Cathedral

[Northernminx]

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

This is more woodsy on me than resin and incense, more like a well oiled and worn church pew, cleanly polished with an aftertouch of smoke and incense attached to it. I get a lot of cedar out of this and a lot of what might be frankincense but I'm having a hard time separating the resins out.

Gorgeous, soothing, calming...I can't imagine wearing this often but I needed it today.

[Little Bird]

Cathedral is one of those unique scents that, when I'm wearing it, prompts me to smell my wrist so many times that I give myself a headache . It's worth it though, this is such a lovely scent on me.

 

Frankincense... ::purrs:: This blend really seems to love my skin. It reminded me of Kostnice when I first applied it, then it dried down into something sharper and darker than Kostnice is on me. A cedary smell comes into play and there's a strong peppery undertone. I love this stage the best, something about spicy pepper just makes me really happy.

 

After about an hour, I'm getting warm smoky incense and a bit of cedar. I like this stage less, but it is still lovely.

 

I may buy a full bottle of this... we'll see...

[cranberry]

Wow - this is beautiful. I love woods and resins so I knew that I would love Cathedral.

 

In the bottle – cedar and pine predominate with other dry woods in the background.

 

On the skin - It starts out on me as woods and cedar. As I wear it, it softens and the incense and resins come out but still remains a predominantly dry woody scent. Red sandalwood and patchouli seem to emerge. It’s very similar to Annie Bonnie and Aureus, both of which I adore.

 

It’s a deep scent but surprisingly enough fades quickly on me – after ~ 2-3 hrs I have to reapply and start the process over again. That's ok with me!

 

Man, my bottle list is getting way too long!

[blaqpearl]

I love incense scents so I had to try this.

 

At first I got this sharp scent, but as it mellowed, I could tell it was the smell of different woods. I thought for an instance this had rose in it, but maybe it has rosewood instead. I didnt like this much during wet and initial drydown. It did become pleasant about an hour later.

I almost got a bigger bottle of this but I am glad I decided to get an imp first to try it out. I am going to try this as a room scent to see if I like it more.

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Oooooh, wood.

 

Just On: Tree bark wood, not just the smell of wood. Rough cut, not cleaned up lumber.

 

An hour or two later: MMm, incensy woodsiness. I like.

 

Around 6 hours: Smoke and wood.

 

12 hours: Smoke and wood. Very faded, but still there.

 

Overall: This is yummy. I'd buy more of it.

 

After reading other reviews: I guess I can't add much to what others have said.

[hologhost]

Courtesy of my swap with blood*rose*flowers

 

 

In the bottle: So this is what resin smells like? Wood? This is kind of like Aureus and Umbra, but spicy.

 

On me: This is beautiful, calming. I get hints of citrus here. It smells warm and inviting. It's driving me kind of nuts that I love this so much and can't describe it better. The sandalwood someone else described is there, but I'm getting more spice than wood.

 

I may have to get a bottle of this one...

[DarkMouse]

In the bottle: mmm.. resin goodness. yummy.

 

on my skin: At first the scent gave me the creeps for some reason.. I don't know why. I definitely smell the cedar but on the dry down it smells exactly like the sandalwood mala beads I carry with me in my bag. It reminds me not of a church but of the Tibetan imports stores in Boulder Colorado, filled with foreign dusty things. I don't really get the incense smell.. but definitely the sticky resin.

 

In general: I do like it.. it smells like the 'musty' note in scherezade. I'm just not sure I'd wear it everyday.

 

edited to remove lab description

Edited July 25, 2005 by DarkMouse

[Lycanthrope]

I think my skin eats frankincense, or amps cedar. Wearing Cathedral brought me to this conclusion, and I think that it's the latter, thank goodness, because I love the smell of frankincense.

 

In the Bottle or Imp:

Cedar. Uhm, yeah, that's mostly what I get.

Wet, on Skin:

Cedar... still. And it's very strong. I think there may be a hint of deeper resins, but they are so closely blended that I can hardly pick them apart from the cedar.

