlike the scent of incense in a large room after it's done burning). It's still sandalwood and frankincense with an undercurrent of myrrh.

 

This blend didn't morph much once it reached its incense stage, which I appreciate. I am sad that it fades so quickly as it's such a lovely, dark scent. It's like the grown-up, jaded version of my beloved Velvet.

[luna65]

Thanks to princessbeena for the imp.

 

Imp: I get a thick sweet resinous smell from the oil; I'm guessing it's myrrh but it seems sweeter somehow.

 

Skin: The incense evocation is immediately apparent on my skin, it's mostly frankincense to me, though I can sense some wood also, but just the vaguest suggestion.

 

Drydown: This started out very "wet" on me, but as it melds I get that dusty, powdery quality which others have noted. The vague wood note fades on me and I'm left with incense, so at least with my chemistry I feel this blend is exactly what it was created to be.