Kostnice

[Nepthys]

A celebration of the Bone Church of Prague. Frankincense, rosewood, lily, and geranium rose.

This was a freebie from the Lab; I've never have tried it on my own, given the frankincense, which just doesn't work on me. However this is quite pleasant on me - the frankincense, which did burst right out on my skin, subsides after a bit and mellows into a woody-herbal scent. Associatively, to me it would be a church on a spring day; the green smell of the day outside tempered with the dustier scent of the pews and the incense. This is a very interesting scent, solemn and fresh at the same time.

[Splendid Molerat]

Photos of the Bone Church amaze me. What would it feel like to handle the dry bones of someone who lived and was loved, and assemble them into art?

 

The lily in Kostnice comes out strongest, a glowing greenish white. It's dry and light, almost like wax, and the resin notes create shadows in the background.

 

I can imagine a resemblance to powdery dry bones, incense and flowers all around, and damp marble in the far corners.

[surf-tormented]

I really like this one! I don't know if it is going to be icon-worthy, but it is borderline!

 

It was very cedar smelling when first put on, but it had a nice undernote of...maybe...crypt?

 

It smelled like cedar or some other wood on the floor of a dirty concrete tomb. Just my thing!

 

Then, it mellows into a very warm, inviting fragrance. It feels comforting. Full of green scents and funeral flowers. Wow.

 

My only gripe is that it is very light. I had to put a lot on to smell it and used up a good part of my imp.

 

I have a feeling this one is going to grow on me!

Edited November 20, 2004 by Madame Nyx

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: Lily, rose, and frankensense. Actually a very nice combination.

 

On Me: Very nice and rosy, without being just rose. The floral combo is very nice together, soft and feminine, with just a hint of the frankensense giving it some bite. Its very lovely, the smell of fresh flowers in church.

 

But it fades awfully fast. I can't smell it on my wrist anymore, but its still lingering in the air. I don't mind reapplying though, particularly with this fragrance. Another oil I will get a bigger bottle of once the imp is gone.

[fairywingmaker]

Wet on my skin this starts out as a very Woodsy scent, accented by deep dark red rose. Then as it dries the Frankincense starts to emerge along with the sweetness of lily.

 

This one scared me! I thought it was going to be too deep, dark, and masculine, then it becomes light and beautiful. The rose part of this is beautiful (and I do not wear rose as a rule, as it always turns to powder on me.) There is an almost lemony touch to this after it's completely dried. I'm blown away by this scent.

[inkstone]

This was a freebie from the Lab.

 

In the imp: I know that's frankincense I'm smelling, but it's mingling with something in a way that makes me recoil.

 

Wet: Okay, it's clearing up to smell vaguely woody, more floral. It's still unsettling me.

 

Drydown: The florals are coming out more. I'm not really caring for this combination of wood, floral & frankincense.

 

Finals thoughts: This really isn't for me. I don't know what was behind my reaction upon first sniff. It might be triggering some unwanted memory, and it ruined this blend for me. I'm not sure, but whatever it was, I ended up not liking this at all. Into the swap pile.

[BellaCrow]

Alas, I dont think I am good with florals (esp rose) or incense notes. At first on me it was very incense-y, altho it threw really well. Hours later it fades to a mishmas of floral-y incense, slightly smokey.

 

Bella

[tempete]

Wet, Kostnice smells like dirt on me, which must be due to the frankincense note. As it dries down, a very lovely mix of what must be the rosewood and rose geranium comes out. If Kostnice stayed in this phase, I would buy a bottle and put up with the initial dirt smell, but alas, the lily note causes the blend to go soapy on me as usual. It's too bad, because the middle phase of Kostnice was quite beautiful and different from anything else that I have tried from BPAL.

[Falathwen]

I have heard of the bone church but do not know much about it. Nonetheless, I could not resist a scent compared to Cathedral, which is a top favorite of mine, and named after a church of Prague.

On me, rosewood and a brief hint of frankincense appear and are quickly sweetened and softened by the lily. I can sense the geranium rose as the background note. There is a very tender feeling to this scent for me…both strong and gentle.

As it dries down, the floral notes grow more and more prominent until I realize that this stage is very similar to Hymn. The final note is rather soapy on me but not unpleasant.

[teza]

I was worried about this one and put it off, because of the sharp, acrid smell of the scent in the vial. Like all other scents, it immediately sweetened on my skin and turned into something like sweet sandlewood. It tended not to morph like some of the other scents tend to do, which is good. I liked it as is. I didn't like it WAY much, and it'll probably go to swaps, but it was a lot softer and drier than I expected. It turned into a mellow, herby-floral dry wood scent.

 

Then I tried Coiled Serpent and this one definately got stuck in the swap bag. ;p (poor thing)

[VorpalBunny]

Kostnice starts out with a predominant rose geranium smell, with a touch of rosewood. As it dries, the rosewood comes out more, and it is a very nice rosey floral with just a hint of darkness. After I've worn it most of the day, the frankincense comes out more, and it is just a nice, sweet, mysterious floral without being overly floral. It's not one I would wear daily, but I enjoy it a lot.

[LiberAmoris]

Kostnice is more floral than incense on me, which was a disappointment. I love Cathedral and really enjoy All Saints so I was hoping for another ‘penitential’ blend to round out my little collection. I also got the dill note; I think it might be the geranium rose that plays that way on my skin. It ended up smelling like spa shampoo on me, a soapy fresh floral. Nice, but not something that I need to wear again.

[feline.by.design]

My impie of Kostnice came courtesy of Red Hot Mama's UNICEF auction.