Drying Down:

Warm cedar, but cedar nonetheless.

Over Time/Longterm:

I can only pick out the myrhh because of its characteristic sweet resin bitterness, but then the only other note I get is Cedar... perhaps a gasp of frankincense, but it's like the incense in the church hasn't been burned for a day or two, because it's the memory of frankincense to me.

Final Verdict?

It's very well blended, and is an evocative scent, but the cedar on my skin probably threw off the intent of the oil blend. Oh well, I'll give it another shot, but it may be my CedarCurse. Gonna give Penitence a try for my frankincense and myrrh fix...

[L-z_Empress]

Unfortunately this scent literally made my stomach turn and my head hurt as soon I smelled it. It's super strong and wafty on me and smells like some sort of polish. Not a pleasant experience at all

[grrrlennyl]

at first: this was a freebie from the lab. it's really, really strong incense. wow. some sort of wood. this isn't looking good.

on: this smells dusty, dry, and old. not in a bad way. sort of the way a church smells a few hours after incense has been used. like the air has a stale incense scent to it.

1 hour later: still the same, just a bit lighter.

2 hours later: this is almost sweet, but mostly the same.

overall: while this brings back some memories and is nice, i would never wear it.

[PixieSkull]

In my impatience to sniff all of the lovely imps I've received yesterday and today in the mail, while opening this imp of Cathedral, the top sprung open flinging a droplet of oil onto my face. :oops: I figured I should review it at this time because it'll prolly get better.

 

Bottle sniff: Wow, that's a DUSTY old wet smell!

 

On me: I can smell the incense, as if the sweet smoke of it is wafting into my lungs! I smell dirt and wet stone as well in the incense. There's a powdery note on the top, as if there's a freshly-changed babe in the seat next to me.

 

Overall: It's not really a negative scent, but I don't think it would be an everyday scent or something that I would wear to work. It would make a GREAT room scent, especially when the characters in my DnD world were to enter a shrine. I will keep this imp and use it (hopefully) until the last drop! Probably won't order a bottle, but MAYBE another imp.

[Ajila]

Wet on me this was wood and furniture polish. Dry on me it became more incensy, but the wood is still predominant. I'm afraid I'm a bit ambivalent to this blend, so I'll have to find someone who will give it the love it undoubtably deserves.

[herdivineshadow]

In the bottle and wet, Cathedral is almost unpleasantly sharp and bitter. After a while it settles down into a very incensey scent, much like the Anglican shrine at Walsingham. This smells like the inside of the dark, candle-lit recreation of the house inside the church and like the wood of the area around the high altar.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Smoke.

 

On Skin: I was thinking something more elegant when I saw the name… but then I reread the description and saw it’s supposed to be a smokey scent. It does remind me of church and all the candles and incense they light. Very “solemn”, perfect description. It’s also a scent that reminds me of winter… it smells like being outside and smelling the smoke from a chimney nearby.

[voodoobaby]

In the bottle: Frankincense. It's a note that always jumps out at me, and I can't usually smell anything behind it.

 

Wearing: Still frankincense, but then I smell a slight waft of sandalwood. And then I realize that this isn't necessarily the scent of a cathedral, but rather the incense burner itself in a cathedral. The incense is already burning, and I can smell the hot metal from the burner and the sweet smoke wafting up from it. Wow, nice.

 

Later: Cedar! Cedar, and lots of it. I can still smell the smoky metallic scent. This is how I imagine Solomon's temple must have smelled.

 

Overall: This is my new favorite frankincense blend. It smells wonderful and is deliciously evocative. Yay!

[magdalene]

in the bottle: High Mass at a Catholic church.

 

wet on skin: This is so wonderful. I absolutely love the smell of church incense, always have. And now I have it in bottle form! I've been wearing this constantly since I received this in a Lab order. I love it.

 

dry: nicely long-lasting, with great throw. It doesn't morph or change into anything, but remains exactly what it's listed as.

