Hope and Fear Set Free

[violetblue]

Bourbon vanilla and 10-year aged frankincense.

I had no idea what to expect out of this but I was still unprepared for it - I swear, it's Lush's American Cream scent in oil form. Drove me nuts for a few mins because I knew I knew the scent - and that's exactly what it is on me! I'm so curious to hear other reviews now.
ETA I stink at notes but I swear am getting benzoin like mad from this blend and it's not listed.... Reminds me a bit of Lilith Vs the Giant Crab without the sweet fruit.

Realllly not my thing. I ended up selling my bottle.

[heygraycatbird]

Sweet, woodsy, and resiny.

On me this is more frankincense than bourbon vanilla, though the latter does peek out at times during the drydown. I agree with violetblue that it's sort of like benzoin: vanillic but not obviously vanilla.

The throw fades rather quickly, but the scent stays on the skin for hours afterwards.

 

Resins are not a go-to scent type for me, but I am enjoying this and can see myself keeping it for when I'm looking to wear something different than my usuals.

[bheansidhe]

If trees baked cakes for each others' birthdays, this is how their cake would smell. Resinous, woody, sweet, and complex - but a woody and vegetal scent, unmarred by human foodstuff. This vanilla is wholly of the vegetable kingdom.

 

I just bought two bottles. I dunno, maybe I like it.

Edited September 1, 2013 by bheansidhe

[strahlend]

I agree with those who get a feeling of benzoin in this blend, there's a sweet bite to it that isn't the vanilla or the frankincense.

 

Generally I'm getting sweet vanilla with a sort of airy-light version of frankincense. It reminds me a bit of the atmosphere spray House of Unquenchable Fire due to the common notes. I love the spray and I love having a similar scent to wear.

 

I wish it lasted a little longer on my skin, but sometimes it's just like that. I'll try it in a scent locket to see if that keeps it around longer, but ultimately the scent is so lovely that I'm perfectly fine with just reapplying more often.

[SophieCedar]

In bottle: bourbon vanilla and a wee bit of smooth frankincense.

 

Wet: Whooooom! it flipped. I knew this walking into it.. but I *amp frankincense like crazy*, so you have to take my review with a grain of gourmet salt... I can smell the bourbon vanilla somewhere in there but its mostly frankincense. Like I'm hiding a resin burner under my shirt. Though this is sweeter and less powdery/piney than actual burning frankincense.

 

Drydown: I can see the benzoin and american cream comparisons. Slightly heady, foody, boozy sweetness and a deep deep bass note of frankincense. Ok whew. I thought I blew my nose out impatiently huffing it so frequently during wet phase. My recommendation would be- you *really* need to allow it to mellow on your skin. This sticks around for a bazillion hours and the throw is significant.

 

ETA: I'm hoarding this. I want to smell like this for everandeverandever.

Edited October 28, 2013 by SophieCedar

[stellamaris]

I have a feeling this one is going to be a cult classic, if you are a resin lover and don't buy this you have lost the plot...

[ktmura]

Wet, this is mostly frankincense, and it is strong. The drydown is fantastic, it’s a smoky sweet vanilla nicely balanced by the frankincense. Very little throw, but overall a winner.

[HighPriestessIce]

Disclaimer: My skin is actually allergic to perfumes so I test on cotton in my scent locket or on paper strips.

 

When first applied it's all lovely smooth frankincense. I don't notice much vanilla here just frankincense, there's a bit of a fluffiness to it though. As it dries it begins to get a lovely smokey wood edge to it, very reminiscent of St.John's eve. There's also something that registers as fuzzy, dry brown leaves to my nose. It's like when you get a whiff of wood smoke on the wind in autumn.

[theseagrows]

i admit, i had mixed feelings and a bit of fear about this scent. BPAL's frankincense note and my skin chemistry are notorious rivals. when i first put this on it smelled...strangely medicinal, then came the frankincense in it's pencil-shaving glory, but luckily, that stage did not last long, because the vanilla came through and all the sudden it was gorgeous. i do get the lush american cream impression as well, as someone mentioned above. this scent, once dry is very beautiful and sexy in a subtle way. i think i need a bottle of this.

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: Yes, the woodsy quality of the frankincense and the vanilla are both coming through just as others have mentioned.

 

Wet On Skin: Same. This is reminding me of Banshee Beat. Like an alternate version of Banshee Beat, if the hemp had gotten mixed with some sandalwood.

 

Dry Down: Same as before.

 

In All: It's a rare thing when a BPAL scent stays true from first sniff through dry-down. This scent is a fine dry slightly sweet and resin-y scent. Definitely a daytime perfume, this is perfectly unassuming- good for work or class- as we move more deeply into autumn. Low throw and, given the notes, sure to improve with age. A lovely every-day kind of fragrance and a fine addition to an obsessive collector's collection. But unless your small collection contains a predominant amount of both of the above notes, you might want to test a decant before purchase

 

ETA: It's now about 20 or 30 minutes later and I have to say this scent has morphed considerably. It's become far less woodsy and far more vanilla, but not a food-vanilla, more of a vanilla musk type. I'm more in love with it than I was a half hour ago, though I will still note that while this is bottle-worthy, I won't yet call it back-up bottle-worthy

Edited September 26, 2013 by VioletChaos

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Lightly sweetened frankincense.

