Kostnice

[jj_j]

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

Immediately frankincense and lily, Kostnice settles into a surprisingly cool wood and green bouquet smell. The lilies are the more dry, almost powdery classic lily scent, and the rosewood is complemented by the green, slightly herbal note of the geranium rose.

To me, this is much more the scent of a church than Cathedral is.

[Nadirah]

I smell the frankincense right away, the lily peaks out a bit. It smells like a church, at first. As drydown comes along I can smell the rose geranium almost exclusivly. Most likely because thats the scent I can relate to most. My mom and mother in law both have this growing like mad around their home. The scent reminds me of a hot summers day just after the dew of morning has evaporated from the flowers. A walk through the garden at grannies. This blend also is similiar to Tempest it seems to have that aqua feel to it. Maybe influenced by holy water?

[Shollin]

First sniff: Dark wood and incense, similar to Cathedral but less sharp.

 

Wearing: Kostnice goes instantly soapy, unfortunately. Like incense and soap put together. Not a good thing.

[JazzieCazzie]

Delicious. Cool and evocative of childhood memories I can't place (but I never went to church so that leaves that out) ... this is a scent I would not only wear out, but would wear on days I just want to relax and be contemplative. I would also love it as a bath oil for pure relaxation and reflection.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: dill pickle chips?!

 

WEARING IT: dill pickle chips morphing into... lily and geranium rose? i can't smell the rosewood or frankincense at all. unfortunately, it turns into a soapy floral on my skin

 

FINAL VERDICT: glad i tried it, but not for me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

I got this for my sister but was amazed at how much I like it--much more wearable than Cathedral, which is more of a ritual scent to me. Similar incense and resin notes, but that touch of soft floral really makes a difference--in fact, I like it better than some others that are "official" florals. I didn't have the soapy problem with this one--but then, my skin is weird. *shrug*

 

Suggestion: If you liked the idea of Cathedral but found it too strong to wear, give this a shot.

[MissAnthropy]

First whiff: Frankincense, lily... hmm, not much rose. But like so many others who have tried this scent, the frankincense is what's standing out the most for me. This is pleasing for me. It smells EXACTLY like the church I used to go to when I was little... at Easter time. That was the one thing I liked about church... the smell.

 

On: This scent is staying pretty true to what I smelled right out of the bottle. My chemistry hasn't changed it much, and, it's nice and strong on me. I can tell this one is going to last. The frankincense and lily, mixed with the warmth of my body heat is creating soothing and comforting scent all around me.

 

An hour later (actually, a little longer than that): As I predicted... it's still going strong! Lovely. Memory evoking. Received a compliment at the store to top it all off, too. I just love when I don't have to reapple or top off a scent to bring it back to life.

 

 

-Leslie

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: How sad. This is such the smell of a church during a funeral of someone who was full of life and much loved.

 

Second Impression: This is a beautiful and most evocative blend. The rose geranium is sharp at first but mellows on the skin. The flowers and the resin are mournful.

 

Final Analysis: Personal scent, maybe not. But this will really work well in the burner.

[starrykitten]

Wet: This is very soapy but somehow still compelling.

Drying: The lily is still dominant and soapy. It's more of a laundry soap than just a bottle of hand soap though, very clean.

Dry: I have no reason to like this as much as I do. It stays somewhat soapy throughout, but doesn't turn cloyingly powdery on me. Out of all the BPALs I've tried so far, Kostnice even lasted the longest, over 9 hours, and releases much more as my body warms up. It's a very calming, very pink-white scent. Flowers and soap, still. Makes me think of my mom putting freshly laundered towels on the grass to help them whiten.

[Tesseljoan]

???

 

When the scent is wet, I can smell geranium pretty clearly. When it dries, it goes a bit soapy-lemony on me. It also has a bit of the sharpness florals tend to have on my skin, but not too much. No frankincense in sight on my skin.

[nevermore]

I’m not particularly fond of lilies (allergies), but I decided to give this one a try, just for fun. The lilies are quiet prominent in this one, but with a resinous base. I really enjoy this scent, though I’m not sure if it’s “me” enough that I would wear it out often. I’m going to keep the imp around, and see how much I wear it.

