The Hourglass

[zankoku_zen]

“I feel like all the sands are at the bottom of the hourglass.”
“Turn it over, then.”

The white roses and orange blossoms of hope penetrating despair’s black fog of opoponax, black myrrh, bruised violet, clove, funereal lily, and grief-struck carrot seed.

 

Okay, to me the Hourglass is like a kissing cousin to When Stars Are Weeping. Because I adore When Stars, I like the Hourglass, but I'm not blown away by it.

I get bitter carrot seed, clove, myrrh. It's a watery lily, violet and myrrh blend. It's pretty, but doesn't quite have the magic for me that When Stars does.

[tinyvulture]

Roses and sweet citrus (orange blossom), with light incense floating through the background. There's something soapy. I don't dislike it, but it doesn't wow me like the rest of the collection.

[somacat]

There was a beautiful moment when this was wet, when the carrot seed and spices came out and did a little dance, and as I was testing it with Eve on the other arm, I thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, I apparently amp rose like mad, which overwhelmed everything else. Sad to swap as I loved this story point, but fortunately June 23 is playing nice

[cinnamonster]

I haven't gotten my nose around this fully, but it's superduperly beautiful on me. Whatever state my skin is in right now, this loves me.

 

It's rose, but not take-over rose, swirled into a deep almost wooden smell. Definitely not a red feeling rose either. First sniff it brought to mind a dark buffed wooden box filled with liqueur preserved cherries, that smell doesn't last, but that's the dark feel behind the rose.

 

Don't buy it though! I might need more!

[milo]

Promising at first, soft floral and musk. Gradually the musk and resins intensify to a god-awful soapy perfume mess. Fortunately, this does not last long, and the soft rose seems to dominate. Morpher to be sure. I really do not like the intense phase. Urggh, seems to morph back and forth. I'm going to have to wash this one off.

[lunaticana]

Owww, wow, this one smells like tombstones on my skin!
I love it and I have been searching for some weird scents like this one lateley

I think it might be the opoponax/black myrrh combo together with the funeral lilies !
It is not soft at all, but more upfront and I like it. I really do. You CAN smell the white roses

and when time passes by even those orangeblossoms

It is super pretty and very quiet.

I will waer this often when I go out for a drink!

[Jangzonrice]

Rose with carrot seed and a little bit of incense

[Atrous]

Wet: Sharp, overwhelming rose with a hit of citrus

 

Dry: The sharpness of the rose goes away but stays quite heady, especially in combination with the other floral notes. Citrus floats in and around the rose.

Underneath the florals is a dark, strong incense. I like this okay but, when compared with the rest of the series, falls a bit flat.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Atrous

[theseagrows]

this starts off with orange blossom and something that seems almost woody, i dunno what that is. then the rose comes through, and i guess the carrot seed and clove? i feel like i'm getting something slightly sweet but can't place it. there definitely seems to be some lily in this too, giving it that funereal feel. i am not always a fan of lily, but it behaves slightly better here than usual. it's honestly mostly rose on me though. after it's been on the skin for awhile it's mostly rose, carrot seed and a hint of something almost maple-y.

Edited January 25, 2016 by theseagrows

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Rose, and...something. Interesting. Despair`s black fog, indeed. Hard to pinpoint the other notes, but this is very rosey, made sinister by a combination of the other notes. Violet and orange blossom are both not good on me, and I am not getting either distinctly here. Nor am I getting Myrrh. I have to conclude what I am smelling is either the carrot seed or opoponax, neither of which I am very familiar with. Interesting!

 

 

Dry: Mostly rose, with hints of sweet resin (the opoponax, I`m guessing, because it`s not quite like Myrrh). It`s quite lovely, but I have so many rose blends at this point that I am not sure I have room for another is my collection. So happy got to try it though!

[Little Bird]

The lily and rose combine on me into a really sharp, soapy rose scent. I can pick out a hint of herbal carrot and some syrupy, peppery, resinous sweetness from the opoponax, but it mostly smells like a bar of rose soap that's dusty and forgotten in a wooden box...

[alyelle]

Bottle: musk and ozone, white rose, violet and lily

 

Wet: myrhh, carrot see, and clove, tempered by soft lily and rose

 

Dry: sweet, sharp carrot seed topped with an amber-esque floral and soft spices

 

For me, this is a more wearable version of Gold and Tears, which I wanted to love but couldn't. That blend made me wary of both ambrette and carrot seed; this one surprised me, coming in way above my expectations from its description. Clove and lily can also be very hit and miss on my skin, so I'm counting the fact that it works as nothing short of a miracle. A very strong scent, with a good long life - this went beyond 12 hours on me.

 

Stars: ★★★★½

Edited June 9, 2019 by alyelle

[windbourne]

The opening is a pleasant orange blossom and white rose pop, and then it sours and the lily takes over. Fortunately, that stage doesn't last too long -- after it dries, the darker notes come out and it gets sweeter and suddenly I love it. The myrrh/opoponax form a soft, round resinous warmth at base of the scent, and there's an almost musky woodiness over that, with the clove and violet a vague dusty overlay that comes and goes. But the dominant note wafting off my wrist is a soft, glowing white rose. It has a pretty strong throw; I can smell it very clearly as I move around, but it doesn't have a lot of staying power for me. By the end it's just a hint of myrrh and rose. I do have quite a few rose and resin scents, even one specifically white rose and resin (Parlement of Foules), but this one is sweeter and more languid than most of them. However, The Hourglass, unlike most of the rest of the OLLA perfumes, feels very much like it could have come from a normal BPAL release; specifically, it feels like it could've been a Luper.

[QueenProserpina]

Light and lovely, and lasts all day. Sticks to clothing better than skin. I detect primarily a very fresh, crisp, clean-smelling lily (which starts out rather sharp and almost bitter, and reminds me simultaneously of jasmine and gardenia), citrus from the orange blossoms, and a general impression of resin, including the dark sweetness of myrrh, and a chorus of sweet florals. Almost like a floral dryer sheet, but in a good way (I think that is the violet and maybe dusty clove). The fragrance warms and sweetens in drydown, and I get different notes coming forward on skin than on clothing. I’m not getting the other notes specifically (white rose, violet, clove, carrot seed), but they blend seamlessly into a sweet, mature fragrance that I suspect will bloom as it settles and ages. As of February 5, the rose note is beginning to emerge, and I have determined that a more generous application is needed for real strength. As of February 23, the white rose has stepped forward and completely overtaken the lily, which is now a subtle background note. My twelfth BPAL fragrance, purchased in January of 2024.

Edited June 1 by QueenProserpina
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