 

Wet: It is getting sweeter on my skin, and I am enjoying it thus far. I definitely get why people are bringing up benzoin. This is lovely.

 

Dry: Ah, I just cannot stop sniffing this! The bourbon vanilla really complements the frankincense. This is just made of win!

 

The sweetness in the blend actually reminds me of the drydown of Lush's Twilight perfume (but with resin instead of lavender, obviously), which is probably why I keep thinking of benzoin.

 

Verdict: I am enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. The bourbon vanilla and frankincense notes are so lovely together! I think I need a bottle of this.

Edited September 28, 2013 by dementia_divine

[MuskWitch]

I LOVE this! I don't have the refined nose and eloquent words of my fellow reviewers, I will just say I purchased a bottle of this on the Forum, tried it, and about 2 hours later ordered 2 more bottles. It is a lovely scent.

 

In the bottle I smell mostly frankincense and piney-type woods, not much vanilla at all. My first thought was, meh.

 

Then I tried it on my skin. On wet, a little of the vanilla joined the woodsy-frankincense. Hmmm, this might be okay.

 

On the dry-down the bourbon vanilla came forward, softening the frankincense and wood. Oh, I like this!

 

Upon further drydown I kept snuffing my wrist, DANG! I LOVE this!

 

It is "different" from any other frankincense or vanilla scent I have. Different in a wonderful way. The frankincense keeps the vanilla from going "sickly sweet", dusty or metallic on my skin (like some strong vanilla blends do), and the vanilla keeps the frankincense at a nice, smooth, pleasantly woodsy scent without being too sharp, or too "cedar/BBQ" on my skin (like some wood notes tend to be).

 

Bottle, and back-up bottle worthy! It went directly into my "Favorites" box.

[Viridian]

I don't get much vanilla out of this at all - so much so that I thought maybe it was mislabeled. I get a really perfumey-medicinal scent from it that I guess is the Frankincense. Once I put it on the vanilla creeps out slowly, but it's not foody or vanilla extract-y at all. I feel like fans of traditional perfumes with a vanilla base will like this one. It smells very sophisticated.

[aphrodite]

This was a nightmare. It smelled primarily like nail polish remover. Eventually it faded into a bunch of chemicals, and hours later there was a hint of vanilla. Never again.

[Gateau]

This one didn't work on me at all. In the vial I can smell some of the vanilla, but it's mostly woody frankincense. On skin, I don't even get that tiny bit of vanilla, just something in the pencil-shaving family. Once it's been dry about an hour I can make out some vanilla sweetness and softness but that woodiness really dominates. Perfect for you if you love woodiness.

[Helas]

This scent baffles me. I am generally good at picking out notes in a perfume now, but if I were trying this blind I would have no idea what the notes are. It has dry, woodsy undertones underlying a rich, syrupy sweetness, with a hint of smoke and dust. On the dry-down, the sweetness also picks up a slight fruity (?) tang. Overall synaesthetic impression is of something baroque, ancient, and decaying, in tones of gold, tarnished bronze, and scarlet - rather like the scent equivalent of a medieval tapestry. In case it's not obvious, I find it stunning, but in a more complex and challenging way than I expected from it having only two notes. Lovers of moody evocative scents should definitely try this one, although fans of foody vanilla might be disappointed.

[joyfulgirl]

the frankincense is very strong in this, and i agree with all the other reviews that this is not a foody vanilla in the least. very earthy, woody, resinous vanilla. when i first tested it last night it was super sharp on me and i thought i didn't like it, but something this morning caused me to pull out my imp and try again, and i'm glad i did. it's absolutely lovely on me...after about 15 minutes the sharpness dries out and it's a spicy, sophisticated, close-to-the-skin scent. the frankincense smells similar (to my nose) to the one in cleric, which is one of my favorites and absolutely lovely. this scent is totally appropriate for work or any other setting where you don't want to be over the top sexy but you still want to smell gorgeous.

 

as i mentioned, it does stay close to the skin, so i've put some in my hair and the back of my wrists so i can sniff it at will. i really do like this a bunch, i'll be buying several bottles.

[ellocentipede]

I thought that this scent was going to knock my socks off! I adore frankincense and vanilla. When wet, this oil really did smell like pencil shavings! I work at an elementary school and while I don't mind the smell of pencils, I smell them allllll of the time and generally smell like them all of the time as well. The dry down was soft and lovely enough to tempt me to keep the imp, but I just don't see myself reaching for this oil over Midnight Mass for my resin needs.

[MCS4096]

I tend to amp resins like woah, so I was surprised to find that this blend wears so close to the skin, but it does. I tried some in my hair near my face and that was lovely

 

When I think of sweet resins, it's usually the sickly sweetness of sap that comes to mind. So this blend is an awesome treat because that tasty, creamy vanilla is rather unexpected. And it's not the vanilla that turns to plastic on me, yay!

 

This is a fantastic, simple blend that I'm sure will age like a dream.

