Altarpiece - No1 - Group X

[zankoku_zen]

A prism of sacred frankincense refracting a golden amber light into a spectrum of daemonorops draco, King mandarin, golden oud, verdant moss, blue tansy, indigo vegetal musk, and wild plum.

[bheansidhe]

What I wrote for my initial impression is "smells like an art museum." I'm not sure what that means - maybe something about a very gathered, formal play of light? The sense of a hushed and orderly and reverent space? Waxed and polished surfaces? Getting into the actual smell of things, I get a clear, watery (not aquatic), golden, vegetable musk. I don't pick out dragons' blood or plum. The primary impressions are warm and golden amber/frank lightened by citrus and moss. The moss eventually drags it into cologne territory for me, but the man wearing it is probably the human representation of an angel, so really what we have here is best summed up as "angelic host cologne." 

 

My nose is garbage. Lots of throw! Golden light as perfume! Give it a try. 

[puellacaerulea]

Agreed with the above reviewer that something about this scent says church, museum, or an otherwise quiet and reverent space. It might be because the frankincense is reminding me of church incense from when I was a kid (but better!), but there's something about it that makes me think of big, polished halls with a slight whiff of incense wafting through. The dominant notes throughout are frankincense and amber, but there are herbaceous and mossy notes in the background that keep the scent from being heavy. I can't specifically pick out the dragon's blood, plum, or mandarin, but the mosses and tansy are there in the background. Very much a unisex scent, and great wear length. Might consider a bottle upgrade for this one.

[Alisha_SBC]

Immediately upon touching my skin this bloomed into a bright citrus that made me want to stop and breathe in deep. I smiled.
Where Choirs is a subtle, delicate brightness, this is a bold beam of golden light. 
In the background I get hints of the moss and some gentle florals. A faint whiff of plum. The mandarin is the star here, though. I don't really get the incense mentioned, but I do get why someone else mentioned polish. I can picture a glossy wood altar with citrus candles burning bright.

As it dries it gets a little more grounded and I detect a touch of the resins. I liked the initial application best, but this is still a pretty scent. I'd consider this unisex and should try it on my husband.

 

[zankoku_zen]

This one smells expensive, and fancy, and expansive. It's a golden musky light with touches of fruit and frankincense. But it just smells like the golden light that plays through a window onto a highly polished wooden floor.  This is what Queen Charlotte's palace smells like in Bridgerton. FANCY. Great throw and wear length.

[wordortwo]

This is a stately, golden, glittering scent. When it is wet on the skin, it is a mix of sharp citrus, fresh wood, and powdery, spicy resins. There is perhaps a sliver of floral poking through. I love the long-term dry down, which is warm and sweet yet still clean and bright. It lasts many hours and has a surprisingly broad throw. 

 

I mean, that's all well and good, but really, I'm not quite sure I'm describing this scent accurately. It does kind of smell like an art museum, like the first reviewer says. I could also say it smells like a sunbeam. Or a golden demigod. I'm happy to smell like any of those things.

[slave1]

Citrus incense elegance are the words this scent evokes. I feel very elegant and sophisticated when wearing it. Clean, bright and very heavy on the golden amber and mandarin. I smell no plum sadly... and that is always my favorite note.

Still I love this scent and will wear it at social events and outings. Would also be a beautiful scent to use in a diffuser to lift your mood. 

[rivetted]

I am glad I looked at the reviews on Altarpiece to blind bottle this one.

Before I start - my family history is essentially an art museum. Painters, muralists, artists.

Everyone's descriptions of it smelling like an art museum & golden light were intriguing - but for all the personal/sentimental reasons above.

I figured, even if it wasn't my thing to wear, I might just enjoy keeping it around to smell it.

 

Imagine my surprise when this bottle smells exactly like my grandmother's house.

I have no idea how this is so incredibly specific & accurate for me, but it truly is. I want to live & breathe in this smell, & I want to have it around forever.

My grandmothers house is unlike most other's I think. There's a scent of something old, ancient, dusty, but not forgotten - because it is still very lived in. It is both a ritual space & an art studio, with decades of artwork inside it. There's paintings all the way up to the ceilings in bold colors, geometric & psychedelic art from the 60's & 70's, and some still in progress up on the easel with paint & brushes set aside. There's a strong incense over everything, something that is both heavy & grounding, yet light. My grandmother always liked tibetan incenses, & this might be reminding me of nag champa a bit? (I can't recall - it's been a long time since I sniffed any) I think that this is the indigo musk making the strongest note for me.  

 

This experience might be limited to my own, but this bottle is extremely lovely. I already ordered a backup.

 

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by rivetted

[LavenderCoffee]

Wow, this is stunning. Of the Roy G Biv spectrum of scent notes, the red/orange/yellow end goes on brightest when freshly applied, especially king mandarin and dragon's blood. As it warms and dries on my skin I get more of the moss and musk lurking behind Frank(incense) and Roy, adding a cologne-like dimension to this golden amber-hearted scent composition. Not getting much plum, but if it has any acidic sourness to it, it's probably hiding out with mandarin.

[Bassmastadroog]

I got this perfume because this has been one of my favorite bpal collections in a long time, and also the art by Klimt. I basically told myself it HAD to be good because I had to have it.

 

I am honestly shocked. It’s beautiful. It’s like the prettiest, springtime incense with some dark allure. I guess you could say that the idea of a prism has been represented so well here. It really does smell like a glinting, bright, prism exploding in all its glory.

 

I do not like orange/mandarin as a rule usually. Here it becomes an almost gilded fruit with the fuzzy gold incense, taking away the sour fruitiness that I normally am not into. 
 

Gosh it’s almost impossible for me to really identify the rest other than the slightly sweet plum and indigo musk. It just all comes together in such a wild mix.

 

This was a random/surprise winner that I’ll be wearing all spring and summer. This collection is truly fantastic and I hope it stays for a long while.