[aedes]

On me, this scent had a lot of "texture." I could clearly sense an Byzantine religious icon or gilded, cedar idol, with old, blistered varnish that feels like a cat's tongue. Heavy incense and resins. Very golden. Actually, for awhile, I thought I smelled something like heady violets alongside the gold scents. A fascinating scent, but perhaps a bit strong for everyday use for me.

[BlueStar]

In the Bottle: Not sure what this smells like. A Musty church? Well I guess that is intended.

 

Wet on Skin: OK better now, hmm smells like Magus without the cedar and sandalwood notes. Frankincense maybe?

 

Drydown: Mmm nice drydown improves the meshing of notes. It does what it suppsed to do smells like a church. Growing up Catholic, even though I don't practice anymore, this is a very calming soothing scent. Brings back good memories of when my family actually got along.

 

Verdict: I like it. Hell I love it!

Edited October 14, 2005 by BlueStar

[PurringPulsar]

Cathedral

 

In the imp: oooh, lovely woods and resins. Probably cedar, myrrh and frankincense.

Wet on skin: mmm, there's certainly frankincense in here, it reminds me of the frankincense in Anne Bonny, with a similar wood scent.

Dry on skin: this is beautiful, rich resinous incense and woods. It's just like church incense with polished wood. Not sure what kind of wood-but it could be cedar. The frankincense is lovely in here, and I think there's also myrrh underneath it all. I even get a little hint of candle smoke.

After a while: this fades to become a gentle incense scent, I can smell soft resins on my skin, it's not overpowering or overly smoky, I just have this lovely frankincense with a waft of smoke with myrrh and woody background kind of smell close to my skin. However, I am worried that this may be fading too fast.

Verdict: another wonderful incense-wood scent. It has a similar scent to Anne Bonny, with the wood and frankincense, but with more resins and a little bit of smoke instead of patchouli. It really is church incense, think a great church with frankincense and myrrh wafted through it, and deep, polished wood. It's a calming, profound, spiritual and holy scent. Really does evoke what it is named for-it's ages since I've visited a church but this reminds me of the scent of the incense, the light through the stained glass windows, the polished wooden pews, the gothic architecture…I'm not sure if I'd wear it often though, and it does fade quickly. But I really like this, and I'm sure it would make a lovely room scent too.

[donsixgun]

Oh my. This is amazing! It’s the smell of a dark church...with its years of wood, incense, resin, smoke and mustiness. Im gonna need a 5ml.

[Savannah]

Wood, wood, and more wood. Most strongly cedar, with a bit of pine and some other woody things that I can't identify. As it dries, I can detect some frankincense and myrrh in the background, but this is overwhelmingly a wood fragrance on me. That might be my skin's fault-- it tends to amp cedar, I've found-- but I'm sad that the lovely resins got buried in the woodpile.

[Monster]

This smells exactly like the descrption.

Cathedral is a sweet, incensy smoky resin. I'm also getting a fresh cut wood scent, the the pews inside an old church. I LOVE this scent. I went to a catholic high school...and this smell reminds me of Mass (when they're waving around the big ball filled with resin).

 

Mmm, as this dried down it pretty much stays the same, and has pretty good lasting power as well.

 

I think I've found yet another BPAL favorite. This one is definitly going on my big bottle list ^^

[Fishwomon]

Smoke and candle wax. A room where candles have burned for years, the wax scraped from the burnished candle holders. A bit singed. Very atmospheric.

[arachne]

Love it! At first it's pure cedar wood. Sharp, tangy shavings of cedar wood. Over time the scent, although still very woody, is more complex, softer as the cedar starts to mingle with sandalwood and vetivert. Then at the final dry down stages a subtle sweetness is detected. Overall, it's very warm, sexy and comforting. Me likey!

 

As a side note, the name is all wrong. IMHO (very humble), this smells more like a tiny wooden church than a huge stone cathedral.

[zenvodunista]

too much incense. All incense actually, and just not me. Lovely if you like that, and I bet it'd be a beautiful room scent.

 

i'm discovering that i amp frankinscense. which is lovely, but a bit... much sometimes.

 

n.