Edited October 4, 2013 by MCS4096

[Magycmyste]

I've been looking forward to this one. BPAL's converted me to vanilla blends, and I love incense

 

In the bottle: Huh. That was not what I was expecting. On opening the bottle, the scent I got was more of a sharp licorice, anise seed scent.

 

Wet on skin: Less licorice, but still a sharp, green scent. And it sounds like a weird juxtaposition, but while it smells very green, it also smells like dry wood. Maybe I haven't done much with bourbon vanilla yet, but I feel like I'm not getting any of that. Except I love Sachs (moreso on my second try than my first - maybe this is the same way.)

 

Dried down: The vanilla is coming through faintly now. It's a much softer scent than it was when I first put it on.

 

Throw: Not much. This is a wrist-sniffing scent for me.

 

Verdict: *** 1/* Maybe that'll change. I think I need to give this one one more try before i decide whether to get a full bottle of this or stick to my decant. Because I think I like it dried down, but I'm not certain yet, and I'm not a huge fan of that green, woody stage.

[OctoberGwen]

I have a feeling this one is going to be a cult classic, if you are a resin lover and don't buy this you have lost the plot...

 

I have to quote you here because this is so apt.

 

I managed to find a decant of this, which is probably all I need since I bought another Proserpine bottle already. I won't need more than a decant of Hope & Fear because this type of resin scent is something I am only in the mood to wear occasionally.

 

That said, man oh man: this is some amazing frankincense. I do not get the usual cloying quality from the bourbon vanilla; rather, here it just complements the resin so beautifully. It's a symphony played on two top-quality instruments. I feel like I am sitting in a grand, ancient cathedral during the Christmas vigil.

 

Gorgeous stuff. Frank fans, get thee a bottle STAT.

Edited October 4, 2013 by OctoberGwen

[distracts]

Very faint in the bottle, just a tad of bourbon vanilla and frankincense. I like my scents strong so this isn't encouraging.

 

For the first fifteen minutes on me, it smells pretty much the same as in the bottle. Then BOOM! there is a sweet frankincense explosion, grounded by the warmth of the bourbon vanilla. And then it just surrounds me in a cloud of awesome. Well, awesome if you like frankincense.

[cuervosueno]

I almost bought a bottle of this unsniffed. Because frankincense is one of my all time favorite scents, and I live vanilla, so how could I miss this? But something held me back--I suppose because I'm particular about my frankincense, and I haven't always enjoyed the lab's frankincense note.

 

Frankincense is a resin, and to me, it doesn't and shouldn't smell like wood or wood chips or anything like that. I burn frankincense on the woodstove in the winter, and it smells like the resin that it is, of course, often with a citrus-y top note. It's a bright scent, and that's what I'm looking for, but don't always get, in frankincense as a note. (Frankincense EO for example, is sometime almost bitter and medicinal, so while I know that's true of the EO, I usually long for the bright burning frank note, which is not always how everyone interprets it).

 

Long story to say what I wanted, and why I hesitated, especially after reading some reviews. Then finally I bought a decant.

 

And realized my hesitation was on target. This also reminds me of Benzoin as others have noticed, and in the end, I don't really get much frank at all. It's a pretty nice vanilla--rich and strong and slightly boozy. And while the perfume is wet, I do get something that I suppose is the frankincense--there is a slightly resinous top note here, with that almost medicinal scent I get in some frankincense. So I know there is some kind of resin there, but if I didn't know it was frank, I wouldn't guess it. It doesn't have that rich bright scent I really enjoy, and it is pretty much overwhelmed by the vanilla. I also see the American Cream comparison, though luckily it's not super heavy like that....just in the same family (I don't like AC). But it is not heavy on the frankincense as I had hoped, and it never gets any stronger--on me, it fades relatively quickly and smells like a benzoin vanilla blend, which is fine, but not what I wanted.

 

So I'd say whether you'll like this depends very much on what you want from a frankincense scent, because this is more vanilla than frank, and the frank is not the bright resiny wonder, like the scent of burning frankincense, I'm looking for. It's not even that much like the olibanum single note, which I got at the same time. (Now that one is a winner for me; this is not).

 

I probably won't even keep my decant.

[mymymai]

ITB: The patchouli is more of a floral frankincense than an earthy one. In this blend, it has a nice undertone from the bourbon vanilla.

 

Wet: Deeply and floral-sweet bourbon vanilla swirls and mingles beautifully with the aged frankincense. It's feminine, sensual, and ever so slightly heady while still being floral.

 

Dry: Wow, it's even prettier when dried. It actually reminds me of Lush's Snowcake mixed with Lush's Silky Underwear. It's lightly floral, pleasantly powdery, and sweet in all the right ways. This is an absolutely gorgeous scent!

Edited October 11, 2013 by mymymai

[dawndie]

In bottle: light dusty incense

 

On skin: sweet incense, pretty!

 

Half-hour later: still lots of sweet incense

 

In conclusion: this goes for hours and hours -- how nice that this doesn't disappear on me. The sweetness isn't too sugary or floral, and is a nice top note to the barely-wooden frankincense.