Penitence

[PirateMaggie]

Smell sanctified! A blend of pure, pious frankincense and graceful myrrh.

 

Wet, Penitence smells spiky (for lack of a better descriptor) and smoky: this is some weapon-grade myrrh and the frankincense smells like it's sizzling and popping in the brazier. Not unpleasant, but it smells more like a ritual oil than a perfume. This is very much like the incense blend I burn to clear a space of spiritual nasties. The spirit of BPAL compels you!

 

On drydown, the resins mellow and blend, and surprisingly there is a slightly aquatic tinge. The overall impression is of incense smoke wafting through a cool, slightly damp cathedral. This damp quality is not at all unpleasant, but is rather refreshing, like entering a shady stone building on a warm, humid afternoon. Penitence goes from being fierce and hard to golden, ethereal, and contemplative.

 

I love this blend. It isn't what I'd normally wear as a personal scent, but I will be making good use of it when I feel bogged down and in need of some extra cleansing and armour.

 

edited to add BPAL description

 

ADDED Jan. 1:

 

In the bottle: frankincense and myrrh. Classic, resinous, golden frankincense and myrrh.

 

Wet: More of the same, but better. My skin really amps the myrrh, which is fine with me as I like myrrh. Penitence is a surprisingly lush resin blend; wet there is a smell of wood and something that reminds me of the cherry in Blood. The frankincense keeps this blend from remaining too earthbound, and adds a cerebral, smoky quality. This has surprising depth for such a simple blend, and is really quite lovely.

 

Drydown: Violins! I played the violin and viola when I was younger and am returning to it after many years of absence, and dry this blend reminds me of nothing so much as the scent of a fine, well-played violin. The woody smell dries down to fine, dry, almost powdery wood with bow rosin. This is a good thing: I've always loved the way my instruments smelled (I'd sniff them constantly, which people thought was a little odd) and it's one of my "comfort scents."

 

I wore this blend to bed and the next day I still have gorgeous, spicy myrrh clinging to my pulse points. Throw is probably medium to strong, though never overpowering, and it lasts. Another winner. Those who enjoy incense or resin blends will probably enjoy this one; I certainly do.

Edited May 16, 2006 by Shollin

[dtp]

In the bottle: Smoky and rich. I'm getting more frankincense than myrrh, but they're balanced beautifully.

 

Wet: Warm, smoky, and slightly sweet--I seem to amp up sweetness in blends for some reason. It's almost got a slightly floral note there. Either way, it smells sumptuous.

 

Dry: I lovelovelove this so much. The frankincense is kept in line by the myrrh which gives it some extra depth and richness. It's warm and rich and smoky and I'm in love.

 

Later: This fades sooner than I'd like--or maybe because I keep compulsively sniffing it, I'm just getting inured to the fragrance? It has quite a good throw and doesn't fade too soon, though. I'd want to reapply after a few hours to keep the depth of the scent, though.

 

In conclusion, I want a BIG bottle of this. It's so versatile, and so me that I'll be using it not just as a perfume but as a room fragrance, in an oil burner, in the bath... It's also a big hit with my mum! This is definitely going in my next order. It's divine.

[cranberry]

I can’t tell the difference between frankincense and myrrh, and I can’t find my essential oil box right now, but this reminds me of a rich perfume, of the traditional type. Smoky, sultry, of the oriental genre. To me, it’s slightly reminiscent of Youth Dew. I think there must be some similarity of scent but even more so of the vibe. When I think of frankincense and myrrh, I think of churches and burning resins. I have to say, this scent doesn’t make me think of church.

 

I like it a lot. Rich, sexy, confident, slightly spicy.

[edenssixthday]

Penitence - This blend reminds me a lot of Faustus, but not quite as strong, and definitely more golden. This is a heavy incense-type scent, slightly sweet from the frankincense, and warmed up by the myrrh. I like it, but it's really not something I see myself wearing with any regularity at all. It reminds me a lot of Midnight Mass and The Pit & The Pendulum. It's got a moderate level of throw and begins to fade around the 30 minute point, and is completely gone within 2 hours.

[portalkat]

I put this on after my shower before I went to bed and immediately smelled rose geranium! Now, I have only read half of the reviews, but no one in the first couple of pages said rose geranium. It is not strictly floral on me, however, I am smelling sandalwood and resins. After about 20 minutes, the floral notes have settled down and now it smells like incense with wood notes and rose geranium in the background. I love these incense and wood blends and this one is different on me than some of the others.. You wouldn't have to twist my arm to make me get a bottle of this.

