Hymn

[autumn24]

A paean to true holiness, spiritual purity, and sacred enlightenment. Based on an incense blend sacred to the Virgin Mary: perfect rose absolute and Palestinian Lily of the Valley with olibanum, labdanum, frankincense and myrrh.

This is wise, peaceful, clearing scent. Wet, one can smell the clear brightness of pure rose and lily of the valley. When it blends with the skin, the notes of frankincense and myrrh are predominant-- resinous, slighty astringent, and piney. This smells like a fluid you would use to annoint a sachristy, or the feet of a statue-- ancient-seeming and chapel-appropriate. Experiencing this scent on the skin would be even lovelier on a slightly damp, slighty warm spring day, I think.

[Nadirah]

Yes! another scent for a hot day, this is stronger than seraphim but has a similiar scent. The rose stands up tall with the lily of the valley and I'm not quite sure of the other oils in there, the frankincense is there, Another beautiful scent!

[Koumori]

Oh my, I do like this one! (Of course, I am wearing it on a slightly damp, slightly warm spring day. ) A lovely, peaceful, feminine scent. I get the lily of the valley and rose most strongly upon initial application, with a bit more of the spiciness underneath as it wears on. It goes on a bit stronger than I expected it would. I've never been much of one for florals, so I'm always looking for florals that really appeal to me one way or the other, and this definitely is a winner.

[oceandessa]

directly from the bottle, the scent of lilies is accompanied by a darker, smokier slightly borwn scent. i am guessing it is the frankinscence, though it smells nothing like it to my nose. on my skin, the lilies dominate and i can smell nothing else. this is a very strong scent, but not in a perfumy way. it is more loud than strong; i feel so self-conscious wearing it i might as well be yelling "hey...yoohoo...i am wearing lilies...can you smell the lilies i am wearing?!"

 

i agree with autumn24 - this is a very sacred scent. perhaps a little too sacred for the likes of me to wear, but definitely sacred enough to be used in ritual.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Hymn is a lot more sweet-white-flowery than I expected – I figured the many incenses would be predominant. There’s a sharpness around the outside, as if the flowers are floating in a cut-crystal bowl with zigzaggy edges.

 

Wearing: There’s definitely a dryness under the flowers – it’s not the flowers that are dried out, but their environment. A fresh white bouquet in a bright sunlit room full of old vestments and dusty prayer books.

[jj_j]

First sniff: A lot more sweet-white-flowery than I expected ...

My thought, exactly. It's rare that something overpowers true, clear rose, and the lily of the valley comes close in Hymn. The two are, very definitely, equals in intensity here, and I wasn't expecting the white tea rose/white and lightly soapy lily of the valley combination to work out like it did.

 

With wear, Hymn dries down just the same, but with a hint of acridity. Pungent, pure, and resonating are terms that come to mind for this scent.

 

The startlingly good rose note that Beth uses is what makes this work, and any other rose scent would have made this fragrance a miserable flop. Not one I'd wear, but it puts me in mind of a very expensive, very good guest soap.

[shriekingviolet]

Initial Impression:

A somber floral. Lily, rose and something else. Soft, reverent and slightly sad.

 

After Wearing It:

Hymn starts off pretty unappealing to me, smelling strongly of rose and lily of the valley, two notes that turn me off in general. It's very soft and floral, white and pristine. Ladylike in a pressed Sunday dress with pearls sort of way. And old. A moment from ages past frozen in time.

 

After an hour and a half or so, sweet and slightly smoky notes twist their way through the heavier floral notes, warming things up. I think it was the myrrh and the labdanum I was smelling, but whatever it was it was nice. The scent became more rounded and slowly, this second influence became balanced with the fussier floral notes which made Hymn so much more appealing. By that point though, the scent was hours into its lifetime and fading fast.

 

Final Thoughts:

I hated Hymn for the first two hours or so, and didn't really start to like it until hour 5-6. The end result was pretty nice, but I doubt I could stick out the Rose+Lily phase to reach the pleasing ending and find the process worth it. Pity!

[allamanda]

Hymn

 

First sniff very floral, then as I sniff deeper I can smell church pews. Currently the top note is a bit too floral for me. The lily of the valley is very prominent. Not sure what produces the church pew smell, I assume the myrrh and frankincense, but to detect it I have to sniff very deeply and then I can taste it rather than smell it.

 

As this is drying the lily of the valley calms down a bit, tempered by the rose. This is a very calm, grounding scent. Once dry the lily of the valley blends well with the rose, initially it was screaming and drowned the rose on me.

 

When this finally quietens down it is lovely. I think I have a serious issue with lily of the valley and suspect I would have preferred a more incensey feel. The myrrh and frankincense were almost non-existent on me.A soft, clean floral with just the hint of something heavier backing it. It really makes me feel calm and I think I will persevere with it.

 

Edited to say:

 

Since I wrote the above I keep finding myself reaching for Hymn, to a point where I *had* to have a larger bottle.

 

Oh woe is my wallet!!

Edited September 13, 2004 by allamanda

[aileen]

At first: fresh, sharp, green, but it very quickly gets sweeter and sweeter.

 

And then: sweet and powdery. My skin is turning everything sweet and powdery. I don't want sweet and powdery. Poop.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: How sweet and white! It's that glorious lily of the valley note like in my beloved Queen of Hearts and Endymion.

