Tzadikim Nistarim

[tartchef]

... The scent is one of unadulterated spiritual purity, with a taste of the world's eternal pathos, and the joy of suffering with grace: frankincense, olive, spikenard, hyssop and galangal.

This was a generous frimp from a fellow forumite, one that despite loving frankincense & galangal, I never would have picked for myself...

Wet, there's a moment of harshness, but almost immediately I'm enveloped in a soft cloud of... what? I know this scent. It's faintly fruity, but not overly sweet, with a dusky greenness... it reminds me very much of a non-descript climbing weed that puts out fluffy, pale green flowers - not the kind of thing you'd ever notice, but brushing up against it releases an unexpected halo of scent. This is crushed stems & pollen, very close to the skin. The olive lurks in the background, adding a thickness & weight to what would otherwise float away. That said, this one fades fairly quickly - barely an hour on & it's little more than a trace of pollen...

If you liked the botanical, ferny sweetness of Caliban, definitely give Tzadikim Nistarim a try. This is lovely, not my usual fare, but one I'll keep around for the warm weather.

ETA: Several hours later I'm suddenly getting the same drydown I got with Jolly Roger, of all things - something akin to rosewood & saltwater...

ETA2: Over a year later, Tzadikim Nistarim has quietly worked its way into my top 10 GC scents It's such a quiet, comforting scent - not cozy in the usual sense, but calming & centering. The final throes of the frankincense last all day, grounded by the gentle weight of the olive... I got my hands on an old 10ml recently, and it is absolutely beautiful... Edited November 11, 2008 by tartchef

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Sweet, resiny incense.

 

Immediately on skin: This is very sweet on me right away. I can smell the frankincense and an almost fruity but earthy note which I think is the olive. I don’t know what the other three notes smell like, so I can’t identify them.

 

After a few minutes: This scent is very sweet (which I wasn’t expecting at ALL) and very ethereal. There is a note that’s adding a fruity twist to it, but it’s a thick scent, so I’m pretty sure it’s the olive. This scent is very golden though and not smoky… it smells more like something thick and syrupy rather than incense now, but it isn’t really heavy. It’s just nice and sweet.

 

Later on: This is still very sweet, but the only note that seems to still be lingering is the frankincense. I enjoyed the thick olive scent while it lasted, but it really faded too soon. This is definitely something I’ll have to try again, but for now the imp is enough for me.

[hkhm]

imp: the only note i can pick out for certain sure is frankincense. the rest are a swirling mystery of good scents to me.

 

wet: there is the sweetness of ripe fruit, yet without the fruit. there is the frankincense and then there's a smooth, sweet, piney scent that makes me swoon over this whole scent. i'm going to give this imp to my husband next and see what he thinks. this is fantastic!

 

wet: sweet cedar and frankincense. this is a really lovely scent for winter.

[suileach]

At first sniff - fruit and incense.

 

The rest of the notes are actually keeping the frankincense tame on me, for once. This scent is incredibly warm and clean without crossing the line into soapiness. There's a hint of something spicy and citrus-like, but without the sharpness of actual citrus. (I'm a bit relieved to see fruit - particularly tropical fruit - frequently mentioned in the reviews, as I thought I might be crazy.)

 

Overall, it's quite heady, intriguing, and surprisingly lovely. I don't think it's a very me scent, but this might be a good one to keep around for annointing candles to elevate the mood.

[AEris]

Along with the incensey swirl of frankincense, there is definitely something fruity and creamy about this blend.

 

I'm one of those jerks who often compares scents to other scents, so forgive me for saying that this reminds me of tiare gardenia (like Monyette Paris, Kai, or B&BW Tiare Flower).

 

This is beautiful in its own right. I can't help comparing it to tiare, though. This happens to me sometimes; a blend of notes just hits me in a weird way and smells like something it shouldn't.

 

I like it, and I'm happy for the chance to have tried it. Yet, it is not a keeper for me. Maybe someone else will give it more love.

[hipslike___cinderella]

Well, this is quite the unique oil.

 

My first thoughts upon reading the notes in this, before ever opening the imp, was "OLIVE?!??? OH NOES!!!". I hate the smell of olive. So much. Olives are one of the single most pungent and despicable flavors to me, thus I hate the scent. But... olive, with incense? Intriguing.

So I was happy to see frankincense in the forefront of this blend. The olive is there, but it's... not... so bad! Hey! It's like a fascinating, herbal resin. Later on... this is good! The galangal is so strong, I love it (I'm beginning to believe, after a couple of trysts, that I in fact LOVE galangal). This actually smells like olive-incense, like an incense stick meant to be scented as olive. Perhaps that doesn't sound so tempting, but I think it's very nice. Not a bottle in my future, but I love when the least expected notes work for me!

[LaLoba]

Syrupy, someone else said, and I have to agree. In the bottle, it seemed to have this weird conglomeration of scents, and my first reaction was...EWW...

