The Crossed Keys

[zankoku_zen]

Sweet myrrh, Oman frankincense, gum acacia, and white sandalwood.

[starbrow]

Stony, but in a totally different way than the Lab's usual stone notes. Where those tend to have a coldness, a grime to them, this is exceptionally spotless concrete, poured out for a heavenly path of sanctified feet to walk. That's what I keep thinking as I smell The Crossed Keys: concrete. It's fascinating, how perfectly that sun-warmed stone comes through. It is so pure white and sparkling, I am almost sure there is some champaca too, rendering this path holier-than-though, a kind of heavenly incense bleach. 

 

I won't lie, myrrh in the company of three other resins scared me. But I can't smell any of the typical powdery-syrupy presence of scary myrrh. Of the four notes, the pale sandalwood is the most recognizable in The Crossed Keys. The soft nuttiness of gum acacia is probably the second most prominent. I get very little frankincense, alas, for I am a frank fan. I would not have guessed myrrh from the bright white of whatever resin is left; it's so champaca to me!

 

Concrete is not one of my weird-but-I-love-it scents, so this one won't be upgraded to a bottle, yet there is surely some experiment waiting to happen of layering this with SN Dandelion to see how close one could come to recreating Dandelions and Concrete.

[zankoku_zen]

Moss, stone, and nothing really that screams resins to me. Basically if you ever wanted a stone blend, this one delivers. Good throw and wear length.

[Irish Sea Mermaid]

So, all I can smell on me so far is Cucumber 🥒…

Not exactly what I was hoping for, but interesting?? 
 

I can just about make out something resinous, but yep, mostly green cucumbers…

 

ah well. 
 

 

[Casablanca]

The Crossed Keys smells like... a room smell?

 

It's really just reading to me as an ambient room smell that's pale, chalky, resinous, and a bit woody. I can see comparisons to stone and concrete, though. Raw marble comes to mind -- marble that's dull and dusty, and not yet shiny for home improvements.

 

[Lucchesa]

I tested The Crossed Keys blind, and it started out really green.  I was sure it would have ivy or dandelion or grass or some such note -- I totally see where Irish Sea Mermaid got cucumber.  Is that gum acacia?  This smells nothing like, say, Penitence (frank & myrrh) on me.  This is a blend where the parts are subsumed into the whole and can't be pried apart.  And the whole is kind of quiet and still and cool.  I'm super glad I got to try it (thanks, @Teamama!) but it's not something I see myself wearing often.  

[Cali]

I was expecting something spicy or slightly um.... "egyptian" if that makes any sense? What i get is a reddish very in-your-face ever so slightly peachy fruity scent with a lovely soft amber to back it up. Not my thing but very interesting.