Hymn

[Heaven_Star]

A paean to true holiness, spiritual purity, and sacred enlightenment. Based on an incense blend sacred to the Virgin Mary: perfect rose absolute and Palestinian Lily of the Valley with olibanum, labdanum, frankincense and myrrh.

 

In the imp: Rose and myrrh, not a lot else

 

Wet: it goes a little soapy at first but deepens into a rose incense. The frankincense, myrrh are adding weight and the lily of the valley helps round out the rose a bit. It's a beautiful floral (rose dominant) incense when wet.

 

Dry: Softer version of what it is when wet, has a fair bit of staying power on me due to the resins and doesn't go powdery.

 

I can feel the Virgin Mary connotations here, it's got that heavy Catholic sort of incense vibe but it's distinctly feminine. I'm supremely sad this is either discontinued or currently not available, this is a perfect rose incense blend on my skin and I'd love a big bottle of it. I'll find other ways to hoard it though, I'm sure

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Definitely a rose-dominant scent, but not your usual single-note rose - there's definitely some incense in there complicating things, taking this out of the garden and into the church. The incense is a little cleaner and sharper than I'm used to, though - hopefully that mellows out once it's on my skin.

 

Wet: The rose goes a bit soapy, like the really nice rose-scented soap or slightly-expired rose perfume a Catholic grandmother would wear. (Not my Catholic grandmother, though - she was very into expensive, designer scents from Chanel, etc.) It starts off with quite a decent throw, but after a few minutes it settles down and opens up into something more incense- than rose-heavy. Thankfully, the slight soapy note is gone, too. The tradeoff, however, is that the throw is much less, but I can live with it.

 

Dry: Interestingly, the florals last longer than the incense this time. First it's faint floral incense, then just faint florals, then a slightly sour skin-scent. This one lasts, though - I applied it at 7 AM, and it lasted all the way through until 9:25 PM, when I took a shower.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

In the vial: pale clear golden color, a whiff of incense

 

On me: Hymn is beautiful and has the distinctive "old school" BPAL quality I know and love--it's hard to quantify, but this is Beth's unique take on both rose and incense. It reminds me of Love in the Asylum and a number of other scents, without being identical to any. It stays close to the skin but lasts, though the florals fade on drydown and it becomes mostly myrrh. I want to give it to my Mom, the most holy woman I know.

[Malaena]

It wafts lilies quite strongly and close up it smells just like these old rose bath beads my mother used to use when I was little. I must say I enjoyed the nostalgia! However, the scent does nothing for me. I think I've decided I hate the scent of lilies, though.

[Veronica]

Really pretty rose-lily floral! Just a bit too high pitched and heady for me.

[LizziesLuck]

This is very light on me, and disappears really quickly. It also goes quite powdery, but before that it's a nice combo of lily and rose.

[EricthoDesalamander]

I somehow accidentally got a little bit on my finger, and I'm finding it quite pleasant.

 

I've never really been a huge fan of rose, but I found this to be rather pleasant. It definitely reminds me of a church, filled with freshly cut flowers - mingling with the smoke from the incense.

 

I can certainly imagine statues of Mother Mary being anointed with this.

 

I may just have to purchase a bottle of this.

[tacey]

Roses and lilies, like it says on the tin. Some frankincense I think, though I don't always recognize that (seems to change with the blend it's in, somehow). A pale colored but heady scent. The incense is coming stronger as it dries, but definitely floral first. Too floral for me in the wet stage, but it's getting really beautiful in the dry-down.

[PrinceofcatS]

In the wet stage this is frankincense - a bit lemony but more the other kind - and lily of the valley, and it's so gorgeous, just teeth-achingly beautiful. But sadly, the myrrh comes out kind of powdery-sweet and then the rose comes up too, and it ended sort of surprisingly powdery, which isn't a thing I like, but was also gorgeous. This definitely evokes holiness and femininity, and I actually felt like i shouldn't be wearing it!

 

It's nice, I need to wear it a few more times, but I think I'm disappointed because that early part before rose and myrrh (notes I adore, honestly) where it's a simplistic, glowing frank and muguet blend, was like my own personal heaven, and I can't find another scent in the catalogue that's similar that doesn't seem to blend rose with lily.

[Cali]

A tranquil, deep blend. Heavy on the frankincense. It amps up on my skin (mostly the florals and frankincense) with a big throw for a good couple of hours. Really makes me feel like I should be creeping around in some sort of ancient church.

[roseus]

Wispy church incense and lily. Very tranquil, and reminds me of ancient, cold stone churches in Europe. Even though I'm a practicing Catholic, I'm not a fan of these church incense blends! Something about this combo on me is too gray and cold.

[d0gbones]

In the imp: Soft resin and Lily of the Valley.

 

Wet: Rosy, but not overpoweringly so, the Lily of the Valley is just as prominent.

 

Dry: Rosewater! It's sweet and sort of creamy too.

[Casablanca]

Wet on my skin, Hymn is an initial wave of lily of the valley. There's a background of... other. Other things, earthier, more resinous, but I don't pick them out individually, except for a little frankincense graininess. I don't know how much time I have...

Not long. The lily of the valley turns to a creamy, white floral soap.

 

A bit later, rose mingles with the lily of the valley, turning it into a rose soap. This is better than the earlier soap, but it's still soap.

[Bamels]

Frimp. Ooh, it is smelling like floral soap on my skin; that'll be the lily. I can smell the incense, but altogether it is reminding me of soap or pot pourri in a church toilet.

[doomsday_disco]

Hymn is a strong rose + resin blend on me, with the rose and frankincense being the strongest notes. It starts off being somewhat sour, and I think that's due to the type of rose paired with the frankincense (it's not a deep, velvety rose; I think it's a tea rose or something similar). The lily is present, but can't hold a candle to the rose on my skin. It does become a little smoother as it becomes more resinous than rose-y with wear, but it takes a long time to get to that point.

 

This one isn't really in my wheelhouse, but I'm glad I got to try it in my quest to try the GC!

[bellumed]

Very clean lily is the dominant note. I actually thought the word "sour," and then second-guessed myself only to later see that other reviews described it that way as well! So yes, it smells a little sour at first. On skin, the rose is stronger than lily. Rose soap. More incense shows up on drydown.

 

It's all clean and a little sharp. Not chemically, but otherwise it's more like something I'd use to clean my house than something I'd wear. I don't think the floral/incense combo works for me.