Kostnice

[Cattastroficka]

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

I won this on Ebay from the actual BPAL company. I bought it having never smelled it before.
Rose and frankincense are two faves so I decided to bid. So glad I did because I love love love this.

It's everything that I love about their oils. It's deep yet light. It's musky yet feminine floral. It's unique yet has an air of familiarity about it.
I have over 80 oils now fom bpal that I recently received in the last few months so I am trying them out so this doesn't get much wear time.
When I smell it i ask myself, why aren't you wearing this more? It's heaven in a bottle.
Frankincense in the vial, rose on for a few hours then back to nice warm mellow frank. I love Frank--don't tell my husband.

[filigree_shadow]

These days, rosewood is one of the only wood notes I'll wear. I've liked it for years, and it feels very comforting to me. I definitely like it in Kostnice, but the combination with frankincense (which tends to be a little too high-pitched for me) and geranium rose (geranium is a little too herby-harsh) is not my favorite. Don't get me wrong -- it's not bad at all. It's just that I really only need one rosewood scent, and Seance is my favorite. This one is a close second.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: rosewood sometimes starts out really sour on me, and that's what this is. Sour rosewood, with hints of Frankincense underneath.

 

 

Dry: Soap. Beautiful soap. Like the most gorgeous Victorian soap. It's so pretty I would almost wear it as perfume, even though it is so so soapy. It's sweet, a tiny bit peppery (the geranium) and very clean smelling. It grows on me every time I sniff it. It has a very classic feel about it. It's elegant.

[jenocyde]

The Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora that this perfume is named for is one of my favorite places I've ever visited.

 

Upon application I was transported back to that place. Standing in front of the giant crucifix that is in there, with candles and coins in front of it.

 

The roses and frankincense and lillies are perfect.

 

This is incredible.

[Pixie-elf]

In the Imp: Something Green, Lily, and a bit of incense?

Wet: Sweet Lillies. Oh I just want to stick my face in you! It starts off soft then begins to blossom. I'm not sure what geranium smells like, but something almost... Soapy? Starts to come out....

10 minutes later: Lillies, still, and still a little soapy. I wish there was Frankincense here. Or Rosewood. I'm wondering if I just amp lillies so much that it's ate everything else...

20 minutes later: Less Lily, more soap. Ack. D:

30 minutes later: More herbs, a little less soapy... It's still not something I'd consider pleasant on my skin.

An hour later: A bit of Frankincense and soap?

Verdict: I will be gifting this to a friend who loves Lilies since it doesn't work on me and was a Frimp in a PIF. At least now I'm closer to knowing what I'm not fond of! <3

[achildoftime]

This one was a bit odd for me. It was a beautiful frankincense and rosewood scent, but then I snapped my fingers and it became a lily. Seriously, between sniffs it completely changed its profile. It commits to being a lily scent now, but that first turnaround was very dramatic.

[Lucchesa]

I really wanted to love Kostnice because I've been to the Bone Church in Prague, and what an amazing inspiration for a scent. It doesn't start off well, though. Rose plus resin often sends the rose sour on my skin, and that's what happens here, even though it's rosewood and rose geranium. The lily is MIA at first. After a couple of hours it's really beautiful; the sourness is almost gone, and I'm able to make out the individual components: the frank, the rosewood, the more herbal rose geranium, and a breath of lilies. It's definitely a skin scent by this point. I will probably pass it on because I have so much BPAL and this takes a while to find its groove on my skin.

[theseagrows]

i had to track this down, after visiting the bone church 2 years ago. the bone church was truly one of the most amazing places i've visited in my life. though i know this scent might not "work" for me, i really needed to try it. it starts off a bit like a sour rose with pencil shavings...that's frankincense and rose on me at times. i believe i get rosewood and lily too, but they are more subtle at this point. after about 10-15 minutes the sourness dies down a bit and i think i get more lily at this point. after the drydown the scent is quite nice, just a faint rosy-lily with hints of rosewood.

[ShadowEtienne]

Herbal, slightly sour (in a good way), sharp and fresh geranium rose is by far the leading note of this on my skin. When it first touched my skin, it was almost overwhelming, but given a chance to settle, it does go nice places.

 

My skin often amps lilies, and these join the scent, smooth and almost creamy in their freshness. 

 

The rosewood and frankincense stay in the background, but they at a soft woody resinous element that sweetens and warms the scent. I love the rosewood note here and do wish it was a touch more prominent.