The Penitent Magdalen

[LiberAmoris]

The Penitent Magdalen, Georges de la Tour.

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

The Penitent Magdalen was another new Salon blend that I couldn't resist. The Immortelle alone was enough to pique my curiosity. And I have to say, this is another amazing well-blended Salon oil. It smells like it's absolutely seamless. Usually when I smell perfumes I feel like I perceive them in layers, but here it feels like all the notes are on the same plane.

In the bottle it smells very perfumey. I've noticed this before in other blends that have honey and musk---it creates a slightly sweet cologney smell in the bottle. I feel like I can also detect short bright flashes of the lily of the valley interjecting.

On my skin, it blooms. In the bottle it was compressed, but now it unfolds. There's the honey musk base that I always love, the lily of the valley which creates height for the blend but does not overpower, mellow warm amber fills in all the gaps, and the white sandalwood and gaiac provide subtle, whispering woods. I don't know immortelle or hyssop well enough to try and find them in here, but there is a slightly herbal-floral side to this that balances everything out. The individual notes are detectable if I concentrate, but feel inseparable, if that makes any sense.

The Penitent Magdalen reminds me a little of La Fée Verte, which also contains honey, musk, and hyssop. But whereas La Fée feels 'green' to me, Magdalen seems 'white' and almost luminescent. There's something tender and slightly vulnerable about the combination of notes, although it lasts a good long time on my skin---5 hours and counting, which for me is quite good.

This is definitely going to get a lot of wear in my rotation. It's so warm and glowing and pretty.

[AliBabble]

my first impression of this perfume is that it is very sophisticated, grown-up and more "perfume-y" than i usually feel comfortable with,...but it softens and warms up considerably on my skin, becoming creamy and almost vanilla-ish, (probably the honey musk and almond flower). it strikes me as very glistening, like antique gold. like liber amoris, i also get a connection to la fee vert (which i love) and which i had hoped for, when i saw that it contained hyssop. it's actually more mellow and resinous than la fee vert. i'm really loving this one - it is so smooth and feminine, and not at all powdery or soapy - it's like golden honey dripping onto an antique gold candle flame. the amber in this is amazing, and it is indeed so well-blended - no florals poke out in an obvious way, but they just"sit" really well in an overall luxurious "wash" of scent. a beauty!

[MrsDevilDog]

i LOVE this one! it's my favorite salon fragrance.

 

it starts very floral, perfumey. i did not expect to like it. but on my skin it developped it's creaminess in a way that made the florals very luscious and sweet without being so cloying.

 

sandalwood, honey, and almond flower get along quite well on my skin. and i LOVE lily of the valley, but alone it can be rather soapy and the sweeter notes compliment it perfectly.

[shelldoo]

this is is very spring floral, light, airy, soft lilies in the bottle. on the skin wet it is very much the same as in the bottle, but as it begins to dry it gets a hint of light muskiness, and honey w/ amber. it is a soft, innocent, sweet floral. i am not a huge fan of soft girly scents, but this one sneaks in and wins me over.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Soft floral with almond

 

On Skin: This is a beautiful soft feminine scent. It feels comforting and gentle. It has a powdery amber that comes to the surface first, followed by the florals giving a slightly sharp edge. The honey sweetens it nicely and it’s not a thick drippy honey, more of a dusting of honey dust. The musk gives a deep note but not dark. The sandalwood also helps ground it and give it more depth. I wouldn’t consider this a floral scent because of that, but it is quite perfumey. It has so many more levels yet they blend together perfectly as the Salon scents always seem to. I love the almond flower, it has a slight almond oil note but not strong at all… just a beautiful echo. This scent is perfect for everyday wear. This scent reminds me of Et Lux Fuit and La Fee Verte in just the slightest… like a cousin. It has a beautiful golden white feel. It has an average throw and a good wearlength.

[abejita]

I would have to decide to review this after slave1 did. I started typing this, went and read her review, and realized how silly it would look to say the same exact thing. My only slight disagreement with her is about whether or not this has a "perfumey" smell to it. For me, it does when wet, but on drydown that perfumey quality recedes into nothingness. This has been my favorite out of the Salon so far.

[kuanyin]

I could just say "ditto" to Liber Amoris' review. I won't, but I COULD. I have no clue what immortelle, gaiac and hyssop smell like. But when I read the description, I HAD TO HAVE THIS. Partly because I'm wild for lily of the valley, and the blonde musk, almond flower, honey and sandalwood sounded irresistable. It does a marvelous job of capturing the light in the picture in a scent. Perfection.

Edited October 2, 2006 by kuanyin

[maijasu]

Yay, another floral I can wear!

 

When this is still wet, I smell mostly florals...worrying.

 

But when it's dry, it is gorgeously smooth honey musk with just a hint of florals to make it a touch more perfumey. As others have mentioned, it's seamlessly blended.

 

Beautiful!

[yeahbutnobut]

The Penitent Magdalene

 

In the bottle: so faint…but what I'm getting is a sweet, golden flower scent, with a hint of musk. I think that's immortelle, with lily of the valley.

