The Hierophant

[aidenraine]

This is definitelty a very churchy scent, but sweet somehow.

 

I am definitely getting frankincense plus something sweet, something like baking.

 

It's getting a bit like body odor on me somehow though. The sweetness and muskiness are drying down in kind of a weird way.

 

Definitely cinnamon... plus ... onions now?

 

 

Truly weird on me.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Chilly incense, and a little bit of spice.

 

Wearing: I’m thinking the darkness underneath might be vetiver, but it’s nicely restrained. Very much cinnamon on top.

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: I would love this as a room scent! It's spicy but not strong or invasive, definitely clove & frankincense with some woods. I love it!

 

First on: Wow, my skin turned all red! It only does that with Inferno, but with this I couldn't even smell a huge ton of cinnamon in it at first. It's jsut about all I can smell now though. Cinnamon, clove, and that powdery smell that's either frankincense, vanilla, or amber.

 

Drydown: I think the tarot oils in general hate me because out of 6 tonight, this is the 4th that I can't even smell anymore, which is a shame because I was ready to get a big bottle. I still get a whiff of smoke and spice, but it's barely there.

 

Overall: Once again, Beth does it with the perfect match. The heirophant is bold and powerful, yet reserved and pious.

[emzebel]

I received an imp of this from the Trading Post with my locket order...

 

On first sniff I really like thi - it is moist and herbal with a spicy sort of background that reminds me a lot of Sol, but softer and less sundrenched. Alas, after ten minutes or so, the base note that has been common in all of the Tarots I've tried comes to the fore and starts to make me woozy, and I had to wash this off. So sad, because it really was a beautiful blend...

[juniperus]

Spice and resins, and a sweet edge...reminds me of the gentle sweet of mallow.

I do like this...

[angharad]

Spicy & sweet, just the way I like it! I can pick out the cinnamon most definitely -- it does feel like it has some resins to soften the edge of the spice, too, and underneath it all is something sweet that warms it all up. It doesn't last for very long, though. After about an hour on my skin the spice is all but gone, and soon I can't smell anything at all. It also has a pretty light throw on me.

[maijasu]

On me, this smells like a hippie eating an orange creamsicle. I smell something earthy and resiny, with perhaps a hint of patchouli, and then yummy orange and vanilla. I don't usually wear earthy scents, but this one is sexy and I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist while I was testing it. I don't know if it's really a "me" sort of scent, so I may not get a big bottle, but I'll hold on to my imp and see if it grows on me.

[furygrrl]

In the imp: Dry, herbal, vaguely sweet and wood-y.

 

On wet: If there's cinnamon in this blend - like so many before me have mentioned smelling - then it's very well hidden. All I'm getting is something sweet and resinous.

 

Drydown: Still a very sweet, yet somewhat dusty and subdued wood-sap type of scent. I think I'm picking up on cedar and myrrh...and if frankincense is what's driving that incensey undernote, then I may have to reconsider my completely random anti-frank policy (he kinda scares me... ).

 

Overall: This blend has totally surprised me - it's not like anything I'd normally wear, but I can't stop sniffing myself! It's warm and sweet and spicy (though if it's cinnamon, it's still too well-blended for me to distinguish it), and definitely lovely. Reminds me of La Petite Mort, Eclipse and, to a lesser degree, Black Phoenix. Maybe if they were layered together... Either way, a very yummy, skin-licious scent, and an easy 4/5.

[edenssixthday]

The Hierophant - Ooh, frankincense! I've been wearing Faustus non-stop for the past few days, so when I applied The Hierophant, I recognized the frankincense in it instantly. When I first apply it, it's all frankincense, but as the blend dries down, it also takes on a somewhat peppery smell and also has the slightest touch of wood in the background that could be sandalwood or possibly even cedar. It's a nice scent with a light level of throw and really good staying power. However, as far as this particular scent family goes, Faustus kicks the ass of all other frankincense scents, which means I'll be passing this on to a more loving home while I cradle my beloved Faustus in my own arms.