 

When I put this fragrance on, it really seemed to flower, and flower beautifully. The EWW factor was completely gone, and it seemed to blend in well with my personal chemistry..a little strong, but not knock me down, drag me out strong...know what I'm saying??

 

As the day progressed, I got whiffs of this scent that were quite pleasant; I thought I could smell the frankincense mostly. I didn't get the olive at all, and completely forgot about it until I reread some of the reviews.

 

This is a nice, soothing scent pleasant to sip tea and converse with friends to. On a scale from 1-5 (5 being the highest), I'd give it a 3.5. I'll definitely wear it again and again.

[naeelah]

Just my brief impressions:

 

This is much sweeter and more floral than I expected. Wet, it's rich and fragrant, with something light and sweet. It's a little fruity, but it seems more like a rich floral.

 

As it dries, it goes through a brief spiky phase that's heavy on the frankincense and olive. But another 10-15 minutes later, it seems to return to the same scent as the wet phase. Weird.

 

So, overall, smooth, slightly fuzzy resins with a light floral and fruit quality.

 

This is a really nice scent, and well worth trying if you like resins. It's something a little out of the usual, for resin blends. It's not smoky at all. This strikes me as being a little bit more feminine than some resin blends, which tend to be pretty unisex.

 

The throw is pretty light.

[tziporra]

I wore this to shul (synagogue) today.

 

This was definitely an emotional pick for me based on the name rather than an affinity for any of the listed notes, which turned out to be a mistake since I am looking for a perfume rather than a spiritual experience.

 

Anyway, I didn't get anything from the imp. And then I put it on and didn't get anything from my skin. After a few minutes I got a nice heady rush of resins, but that disappeared quickly.

 

I was left with a faintly tropical smell that reminds me of very nice unobtrusive sunscreen (not THE suncreen, but a luxury brand with little scent).

 

And that's it. A faint sweetness for the next few hours.

 

I'm very sad, because I would have LOVED to tell people I was wearing this scent. But I have to admit, I'm not a lamed-vav-nik and I don't even want to be. I couldn't handle the responsibility.

 

Best,

 

Tzi

[megank4]

This smells like something familiar that I can’t put my finger on and will drive me crazy until I figure it out. Anyway, definitely sweet, a slight pineapple feeling. Not at all what I expected. Quite faint, even though I put quite a bit on. Overall, a 3.5

[akiko]

This reminds me of something familiar, too, but I can't place it either.

 

Imp: resiny fruit, I think?

 

Wet: Orange, but not the bright orange in Tweedledee: a dark orange.

 

Dry: Soft, dark orange. Maybe the frankincense? Or the galangal, probably, because the google is telling me it's got an earthy citrus scent.

 

I like this.

[gchris]

In Vial:Smells like pear and spice

 

Wet:Pear and honeydew melon but grounded by a spicey scent

 

Drydown:Light, spicey pear

This is the wonderful pear scent that I had hoped for in the oils containing pear notes. Oddly this one contains no pear.

[donnatron]

Imp: Sour wood.

 

Wet: Pencil shavings! For the first 20 minutes of this scent, I get pure, unadultered pencil shavings. Right when I was considering washing it off, the frankincense sweetens and comes to the forefront.

 

Dry: I love frankincense and most of my favourites have it in them, but this feels very different from other frankincense scents. This isn't a daytime or casual scent, this feels very spiritual and ritualistic. I like it, but it's kind of off-putting in that way.

 

Throw: Wet, it has a lot of throw. Dry it's close to my skin and I have to lean in to smell it.

 

Overall: Beautiful scent, it just sort of messes with my head.

[CrazyPretzel]

An unusual and beautiful combination of scents. For the record I couldn't confidently identify any of the listed notes in a lineup except for frankincense, which is not very strong in this. It's smooth and sweet (teeters on the edge of being cloying) and puts me in mind of honey. At the same time there's a note like woodsmoke, and something green and herbal that reminds me of ivy-covered oak trees.

[tehriaz]

what the hell are you guys talking about?

 

I get peaches. it smells EXACTLY like aglaea only less pleasant

[Acedia]

I am a newbie to the world of perfumes, and I can't distinguish many notes yet, but I had to add my voice to the chorus of reviews for this scent. It is so lovely and unusual, and it's the very first BPAL scent I've sniffed.

 

I ordered an imp of it after reading the explanation of its name (which nearly brought me to tears, but that could have just been hormones).

 

After reading that, I was dying to know what the Hidden Just smell like.

 

In the imp: This reminds me of this fabulous antique store I used to visit in my home town -- they imported antiques from all around the world and set up shop in the (refurbished) ruins of a stone barn. So that's my immediate impression upon opening the imp and bringing it to my nose: pale gold sunlight filtering in through small stone windows, illuminating exotic treasures. There's a suggestion of frankincense, but nothing "churchy" or smoky about this scent.

