Penitence

[Kimbernunk]

Smell sanctified! A blend of pure, pious frankincense and graceful myrrh.

Frimp from the lab.

This is a nice, woodsy/incense blend, with a touch of sweetness. It doesn't smell quite like church incense to me (Midnight Mass has that down absolutely dead-on), but it's nice, slightly sweet, slightly resinous, slightly smoky. I'm not typically one for incense blends, but I will definitely keep the imp around. Overall, I prefer Midnight Mass and would be more likely to go for a bottle of that. Edited July 21, 2009 by Kimbernunk

[LizzyLies]

In the imp, this reminds me of something that used to be my mother's favorite cologne and it's a familiar scent to be sure. Frankincense seems to overwhelm the myrrh once I've applied it and it's a little sweet.

Overall, I like it, but this isn't something I see myself going for often.

[rayvn1]

Mmm, wood and incense - just what I was looking for and enjoy in All Saints. Nice to know there's a GC with a similar vibe for me Very simple, stark scent like a burning stick of sandalwood. Perfect.

 

Edit: Well, crap. I didn't realize I'd already reviewed this one. Sorry!

Edited August 23, 2009 by rayvn1

[claudia6913]

I grew up Catholic and should know without a doubt what frankincense and myrrh smell like. Yep, it is what it says in the imp. Frankincense and myrrh. Same wet on the skin. It is what it is. I feel like I should be saying 5 Our Father's, 10 Hail Mary's, and an Act of Contrition for good measure with my rosary!

[Schmoozy]

 

Sweet, polished woods blended with resins. Slightly sweet & smoky, this is amazing layered with some of my favorites.

[melrose]

Hmmm, maybe I'll have to try the layering Schmoozy mentioned. I love both these notes, but together on my skin, the scent disappears quickly, no matter how much I slather.

[undream]

frimp from the lab!! this one is very sweet & powdery on me; it's beautiful, but i think it might be a little too sweet for my nose.

[tragedy]

I have two penitences to compare... fresh imp and aged cobalt bottle.

 

The aged penitence (which my daughter chewed the label off of almost as soon as I recieved it ) is dark and resiny.. the myrrh is stronger in the aged, its almost dusty... definately a churchy incense smell. VERY comforting.

 

The fresh penitence is much sweeter, I think without aging the frankincense is stronger. Its very nice as well.. more wearable as a day to day than the aged.

 

Beautiful either way, Im glad to have both!

[jamethiel]

*checks the label*

 

I initially got something floral. Heady floral, which I like, but--huh. Not at all what I expected.

 

But then it settled down. Mmmm, myrrh. I don't get much frankincense but mmmm. Myrrh. No, wait. Here comes the frankincense

 

This is definitely bottle time.

Edited December 8, 2009 by jamethiel

[Invidiana]

Thankfully "church incense" blends do not turn to church incense on my skin. I have the type of body chemistry that sweetens stuff up, so they turn to sweet, sticky resins, the darker the better. This does turn sweet on me, and it's pleasant without reminding me of a liturgy, but I think I was right in ordering Midnight Mass because it's supposedly smokier.

[SophieCedar]

Sanctified indeed!!

 

Ok, so I actually buy frankincense and myrrh natural pearls from my local co-op, in loose bulk. I was surprised that it didn't smell like church when I first burned it many moons ago... Church version is a bit different from what they sell in co-ops. This sure is church and it smells like the clean and pure version instead of the earthy pagan version. Very fresh. Frankincense and myrrh, but like it took a bath and traded the birkenstocks for polished oxfords.

 

Not bad but it turned to straight up floral soap on me? oh well...

[angelicruin]

Love this blend. The myrrh is strongest on my skin, but I can smell the frankincense as well. This has amazing throw---a little goes a long way on my skin---and it lasts for hours.

[papermaker]

This very much reminds me of church, but in a good way. It is sweet resiny incense. I may pick up a bottle @ C2E2.

