Silentium Amoris

[olympia301]

Unspoken love. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s poem. A scent brimming with pathos and memories of longing and loss. Rose touched with ylang ylang.

I got the impression of roses and violets when I first put this one on. I knew it was discontinued and was delighted when the Lab sent me a frimp in a recent order. It is a perfect late winter scent for the frequent times you long for spring flowers and have convinced yourself there is a blush of green about the treebranches.

I had never read a description of Silentium Amoris, and wasn't surprised to find rose and ylang-ylang as the primary notes, but no violet (which was either wishful thinking or BPAL alchemy). I love that sort of sweet mimicry, it's the thrill of perfumery.

This is a beautiful blend and an imp I will treasure and use as my desire for spring increases.

[PirateMaggie]

This was a frimp from the Lab. I see it's listed as "Discontinued;" I don't know if Beth is planning to start offering it again (I hope!) or if it was simply a left-over, but I feel honored indeed to have been given it!

 

Mmm. Not-too-sweet pink tea rose deepened and made exotic by the ylang ylang. Ylang ylang can be overpowering, but it isn't at all here and there is no trace of the baby powder and air freshener ick I get from so many rose blends. This blend evokes a moonlit rose garden in June. It's soft and delicate and a bit wistful, warm but slightly dark, and very, very romantic. Throw is slight to medium. It doesn't morph as it dries, and it lasts for hours. This is the rose scent I've been dreaming of. Should Beth resurrect it (pretty please?) this is a definite big bottle buy.

[tarotbydiana]

Silentium Amoris is the haunting of a comely virgin struck down by consumption before her bridal vows could be spoken. The rose lingers like the memory of her mortal beauty and the ylang ylang is the touch of the infernal realm upon her soul. Flowers bloom out of graveyard loam and her voice whispers to her anguished lover from beyond the moss painted tombstone.

 

Silentium Amoris is languorous, drifting, and dark. The scent takes me into the yearning hearts of poets long since dead who wept for the untimely absence of their beloveds from this earthly plane. Saddened to find this scent discontinued from the general catalogue, I will treasure the contents of my imp.

[GypsyRoseRed]

Silentium Amoris is all rose on me, but instead of a thick, heavy rose scent, this reminds me of the natural, light prettiness of my mother's rose garden when I was a little girl. It's a nostalgic, delicate blend and it has a subtle beauty that lingers for a few hours on my skin.

[dragonryder]

Love this scent. Got an imp from an ebay lot and I'm afraid to use it because then it will be all gone. Maybe we can talk to someone about a resurrection? Would to have a big bottle of this.

[Ryvre]

Rose normally doesn't work on me, but Silentium Amoris was nice. It didn't turn perfumey or soapy at all. It smelled a lot like a rose tea.

[batsy]

In the vial: ylang ylang. Strong!

 

On the skin: Normally I pick up roses right off, if they're a note in something, but this time it's like a ylang ylang party. Which is okay if you love ylang ylang, I suppose. As it dried down, the roses began to pop (or "bloom"...) It's a beautiful rose scent as it dries and deepens. Reminds me of a Catholic church for some reason.

[damuddymeg]

This is one DC scent I've had to hoarde. I'm desperately hoping it will be resurrected, because it is utterly amazing. I never thought of myself as a rose kind of girl, until this blend. I've tried several others now with some success, but this is the one I gravitate toward over and over. I could have sworn I'd reviewed this one previously, but I looked back through and didn't see one. Hmmm--perhaps I've lost my mind. In any case:

 

In the imp: Barely sweet, almost lemony rose, with a fluid undercurrent of something sweeter underneath

 

Wet: Rose. Specifically, it reminds me of the pale peach and yellow roses my father has grown since I was a baby. This is a fresh spring bud, whose smell leaves a wet-tart taste in your mouth.

 

Dry: This is heartbreakingly beautiful. For me, the ylang-ylang never does more than accentuate the delicate rose with a barely detectable sweet fruity-floral note. It's like rolling in rose petals, smooth and cool close to the skin. I know someday I'm going to run out, and I will be heartbroken.

[oregonmom]

Silentium Amoris is beautiful, an old garden rose in full flower.

 

I found it lush and sweet with an initial undercurrent of lemon balm. It reminds me of Bulgarian rose oil, but nicer. It gets drier and bit sharper on the drydown, but doesn't turn powdery or musty tea rose on me like so many do. I've been searching for a rose scent that reminds me of the fragrant antique roses I've grown and this is one of if not the very best.

 

I would describe this as nostalgic but not particularly delicate. My imp was from a swap and I don't know how old it is - I wonder if it has amped up with age. Is it a hopeful sign that that people have received this recently from the lab? If this was ever resurrected I would buy a big bottle and treasure it.

[edenssixthday]

Silentium Amoris - without looking it up, I guessed that this was probably a Funereal Oil. Unfortunately, when I did look it up, while I discovered I am correct, I also discovered it's discontinued, which is a real shame because Silentium Amoris is a beautiful blend. It's predominantly roses and has a touch of something bright in it -- the Lab description says ylang ylang, but it doesn't smell citrusy on me like ylang ylang usually does. I would also not be surprised if Beth slipped a drop of an unidentified lily note in this blend as well, as it has that smooth, round, softness that lily brings to most BPAL blends. I really like this and am going to treasure my little imp.

[scourgeotheseas]

Silentium Amoris - from the DC imp swap.

 

In the imp: Light rose plus a much stronger, whiter floral - must the ylang ylang? I always forget what it is supposed to smell like...