 

Second Impression: The resins do make this one quite a bit more mysterious than her more innocent counterparts.

 

Final Analysis: I think I might like this even better than Queen and Endymion, it's got more oomph, more staying power and more throw without being overpowering at all. Another gorgeous beauty.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: bright, roses, incense

 

WEARING IT: the frankincense & lily of the valley come through and there's a sharp soapiness to it hiding somewhere in the background. as i'm wearing it i realize it smells exactly like ivory soap!

 

FINAL VERDICT: the smell from the imp seemed heavenly, but it turned soapy and isn't for me.

[janelle_hell]

Another fabulous scent that totally fits the concept that goes with it...smelling this,i am transported back to the big,old,candles-and-statues-filled churches that i visited in Puerto Rico many years ago. The lily of the valley doesn't show up at all on me (wheich is a good thing,as lily of the valley usually gives me a terrible headache);the notes i pick out are a churchy incence and faded,powdery roses. This is a more feminine version of Cathedral. i LOVE it.

[twistygirl]

This is a really lovely, demure scent. As much as I generally prefer the spicy/vanilla/resiny sort of scent over anything floral, I love both rose and lily of the valley, so the initial wet phase, which really is strongly floral, was lovely to me. As it dried down and some of the depth of the resins came forward, I found myself falling in love with this. It feels very pure and angelic. It might be a bit too gentle and pure for me to wear in the evening, as I prefer something that screams sex, but I could see myself wearing this as a daytime fragrance.

[Reinaluna]

Another good spiced rose aroma. Kind of like Seraphim but not as good to me. I like Seraphim a lot better.

[Ishtar]

This is very serene and reverent indeed. Another of these oils that seem to emanate from your skin rather than just sit on it.

 

Even though I love lily of the valley, it took me a while to realize there was any in this blend. A little later, the frankicense showed up, warming and grounding the whole blend.

 

Really beautiful. I recommend that all rose lovers give Hymn a try. However, I think I like my rose scents a little more playful than that, more along the lines of Persephone or Wanton.

[omly]

Hymn was a bright white floral. I loved this in the bottle. It smells clean and fresh.It also smells professional to me, like something my mom used to wear when she would wear her business suits to work. I think that is just an association for me rather than something intrinsic to the smell itself. During dry down it was light and beautiful, not overwhelming at all. Once on my skin for a little while though the frankincense took over with a passion. Stupid body chemistry! I need to stop trying to wear scents with frankincense!

[Thanatopsis Azraelis]

I'd never wear this as it's overwhelmingly feminine, but I must say it conveys the theme very, very well, and smells great.

 

Like other reviewers have said, rose and lily, very pious and appropriate for the Virgin Mary. So appropriate that I dipped my rosary in it. It's nice.

[Tesseljoan]

The flowers are very prominent in this one for a while, before the dry note starts to take over. Those dry notes are not as outspoken as the dryness of sandalwood, and make the scent as a whole more powdery on my skin.

 

Final verdict: Never expected to like it, but I do. I'll finish the imp and see what happens.

[glampyre]

Very delicate and yellow-white.

 

Uplifting and good for mental clarity.

 

I usually lean toward amber, musk, frankinsence, the darker ones. Hymn is the BPAL oil that convinced me that I *can* and *should* wear florals.

[Falathwen]

Wet this is Lily of the Valley….and sunscreen? What a weird nose I have. After a few minutes the rose comes in, softened by the myrrh. The beauty of this scent is in the blending. I keep searching for the individual note (and wondering what olibanum smellls like) but am met with a seamless blend which is very strong for hours (almost too strong for me…I felt rather self-conscious) and fades gently into a powdery sweetness which seems to be the end note of florals on me.

Falathwen

[Astarte]

On me the rose is the first prominent note, with the resins a close second. As it dries down, the lily and frankincense burst through to give a heavenly white blend. If I ever had to meditate, I could see this oil helping me greatly achieve a state of tranquility and calm.

[Summerpixy]

Hymn was a freebie from the lab in my last order.

 

Wet at first it seems all resin, then as it dries the rose and lily rise to the top. A very heavenly blend. I can see myself wearing this on days when I need something classically lovely. This quiets my busy soul, with the school year beginning it'll be really nice to have a scent to escape to when I need some calm.

 

I can see myself using up this imp completely.

 

edited to add title of oil.

Edited September 20, 2004 by Summerpixy

[pkwench]

Hymn

 

Vial: Smokey floral. And it's a rather thick oil too!

 

Wet: Very floral with a rose overtone.

 

After wearing this for about 40 minutes or so, it's basically a light, rose and floral perfume for me. A bit of a soapy rose, but that's just my skin for you. It's sweet, but not for me.

[bigeyedgirl]

I opened the bottle of this and fell in love. I thought there could be no other. Then I put it on....

 

At first it was a gorgeous blend of flowers...very nice, very feminine...

 

then it dired....soapy and lemony. Of all things, perhaps more so than patchouli, I hate lemon the most.

 

My skin chemistry is wierd anyway.

[Eris]

Lovely blend. At first, this is thick church incense with a predominant rose scent that blends beautifully with the other notes. As it dries, the rose fades to a general floral smell. It all reminds me of a sweeter version--almost too much so--of my beloved Penitence. I like this as a change once in awhile from Penitence's strong resins, but Hymn is a little too flowery for me for common wear.