Penitence

[QueenFae]

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

Whoa, very very spicy on me. Turns to pure black pepper, smells just like the inside of a spice cabinet. Very dark and sharp and incensey. Very not for me, I'll find my imp a more appreciative home.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Strong, but I can't really say that one scent pulls itself away from the rest. A perfect blend of the two (plus whatever else Beth threw in there)

 

First on: I can smell the different parts if I try, but not as a whole. I usually like myrrh, and frankincense is ok in small doses, so if it stays this way, I might get a headache from too much frankincense. We'll see.

 

Drydown: Yup, it's gone all frankincense on me, which, if I had it slathered on like normal, would be similar to a pine/cedar blend and very headache inducing.

[Smurf]

I also got the stale dirt and old spices smell. It came out very bad on me, one whiff and I immediately had to wash it off, it just made me feel headachy and nauseated. Swap pile!

[Sheila]

Why do I smell rose in this?

Rose with an underlying sweet myrrh resin?

Very strange.

This must be a strange skin chemistry thing; sorry this isn't very helpful! I'm guessing frankincense turns rosy on my skin.

[gdogs]

i was going through my swap pile the other day, and saw penitence. i couldn't remember it, so i gave it another run. . .

 

oh my god. this is pure and sweet. i've never smelled frank. or myrrh on their own, so i can't be of any help there. .

 

it starts out spicy, peppery, and woodsy. like my grandpa's woodshop. but also golden and clear. very heady.

 

the spiciness settles out a bit as it dries, but it remains woody and thick. this scent fills my lungs. it settles and centers me. it makes me feel safe.

 

after a few hours, this disappears almost completely into my skin, but while its here, i want to close my eyes and dive into this smell.

[coulrophobe]

I put off getting an imp of this forever, because I really don't like frankincense very much (smells like soapy trees), and myrrh tends to turn a bit syrupy on me - so how would they smell good on me together?

 

Well. Somehow they manage to. Penitence is pure warm resin, not too woody - and it dries down to a smokey spice resin.

 

Very subtle, and surprisingly comforting. I think I'll wear this one to sleep tonight - it just seems so soothing.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: earthy and dark.

on: nicer on. it's a bit too...salty for me. it's weird. it makes my eyes water a bit.

1 hour later: still that saltiness.

1.5 hours later: sweet and salty. odd.

overall: i think frankincence just does odd things on my skin.

[donsixgun]

This started off very nice. Dry, resin-y...and slightly sweet. But as it dried, it kept getting sweeter...to a point where it got sickening. Shame.

I hope my sweetie'll like it.

[shadowsong]

i have a bottle of evening primrose talcum powder. very good for the skin, with a little bit of floral sweetness to it.

 

penitence smells exactly like it. either frankincense or myrrh or both turn to powder on my skin. i'll have to look through the other scents that happened to and see which scent they had in common.

 

it's a very nice scent, as talcum powder goes.

Edited January 16, 2006 by shadowsong

[greywind]

This is a gorgeous mix of smooth, sweet myrrh and smoky frankincence on me that only becomes slightly sweeter after drydown. It's marvellous, and decidedly on the list for bottle purchases.

[Lizzie]

I can't descibe the way this actually smells to me, because I've never smelled Frankincense or Myrrh by themselves. It is incensey and deep, but I find it clean rather than murky. I've been in few churches, and can't say that I ever remember one smelling of anything in particular, so this scent isn't related to a church to me at all. Instead it brings back half forgotten memories. Reminds me of playing hide and seek in an ancient forest, sunlight and shadow dappling the gound and the sound of ghostly laughter floating just beyond reach. A dreamy smell that I can't describe very well, it's more of a feeling than anything. Peaceful and quiet, with a stirring of mystery, and something slightly forbidden. It feels like something I've always known, if that makes any sense.

 

I'm not sure if I need to get a big bottle or not. It's not something that I feel I should wear on a regular basis, I think only for special occasions.

[Silverstrike]

On me, Penitence is resiny but with something that turns my stomach. I ordered an imp of this based on its similarities to Ambra (by Etro, not BPAL), but it's not as sweet (and again, some sort of off note--that makes me think "wormwood", even though I have no idea what wormwood is or what it would smell like. After awhile it gets spicier, but mainly, powder. I'll be finding another home for this imp.