 

On my skin: I detect something faintly fruity in the mix, but can't place it. It's a warm but poised scent -- I can imagine it being worn by a woman of means who has travelled to Mongolia by herself, for pleasure. If a young woman (like me, even though I'm *cough*29*cough*) wore this, it would give her an air of calm solemnity.

 

There's nothing energetic about Tzadikim Nistarim -- I'd wear it when I need to be self-composed and centered. This certainly brings to mind Virtue, but also Wisdom and Magnanimity. It's just lovely.

 

ETA: 3/31 -- I'm definitely ordering a bottle of this. Wearing it today (maybe it's the weather), it smells divine (pun fully intended). Sweet and somehow organic, like a smell bottled as-is from nature. This is my favorite BPAL scent to date.

Edited April 5, 2008 by Shollin
Removed Lab description; the full version is at the start of the thread --Shollin

[NinjaCowboy]

I love this scent!

 

In the bottle, I definately get that fruity scent that I've heard other people talk about, but it is brough together beautifully by the rich olive scent running through it all. WHich is good, because fruit doesn't usualyl work on me.

 

On my skin, the olive is amped up a lot at first, as balanced by a great... I cant think of another way to describe it but PURE, scent that is beneath the olive. THis scent comes out more as it dries.

 

the initial burst of scent on my skin fades down rather fast (sadly) but a soft scent lingers on my skin for hours, very close to me.

 

Despite how soft it is on me, as I usually tent to prefer the scents that make themselves known, it is definately on the bottle list for me, in my next order.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Disappointing. The olive does something weird with the other elements, making something too sweet, yet richly unsettling. Wet: Not nearly as bad. It is still very light and too sweet for me, but peculiarly seductive. It is really reminding me of something, but I can’t think what. Dry: I take it all back. This is heavenly. It a sweet insensey blend, complex and pleasing. I know I shouldn’t keep this, as it’s very feminine, but it smells so good.

[savage_rose]

Something that smells like creamy lily is amping on me...I can smell a faint incense, but it's predominantly the mystery floral. It's very pretty.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Citrusy galangal, something juicy and fruity (red currant? elderberry?), slightly sweet, light frankincense.

 

Wet: Dirtier, more incensey from the frankincense, and strongly earthy-rooty from the spikenard. Slightly bitter-minty hyssop. Galangal almost completely gone. Juicy fruit note much lighter but still present; sweeter.

 

Dry: Incredibly slow-drying oil. The juicy berry note is regaining tartness and amping, yay! Unfortunately, I strongly dislike the sweet-rooty frankincense and spikenard notes still present. The bitterness of the green hyssop is a pleasant counterpoint to the fruit, however.

 

Summary: Slightly spicy incense, sweet earthy roots, tart juicy berries, and a hint of bitter mint. Too syrupy and dank for me. Very strong throw, good lasting power.

[Lamia]

This is a strange scent, many unplaceable unrecognizable scents, but soon after application a peach sings out. But not a peach juice, or fresh summer peach in the sun. Peach like the scent of peach-flavored vodka. This isn't a bad scent, but it's just not me.

[citharadraconis]

The lab frimped me this, and it's one I'd never have tried on my own, but this is definitely not what I expected. Apparently, "unadulterated spiritual purity" smells like...peaches? I'm guessing it's the olive--it's not quite peaches, a little greener, sort of fuzzy-smelling. Straight-up sweet and fruity in the vial, grounded by a hint of sweet incense once it hits my skin, which gradually takes over. I can't really pick out notes from this. It's surprisingly bright and fresh, and I think it would make a nice spring/summer scent.

Edited May 23, 2008 by citharadraconis

[quigza]

Bottle: I get the "pineapple" note right away- it isn't exactly pineapple though. It's another lovely sweet fruit. A little sharpness of pine in here too. Also a hint of inscense.

 

Wet: That fruit still, and sweet spice? It's a cross between a spicey fruit candy & fruity inscense. The pine note kinda blurs into the rest. I suspect the fruit contains both the sharpness & the juiciness.

 

Dry down: Still sweet inscense, less fruit. and something like... baked goods? This is intriguing. It kind of reminds me of baklava.

 

After 3 hours: Faint sweet inscence. I have a feeling this faint whisper of a scent will stick with me quite a while longer

 

I was really wary of the mentions of frankinscence and olive- both of which sometimes trigger hostile allergies in me. But, all went quite well with this scent beyond a little nose tickle (which I believe is "all in my head" as my skin wasn't irritated one bit)

[greenranger]

Nice!

 

The frankincense was the first note up, but it stepped back fairly quickly and the scent became less peppery and more smooth and sweet. There's still a little resiny punch to it though.

[Kabooki]

Wet: Wow this is a wonderfully sweet scent. It smells like bubblegum and various fruits, like pineapples, and mangos and other great tropical fruits.

 

As it dries it starts to turn into this tropical lip gloss I have, still sweet and creamy, but has a very fake feel to it. It’s still not a bad scent though, just not something I can see myself wearing again.