 

At first, it reminded me a touch of Cathedral when first wet. But within the span of a few minutes, the florals take over. On my skin, Kostnice is consistantly very flowery. The lily, for me, is predominant, with the rose not far behind with its powdery aroma.

 

In the end, the rose fragrance manages to outlast the other notes. Not my thing, ladies, but perhaps those of you who are more fond of lily-rose floral combos may find Kostnice dreamy.

 

-doreen

[darkitysnark]

Kostnice

 

Could've sworn I've already reviewed this one... I mention it enough times in other reviews... ah well, here we go:

 

This was a gimp from the Lab. I've gotten several rose blends from the Lab actually, and am convinced it's all part of some master plan to turn me into rose person.

 

I'm wearing Kostnice again today because I remembered it as one of the rosey oils that I enjoyed the first time. It still is quite nice but...

 

In the bottle:

ROSE, and dark resinous notes

 

Wet:

ROSE, and pretty much nothing else. My skin seems to grab ahold of rose, amplify it, and toss it back ten fold no matter what.

 

Drydown:

Rosey rosity rose. There's also a sweet floral behind that, and just a bunch of other flowers. Where did all the incense go?

 

Later:

Still assertively rose, but I'm finally picking up on other nuances. There's a sweet, softer floral (the lily?) behind the slightly biting rose, and under all that a nice, dry, warm incense.

 

While Kostnice seems to be a light blend on others, this one has stuck to me like molasses. It's mostly at up close sniffing strength now, but I catch wafts of rose every now and again.

 

I really wanted to hang onto this one for the dry bones, dusty wistfulness.. but I think she's destined for swapping.

[Gin]

I smell the lily and rosewood first, but as it dries, the frankincense comes out. This is a lovely, subtle blend. I like the addition of the lily to the spicy-rose combination.

[shelldoo]

wet: this is mostly frankensence

 

dry it is a rosewood geranium w/ and occassional whif of the frankensence.

 

this is very beautiful, very complex, almost "regal" to me it does go a bit soapy, i am going to try it again before i make up my mind completely, altho the geranium and rosewood smell great right before it completely drys down.

[Morgan]

Kostnice initially smelss very floral. Then smell the frankincence. It smells really good, it reminds me of a smoky cathedral filled with flowers.

After a few minutes though it goes soapy on my skin. To the trading bin!

[requieminblack]

First sniff from the bottle- Oooh, very pretty. Rose geranium and lily.

 

After 10 minutes- This is the most delicate floral I have yet to try. Rose geranium is the dominate note followed by lily. I used to have a large pot of geranium that smelled just like when it rained.

 

After 30 minutes- The frankincense is now starting to come out making this a bit soapy.

 

Summery- I loved the wet stage of this one but the dry down turned soapy on me.

Edited March 4, 2005 by requieminblack

[anmorata]

Kostnice:

Wet: Heavy florals intermingled with heavy resins. Whew. This is like church. The scent doesn't change during drydown.

Longterm wear: This scent was so heavily resinous on me that I had to go scrub it off. It left a bad taste in my mouth for awhile (heavy resin scents somehow do that to me). Off to the swaps pile!

[UltraViolet]

In the bottle

Bright, clear rose with a little green note

 

On

Rose primarily with a slight woodsy note. The lily lifts it up a bit and I can tell the Frankincense is there but I can't really pick it out.

 

30 minutes

It's not a wimp staying power-wise.

And to think I was going to give this a 3 rating half an hour ago. This has developed into a most beautiful blend. I believe I've actually found my favorite (thus far) BPAL rose scent.

It's grown warmer and a more powdery and maybe a touch sweeter too.

Now it's a medium, slightly sweet, pink rose scent and so as not to get too fluffy...a light woody middle note.

 

Throw:

Medium

 

Scent category:

Floral/Woody

 

Summary

For a rose scent this is very nice. I like it more than "Rose Red" *ducks flying objects* and even (dare I say it) more than "The Empress". It's lighter then most of Beth's primarily rose blends...but not alot lighter. The woodiness that I'm getting is a nice combination with the rose. It's not a dense woodiness either, it's light.

 

Purchase again?

Yes, a 5ml

 

1-5 rating, 5 being best.

4

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 3/5

Summarised in a word or two: Cool and dry.

 

In the imp/bottle: Interesting at first, but after a moment, it doesn't sit well with me. Nothing but frankincense.

 

On skin, wet: The frankincense fades into something light and gives way for the lily, which seems very dry, and cool. I notice the rose hiding behind the lily, but it's quite subtle.

 

On skin, dry: Mostly rose and lily. The frankincense hasn't completely gone, but it's become very subtle, and very cool. The lily is still dry, though it's tempered nicely by the rose, which, while still very floral-y, seems a bit bitter.

 

Conclusion: All-in-all, this one is very cool dry. Not something I can see myself wearing daily.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Aredhel

[tinyvulture]

this is a more everyday, wearable church scent than cathedral. it has that dry, incense smell of a church, thanks to the frankincense i guess. but there's also a very clean, green, slightly soapy smell. it's like a church that's just undergone spring cleaning, full of flowers and plants, with all its doors thrown open to let in the fresh air.

[cormeretrix]

the frankincense got me; although to be fair, i did try this one right after pain, so i may have still been a bit woozy. however, i'm not a big fan of any incense-y type smells, so... it went into the swap pile.

[quimerula]

Folk, I do love geranium rose!

 

Wet it's geranium rose and lily, such a pretty scent!

 

Dry the rosewood comes out, with a bit of incense.

 

It's fresh, light and wearable. A big bottle is needed.

[helarctos]

I get the roses, but instead of a wood or incense smell, on me the roses are tempered by something that smells like dust or dirt. Not the fresh earth of Zombi, but an austere and barren earth.