Tabula Smaragdina

[zankoku_zen]

Rosicrucian incense.

This is a rose/incense blend. After half an hour, the rose dominates almost completely, with a whiff of incense in the background.

Yeah, I didn't think this would work out so well.

[PurringPulsar]

Tabula Smargadina

 

In the bottle: rose and sandalwood incense.

Wet on skin: the rose blooms on my skin, resins come out, and this smells like a mix of Rose Cross and Pulcinella.

Dry on skin: mmm, this is gorgeous! It smells of rich full bodied roses surrounded by incense-mainly frankincense, but also some myrrh and labdanum. I also smell some sandalwood here too. This greatly resembles Rose Cross (not surprising) but it is more complex…it’s almost like the white rose of Parlement, but Parlement was heavier on the myrrh than this.

After a while: the scent doesn’t morph too much, but I think more frankincense comes out after some time. I also smell something that may be myrrh, or mastic perhaps…that and the ever present scent of rose. Now this smells like a lighter version of Parlement, a more ethereal Rose Cross, it’s a bright, golden rose incense with a definite dryness to it. almost like a desert rose scent.

The scent becomes a dry, golden and delicate resinous rose at the end.

Verdict: I am a proud rose lover, I adore the combination of rose and incense resins, such as Rose Cross, Parlement of Foules, All Saints, Magdalene, Pulcinella etc, and this is another one to add to my collection. It’s rose surrounded by sacred incense resins. This to me is the lighter sibling to Blasphemare Reliquary, whilst that scent was heavy on the resins with a hint of rose, this is rose-dominated with an undertone of resin, and whilst BR was a dark, murky resin, this is a golden, frankincense-centred resin. I also smell hints of sandalwood and other fragrant incense woods adding a dry, ashy feel to the scent, like just-burnt incense. a beautiful rose incense scent that can only get better with age…one to get a backup of.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Definitely.

If you like this, try: Rose Cross, Parlement of Foules, All Saints, Pulcinella and Teresina, Magdalene, Hymn, Blasphemare Reliquary

[delicate_fangs]

I got a decant of this, and tried it: yep, I am one of the people who amps it to ROSE ROSE ROSE GNARR I AM THE ROSE MONSTER ALL MUST BOW BEFORE ME and no incense at all. Ah, well. I know a hardcore rose lover who is probably going to bliss out over it, so that's good.

[Duck Mountain]

From wet to the dry stage, it was like a big tarnished vase of roses that had outlived their glory days and turned slightly sour. At the tail end, I caught a whiff of incense with what seemed like a cream note. This is quite nice - eventually. It simply takes too long to get there (on me, anyway).

Edited October 7, 2008 by Rem

[crebbsgirl]

I get a smoky rose incense here. I suspect this might be rose and frankincense. There is a woody note in here as well. As I don't like rose much, I don't see myself wearing this very often.

[cuervosueno]

Add me to the list of people who had to slap a hand to the forhead and go, duh! Why didn't it occur to me that Rosecrucian incense would include rose?

 

so yeah. Rose incense. Nice if you like rose. which I don't. It's not as bad as some rose scents--I guess the incense helps--but still not my thing.

[shadith]

I love rose, and I love incense- so I ordered a bottle of this unsniffed. Unfortunately my skin turns this into soap right away, and it doesn't get better over time

[rayvn1]

I don't get a hack of a lot of rose out of this, mostly just incense. And a really, really good incense at that! Not quite the same as Midnight Mass or All-Saints, but a little in that vein. Slightly peppery. Adding it to my stash of yummy incense blends asap.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Dark yellow oil. Sour roses & incense - reminds me of The Empress & The Miller's Daughter. Rather sharp and perfumey, maybe some amber?

 

Wet: Softer/gentler, less sour-sharp-astringent on my skin - the rose is much nicer, more velvety. Less intensely perfumey, but a bit more powdery from what is definitely amber. Less incensey than I'd expected, on the whole.

 

Dry: Doesn't morph, though it takes on a little more of smoky edge - reminding me strongly of the incense note in Black Lace - the same sort of ethereal haze, that's a little soapy and spicy.

 

Summary: Light generic incense, perfumey-powdery amber, and sour rose. Unique, I guess, but not my style, and definitely not the sort of rose I enjoy.

 

 

[milo]

Ack, sour, powdery rose, and nothing but.

[obsidienne]

I wanted to love Wanton and Rakshasa, but got very soapy rose incense with both, amongst other distasteful effects. I can wear them, but it's not the lush "sinking into a scent" feeling I like to get with my perfumes. Fortunately, I found Tabula Smaragdina!

 

It's a great rose incense. It starts with a sweet, spicy red rose, patchouli, and other resins (my nose isn't as discerning as I wish it could be!) -- well blended, nothing too sharp or soapy or weird. It's smooth and deep and luscious. Sandalwood (I think?) comes out as it dries down, which freshens up the deeper notes with some fresher woodsy notes.

 

This would be great worn on the skin and then also in a scent locket to highlight those spicy rose notes that I adore so much.