 

The throw is average and it still smells very strong after having been on me now for about 10 hours.

Edited August 7, 2006 by portalkat

[Tesseljoan]

The myrrh in this one is absolutely beautiful. Penitence is a classic resin perfume. It is beautiful, warm and rounded, and after half an hour it is a gorgeous skin scent.

[Babylon]

It's frankincense and myrrh! Frankincense lends its slightly musty woody note, and myrrh lends an almost raisin smell to Penitence. A comfy, heavier scent I can see myself wearing in the fall and winter a lot!

[Melantha]

I really liked this, since I love these notes. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, I wanted to keep sniffing it. Unfortunately, it disappeared within five minutes.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Very reminiscent of Cathedral and Aureus – strong woody incense. I hereby predict that it won’t work on me as those two didn’t.

 

Wearing: Yerk… immediately sharp-sweet, headachey incense. Sometimes I hate being right.

[fairy]

This is another amazing blend. I'm starting to see a pattern as to which oils work on me (myrrh, frankincense) and which don't (honey, amber). This oil contains the first two and its gorgeous. Another I put in my "favorites" bag. It starts off a little strong, so apply sparingly, but settles to a lovely, quaint evening alone under the stars. Stunning

[m13]

I love this in the imp -- the perfect church incense smell -- but I've learned that myrhh and me do not mix. Within seconds of hitting my skin (mere seconds!) myrhh invariably morphs to powder. Penitence was one I especially wanted to love and be able to wear (ditto Voodoo), but it'll have to settle for using it in the oil burner. Or maybe I'll wear it in my hair.

[Thursdae]

I liked the way Penitence smelled for the first five minutes. Then, alas, an off-note manifested. I've never been able to pin down just what it is that disagrees with me. Penitence has it. Psyche, Neo-Tokyo, Stardust, and Charisma, too.

I know it's just my particular chemistry that makes it happen. If anyone has a similar reaction and has figured out the common factor, pretty please share the info with me?

I've tried many scents and most do well on my skin, so I'm not complaining. I have a wealth of incredible oils to choose from every day. And Penitence is incredible, too, until my molecules cook it.

[Trish]

I got this as a frimp in my first order. Lovely mind reading labbies, this was on my wishlist!

 

In the imp: sweet frankincense.

 

Wet: Strong sharp wood which reminds me of Cathedral. But unlike it within a minute it dies down and the frankincense comes out, as well as a little myrrh.

 

Drydown: The myrrh is becoming a lot stronger, which makes me a little nervous. I like myrrh as a supporting note, but not so much as a main one. The thow on this is simply stunningly beautiful though.

 

Dry: Oh wow. The myrrh hasn't taken over at all, it's just combined with the frankincense to form a lovely dry yet a bit sweet slightly spicy incense. And the longer it's on the better it gets, although the throw is almost non-existent now. I'm not Catholic so I don't get the church associations with it, but my partner is and he says it does smell a bit like church incense. This is comforting and soothing. In fact it reminds me a little of Lush's discontinued Absolution massage bar, even though they don't share any ingredients. Maybe it's the name association. In any case I think they'd compliment each other beautifully.

 

 

I like this a lot more than Cathedral, which was nearly all cedar on me (and with a good helping of myrrh as well). This is softer and not nearly as sharp. In fact this is almost exactly what I'd hoped Cathedral would be.

 

While I was testing this I was patting the dog and some must have got on the back of his head because a couple of minutes later my partner asked me what was on the dog. I smelt it and damn! Penitence smells even better on the dog!!!

[buzz23666]

well I think it is fairly safe to say the my chemistry abhors frankincense.

 

wet - this is cypress for some reason.

 

dry - I can feel the myrrh trying to elbow it's way to get some air but frankincense is being bonehead and hogging it all.

 

I have gotten similar reactions with alot of the "ecclesiatic" scents. I adore the myrrh but whenever there is frankincense in the picture everything turns to generic bad/cheap incense.

 

booooooooooo!

[absinthetics]

A slightly sweet, resinous scent, of the perfect base insense with a touch of the wood of the church itself.

 

I can't stop smelling my wrist. It's ... comforting, and even a little uplifting.

 

Indeed, I feel sanctified.

