Vampire Tarot: The Pope

[LizziesLuck]

This is my body, he said, two thousand years ago. This is my blood.

It was the only religion that delivered exactly what it promised: life eternal, for its adherents.

There are some of us alive today who remember him. And some of us claim that he was a messiah, and some think that he was just a man with very special powers. But that misses the point. Whatever he was, he changed the world.

Life everlasting: clove-smoke, benzoin, rose maroc, Jerusalem cedar, cistus, and frankincense.

Wet: Cedar, benzoin, and smoky-sexy clove. Nice! Fresh cedar is never good on me, but aged it gets quite nice. Currently it's a little bit sharp and pencil shaving-y (I know that's not a real word, you get what I mean). But that clove/benzoin combo is TO DIE FOR. Clove lovers, take note. I get hints of the rose, which softens things, but doesn't take over. That bully Frank hasn't shown up yet, which I am pretty happy about - he likes to stomp all over the other notes on my skin.

Dry: This is lovely. Clove, woods (which have settled nicely as this dries, no more pencil shavings) backed by sweet resins. The Frankincense is present, but behaving for once. I can't really smell the rose, which I am OK with, as it often steals the show on my skin. I do have some other clove perfumes that I really love, but I think this is beautiful and different enough that I could find a place for it in my collection, so I may need a bottle. I think this will age gloriously - it's good now, but I bet in a year or two it's STUNNING.

[zankoku_zen]

This is a seriously sexy clove cedar. There's a strong cedar note on wet that recedes, as the clove is coming and blooming. The frankincense adds a sweet resin note as a background. This one seriously sexy blend.

[JazzieCazzie]

I confess I sort of bought this on a whim. I was not looking to blind bottle buy but when I saw the list of notes my inner clove and stuff lover just hit "BUY."

 

IN THE IMP: This is SOOOO hard for me to describe. Smoky incense tempered by something weirdly fruity and fresh, aquatic or green. I cannot for the life of me figure out from the notes listed what those would be.

 

Applied to my wrist and in the crook of my arm with clean toothpick.

 

WET: If there is such a thing as an aquatic smoky incense this scent is it. I don't know much about churches but I think this is pretty ecclesiastical smelling. But it's not stuffy. It's green and fresh.

 

INITIAL DRYDOWN: As it dries, it becomes less resiny and more green and oddly mysterious.

 

FINAL DRYDOWN: In the end, for whatever reason and whatever note, it ends up going kind of fruity on me (a green fruit, maybe one that is not yet ripe).

 

I think this is a scent people would really love but given my box of keeper bottles and my limited life expectancy, I can't see reaching for it over my glut of other churchy-resiny scents (IF, however, this were to be released as a bath oil, I'd buy it in a heartbeat).

... and so this beautiful bottle will go into the Boobiepalooza box to find a happy home this spring.

[Lucchesa]

I was the fortunate recipient of this scent in JazzieCazzie's Boobiepalooza box, and I'm shocked by how little love The Pope is getting here because it really is beautiful.  It seems like it's in an obscure corner of the website and most people don't know about it.  And it's a tad more expensive, but that just reminds me of the Loreal commercials of my youth -- sure, it costs a little more, but you're worth it. 

 

The Pope is much lighter than you might expect from notes like frank, cedar, and clove-smoke; in fact, if you're looking for something like Thorns Clove Cigarette, you're likely to be disappointed.  I'm not familiar with the rose maroc note, but I assume it's rose (which might be keeping the rose-averse at bay), and I get absolutely no rose from this scent.  Instead, I get cedar and gently smoky clove and a benzoin so playful I was initally thinking it was labdanum.  

 

The Pope shares some notes with The Cat (benzoin, cedar, honey and dark musk), and if you love The Cat, you should definitely try The Pope. On my The Cat is darker and denser, while The Pope is more ethereal.  It's ultimately more warm, spicy and sexy than ecclesiastical.  I need to wear it more often instead of saving it as a special occasion blend.  

[LavenderCoffee]

I think I'm finally learning that my skin amplifies frankincense. It's not a note that I dislike, but here it is surprising to me because I would not expect frankincense to eclipse clove or cedar. I would love a clove/cedar bomb! but alas, it is not to be. 

[skyturtles]

I absolutely agree that this starts off pencil-shavingly sharp. There's just a hint of clove cigarette, the ghost of Christmas cedar, and a ritual older than recorded history. I purchased this as a gift for someone else and it breaks my heart that I must give it away. I really do like it. It's almost gourmand. Damn, I can't stop sniffing myself.