This World's Joy

[rainbow]

Wynter wakeneth al my care,
Nou this leves waxeth bare;
Ofte I sike ant mourne sare
When hit cometh in my thoht
Of this worldes joie, hou hit goth al to noht.

Nou hit is, and nou hit nys,
Al so hit ner nere, ywys;
That moni mon seith, soth hit ys:
Al goth bote Godes wille:
Alle we shule deye, thah us like ylle.

Al that gren me graueth grene,
Nou hit faleweth albydene:
Jesu, help that hit be sene
Ant shild us from helle!
For y not whider y shal, ne hou longe her
duelle.

Winter roses, white frankincense, and sweet violet.

This smells like cedar on me; it reminds me of sharpening pencils in elementary school. I have no idea how I'm getting cedar from the notes listed, but there you have it. I can tell that there are some background notes at work, though it's hard to tell exactly what they are. Reading the description again, I can see how one of them could be violet, but it is definitely not prominent, and it doesn't smell like an independent note, if that makes sense. This scent is pleasant enough on me, but rose and violet are two of my favorite notes, so I'd been hoping to smell more of them.

[Upstart Crow]

I, too, am getting sharpened pencils here, which is absolutely the frankincense. This and the cloying sweetness are the reasons frankincense is such an iffy note on me. It either enhances the blend subtly or it overrides everything else in a way that isn't unpleasant exactly, but which is just something I don't much care for because it hammers everything else down.

 

I get just a hint of the full-bodied rose here, and some sweetness from the violet, but overall not what I'd expected or hoped for. Not a bad blend at all, but just not entirely for me. If you love frankincense, though, you really ought to pick it up!

[Teamama]

This World's Joy features violet more prominently than rose or frankincense. All three are well-balanced. I find it to be a delicious, warm, woody floral. Different, too, from other BPAL blends I own featuring rose and/or violet. Good throw, compliments from family on Christmas Day. A keeper!

 

Edited to add: TWJ is getting better and better with a month of aging. It's excellent in my scent locket.

Edited again to add: aged into the best white frankincense ever! This is turning into something kind of special.

2022 update: A wonderful winter frankincense blend. The sweet violet is more distinct than the rose--so enjoyable!

Edited December 9, 2022 by Teamama
2022

[Haltija]

Yep, pencil shavings here too at first. I was a little concerned and worried but that fear quickly disappeared because on the final dry down this is stunning. A very rose and violet dominant blend and the frankincense is merely a supporting player. The violet isn't super strong like say the violet in Faith either.......... More like the kind in Fleurette's Purple Snails, and the rose is more like a pink rose, to my nose at least.

 

Pretty, classic and not stuffy. I enjoy it, but my decant is probably enough.

[SmilesSunshine]

Lab purchase, tested from bottle.

Equal parts white rose, faith and pencil shavings and hints of liturgical incense.

i was quite skeptic where this will go, as i HATE pencil shaving driven notes.

the throw is decent wear time medium

i get frankincense, violet, and rose, in that order on drytown.

 

i'm happy i got a biggie of this. Though i am unsure i will use it much. A ton of potential but i need that cedarish thing to calm down.

[brineydeep]

This is beautiful and these notes work amazingly well together.

 

I get a nice even blend of all three notes, though perhaps the violet is just a bit stronger than the other two. I'm usually meh about violet (though I *love* rose and frank), but this blend makes the violet work for me.

 

The problem is that this blend is super faint on my skin. I get very little throw and I really have to put my nose in there to smell it.

 

If it was stronger on my skin, I feel like this one would be a definite keeper. As it is, I'm unsure.

[joopjoop]

On me, this starts off with the three notes relatively balanced, although as others have noted, there is a bit of a wood/incense edge that is tickling my nose just a bit. I'm not getting full-on pencil shavings, however, which is a relief.

 

As it dries down this becomes a predominantly violet scent on me, with a bit of rosy-chill in the background. This is the first blend where I have really enjoyed violet on my skin - I like violet objectively as a scent but usually don't care for it ON me, if that makes sense. But I like it here. But in the end, This World's Joy reads to me as a violet version of The Unquiet Grave, and I think I prefer my roses and frank with vanilla orchid and sandalwood rather than violet, so I will stick with UG for now. But violet lovers who like cooler scents should snap this one up.

 

Gonna hold on to the decant though. I have a feeling this one might grow on me after a few more tests.

Edited January 5, 2017 by joopjoop

[zankoku_zen]

Pink roses, violet and a whiff of cedar. Good throw and wear length. Very pink.

[freyasfae]

This is sooo pretty, delicate, even fragile. It's an innocent sort of joy as opposed to a more boisterous celebration. Need to slather it because it's so light and pale to get some throw. It's well-balanced on me, but I would say the violet is more prominent than the others.

[Kay Torres]

When I tested this fresh from the mail, it was a very pretty rose dominant blend. Violet and frank were just barely detectable. I thought it was pretty, but it didn't wow me.

 

After a very rough day with nausea (which cleared up by late afternoon), I was hesitant to try this for a review. I'm glad that I did it anyway. It's a very pleasant and settling scent.

 

Wet: The violet is front and center now. It's light and delicate. Rose gives it a little body, but the frank in this is the star of the show. It's got a goldeness to it and it's more sweet and lemony than woody. I like it.

 

Dry: Rose and violet didn't last on me. It's all frankincense all the time. I don't mind. I've had some bad experiences with frank lately that were making me think that I didn't love it anymore. But when it smells like this - all sweet citrus and crushed pine needles, I really do love it.

[Aviatrix]

This is mainly a floral scent on me, but not in a soapy way at all. The violet is quite prominent without being bitter, and the frankincense is in the background.

It's a simple and pretty scent that sadly has very light throw on me. So slathering is necessary

[Little Bird]

I'm not getting frankincense or pencil shavings, just a cool toned, quiet violet and rose blend. It goes slightly powdery on me (like cosmetics powder, not baby powder) and reminds me of Marie, but This World's isn't as sweet as Marie, and the violet here has a hint of a colder, sharper, slightly watery edge to it. Pretty and proper.