Resurrection of the Flesh

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Resurrection of the Flesh, Luca Signorelli.

Frankincense, hyssop, heliochrysum, ylang ylang, copal, angelica, and rose geranium.

 

Contains so many of my favorite notes, this was a 5ml without giving it a second thought. Franincense, Hyssop, Ylang Ylang, Herbals.

Deep yet lofty. A touch of sensuality in its spiritual form. That is what I wrote down as a description, so for me, this successfully evokes its subject matter.

As a perfume, it has the unusual property of opening with what I'd consider the bottom notes first (Frankincense and Copal) with the top notes unfolding later (Ylang Ylang & Herbals).

I get an Opening with the deep, slight sweetness of Frankincense and then comes the soaring flora and penetrating herbals.

Very good throw and long lasting. Would wear this for many occassions and any season excepting really light-hearted romps, weddings. IMO, a perfume that tends to be a bit more mature.

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a word or two: Spiced rose.

 

Pre-review thoughts: I have very little hope of this working for me.

 

In the imp: Frankincense, ylang and rose. This is my "This is not going to work" face.

 

On skin, wet: Rose! But a strangely pleasant, almost spiced rose. This is my "what the blue hell?" face.

 

On skin, dry: Against all odds, I'm actually liking this. It's a bit musky, floral and sweet, with an incensey base. Surprising, and nice. It's unusual, and not my normal fare, but what can I say?

 

Conclusion/Notes: I can't explain why — I dislike every listed note save copal — but I'm almost in love with this. Sweet, warm, spiced rose is what continues to come to mind. I think I'll be finding (or ordering) a bottle of this as well.

[parrot_suspect]

Floral, herbal and a bit fruity. This scent is rich and Baroque -- multifaceted and gilded. I can definitely detect the ylang-ylang. The frankincense and copal don't take center stage, but they do help "anchor" the florals and give the scent some depth. It is well-blended and very different from other floral BPAL scents I have tried (this is coming from someone who's not a big fan of flowery scents). I would place this in the "heady floral" category of fragrances.

[lysithea]

Initially, in the imp and at first on skin, this reminds me so much of Al-Araaf. There's a honeyed sweetness at first. Comparing the note lists, I don't see where the the two should cross paths.

 

Afterwards, I am left with frankincense. This point in the blend leads with force of sweet incense until I'm left with a delicate sweetness. I think this is presenting as the copal.

 

I find this scent very comforting. It's alluring - soft, powdery - but with prescence. It's rather conflicting to my senses. But, it is another stunner from The Salon.

 

This reminds me of the sweet scent left behind on the wood of a box used to hold years of incense. It's not heavy or cloying. Just there upon the skin. If your skin amps frankincense, be prepared for a nice initial blast before it settles into a nice roundness of ylang-ylang tempered with sweet herbals and copal.

[quikslvr]

All frankincense and floral at first--I think that's the rose geranium that I'm mostly getting on the floral end. Very evocative of churches and holiness. Its depth is incredible. The end stage is a pretty amazing, peaceful, resiny depth. I don't really care for the floral stage, though, but I've never been a real floral person. The end, though, may make this one worth it for me.

[Lycanthrope]

It smells kind of like... bananas? Oh, wait, that's frankincense and resins! And copal, too. Oh, after a bit of time this glows. I guess it's the combination of the herbal flowers. This really reminds me of that glowing, crackled gold patina of the painting. It kind of reminds me of Midnight Mass, as well. Such beautiful light.

[Tesseljoan]

I just bought this for the painting, I have very little hope that my skin will make something nice out of this.

 

Wet, it smells bright and resinous at the same time.

 

This might be of interest only for those with similar chemistry: On my skin it turns into sharp generic perfumeness, unfortunately. This means the florals are fairly dominant in this blend.

[themerrybaker]

The frankincense adds a woody note to the otherwise predominantly herbals. Fresh from the Lab, Resurrection seems to have a lot of rose geranium. Either my skin is acting as a geranium megaphone, or this oil needs to age a bit. The overall impression is rolling through an herb garden with a bunch of nekkid dudes.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not very good at picking out any notes in this, so I'm not going to try. The only thing I can smell for sure is ylang ylang. There's definitely something woodsy in there, and sweet.

 

This oil smells expensive. I'm not sure how else to describe it. It smells like quality. It seems patient, gentle, and kind. Elegant and graceful. Well-mannered. It's quite soft after about 30 minutes, though -- not a lot of throw.

[Little Bird]

In the bottle this smells like rather sharp/metallic ylang ylang and (perhaps I am insane) plum.

On me... the only note that I can definitely pick out of the blend is ylang ylang. Then the ylang ylang fades away into the background and this is a warm, slightly powdery, sweet blend that makes me think of vanilla, without smelling like vanilla exactly.

After a half hour, this is a rather cliche smelling rose perfume on me . Slightly powdery and very perfumey-sharp. This is the sort of perfume that disappoints me when I test out department store blends at the mall.

None of The Salon blends have wowed me yet.