[malanna]

When this was drying, I sniffed my arm and an image of drying paint immediately came to mind. That wasn't what it actually smelled like, but it did have a bit of an astringent feel at first. However, after an hour or so (it lost the astringent feel a few minutes after wearing, though), it smelled like a green floral. It made me think of a green greenhouse--not big blooms, or a hot greenhouse, but a cool greenhouse with a gentle wind blowing. I don't like lilies, but the resin anchors it down. This is probably just the power of suggestion speaking here, but it smells like the intermingled smell of a pew and a crushed lily (perhaps you sat upon the lily in a fit of religious fervor).

[The Vampire Lilith]

I am addicted to this scent! To me it smells green and clean on a background of incense. A scent associated with serenity and calmth, although it is rather a cool scent than a warm one. A church, indeed.

 

Kostnice was never on my wishlist, but I wanted to give it a try along with some other scents that were up for swaps... and it turned out to become my first 5 ml-order! I keep reaching for it.

 

I asked my best friend what she thought of when she smelled it, and she said that for some reason it made her think of the flower shown in the beginning tune of the series "six feet under", which is about.... funeral-undertakers!! (and I never even mentioned the word church to her)

 

A keeper, and incomparable with any scent I've ever worn before (makes me curious of what 'cathedral' smells like, as some people make a comparison between the two)

[pekeana]

In the vial: frankincense and crisp rose.

 

On me: rose and rosewood. I have a bad chemistry that sends roses into overdrive, so it doesn't surprise me that this is behaving badly -- and my wrist is itching, so I'm going to wash it off. *sigh* I guess I'm just not a good floral person.

[pkwench]

Vial: It smells very dry and herbalesque-like herbs left hanging to dry.

 

Wet: It's sweetened up now and has a sort scent that reminds me of sage lotion

 

After 10: It smells exactly like a greenhouse right now. Which is no bad thing-I love that smell. There's a bit of a soapy tinge starting to peek in though, I hope it's temporary.

 

After 20/30: Alas the soapyness. I really enjoyed the greenhouse aspect to it, but that darn soapy thing that my body can do to some scents ruined it. I'm hoping that it's transitional and that in an hour or so it'll fade.

[twistygirl]

Wet, this is very clean and green and slightly soapy on me. I don't pick up any of the frankincense at all. It's very aquatic and fresh.

 

As it dries down, though, the frankincense makes itself known, and it becomes something much more intriguing... it's still aquatic and fresh and yet a touch resiny and incense-y at the same time. The frankincense gives it a nice little kick underneath, it warms up the coolness of the aquatic feeling. Good staying power, it stays a bit close to my skin but has enough waft so that I can smell it without having to stick my nose right up to it.

 

I prefer my scents to be a little sexier, a bit more provocative, and so as a personal fragrance, I don't know that I'd choose to wear this often, but it will be great for those days when I'm in the mood for something a bit more subtle and serene. I think it would smell fabulous as a room fragrance, too.

[VelvetSky]

Kostnice is a very complex scent, I just love it.

 

It start out on my skin all rosewood and lilies. This is definitely an ecclesiastical blend....I'm 6 years old again, sitting in church, uncomfortable on the hard wooden pew, wearing my blue dress with the matching hat and tiny purse with my white gloves inside. Lilies and wood and the slight scent of roses.

 

After a while, the frankincense starts to dominate the blend, wafting over the wood and flowers, until everything ends up an exquiste cacophany of fragrances that make me feel as though Jesus on his cross is watching me.

 

I honestly don't know whether I can wear Kostnice on my body as a personal scent. I have too many memories, thoughts and feelings wrapped up in it. I feel conflicted when I experience it.

[Koumori]

If only I liked lily... unfortunately, I don't. Lily is the most prominent note to my nose in the vial and for the first 45 minutes or so of wear. After that, it settles down as the resinous notes come more to the fore and the lily finally lets some other notes come through. Every time I think it's finally gone away, though, that lily perks right back up again.

