The Penitent Magdalen

[emzebel]

Immortelle, lily of the valley, gaiac, amber, honey, white sandalwood, almond flower, blonde musk, and hyssop.

 

There is a lot in this blend for me to love - lily, almond flower, light musk, honey, sandalwood - and this is a very pretty, very sophistocated scent. But something, I am going to guess the combination of the amber, blonde musk, and the florals, reads overly feminine, with an unmistakable "perfume/floral" sort of note. This gets overpowering on me after awhile, sadly - too much of a good thing, perhaps.

[jiggahava]

This is amazing. The lily of the valley is instantly recognizable, but it's a soft floral note, and it doesn't overwhelm the blend like lillies tend to do. The amber, honey and musk keep it in check and make this a seamlessly blended fragrance. I love it! It has a decent amound of throw. It is very golden in feel, kind of like the candle that the Magadalene is looking at. Great for daytime and suitable for nighttime as well. A bottle is under consideration.

[nikkoblue]

I love this! I swapped for a bottle of it and am so so happy. I get a lot of musk and lily of the valley, and another scent that reminds me of sophisticated baby oil (which I love the smell of). The sandalwood keeps it from getting cloying.

 

Gorgeous, and long lasting.

[juniperus]

bottle: gorgeous, mellow, and sweetened floral

wet: mmmm...hyssop. a little lily, amber...

dry: the sandalwood is present, the lily amping a bit.

later: the honey isn't amping (yay) and while this is a sweeter floral it's not growing cloying, and the complexity is gentle but present (no cacaphony)...extremely lovely and feminine, but with great depth.

[lapillus]

Wet: sweet florals

Dry: becomes very spicy and a bit dry, very interesting.

Later: incense becomes more prominent but the florals remain and becomes a bit less arid (which is all to the good, as I don’t seem to do well with very dry scents.)

Summary: Very nice feminine floral - I want more!

[bryghtrose]

When I first put it on I get the strong impression of a New Age shop near me- that would be the sandalwood, musk and amber.

It faded down to a very mellow vanilla-ish scent, with an incense back note.

I like this scent, but I'll need to wear it a few times before I find out if I love it.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Sweet incense backed by something watery.

 

Wearing: It’s very delicate – sweet, soft, maybe a little soapy, with the gentle watery background.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Very dry, sharp floral.

 

Immediately on skin: Wafting, sharp floral… the lily is the strongest note for sure. It’s slightly creamy and almost powdery.

 

After a few minutes: This scent has warmed up and is this creamy (but not very sweet) floral. The amber is definitely there, and maybe a bit of the musk. I don’t think I can smell the almond flower though.

 

Later on: Very soft and sweet. I can smell the musk and sandalwood, and I think I can detect the almond flower peeking out as well. The floral notes are extremely well blended in this scent, and it is very pretty, feminine, and light.

[filigree_shadow]

This smells exactly like lily of the valley at first, except a bit powdery. As it's drying the sandalwood and musk come out a bit more so it's not such a strong floral scent.

 

I hesitate to say this, but... this reminds me of Love's Baby Soft. It's more grown-up and pretty, but on me it's that same sort of scent. I hate it that my skin took all those lovely BPAL notes and turned it into Love's Baby Soft, but unfortunately that's pretty much what I got out of it.

[JenM]

In the imp: a lovely floral just this side of soap.

 

On the wrist: The amber and sandalwood jump out. Can just get a hint of almond on the right wrist. Alas, on drydown the musk comes out and glomps the amber, creating a sweet and fuzzy mix I don’t like all that much. The lily of the valley is trying to overcome it…but ultimately fails before it fades to nothing. Drat.

[hkhm]

imp: sandalwood and honey with a breath of amber.

 

wet: lillies. no more sandalwood or honey or amber and no sign of musk. this is all lily on me.

 

dry: the lilies just continue to get stronger as this dries until my whole left side is one big waft of lilies. i'm starting to think i amp lily.

[zankoku_zen]

Unfortunately, this blend doesn't work for me at all. It's a weird mix of incensey/sandalwood and light white florals. Apparently the sandalwood in this blend REALLY likes me, because after twenty minutes, it is the only thing I can smell. For some reason, this does put me in mind of something ecclesiastical, but at the same time, sort of melancholic. Penitent Magdalen indeed.

[megank4]

Ooh, very nice. Smells very golden and warm.

Probably won't get a bottle though.

[taramarie]

The Penitent Magdalen seems to clash with my skin chemistry -- it wavers between floral soap and lily of the valley, honey, and almond flower. Someone else can have this.