 

[impolight]

:::TABULA SMARAGDINA:::

 

True Roscrucian incense, is it?

Oh, splendid!

Let us see!

Ooooh... This is incredible in the bottle!

An instantaneous olfactory equivalent of a double-take...

Tabula Smaragdina is everything that it promises to be. This is probably the very best incense note tried from the Lab to date!

Were this to be encountered in a temple setting, knees would probably wobble and then bend, instinctively, in reverence.

Spectrally speaking, Tabula Smaragdina is equal parts Mirror, Gold, and Rose. This fragrance gleams...

On the skin, Tabula Smaragdina really amps.

This fragrance is pretty crazy in the respect that it evokes a religious awe. Thematically, Tabula Smaragdina would pair well with something like Dee...

As this fragrance radiated into the room in the quiet before work, it would have been little to no surprise to see a sword-wielding Angel swoosh in all ablaze through the front door and do some serious rebuking for the poor taste in armor these days... Before asking, "What's the address?"

For a split second, mortal body-chemistry behaved as though it would reject Tabula Smaragdina out of unworthiness, and threatened to go a bit soapy, but the moment passed, there was forgiveness, bathing in light, etcetera... And this fragrance bloomed, spectacular as ever.

There is a duality to Tabula Smaragdina that is particularly amazing; While there is the unmistakable glow, plume, and combustion of Incense and Spice, your skin practically crawls with dew-drops on Rose-petals as they lightly trace the length of your spine from nape to tailbone. Tabula Smaragdina is a hush just before you drift off to sleep.

This is a spell, a trance, a benumbing.

Tabula Smaragdina is an uneasy truce betwixt piousness and erotica.

Tabula Smaragdina could be worn to Church or a Brothel with equal aplomb.

Tabula Smaragdina is beautiful and unisex.

Again, the Carnival Diabolique astounds and amazes and produces yet another 5 out of 5.

[ElizabethOSP]

My grandmother was a Rosicrucian. Guess what? On my skin, dried down, this really smells like her Rosicrucian incense!!! Before it dries down, it smells like one of the perfumes she used to wear. Now, this all is a good thing! I recently burned the last piece of her incense (which I'd hoarded for over 30 years, and it had gotten rather faint, but it was fun!). I figured a replacement would show up if I'd just stop holding onto it. Well, abra cadabra, voila, and boy howdy: This oil is IT! Thankyou, Beth!

Edited July 8, 2010 by ElizabethOSP

[malibusunny]

I'm like the previous poster who was all "incense? okay!" without realizing it would be rose. when I first opened it up, I smelled incense and wine vinegar (not in a bad way), but nothing floral. My first review was "I have no idea. I will have to try this again when I am smelling properly, because all I am getting is soap and vinegar." But when I wore it for the first time I ended up with a nice, faded incense smell, warm and a little spicy, a little dusty, that I really liked. The floral faded off completely on my skin.

[porcelina]

woah. tabula smaragdina is eye-wateringly strong in the bottle and wet on the skin. there's an intense, astringent soapiness here, along with the requisite herbs and resins. it reminds me of a soap booth i've visited at the renaissance faire.

 

then the rose starts to come out, and it evolves into a GIANT SOAPY ROSE MONSTER. wow wow wow.

 

i don't know what i thought rosicrucian incense would smell like! this is more like rose-icrucian, har-de-har-har-har. yikes.

[filigree_shadow]

Rosy incense. Very pretty. Not the sort of thing I generally wear as perfume, but very pretty.

[stubbornfire]

Pure, 100% rose, and nothing else. It's beautiful, and a relief that it comes through so clearly after another rose-focused scent didn't smell of them at all for me. The smell is very strong, and never fades back to let any other scent come through, either - it's just all rose, all the time. I do wonder how the incense/rose would smell (I bet it's nice too) but I've wanted a strong rose smell for a while now and won't complain one bit now that I have one.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Soap. I love rose, but some varieties turn straight to soap on me, and that's what's happened here. I don't even get any incense, but soap. Sometimes once a scent warms up, it recovers from the soapiness, so hopefully this does.

 

 

Dry: The throw is still all soap. Nose to skin, I can smell the rose, and faint incense. It's nice, but I can't get over the soapy throw, and I have other rose/incense blends that work better on my skin chemistry. Glad to have tried it though!

[brineydeep]

I should preface this review by saying that my all-time favorite BPAL is Rose Cross. So I obviously had to try Tabula Smaragdina.

 

This is definitely like Rose Cross's fraternal twin in that it's a blend of rose and incense. The incense is more dominant in this blend but at the same time it's mellower than the frankincense in Rose Cross. The rose component is also different and I'm afraid this one doesn't play as nicely on my skin and goes a bit sour.

 

Overall, this one is nice but won't make me stop hoarding Rose Cross.

[Convallaria]

I get clean (white?) rose and something candle-like - resin or neutral incense? I like it - incense prevents even the "clean" rose from going too body product on me. In most other incense/resin+rose blends I tried rose gets swallowed, but not here. Hope it comes for Carnaval this year.