Wet on skin: a honeyed almond scent, reminiscent of Dana O'Shee and Queen of Sheba, begins to surface.

Dry on skin: this is such a gorgeous scent! This is like a floral, lighter Queen of Sheba. There's a gentle, golden honey-almond, but backed up by greenish-white, springtime scent of lily of the valley and smoothed by the musk, with the sandalwood at the back. I think the immortelle gives the scent a dry-golden-hay scent, but I'm not sure. There's a little hint of soap to it, which I sometimes get from LotV, but it's not a bad soap, this is good quality soap. I just hope the soap scent doesn't take over…

After a while: it gets whiter and a little bit soapier but still very nice. Now the scent is a soft white floral with something pollen-like to it, clean and pure, with a hint of golden musk/amber. I now get a slight resemblance to Et Lux Fuit.

Eventually I get a soft, powdery white scent with honey and amber dusted on top with woods and flowers. It is very pretty, and reminds me very slightly of La Fee Verte but not as honeyed and not as lemony. Normally I don't like white powdery soapy scents but strangely, I like this.

The scent develops a clean and slightly airy scent after a few hours. I get an impression of white cloth in the breeze, but without a strong detergent scent, this has the scents of spring flowers and leaves and a hint of clean skin (the musk) clinging to it. The woodsy notes add an impression of dryness. The amber comes out now and again, adding a hint of sunlit gold to the scent.

Verdict: despite this being a little soapier than I expected, I really like it. I don't usually like scents which have that soapy feel to it but I really like this-it's light and fresh and golden and clean, very pretty. It's like a springtime version of Et Lux Fuit, that same golden-white feel, only slightly greener and with lily of the valley. The honey, amber and almond are very subtle, every now and then they can be detected (amber in particular comes out a lot), and this scent morphs gracefully whilst always keeping that innocent and pure clean scent. This is a beautifully crafted scent and one of the better LotV scents, but I think I will appreciate it more when spring comes.

Emoticon rating:

Is it a keeper? Bought a bottle and will keep it.

If you like this, try: La Fee Verte, Queen of Sheba, Dana O'Shee, Lyonesse, Et Lux Fuit, Pele

[gingersnapp]

This is a strong floral blend. It reminds me of a funeral home, where you gather during the wake to comfort family and friends of the departed. But it's not that depressing and dark, it's almost... hopeful. Comforting.

 

I always amp lily when it's in a blend, and this is no exception. I don't get any of the sandalwood or musk yet, so this is almost entirely floral, but with a touch of sweetness from the honey (which is the note for which this blend was purchased).

 

I'm going to hang onto it and see how it ages, as well as how it morphs on my skin as it fades throughout the day. Right now, it's a little too floral for me.

[steffanina]

The Penitent Magdalen-

 

In Bottle: I smell the honey and a little bit of the amber and lily.

 

Wet: Hm, kind of cloying-musty.

 

Dry: Oh, wow. This took a while, but it did become a beautiful floral on my skin, tinged with honey-amber and the lightest of fruit scents.

 

Overall: Worth the wait for the dry-down.

[sookster]

straight sniff from imp is a very beautiful, delicate floral...breathtaking

 

once applied this amps up and gets a touch soapy...i needed to let this sit on

my skin and breathe to get the jist of this glorious blend...the sandalwood works

fantastic combined with other florals and amber...just a whisper of honey...

i really like this perfume and it is very well presented...i am not sure if i need a bottle but i certainly will use my imp unquestionably...lasts a good long time...

i envision myself wearing this on a sunny, springtime day when everything is coming to life again after a long winter's rest

[arabella]

First Impression: Pepper, resin, citrus, musk.

 

Dries down to: Settles into a slightly sweet and soft floral.

 

Additional Comments: I'm surprised there's honey in here - it usually superamps up horribly on me. The amber lends a very soft glow and lily-of-the-valley is one of my favourite florals. It's lovely - another perfectly balanced little gem.

 

Lasted: Unfortunately, only a couple of hours (or the rating would have been higher).

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

[Blood onmy hands]

The Penitent Magdalen smells intensely perfumey in the bottle, and like sharply perfumey florals on my skin at first. I hate the beginning stage. It becomes more wearable and less sharp, but still not a favorite, after 15 minutes or so.

 

The drydown settles into a very powdery floral, but it's a warm and sweet powder as the honey comes out more. It still has that classic/cliche floral perfume feel to me though.

 

I'll be swapping my decant.

[edenssixthday]

The Penitent Magdalen - This is such a pretty scent! Initially, it smells very strongly of lily of the valley and hyssop, but as it warms up on my skin, the hyssop and lily of the valley fade into the background and honey and white sandalwood become the dominant notes. I am not sure what some of the notes listed in the ingredient list are, so I'm sure I'm smelling some of them, but can't identify them. There is something in this blend that's making it slightly turn to plastic on my skin, but I'm not sure what it is. About an hour into the wear time, the scent gets the slightest touch of an almost-jasmine-like scent, but it's very subtle -- just enough that I still like it despite its similarity to jasmine. Overall, this is a nice, warm, sweet, woody-floral and reminds me of a blend that might be categorized in with the funeral oils (if it weren't already in The Salon!) The throw and staying power are both below average.