 

On me/wet: This is fresh, green rose like that found in Rose Red. Generally, I love rose. Hmmm, it's going all lemony on me.

 

Drydown: The lemony freshness mellows, leaving a light rose scent. It's pretty, and I would have liked some, but I've got a ton of other BPAL rose scents to make me happy.

[jenleigh]

I'm going to treasure my imp of Silentium Amoris forever. It smells exactly like the white roses I had as my wedding bouquet did! It's very feminine, just a bit wistful. All I get is roses, which suits me perfectly.

 

This is way up there on my all-time favorites list now, and if it ever comes back (please? pretty please?), I'm hoarding it like crazy.

[cranberry]

Origin - Discontinued Swap Circle

 

In the Imp – rose. Not the fresh rose in Rose Red. It smells much older.

 

On the Skin – rose with a touch of greenery (more like Rose Red than in the imp). This is a pretty rose scent. Now I’m picking up a bit of the ylang ylang. For some reason this reminds me a bit of candy, like candied rose petals. This is very pretty!

[PilotKitten]

Mmm... rose. These smell a lot like the roses in Whip... just not as "wet" if that makes any sense. Not at all overpowering... just a gentle wafting about. Wonderful scent. I'm so happy this has recently come back just as I was able to snag an imp in a swap. I'll definitely have to buy at least two bottles.

[supremegoddessofall]

Mostly rose, less ylang ylang. Kinda going to rose baby powder, and it's the chemically smelling rose that usually doesn't work for me.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

If it has rose as a main note, I *will* try it! I am grateful to have gotten an imp of this at the Atlanta M&S! Wet, this reminds me of London--a soft tea-rose, very gentle. But slightly greener than London. However, the ylang kinda drowns the rose as it dries on me, and I don't like that nearly as much. I may give this to one of my friends or relatives with similar but not identical taste to mine.

[Chrysantza]

In the imp - a lovely floral, rose and ylang ylang just like the description says.

 

On me - SOAP! Soapy soap soapity soap. Raw Ivory soap. I'm so disappointed! It smelled great in the bottle but my body chemistry really fights this one.

[maribouquet]

This didn't work on me at all, I think due to the ylang ylang, which started out almost green, like cut stems. Combined with the rose and my chemistry it turned into something burnt flower smelling and super unpleasant.

 

[mandragora]

Despite the hate-hate relationship that rose and my skin has, I had to try all the Resurrecteds. So here goes...

 

This is like a darker, stronger 2, 5 and 7. Very blood red rose, deep and dark. It's so strong, I detect nary a hint of the ylang-ylang. And as all rose scents does, Silentium Amoris turned sour milk on my skin. To quote someone's review on LJ, "my skin is where rose comes to die". Quite apropos in my case.

 

This would be a gorgeous scent for rose lovers. Alas, that I'm not one of them. SA will be gifted to my aunt who loves rose.

[Voleuse]

Rose, sweet and light. Very gentle. I don't smell ylang-ylang at all, but it could be supporting the sweetness of the rose. This is lovely, though less vivid than I usually like my roses. It definitely matches the tone of the poem.

[buzz23666]

man - this was a disappointment.

 

I am all about roses and they seem to work in all variations with my chemisty but this one went totally wonky.

 

It started off as a great bloody rose and then it turned into a dying, semi rotting one. BOOOOOOOO

[filigree_shadow]

This is far too rosy for me. It smells basically just like roses, but it's that sort of sharp rosy scent that I don't really like that much. I'm usually not a big rose fan anyway, but sometimes I like them if they're creamy or dewy -- this isn't that kind of rose, though.

[LauraB]

On me, this is a gorgeous sweet rose scent.

 

I absolutely love rose but not all the lab rose blends work that well on me. This one does - simple but gorgeous!

[juniperus]

Bottle: Whiteness. Cold. The smell of nothing, if nothing had a smell. How terribly interesting!

Wet: Very pale floral, very chill.

Dry: Sweet, growing a little sharp. The ylang ylang is starting its bid for supremacy, and I'm almost getting more green stem than rose.

Later: Mellowed significantly, not a lot of stay...and very sweet ylang ylang-y-ness. Evocative, very.

[stellans]

 

I received an imp of this in a swap, and upon first sniff, fell completely in love. However, as is my custom, the imp went into my Need-To-Try box for random selection. I was so thrilled when it fell into my fingers this morning!

 

In the imp: roses! lovely, lovely roses. Beth hasn't put together a rose-scented oil yet that I don't love, and Silentium Amoris is no exception. This has a bright, fresh note that is very pleasing to my nose and practically begs to be slathered immediately.

 

Wet on skin: Still a lovely bright rose scent, though I do catch a little green note coming through, like the roses were picked fresh before distilling into the lovely liquid before me.

 

Dry: slightly less fresh, but still delightful. Some rose scents can turn into sachet-type scents, or even old-smelling perfume like my Nana would wear, but this one did not. I love it.

 

Verdict: This is not an 'old lady'* rose scent by any stretch; it's a long-lasting very nice rose oil that I must find more of immediately. Alas, it is discontinued so I will haunt the Sale/Swap threads, and eBay.

 

Is it a keeper? Oh yes. Definitely. I want more.

 

*and really, what kind of thing is that to say??? "Old lady?" If your grandmother wears BPAL, does that make BPAL an "Old Lady" scent? I resemble that remark!

Edited March 20, 2009 by stellans