[FathomBelow]

Penitence

In the bottle: Hmm…this scent is going to be one of those that are impossible to describe, I can tell already. In the imp, this is kind of…dusty and fragrant.

Wet on skin: Same

As it dries: Develops a certain sharp powderiness, probably from the frankincense as this also happened to me (to a much lesser extent) with Rose Cross.

After it dries: Fortunately the sharp powdery stage of frankincense mostly fades, leavng a delicious, smoky-sweet, mysterious smell I also recognize in Temple Viper (I guess it must be the frankincense, morphed because that’s the only note they have in common).

Final opinion: I don’t really know what myrrh smells like so I can’t identify it in this scent. This has also left me confused about frankincense - I thought I liked it, it disappointed me in Rose Cross, then finally here, it morphed from unpleasant to delicious! Gah! Anyway, I might get a bottle of this, as I love the drydown.

 

[FelicityTwitchell]

Wet: I don't remember but I think it was mostly the same as dry.

 

Dry: wood incense a lil green/sharp aging may be good

 

A while later: mostly smoky wood, a bit sweet

 

Verdict: I like this one, but I think I'll put it aside for a month or two and see if it's gotten better. Oh and I need to try on the S.O. as well!

Edited May 30, 2010 by FelicityTwitchell

[voorishsign]

I've been dying to try this ever since hearing it being compared to Cathedral, which is one of my favourite all-time BPAL oils

 

In the imp - distant, light incense.

 

On wet - this is definitely Cathedral lite. It lacks Cathedral's stone, wood and beeswax notes and is pure, light, sweet incense. Very, very pretty.

 

Drydown - oh, gorgeous I still prefer Cathedral because I like the depth that the notes give it, especially the wax scent, but this is light, elevating, like sun through a stained glass window, like a golden day in a serene church. Utterly, utterly breathtaking. Beautiful

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Golden oil, spicy sweet incense.

 

Wet: Fresh, sweet citrusy incense - I get a delicious hint of something that reminds me of the mysteriousness of Villain.

 

Dry: The sweetness amps up, but this is a good sweetness, not foody or floral or fruity, just rich, sweet, deleriously exotic spiced incense and resin that makes my mouth water with pleasure and my breath catch in my chest in a feeling of being uplifted spiritually. Can't stop sniffing... I think I'm going to have a religious experience induced by PERFUME, and it both frightens and excites me.

 

I think I'm also catching spicy lavender in there, and a hint of powdery lilac - Oh rapture!

 

After a few minutes: Deep, dark incense hinting at cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, and some sort of clean, soapiness like lavender. I just want to sit and listen to Gregorian chant by candlelight.

 

After first hour: Exquisitely beautiful, sweet, slightly peppery honeyed resin, faint undertones of lilac, still makes my mouth water. Whenever I sniff my wrist I feel all energized and magical, almost like a spiritual high. I almost feel like rolling around on my back like a cat into catnip. Purrrrr...

 

Although actually, I almost feel this is too holy to play with lightly. I feel like I would like to wear this while studying my Tarot cards, or maybe have it in a oil burner while going on vision quests.

 

After two and a half hours: A clean cedar note starts to creep through, softening the rich, dusty darkness.

 

After 5 hours: Sagey cedar and sweet incense, so delightfully warm, dry and soft.

 

Final verdict: I am torn. This is not a 'me' scent, but it smells sooooo goood that I think they will need to pry this imp out of my cold, dead hands. Mmmm...

Edited July 12, 2010 by Greensleeves

[Vega]

In imp: Warm and a bit sweet in a resinous way; quite deep and solemn, a rounded scent. Very similar to Cathedral, albeit warmer.

 

On skin: Slightly sweet resins, a glowing and warm scent. Round and full when wet; becomes a tad drier and bittersweet on the drydown, but retains its warmth. So this is how frankincense and myrrh smell... Really wonderful. I think the warm rounded fullness comes from myrrh, and the dry bittersweet from frankincense. Penitence is quite similar to Cathedral, but both are different in distinct ways. (Cathedral is a little more dry, cool, woody and austere.) Like most scents on my skin, the scent fades over time but doesn't morph. Colour impression is glowing golden-brown, more red-tinged than black-tinged.