[eleventhousand]

Oddly, after just a few minutes this is Spellbound on me.

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: spicy floral and sandalwood.

 

Wet: spicy floral and sandalwood, just like the vial.

 

Dry: Oh, my this is a morpher! Initially, this scent was a spicy floral then it turned a touch powdery. After about thirty minutes the musk came out and tied everything together beautifully.

[Voleuse]

On first sniff, this is very perfumey to my nose, edging towards fancy soap. It's a very round blend, a non-sweet and pale floral. As it dries, the soapiness gets stronger on me, along with the musk. It is, unfortunately, an unpleasant combination for my chemistry. Off to swaps!

[supremegoddessofall]

Soft florals in light honey and sandalwood. Pretty. Touch of almond and amber.

[forspecial_plate]

The Penitent Magdalen starts out sweet, floral, nearly powdery, with some sandalwood. The powdery aspect fades pretty quickly. I'm getting the musk and honey just a little, and a little bit of amber. I'm really not familiar with any of these florals, though. It reminds me a bit of Carceri D'Invenzione, although they only share sandalwood as far as I can tell (maybe blonde musk and blonde tobacco smell alike?).

 

Anyway...I do like this, even though it's a little sweet and floral for me, so I will probably hold onto it for a while and try it again later. It might get even better with some aging.

Edited December 30, 2006 by Forspecial Plate

[theseagrows]

this smells like an ambery-musky white floral with the white sandalwood underneath. i get a slight dry and woody feeling from it, perhaps it's the hyssop or immortelle? it's very well blended and a bit sophisticated. however, the lily of the valley turns sour on my skin so i think i'll be swapping this one.

[savage_rose]

Man, this Magdalen is penitent! It immediately goes to powder on me (the almond?), and it just smells sweet, fluttery and feminine in a non-descript way. Maybe the powderiness will back off long enough for me to smell something else.

 

Dry: I can smell a little something musk-like underneath. But mostly it's all powder. Sigh.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a slightly sweet, slightly astringent scent.

on: this is really interesting. i'm still getting some astringent notes, but i think they may be from the florals in this. there's some honey hanging out in the back, too.

3 hours later: just gernally sweet and powdery, i.e., all amber. pretty.

5.5 hours later: a bit sharp and floral, but with that powdery amber underneath.

overall: this just isn't my sort of scent.

[metaldog32]

Penitent Magdalen

 

Had to get it last year because my middle name is Magdalena and because Mary Magdalen has always seemed a bit of an interesting character to me.

 

The sadness and sorrow intermingled with her fidelity to Jesus...it's a bit wrenching to me..and I guess I find the intensity of feeling very...intriguing.

 

Anyway..onto the review:

 

Initial sniff from bottle:Something a bit herbal..slightly medicinal..maybe a bit astringent??? There is sweetness here as well...and I can't tell if it's from the honey or the lily..although lily sometimes go a bit soapy on me so maybe it's just the honey doing that. All in all the first whiff is an alltogether soft waft..nothing is screaming to me at this point.

 

Applied wet on skin:I get the lily and gaiac..which kind of reminds me a bit of...roses..maybe like a tea-rose or something??? It's more lily forward with the floral..and I got the sweetness of I guess the honey or amber??? All of this is soft..but not invisible.

 

Couple of minutes on skin:It's a bit more prevalent with the lily/gaiac combo..but the lily isn't going soapy..something in here is tempering the lily with sweetness..possibly the sandalwood...while the amber/musk are rounding out the fragrance..I don't get much in the way of any type of herbal note that I thought I registered in the beginning. It's all soft but steady...if I wave my wrists in front of my face I can't register anything but pulling my wrist to my nose and inhaling gets me loads of scent. Throw is soft on me..it settles close to my skin...a bit of an intimate scent.

 

 

I think the sandalwood lends the scent with a bit of dry sweet warmth

 

Half an hour later: Same notes...just softened somewhat...

 

Drydown:Faint lily sweetened.

 

Lasting power on me is 2-3+ hours and throw is incredibly soft.

 

Bottom Line:Penitent Magdalen is a very evocative floral that I think is extremely work appropriate and can be worn from year-round but I find it would be especially nice in the spring. No soapy lily here..just quiet and gentle sweetness..with a touch of melancholy.

[phedre]

in vial: honey and sandalwood, light florals, something sharp and astringent.

 

wet: soft musk and amber notes. The sharpness is still there, quite herbaceous. soap. eep.

 

drydown: the sharpness is completely gone, and now it's a smooth, creamy floral honey blend. The lily's a bit heavy, but it's oh so pretty. This is the first honey blend that I've really loved.