[supremegoddessofall]

Very spicy! Definitely some dragon's blood in here, and I think also a touch of clove and citrus. Hint of vetiver as well.

[fiddledragon]

In the imp: Resiny incense and marshmallows. There's maybe a hint of spice as well.

 

On me: The sweet almost vanishes, leaving dark spicy incense and still a bit of a marshmallow scent, but without the sweet bit. It's a *very* dry smell. I think the spice is probably a touch of cinnamon and clove.

 

This is a beautiful blend, and manages to distinguish itself from the rest of the BPAL incense blends with the spice and that interesting mallow note. Yum! It does want layering or something to keep it from feeling like it's drying out my sinuses, though.

[filigree_shadow]

Smells cinnamony at first, maybe a little bit herbal too. There's kind of a green scent underneath the cinnamon. It's very spicy, but it doesn't quite smell too spicy.

[theseagrows]

i think i smell sandalwood and cinnamon? and not much else. this is a spicy warm scent, but has a distant feeling to it. it's ok but not really 'me' so i think i will swap it.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: A very powdery myrrh...maybe some frankincense?

 

Wet: Did I get slipped some Kether by mistake? Seriously, the resemblance between this and The Scent of the Holy Cinnamon Roll are very, very similar. There's a chillier note in this blend, as others have noted.

 

Drydown and wear: It took me a few minutes, but I figured out what this smells like--Big Red Cinnamon gum in the pack...cinnamon and sugar. Very, very interesting interpretation of the card (I was expecting the oil to play off the card's traditional association with Taurus). Because this is so similar to Kether, which I have a 5mL of, I don't know if I'll get a bottle, but I will have to play around with this imp!

[tarotgirl99]

Woody and incensy are not usually what I'm drawn to, but this is very warm and just spicy enough, like the rich, deep, dark wooden box that holds my Fine Art Tarot, but could hold the finest cigars or very old religious tomes that do NOT smell of mildew, because of the quality of the container.

 

The Hierophant also lasts a really long time. I was hoping not to have to buy a bottle, but I'm thinking I might have no choice. To me, it really smells like wise lore that is passed down through the generations.

[cranberry]

Resinous, spicy (cinnamon I think) and woods. Incense too. Cinnamon’s the driver in this scent. There’s a sweetness there and it gets sweeter at it dries. It dries to a spicy, sweet, cinnamon resin scent. Yum!

[fountaingrl]

I get the cinnamon and the light wood note that everyone else gets, I don't really get a lot of frankincense (which is why I bought it unsniffed, as I have a strong need to smell like incense), but I get the niftiest thing after drydown finishes:

 

Just-extinguished, lightly scented white candle. I'm sorry, but that is SO sexy and comforting at the same time. I smell like very faintly perfumed hot wax with the notes of burned wick and a wee bit of smoke on top. You know how sometimes you are burning a candle and you blow it out and then walk past the candle later and it smells even better in a way? Yes siree, I smell like *that*!

[Vampy]

Sweet, bright lotus and CINNAMON, with a light dusting of churchy resins. And did I mention cinnamon? Because, you know, there's cinnamon in this. Like, a lot of cinnamon.

 

I don't get the resins as strongly as everyone else seems to be, it's just a subtle mellowness rounding out the lotus and CINNAMON. It's quite pretty, bright and soothing. I get the impression of bright golden light with little tendrils of traditional incense smoke rising up.

 

By the way, in case I forgot to mention, there's a pretty strong cinnamon note in this.

[Narya]

straight from the imp this is a very airy cinnamon. i was concerned, because cinnamon blends tend to be quite unpredictable. i don't have particularly sensitive skin, but saw scale viper for instance bit me right in the butt...

but this one, this is a very light form of cinnamon.

on the skin cinnamon is the main note, with some underlying florals, i suspect lotus and orange blossom. maybe some very light citrus too. i get no frankinscense or spice.

the blend itself is very light, hence the throw is not it's strongest point. too bad.

alltogether good, but not good enough to get a bottle.