 

Verdict: Thanks to Penitence, I learnt how frankincense and myrrh smell! And both are shaping up to be notes that I really, really love. I will keep my imp for wearing and as an incense/myrrh reference.

[ajansuz]

This was a frimp. In the imp, strong and incense-y. My husband's family is Catholic. I know this scent well. I love myrrh, so I was really hoping it would come out more on my skin.

 

Wet, instead, I amped Frankincense like nobody's tomorrow, and it gave me a slight headache, just too sweet. I could catch the myrrh under it, but it seemed there was also something really sickly, sticky floral, like jasmine.

 

Dry down, the headache inducing property faded, but so did the overall scent. By the time myrrh started making itself known, the scent had faded very close to my skin and was almost gone within 3 hours. I think I'll use this as a room scent for days when I feel a little more formal, but it just didn't wear well on my skin.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Earthy, resinous and incensey.

 

Immediately on skin: This smells grainy and resinous on me with a slightly bitter note. It also has a little bit of a cola-like note in it, which I guess myrrh sometimes smells like to me. It’s almost incense-like, but it’s thicker than that, though still deep and rich.

 

After a little while: This has lost most of its bitterness and now it’s very rich and resinous with a nice sweetness to it. It smells very thick and dark, but still has that cola-like feel to it.

 

Overall Impressions: This is a nice scent, but it’s not fabulous on me. It has a rich, resinous feel but also reminds me a little of cola. It’s very resinous and thick smelling.

[Altaira]

Light, dry woods that go powdery on me very quickly.

[pandorasmuse]

In the imp: Smells like church. Friendly and welcoming.

 

Wet: More wood than anything else. As it dries, it becomes less woody, but it’s warmer now.

 

Drydown: I’m really liking the smell, but not as a perfume, really. This would be a nice room scent, I think (but it wouldn’t work for my house. Too cluttered). I see another reviewer says this would be good on a guy. Perhaps I will try it on my husband.

 

Later: Not for me. But it’s quite pretty!

[juniperus]

Bottle: I must admit this is a no-brainer for me - I love frankincense and myrrh together and, once upon a time, when I used coals and resins in my practice, I used to burn them togethter often. At first sniff the frankincense dominates.

Wet: Frank is still ahead but graceful myrrh has a clear presence. my love for resin incenses is funny, considering I was raised in a protestant denomination that doesn't use incense instead of Catholic, Orthodox, or Episcopalian.

Dry: incense-y, but not dry. a little sharp, like the resin fresh from the tree, before it's dry and brittle.

Later: this remains oddly sharp. hmmm.

[invisible iris]

In the imp: I get an almost piney or citrussy frankincense and bitter myrrh.

 

Freshly applied: Wow, frankincense… and myrrh. There’s still almost a balsamy scent to this.

 

Dry: As it dries the sharpness goes away and it just gets mellower and more warm. The slight bitterness of the myrrh tempers the almost brown-sugary sweetness of the frankincense. It makes me feel holy or sacred, like I’ve been anointed. Only something as simple as frankincense and myrrh could be this elegant and at the same time so comforting. A beautiful, basic blend.

[yakiguri]

Definitely getting whiffs of my Catholic childhood here. Penitence is ethereal and warm. I primarily get frankincense from it through the wet and dry stage, with very little myrrh, but it only lasts about an hour or so. That's fine, since I believe this would be a better room scent than body scent. I'll keep the imp for when I'm feeling nostalgic but have no need for a bottle.

 

As for comparisons with Midnight Mass, I prefer this over MM since it's the more wearable of the two IMO. The ash/incense in MM is spot-on scent-wise and smells exactly like Midnight Mass/Ash Wednesday, but I wouldn't want that scent on me.