[sofaking6]

Penitence is great for those of us noobs who are trying to figure out whether it's resin or incense that we like better. It's a nice balanced mixture of both. For me, the incense is too strong for wearing but I love the strength of the myrrh.

[supremegoddessofall]

Another nice incense-y scent. Good stuff. No specifics here. Not the heaviest of the incenses, but not the weakest, either.

 

Score: 3 out of 5

[fiddledragon]

Mmmm....

 

This is pure resiny gooness. It's very similar to Midnight Mass on me, though possibly slightly less sweet. It makes me happy that it will be there as a replacement once the LE bottle is gone. The myrrh isn't too dark or overpowering, and lets the beautiful sweet frankincense shine through while keeping the scent grounded. This, somewhat like Rose Cross, is a beautiful perfume but has too much potential to play with my head to use it for that very often. This has a strongly ritual feel.

[Miss Lynx]

At the risk of being completely redundant, this is very, very incensey. But given that it's based on church incense, this is hardly surprising, is it?

 

It's initially very heavy and dark -- I had tried Hecate on my other arm, and got them confused at one point, thinking this smelled very much like what I would envision for Her. The myrrh seemed to be dominant at that point.

 

But as it settles in it becomes lighter and sweeter, as the frankincense seems to come to the fore. It's still wickedly strong, though, and has considerably more throw than any of the other three scents I tried on all at the same time (two different swap packages arrived today, so there was a fair bit to try). One dab on the arm and I can smell it everywhere I go. It's quite long-lasting too.

 

Overall, I'd say it's not bad, but not as complex as some of BPAL's other incense scents. Compared to Cathedral, Midnight Mass and The Pit & The Pendulum, this is the least interesting of the lot, but that's not to say it's not interesting... It's all relative. I don't dislike Penitence, but I suspect I'll end up swapping it just because I have several very similar scents already.

 

Grade: B-

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: incense and sandalwood. Interesting.

 

On my skin: spicy... black pepper or something. And some dirt as well.

 

After a couple of hours: nothing's changed. Spicy incense + sandalwood.

 

Verdict: not for me. My favourite incense-scent remains Cathedral by far.

[ouch!]

Penitence

 

Well firstly, just wanted to say.... I did love this oil before an evil bouncer in a club took it off me at the door, claiming I wasn't allowed to take any liquid into the club! Argh! I only got to wear it twice, but how lovely it was.

 

This smell is so Christmassy, and boy did it have alot of throw!.

 

The frankinsense was the predominant note for me, with a bit of spice which was absolutely beautiful. Such a shame it was snatched from my grasp so early on.

 

Not really much else to say, sorry,

 

Ouch!

 

[talula_fairie]

In bottle: hippie musk

 

On skin (wet): Earthy, musky, sensual, warm. Great hippie/earth goddess scent.

 

On skin (dry): Dries into a sweet, soft, sexy, resin-y scent that lasts all day.

 

I love this scent! I ordered a 5ml of it and I'm so glad I did. I knew I'd love it (I LOOOOVE F & M) and I do. It smells fantastic on me, the longer I wear it, the better it smells.

[azhure]

In the vial: Hmmm, I mainly get frankincense.

 

Wet: My skin seems to eat this one. I can't even smell it up close.

 

Drydown: This remains a very close skin scent on me. The myrrh does come through a little bit, but it's still mainly frankincense. For some reason, the scent isn't very rich or complex on me - not as much as I had hoped.

[Iceblink]

This (and Hymn) both smell like churches--candles, incense, etc. And they both smell AWFUL on me. I knew I was a heathen and now I have proof in BPAL form. Ha!

[forspecial_plate]

Another great incense blend. From memory I'm thinking this smells very similar to Midnight Mass. Strong, resin and incense. This seems to have a touch more wood in it, but nothing like Cathedral which has a strong wood note. And Penitence does have a black-peppery kind of note, I noticed.

 

So yeah, if you like frankincense and myrrh this would be right up your alley. And if you like Midnight Mass you would almost surely like this. On the other hand, I can't imagine needing both, since they smell so much alike.

 

edit: Just out of curiosity, I tested this on one arm and Midnight Mass on the other, to compare. They are *slightly* different. Penitence has some kind of spicy, higher pitched note that I can't identify (maybe amber?). So yeah, there is actually a difference. I would call Midnight Mass a little 'darker', if I had to make a distinction.

Edited November 30, 2006 by Forspecial Plate