Cathedral

[Jupita]

Venerable and solemn: the scent of incense smoke wafting through an ancient church. A true ecclesiatical blend of pure resins.

I would definitly bath in Cathedral...
It's the perfect scent for a gloomy evening, when it rains outside, and you've had a rough day... because it brings back the peacefull feeling of sitting back in your favourite curch, and hearing the orgue play.. to feel the holly feeling of angels pulling you higher and out of your body...
And it doesn't matter what is your religion, or what God you worship.. because they all mingle together... and you just burst in pure, untouched, beautifull beatitude.

From the 34 imps I recieved from the lab, this is deffinitly the only one, I think I'm desperatly in love with.

Editted on the 21st july 2009 - I can't stop falling deeper and deeper in love with this scent.
It's so simple, pure incese blend... and yet, so complex...
It sticks close to the skin, and every time I huff my writs, I feel bursts of hapiness inside. Edited September 17, 2009 by Shollin

[Argentwolf]

Another woody, sort of piney scent (to me), but it's clean and full of light, too...like sunlight spreading across curved rafters and pillars of polished wood. If anything, it makes me think of sitting in a church, perhaps before a big ritual or holiday, in the hour or so before everyone else starts arriving; you're alone and you have time to savor the quietness and intimacy. Even though it's not a keeper for me, it's a beautiful image to evoke.

[topazphoenix]

Sweet, light, woody...it's actually pretty hard to detect on my wrist. Definitely not digging the smelling like a church thing.

[verbranden]

In the Imp: Resinous and woody. A very rich scent.

 

Wet on skin: Cedar is coming out very strong, with a bit of resin.

 

Drydown: All cedar.

 

Overall: This is an odd one for me. I like it a lot in the imp, but I can't help but associate cedar with hamster cages, and I don't want to go around smelling like a hamster cage! I think I either need to get a hold of a scent locket for this one, or enjoy it in my oil burner where hopefully it will keep the rich, resinous, varied wood scent of the imp.

[voorishsign]

This one is beautiful!

 

My favourite Neil Gaiman character by far is the Angel Islington from Neverwhere and while we're still waiting for a (hopefully, possibly, maybe, please oh please Beth I beg of you) Neverwhere line I've been trying a lot of church-y smells to approximate his scent. This is the closest possible, I think.

 

It's just gorgeous. The old candles, the dust, the old books, the wooden pews, the deep incense, it's all there. Amazing. Utterly amazing. It's not really something I'd wear as a personal scent, but I keep it around and sniff it when I need peace of mind. I have a whiff and think of Islington

[jamethiel]

In the bottle, frankincense with something earthy underneath it.

Wet, Frankincense.

After five minutes, vaguely medicinal.

After 15 minutes, it turns back to frankincense again. Finally, I get the cedar that everyone else is talking about. The dry down is incredibly spicy. MMMMM. Gorgeous.

 

This is on my wishlist for sure. Four hours later and still going strong.

[Jilara]

Hmm, why hadn't I tested this before?

 

It goes on as...dust? Old dust, like the scent of dust in an old attic. As it dries, this morphs into a scent of cold stone and dust. It's like you emptied the vacuum bag onto an old stone floor.

 

Dry, there is a faint background of sweet incense, but it's definitely still taking second place to the dust. Doesn't seem to change over time, either.

 

Well, I guess this really sums up some old cathedral, but it's more like it's been abandoned for a long time, and no one comes any more. Even the church incense has faded to almost a memory of scent, just a lingering memory of former times, when ceremonies were still held.

 

Interesting, but not something I'd wear.

[hmelt004]

This is all cedar on my skin: dry, dusty cedar. I like cedar, but I prefer the fresh-cut scent. I had such high hopes for this to be like VM's Cathedral, which is my favorite cold-weather scent. I don't get any incense or resins from this one.

[impolight]

:::CATHEDRAL:::

 

When this fragrance was ordered from The Lab, imaginings ran rampant... Abremelin, Copal, Nag Champa, Frankincence, and that tricky stuff found in Nyarlathotep would all mingle together permeate the very room with a sense of both reverence and awe... There was also, admittedly, some concern that this one would fall into that "head-shop" category that is frequently complained about...

Well, to no small degree of relief, there is nothing in Cathedral that resembles a headshop in even the slightest way.There are incenses here, but more the kind of incense that hangs about on draperies after it has burned out.

There is also... Hot wood? O_o.

What gets envisioned is a large gathering of people gathered together inside of an enormous Cathedral built in some forested scandanavian country where engineers had the vision to warm the masses by pumping hot water through coiled, copper tubes that run along the underside of the Cedar floor-boards...