[greenranger]

Light, delicate floral. It's nice, but, that's about it. If I were more into florals perhaps?

[willowtreeling]

very pretty and clean smelling--lilies of the valley are predominant and I love it! They aren't so sweet that they are cloying--just sincere and clean and lovely. It smells a bit like Villainess' Datura or Bpal's Pele. Love it! I am going to have to get this one someday soon!

[rayvn1]

I'm coming to realize that if a blend has hyssop, I'm probably going to like it. Though this scent is faint, it glows in a really nice way! Not overtly floral, but ther's a sweetness that's rounded out with the honey, amber and musk. Beautiful scent!

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Golden oil. Powdery-soapy, honeyed-sweet floral. I get the lily of the valley, honey, amber, and sandalwood in force, along with some minty hyssop and a little herbal immortelle. Pretty unisex, a little cologney.

 

Wet: LotV beating me over the head, eek! I get the almond flower distinctly now, and it's almondy. Definitely the perfumed-powder sort of amber, and the honey and sandalwood and musk aren't strong enough to stand up to it and the florals,. There's a green-woody base from the gaiac.

 

Dry: Powerful, perfumey, powdery soap. I can't handle the lily of the valley and amber, and the throw is so strong it's making me ill. Off to sink.

 

[crebbsgirl]

This is perfumey in a way that I usually don't like my scents, but here, it's stunning. There is an exotic richness to this blend that is just breathtaking. This had the potential to go all floraly doom on my skin but the honey/sandalwood/musk combination prevents that from happening. There is a soft floral overtone that combined with the musk is a little reminiscent to Brides of Dracula. This is glowing and beautiful, but it's a little too elegant for me.

[SophieCedar]

In imp: soapy with warm woods

 

Wet: This gets really soapy on me.. I'm not sure where it's heading because I can smell the hyssop and almond flower fighting it's way out. The lily's holding it back.

 

Drydown: happens pretty fast (like 4 minutes) then gets sweet and nutty with the lily sharing the ground.

 

Summary: don't be afraid of the soapiness in the bottle and wet. I really didn't like the wet process however it settles quickly and very harmoniously.

 

 

[Evilynn]

In the imp: Floral. I'm too bad with florals to distinguish anything except the lily.

 

Wet on the skin: Hello lily of the valley!

 

Drydown: This is an oddly murky floral on me. I was hoping for honey, but I got nothing of that at all. I do get lily of the valley, and I'm pretty sure it's the almond/musk/amber that makes it smell murky to my nose.

 

Swap.

[Saya]

This is quite pretty. Mostly musky florals with some sandalwood. I didn't think I'd like it with all of the various floral notes listed but this is nice. I'll be keeping the imp around and may someday spring for a bottle.

[DraloreShimare]

In the vial – Musky, slightly herbal, but a sweet floral undertone.

On the skin – Sandalwood and white flowers with a musky/powdery undertone.

Dry – Baby powder scented musk & flowers.

 

In places, this reminds me of Magdalene, especially at the end, when it goes somewhat baby powder on my skin.

[Imbrium]

I have to admit, The Penitent Magdalen was one of the few bottles I've purchased based on concept alone--it (the painting) has some personal, sort of nostalgic, significance for me. About half the notes are things that tend to be good on my skin, the other half, I either didn't recognize, or they...don't really seem to get along with my skin.

 

Oh, god, I lucked out, though. Because this is really, really nice.

 

At first, in the bottle and on the skin for, oh, the first half an hour to 45 minutes, I get sharp lily of the valley--it reminds me of those sort of old french soaps in lily of the valley, violet, etc--that's the sort of feel I get from the initial stages of this scent. Not bad, but not particularly appealing to me--if this were a bit stronger, or not balanced by something gentler, I think it would be headache inducing.

 

Once dry, however, this just sort of unfolds softly on my skin. I seem to amp musks a fair bit, and this one is no exception, but it does not overpower the blend as some other scents do. Instead it stays close to the skin, and warm and just...hmm, hard to explain, I suppose, because it really is well blended--I'd guess this is the sandalwood, amber, and honey rounding things out and grounding the musk, but it's hard to say--I rather feel like I'd be hard pressed to pick out particular notes that stand out. Instead it's sort of a seamless, warm, and feminine blend. Okay, long story short: I love it. I will be wearing this one a lot.

[CitizenBree]

This started as straight up soap but started morphing after a few minutes. First it was honey, then to the lily. then sandalwood. this is probably the first scent i've tried that went through the notes as like a process. it ends up being a a delicate floral -- if still a little soapy.