[emerald_ibis]

Wet and initial drydown: PINE! PINE, IT SMELLS LIKE PINE, NOBODY ELSE SAID IT SMELLED LIKE PINE, OH EM GEE, WASH IT OFF WASH IT OFF WASH IT OFF WASH IT OFF!!!!!

 

After a few minutes: wait, there's something nice. kind of spicy. hey, resin. or incense. the pine's going away, and I'm pretty sure it's snickering at me. the pine mocks me. dastardly, mocking pine tree.

 

Much later: very nice, and I will keep the bottle. I layered it with some aged Dorian, and it's absolutely lovely. Keeper. 3.9 of 5 stars - loses points for the initial OH HAI, I M THE PYNE TREEEE blast of evergreen.

[suki]

in the imp: candle wax and some sort of spice-potpouri scent. very church-y as others have said.

 

wet on skin: same.

 

dry down: a light spice mix, subtle enough for daytime use. certainly suit the namesake card.

 

in all: less complex and morph-y than other Tarots i've tried, i like this one, the spice in it has a very "mystical" feel to it, in that old-school church way, like going into a cathedral the day after christmas and getting just the left over remnants and what transpired the day before.

 

 

 

 

 

[zankoku_zen]

Hrm. I do believe there was at least some patchouli in this because on wet, both the Hierophant and Judgement smell like they share commonalities. As it dries, I get the cinnamon, perhaps a drop of dragon's blood and perhaps frankincense?

 

It definitely smells like cinnamon + church incense base. Apropos, I suppose.

[JazzieCazzie]

Despite loving it when I ventured into the Tarots, I somehow never reviewed this scent and am not sure why other than I guess I discovered it shortly after the beginning of my long reviewing lull (between summer 2005 and mid 2013) and when I started again, which encompassed reviewing or RE-reviewing every scent in my collection, I was still sorely lacking any Hierophant.

However, was gifted by an amazing forumite first with a partial imp and then as lagniappe in a swap with a FULL imp. I feel rich.

IN THE IMP: Frankincense, of course, and then something I can't put my finger on but a spicy comforting cloud of heaven.

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. I only have a little over an imp. I cannot slather.

WET: Just rapture. Frankincense, yes. But there is an accompanying "sweetness and light." Some people have mentioned airy and I get that. Others have mentioned lotus or watery and I could see that (though I don't THINK it's lotus because that tends to go horribly wonky on me). Some have said mallow or marshmallow and I could see that too. I'm just not sure. It's subtle, whatever it is.

DRYDOWN: Here is where I start to get the cinnamon but it's not Red Hots cinnamon, or burning cinnamon or even spicy cinnamon (and I like all cinnamons). It's much more of a complement than a partner on me. I'm not even sure I'd have recognized it as cinnamon were it not mentioned in so many reviews. It's just a light subtle touch of sweetness ... more like buttery cinnamon toast or cinnamon-almond (someone mentioned Kether and I can absolutely see the comps there). The final drydown is a completely unique blend that isn't really frankincense or cinnamon or anything else. I like it a LITTLE better on my wrist than in my crook but both are 5s.

OVERALL: I am still sad that not only do I not have more of this but that it's pretty much ungettable. I repeat here, if anyone is reading this from the Lab, my plaintive cry for Beth to do even a limited re-release of the Tarot blends (or, you know, if there were any hanging around in the back room for release on Etsy or for a good charity cause or anything). There are SO many I would buy and several I'd spring for a few bottles of (if I knew they were pretty much the same as the originals, as opposed to the 2007 reboot of the Zodiacs which were, for the most part, nothing like the 2004 blends).

 

ETA: The Lab made my dream come true, in a way ... they put the cobalt OOAK bottle up on eBay and I bought it ... <3

On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5. Obvs.

Edited November 13, 2014 by JazzieCazzie