Cathedral does summon the the imagery of echoing space, high ceilings, wood, stone, and opulence. Here there is sanctity, reverence and morbid fascinations.Cathedral smells as though it should be worn in isolation, away from the rays of direct sunlight.

This could accompany contemplative reading and simple fare eaten with the fingers.

Stoically unisex.

Divine.

5/5.

[sunlitgarden]

<b>Cathedral</b>

 

Wet: CEDAR!!!!! It is primarily a woody smell with cedar being dominant.

 

As it dries: The incense/resins are coming out more now, making it a bit smoky and musty.

 

Despite the name I don't really associate it with church (even though I was raised Catholic). It does remind me of an old wood building, though, and it is comforting.

 

This is a lab fresh imp. I am curious as to how aging may change it.

 

EDITED 9/13 (4-ish months later): The cedar is calming down now and it's warmer and more resinous and complex. I like it better now!

Edited September 14, 2010 by sunlitgarden

[Balame]

In the Imp: Those sweet and woody resins are making me melt, but I figured I'd enjoy it from the description and name alone since I love church scents (despite my state of atheism - such a heretic, I know).

 

Wet: The delicious smell of incense, vaguely sweet and somehow "pale" in this blend, not very strong but definitely present. I can pick up sandalwood, I believe. Subtle and clean overall, relaxing. Lighter than I thought it would be, not that all church scents have to be extremely noticeable and overpowering, but seriously, I can barely even detect it anymore unless I'm practically rubbing my nose into my arm. Which is sad, because it's nice. This reminds me of a smaller shrine within a cathedral to one of the saints perhaps, a bit subdued and humble but once it catches your attention it's hard to look away.

 

Dry: Talk about morphing, gah! You've let me down terribly Cathedral, why...? It's transformed into some sort of horribly plastic, ultra sweet fragrance on my skin.

 

Verdict: I was hoping for a stronger, almost imposing scent - like HERE is a testament to faith, simple but grand and stately. This mutated into some kind of... I don't know what. Started out decent enough but ugh, not a keeper.

Edited May 13, 2010 by Balame

[cmarie]

There was a sweetness to this scent that I didn't expect, and a smoky note as well. Very resinous as the description says. It was not the particular incense smell I was expecting, and overall not for me, but it was fun to try.

[FathomBelow]

Cathedral

In the bottle: Mildly woody

Wet on skin: Fresh, crisp wood – cedarwood. This is like Tzadikim Nistarim without the fruitiness

As it dries: The wood becomes milder and mellower.

After it dries: Beautiful soft cedarwood without much smoke or incense at all, contrary to my expectations.

 

Final opinion: I’m not Catholic so I can’t tell what cathedrals usually smell like, but this is a very austere, simple, lovely

scent. I love it and I might just get a bottle, even if it's not really incense-y on me like I'd hoped. From the reviews it seems like this either goes really woody or really incense-y on people, and I'm one of the woods.

 

[furiana]

I like Cathedral more than I thought I would! I mostly smell cedar planks, but I also smell some spice or some dragon's blood resin (the non-floral version) depending on the day.

[Greensleeves]

In the bottle: Medium yellow oil. Sweet uplifting incense.

 

Wet: Smells a lot like Penitence, with that same sweet, uplifting, churchy incense smell. I'm also getting the same feeling of relaxation, enlightenment, exhileration and gnosis.

 

Dry: I think this blend may have more flowers in it or something. I think I'm getting a hint of rose to go with the incense and also something fruity. This is a little bit more multi-faceted than Penitence, but in such a subtle way that I would consider these scents interchangeable. The more I sniff my wrist the better I feel, and I was feeling really stressed and unhappy before.

 

After a few minutes: There seems to be something a bit more woodsy coming out. Also my quivering from stress and anxiety is slowly turning into quivering from some sort of spiritual excitement.

 

After first hour: This doesn't seem to have the same staying power as Penitence, and the feeling of exhileration has died down. Maybe the different blend is not as potent for me. Still very pleasant to smell though. A lot more woody than Penitence at this point.

 

After two and a half hours: Sweet incense, and a hint of wood.

 

After 5 hours: Faint woodsy incense.

 

Final verdict: Unlike Penitence this scent did not bowl me over with an almost otherwordly, bordering on spiritual, experience when I was expecting a mere enjoyable fragrance, thus it might compare unfavourably to such an unexpected treasure. It was, however, a quite pleasant, more mellow and complex substitute.