ETA 2016 frimp review:
This smells completely different when compared to the 2006, but it still doesn't smell much like its listed notes to me. I'm still getting something dark and fruity, like a sweet red wine note, under lots of golden, powdery, sweet resins. So sweet that it leans towards cloying, and too powdery for my tastes. The drydown has a perfumey/musky, sickly floral feel to it, like sweetly rotting flowers.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Little Bird

[juniperus]

Bottle: frankincense and copal most clearly indentifiable.

Wet: the florals are coming out, although I'm not familiar with all of them so I can't really give a more detailed description.

Dry: one of the florals is really hitting me in the sinus - I don't recall reacting this way to geranium or hyssop, so it could be one of the others. it's growing sweeter in that ylang ylang amping kinda way.

Later: the sinus-y aspect has passed, thank goodness, but the ylang ylang has really taken off and this is very sweet, now. I can barely identify the resins and even the florals beneath it's cloying grip. Darn. I had rather hoped this one might be another that may just work...

 

(edited to add: Bri likes this on me, so I'll try it again this morning and see how it works itself out through the day...)

Edited July 27, 2006 by Juniperus Intrepidus

[jj_j]

I live for Beth's frankincense single note, and there were several other notes in The Resurrection of the Flesh that I enjoy, so I almost purchased a bottle straight off. The "complete general catalog swap" allowed me to test this, and I'm completely enamoured; I just wish I hadn't waited but had gone ahead and purchased the bottle last month!

 

Out of the vial, I get glorious frankincense and hyssop ... this is absolutely beautiful. Warm, clean, faintly herbal, and no sign of the ylang-ylang. If my flesh ever gets resurrected, this is what I want it to smell like.

 

I wait for the usual morph that comes a few minutes into most of scents (thank you, funky skin chemistry), and though it comes, it takes much longer than usual. For a while, I thought I was going to get to keep the pure frankincense and hyssop that I adore. There's a very pure, soft, and almost fuzzy-textured floral that emerges - such a soft and graceful note that it doesn't seem like a floral - and adds a touch of warm sunshine to the coolness of the frankincense and hyssop. They blend together so beautifully that once the morphing takes place, you can't imagine that the scent was ever anything else.

 

Luckily, I never find the ylang-ylang in Resurrection of the Flesh; it would have done terrible things on my skin and ruined this for me. I like rose geranium, but didn't find it wafting off my wrist, either, so I can only guess that the floral note I found was angelica.

 

I don't love all frankincense, but I love Beth's. This is a sure-fire purchase bottle for me, and so far my favorite of the Salon scents. Not a ton of throw, but my nose is glued to my wrist and I feel like I'm wrapped in a blanket of luxury as well as an aura of being comforted. All is right in the world while I'm breathing in Resurrection of the Flesh.

[herbhealer]

Incense, flowers and sweet fruit, pleasant but didn't last long on my skin. I had high hopes for this since I love copal and frankincense. Ylang-ylang isn't top on my list, but it really doesn't stand out here.

[PurringPulsar]

In the imp: frankincense and geranium-and what a fantastic geranium.
Wet on skin: now I can smell ylang, the scent sweetens and deepens and becomes more floral.
Dry on skin: this is beautiful! The dominant notes here are geranium and ylang-ylang, gilded by the resinous notes with just a hint of herbal hyssop and probably the angelica. The ylang is very prominent-in certain BPALs I can't really smell the ylang or recognise it outright despite its heady sweet scent, but here it smells like it should. This is a very good quality ylang. The geranium sits behind it and smells rich, deep, and slightly rosy. I love the golden effect of the frankincense over it all.
After a while: after some time the scent becomes less floral-heavy and more of a balsamic, herbal, resinous scent with a warmth to it which is almost spicy. The scent is almost peppery at times, and sometimes smoky. It is very comforting, and has great throw. It eventually turns into a very similar drydown to Midnight Mass but with added herbs and with copal too, it's almost musky-floral at this point as well. At times I think I can pick up the soft golden hay-like scent of heliochrysum too (I think that's what it smells like anyway).
Verdict: soft, calm, warm, balmy, meditative are all words that come to mind when I smell this gorgeous mix of floral, resinous and herbal notes. It announces itself with a burst of heady ylang ylang, with beautiful geranium. Then the resins follow, adding their golden, almost spicy warmth. At the base, soft herbal notes of hyssop and helichrysum smooth the scent out. Overall, I get a soothing balsamic scent from this, golden and gently warming, very balanced, and with delightful musk-incense-smoke notes popping up from nowhere upon drydown. This is a gorgeous scent, very well crafted…I'm not sure if I need a bottle but I'm keeping it because it smells so different and would be nice to use for meditation or when I need calming.
Emoticon rating:
If you like this, try: Arcana, Scales of Deprivation, Penitence, Midnight Mass

[sarada]

This smells very perfumey at first...I think rose geranium is the only thing that is really catching my attention, and it's not really a note that I like. But almost everything else in here, I love, because it's so resiny....ahh but I don't smell them!

