Psalm 146:9

[Ina Garten Davita]

The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

 

Cacao, labdanum, vetiver, and bourbon vanilla.

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: The labdanum is *intense* at first sniff. Since I have been in a major labdanum rabbit hole as of late, this is not, in any way, a problem for me. In fact, it's sort of what I was hoping for (though I adore all notes listed equally in this blend, so truth be told, this bottle was always going to be mine, one way or another.) I get traces of sharp, bittersweet cacao and smoky vetiver around the edges, but no vanilla at this stage.

Wet On Skin: As the oil starts to warm, the labdanum opens further, releasing its delicious dark/sweet/resinous power. The cacao mellows a bit, but this is not the sweet, dusty confection of my darling Cacao Pod. This is deep black baker's chocolate at most- and it's really just in the far background. The vetiver had disappeared, and vanilla never came to the party at all.

Dry Down: the labdanum continues to dominate, with just an edge of the vetiver's smokiness to round it out. It's strong but with a medium-low throw. I can feel the fury of the message through this scent. I am instantly in love and suspect, given the notes, that this will only get better with age. ❤️ 

[samanare]

I get a lot of labdanum at first. It takes a while, but the vetiver does start to come out more and more. For me, starts off as a labdanum scent, ends as a vetiver scent. I don't get any cacao or vanilla, though I do suspect it helps to mellow out the scent.

[zankoku_zen]

Labdanum with whiffs of cacao and vanilla. This is a resinous blend with enough cacao and vanilla for me to keep it from just being a resin. Good throw and wear length.

[Lucchesa]

Psalm 146:9 starts out as cocoa and labdanum, like a chocolate coke, with a little vanilla around the edges. It took about an hour for the vetiver to develop on my skin, and it's a gentle sweet vetiver like the one in Two Sheep and Two Goats, so don't let it scare you away if you're a labdanum but not a vetiver fan.  So it was a labdanum-vetiver scent for a while, with the cocoa and vanilla fading away after a couple of hours, and the drydown was mainly sweet soft vetiver.  Lovely and I suspect it will age well.  

[Juliamon]

I let my decant sit for a few weeks and the cacao separated out. Try as I might I couldn't get it to mix back in, it's stuck to the vial in little globules, so that may have affected my experience. But it's worth mentioning because it may be why not everyone is picking up on the cacao note--it may be stuck to the bottom of your bottle!

 

Because I scraped at the cacao globs with the applicator wand this opened very chocolate-forward, with rich labdanum intertwined and a distant dusty vetiver. The vetiver pulls forward as the cocoa pulls back, but never enough to make this a "vetiver scent" and honestly it gives me kind of an orris vibe here as it's more powdery than smoky. I never really get a distinct vanilla, which is very odd considering my skin's penchant for amping it wildly.

 

I'm on the fence about keeping the decant, as I don't really have the patience to stir and scrape every time I want to wear it. It's in the same family as Boomslang but with a more resinous presence, so if you're a Boomslang fan but want something less prone to skin-staining you should definitely give this a try!

[doomsday_disco]

Psalm 146:9 starts off with this lovely combo of cacao sweetened by the vanilla, but then the labdanum quickly bursts into the room and declares dominion over all. It ends up being a sweet cola-like labdanum backed by some bourbon vanilla. I don't get any vetiver from this at all. Unfortunately, it becomes cola-like powder on me after a few hours of wear.

 

I liked this more than I thought I would based on the notes. I just wish it hadn't become powdery on me after a while.

[Vaporeon]

Picked this up on a whim but its signature scent worthy for me. Spicy- sweet vetiver. With deep but sheer cacao. This isnt heavy at all. Resins are more present in the drydown where it is a bit powdery.

[Honey]

Not sure what I am getting when wet.

There is the cocoa with something medicinal - is that the labdanum? Reminds me a bit of a light frankincense.

There is a soft cocoa-vanilla backdrop to this, but the church vibe is definitely present.

 

On drydown, this is all church on me.

I get frankincense or church incense and a dry, soft and sweet backdrop.

This is like putting your nose in a dusty old tome while sitting in a monastery library - very interesting.

[MamaMoth]

initially, it's vetiver-deepened dark cacao with a bit of smoothing vanilla. then, after a minute or two of total absence, the labdanum BURSTS forth and instantly takes top spot.  labdanum you diva, what an entrance! it's particularly effervescent here, hitting me almost like a champagne note at first. it settles down into a sweet/spicy vanilla resin-cola that i love so much.  earthy cacao and dried-grassy vetiver are definitely there grounding it out and giving it depth, but this is undoubtedly the labdanum show.  HERE FOR IT. ❤️