 

[Teaotter]

Wet: Lovely frankincense and myrrh, with a hint of other woods underneath.

 

Dry: For once, I'm not amping the frankincense. Unfortunately, what I'm getting instead is mostly cedar. I smell like a cedar box maybe once used to hold incense -- not what I was looking for, alas.

[Vega]

In imp: Thick, warm, nutty incense. Very similar to Penitence, except darker.

 

On skin: Dry, slightly smoky, austere incense and resins. Has a strong, thick presence, but isn't assertive or cloying. In fact, it feels "hollow" in the sense that a huge cathedral nave is "hollow", like a nave filled with the smoke of incense. Fades over time, but doesn't morph much. Cathedral is similar to Penitence, albeit cooler, drier, and more aloof. Both are sufficiently distinct from each other to be worth keeping. Colour impression is a dark wood brown, more black-tinged than red-tinged.

 

Verdict: I like it. A solemn, holy scent. Evokes an ancient, lofty cathedral, dark except for sunlight that enters through stained glass windows, with thick, wafting incense smoke and dust motes dancing in the light. I'm keeping my imp as an incense reference, and just to smell the lovely, evocative scent.

[SophieCedar]

In imp: sharp bitter cedar and resins.

Wet: pure frankincense and myrrh swirl about in a big cloud

Drydown: frankincense and cedar are still there. the cedar is stronger now. I smell something a bit piney. I like this more than I thought I would!

Edited August 5, 2010 by SophieCedar

[Ashenrook]

Retroactive review, go!

 

In the Bottle

Hmmm... Sharp wood, cedar no doubt, and dust. There's also a hint of the resins behind it all.

 

On Skin: Wet

Oh my goodness... It is like I just curled up for a nap on some well-worn pew. Warm and gentle wood wreathed with dust. It is all very wonderful and comforting. There's no sign of the resins yet, but even then... This is glorious.

 

On Skin: Dry

About thirty minutes after application the resins started to peek through, the smell of sacred incense mingling with the dust. I...I think I'm in love.

 

Afternotes

Cathedral lingers a long time on me and every single minute is just absolutely fantastic. I would not change a thing about it.

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic grading scale, I would have to give this an A, possibly even an A+.

 

Cathedral, along with Waters of Notre Dame, has become a mainstay in my before bed scents (for those days that I'd rather have something more earthy). But even then, unlike Waters, I'd happily wear Cathedral out and about. And I have done so, repeatedly, at work. It's a good sign when I'm constantly sniffing at my wrist, grinning to myself like a fool. Thankfully no one else is around to see this. *cough*

[January Garnet]

A frimp from lanas. Thanks again.

 

In the Imp: Incense and old Christmas decorations.

 

Wet: Strong, almost like a garage.

 

Dry: It smells like a Christmas ornament shop I went in to in Germany. Very nice wood and spice smell. It makes me smile.

 

I love it . I think I found my first bottle purchase

[Bamels]

Frimp

 

In the bottle I smell and odd mixture of sweet/spicy/cold incense, very strange! I put this on and took a sniff. I was quite amazed that the smell indeed made me picture a Cathedral. I'm not getting the wood notes that others are. Normally incense just turns to a generic pungent spicy smell on me. However this smelled of church incense that is wafting through a large, cold, empty space. Very clever! I very much doubt I will wear this again, although I can see me wearing it when I go to take photos of old Churches, it is very atmospheric.

[strahlend]

I've been thinking that I want to spend more time with resin/incense blends. I'm really fond of myrrh and frankincense incense but somehow these types of scents have been overlooked in my perfume oils. So here I am with an imp of Cathedral. In the imp it's a beautiful blend of warmth and wood and kind of bitter resins - exactly what I was looking for. On my skin the blend stays very much the same and I love it.

The problem is that this vanishes off of my skin within about half an hour. If I press my nose to my arm I can get a gentle whiff of it, but I would have to drench myself in this stuff for it to last very long. I wish it were more potent, I think this would be a great everyday scent for me if it had more staying power.

[calivianya]

I can't believe I missed reviewing this. I love Cathedral; it is one of my favorite incense/woody blends. It lasts for a long time on me and has moderate throw. My boyfriend loves it too, and I've made a spray just for his use which he is getting for Christmas! I'm tired of fighting over the bottle with him.

[paradoxicaljlb]

Resinous, dusty, charred, earthy, cool, candlelit, stony and drafty. And I think I smell roses, or maybe rosewood? Very evocative.

[corva]

when all is said and done:

dry pine needles basking in the sun.

 

very very lovely.