 

Ylang ylang can come across as a cloying, chemical scent to me and while I don't get that from this blend I think it might be contributing to the overall perfumey floral aspect.

 

Fortunately though it dries down to mainly the frankincense and copal with wisps of powdery floral incense. Like several of the other Salon blends it makes me think of handrolled, fresh incense that you'd buy in an occult store, but not any particular scent, just a generic mixture of everything.

 

In fact, if you've ever gotten a whole bunch of imps in bubble wrap in the mail, this is almost the scent that winds up lingering on the bubble wrap after you've put the imps away. I love that scent actually! This doesn't seem to have enough personality on its own to grab me...but I think the complexity of the Salon blends probably deserves a few more tries for me to get to know them.

[edenssixthday]

There are so many notes in this blend that I don't know anything about that it's a really fascinating scent for me because I am enjoying trying to identify the notes I do know from those I'm not familiar with. It is a very light scent and and sticks really close to my skin, although it lasts a good 3 hours, which isn't too shabby (on me) for such a light scent. During the last hour, the frankincense dominates the other notes, which is pretty typical in a scent containing frankincense, as it loves my skin. I probably won't wear this again, but it was nice to experience.

[BrightRedScream]

There are so many notes in this that automatically sent alarm bells off in my head - but me being the way I am - I had to try it...

 

Initially I don't get any of the notes that usualy send me into migraine land like ylang ylang or frankincense - which can if it's too overpowering...

But I do get the rose geranium - a lot...and something else that smells very sweet.

This is actually really pretty on, and I'm scared that the dry down is going to ruin it for me.

 

I start to get the ylang ylang, but it's not overly strong...I don't get the scents that normally make me die in this at all...this is staying very pretty and sweet..and it makes me happy. This is just too nice for words

 

I'm pleased that I've found another Salon scent that works for me

Edited August 20, 2006 by BrightRedScream

[azhure]

In the vial: There's a sharpness to this immediately - I think it's the ylang ylang and geranium blending.

 

Wet: The frankincense peeks out for a little while, and then the scent sharpens again. I get the ylang ylang amplified the most, with the rest of the notes playing in the background.

 

Dry: Softened ylang ylang.

[SultryWolf]

Bottle: Sweet and a bit astringent.

 

On: floral, with just a hint of smoky frankincense, which intensifies as it dries. After a few hours, mostly frankincense with a bit of sweet florals.

 

Some may get a pencil-shavings phase, which doesn't bother me, but I know (even if I don't understand ) that some people don't like that.

[supremegoddessofall]

Yummy! The frankincense is the top note, which gives it an overall spicy feel. It's fairly delicate for a spice scent. The ylang ylang is right underneath, along with the geranium, which gives it a nice floral balance.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Sweet honey floral

On Skin: This is so light and gentle. I get a sweet almost honey feel from it, very golden in tone. The notes listed honestly turned me off, but I am so glad I tried this one. This scent is so faint you do have to inhale deeply to get a good feel for it. I do smell the rose and it offers a light sour floral note that is balanced by the sweet ylang ylang and deep resinous copal. The frankincense adds to the deepness with a slight spice, but nothing that stands out. The angelica offers a very faint greenish earthy feel but again only for a moment and then it dives back into the blend. I am so overwhelmed with how well the Salon scents are blended. It really is hard to pick apart the scent! Bravo Beth!

[Voleuse]

Incense, definitely, as well as sharply-sweet florals. This is a rich, but very subtle scent--I get almost no throw from this. After a while, the dusky florals are more prominent, but overall this is a well-balanced blend. Golden, warm, sensual, complicated. Almost a cathedral scent, but not quite.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: fresh and floral. very pretty.

on: darker and more incensy, but still with a fresh floral. this is a bit sweeter on than in the imp.

1 hour later: very sharp and soapy, with a bit of sweetness in the background.

5 hours later: nice, sweet flowers. the sharp note has gone away and been replaced with something a bit more earthy.

6.5 hours later: a sweet, powdery, slight soapy floral.

overall: this is nice, but not something i'd wear.

[forspecial_plate]

Right away I thought, 'frankincense and myrrh'. Smelled a lot like Midnight Mass. Then after a few minutes the subtleties started to come through....the sort of sharp floral note of rose geranium, something herbal which may be hyssop and/or angelica, and also ylang ylang, but just a little bit. Very nice scent that I'll enjoy wearing. I agree with yeahbutnot, this is reminiscent of Scales Of Deprivation, maybe because of the complexity, the herbs, and resins. Also reminds me a little bit of Thanatos with the rosey incense-y feel. Also...I'm really glad it's not powdery!!

[lapillus]

In bottle: spicy brown

 

Wet: sweet spicy brown

 

Dry: frankincense (milder than plain but that’s the only note I’m getting).

 

Later: the frankincense and copal retreat a bit and blend really nicely with the sweet florals. Strong throw and lasts very well.

 

Summary: Very pleasant incensy blend. Not my favorite of them, which is Lurid (I love its complexity), but really nice.