 

Sadly, lilies give me a headache.

[Reinaluna]

Kostnice is the most floral BP blend that I have tried. I wish it had more Frankincense to sweetin it up some. I smell no spice at all just straight flowers. No bottle of this for me but I will use the imp on my daughter.

[Ishtar]

On me Kostnice was a little forbidding, a very "serious' scent. I loved the frankincense and the rosewood, whose dryness was nicely counterbalanced by the lily. Unfortunately I am not a huge fam of geranium and this is precisely the note that came to overpower the rest of the blend after drydown.

 

Very nice but not for me, I am afraid.

[Northernminx]

Having been to the bone church of Prague, I rather had to try this on principle. A very..well..churchy scent. In the vial this is a strong herbal, lots of frankincense in there.

On my skin the lilly is most predominant as others have noted, with a current of frankinscence adding a resiny based under that. It's very peaceful, clean, fragrant and not heavy. It's cool and quiet, like the interior of a cathedral after worship. Sadly this soaps out a bit on me so it's not a keeper but it's beautiful before that and not too overpowering.

[OdetteOdile]

I think I smell the geranium rose, and something woody - the rosewood I guess. Interesting.

A tiny bit soapy.

I'd wear this when I'm in the mood for an interesting rather than a pretty scent. It's the green lawn outside a church in a foreign country - unfamiliar vegetation smells when you're travelling.

[Witch's Dagger]

Kostnice

 

Preconceived Notions: I thought this would be a relaxing, contemplative, and meditative blend. Also, I was intrigued by the name, because I’d love to visit the Bone Church of Prague (as someone who knows a little Czech - the word itself does mean “bone place”).

 

In the vial: I smell cedar - a very green, almost grass-like cedar.

 

On me:

First whiff: Still cedar, but warmer now, and I’m getting the rosewood a little, I think. It still also has a green grass kind of smell. Yes, there’s the rosewood, and it’s wafting more than the other notes. Much warmer and kind of spicy. Appropriately, this is a very dry scent. It’s also much sharper than Cathedral.

 

After 15 minutes: This is a very *green* scent. I can almost smell growing things.

 

After half an hour: I think I might be getting some floral notes, but I’m not sure, and I can smell the incenses now, too.

 

Final impressions: Yes, this is a very calm, green, incensy scent. Also, I was wrong - the floral thing must have been a trick of my nose. I liked the way the various notes kept coming out to surprise me, though, like the growing things, and then the incense. Very intriguing.

[Penance]

Got an imp of this from Witch's Dagger.

 

First sniff:

 

Incense with a soft floral undertone. I was a little bit leary of this one because of the floral notes (I don't like floral perfumes), but it's lovely! It smells like Penitence with a floral background to me.

 

Wet on skin:

 

The flowers really pick up once it hits my skin, drowning out the incense and putting me in mind of Easter Mass in a sunlit cathedral, the incense smoke wafting in the air almost overpowered by the Easter flowers decorating the altar. Where Penitence and Cathedral are dark and contemplative, Kostnice is light and full of hope. It reminds me of the celebration of life that always comes in an Easter Mass and I really enjoy the association.

 

Dry down:

 

The incense has returned, fighting for dominance with the flowers. The result is quite like that of The Caterpillar only more pious. It's light and hopeful and full of the promise of life even in the face of death. It's lovely.

 

The bottom line:

 

While Penitence is dry and calming in the manner of a clean soul after confession, Kostnice is light and airy and full of hope and, by extension, peace. The two are cousins, in my mind, each with their own atmosphere and implications and each lovely in its own way. While I still prefer Cathedral and Penitence, Kostnice is a definite keeper.

[Murron]

First sniff from skin: it starts like a bitther heavy floral on me. Must be the lilly or the geranium....

 

Drydown: the bitterness has gone away, the florals come out stronger, I can't recognise any frankencinse...

 

After a few hours: still quite heavy and floral...

 

For me, this one's too heavy and floral. Into the little swaptub, you little one!!!