[feline.by.design]

Penitence was awesomely resin-gorgeous... until the myrrh kicked in. At least, I suspect it's the myrrh. Something has gone sort of chalky on my skin, a little similar to some rose notes I've experienced with BPAL, so maybe it's frankincense. Either way, it's starting to smell like deoderant-laden body order, so I don't think Penitence is going to work out for me. It doesn't strike me as a masculine fragrance, but rather gender-neutral.

 

-doreen

[Naamah_Darling]

This smells exactly as promised: frankincense and myrrh. This dark-golden, thick blend smells strongly of incense. That's it. Nothing complex, no histrionic arm-waving, no scent shift, none of that.

 

Once I put it on, the ripe and resinous scent of both is sharply fragrant and a little sweet.

 

There's nothing I don't love about it – no florals to go powdery on me, no herbs to go rotten, no fruit smells to choke me, no food smells to linger unpleasantly. Just pure incense, golden and warm. Hallelujah, and do I hear an amen?

[sookster]

one of my favorite sweet and heavenly incense blends courtesy of

the lab!!

the frankincense and myrrh are magickal together in this astonishing

perfume....extremely long lasting and fragrant....i just adore

this beyond belief

[kettu]

I really really wanted to like this one. I love incense. I love resins. The frankincense killed it, though. My skin loves myrrh, but add frankincense anywhere into the mix and everything goes south to some powdery incense hell.

 

I guess I wasn't penitent enough?? *pout*

[Caltha]

Penitence

This is a penitence alright. A strong, sharp incense scent with bitter herbs, very masculine. It gets a little sweeter as it dries, but in a bad way, smoky sweet like burnt plastic.

[girlmadasbirds]

powdery frankincense. i don't really care for it.

[PixieSkull]

In the imp: A dirty resin, I think it's myrrh that's the dirty part.

Wet: Soft powdered resin. I think that's the frankincense coming out.

Dry: Oh wow is this not good on me. I don't think myrrh plays well with my chemistry.

 

Category: Dirty/Resin/Church

Rating: .5/5

Overall: I personally will not be wearing this scent, and I don't think ever. It reminded me of that aftersmell of gluttony that reminded my mom of baby pee. I guess I'm just not ready to be sanctified, my chemistry is telling me to stay away from church or something. I hope someone else can love frankincense and myrrh dearly to make up for my hating it so much.

[sarahj]

Penitence

 

in vial: strong frankincense

 

wet: frankincense and myrrh

 

dry: same...very long lasting and a bit overpowering...I'll have to remember to apply sparingly

 

verdict: this is nice, but I don't see myself wearing it that often, so I don't need a big bottle

[brownbear]

This is quite nice. The lab has the nicest myrrh and frankincense ever. Though I don't know if I would wear this very often. I bet it would be nice layered.

ETA: This gets even better later on.

Edited April 5, 2006 by brownbear

[concrescence]

i absolutely LOVE penitence! in the bottle it does smell very much like church incense, but once on it morphs into this lovely spicy, sweet, creamy scent. this is the only bpal scent that i've gotten comments on. i've worn this quite frequently over the past few weeks and my imp is now almost gone. definitely going to have to buy a big bottle of this!!!

[filigree_shadow]

This is a beautiful, calming scent. Myrrh brings frankincense's sweetness down to a very pleasant level. It smells very slightly floral -- but only if you're really looking for it.

 

This is probably one of the few incense scents I would wear on my skin. BPAL has the only frankincense note in perfume oil that I've liked. Other companies' frankincense is too sweet or too dry on me. BPAL's is lovely.

[Rhowan]

Penitence is something I would NEVER have chosen for myself and in my mind I figured it would be a heavy overpowering scent. Not so! It is actually almost a clean, spicy smell to me and I am definitely in love.

 

My skin really amps this - a *little* goes a loooong way! Penitence has HUGE throw and very LONG wear. This will not be a bottle for me because I don't think I would ever even make a dent in it. An imp will be enough for ages for me. Great scent though.

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: I smell myrrh.

 

Wet On My Flesh: This reminds me of the few times I've gone to Mass.

 

Drying Down: It's a strange blend, this frankincense & myrrh. More than I was expecting, but less, somehow. I have no idea how to describe it.

 

Hour To Integrate: Gone all smoky now. Pleasant, in a incense-y type of way.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: If I had more uses for frankincense & myrrh, this would be a keeper. Alas, I don't, so I won't.