Hymn

[Diana]

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.

Wet: plastic, artificial flowers/floral air freshner

Drydown: Painfully floral. The notes are fairly sharp, strong, and sweet. I generally like rose notes, but in this instance, it's just too much for me to handle. It's fairly cloying and overly flowery in this combination, in a way I can't stand. This is just not for me.

[Eunice]

Where's the rose? I love the myrrh and frankincense in this and can make out some white flower but no rose. Very incensy and light. It smells lovely but it doesn't suit me enough to wear.

[forspecial_plate]

Definitely rose, immediately, although deepened by the other notes. I mostly get rose and I guess lily at first. You know, on paper, all these together sound cloying to me and I wouldn't have tried this on my own. But I try everything bpal that comes my way and this is actually quite lovely. Somehow not cloying, just well balanced, bright and dizzying, yes, but not over-the-top in my opinion.

 

As it dries and fades, there's the frankinsence and myrrh, emerging and taking over. 4 hours later the rose it mostly gone, I think this is the incense that's left, still pretty powerful. Still a great scent but just not for me. I'm giving it to my ex, he likes florals and incense so I think he'll appreciate this.

[cranberry]

This is a softly floral scent. After it’s been on a minute, the rose comes out. As does the lily. These floral notes dominate. When it’s fresh on, the rose and lily are rather sharp and piercing, strident in a word. After it’s been on for a while, it seems to soften. Maybe the resins and incense are coming out. This reminds me of All Saints ’05, but I like this better. This is all soft and lovely. I like this phase of the scent but don’t care for the beginning.

[juniperus]

Bottle: transparent, like a beam of light. lily and rose, but very, very gentle.

Wet: the same, mostly, but sharpened with the hint of the resins without the resin notes themselves making a full appearance.

Dry: the lily is getting a little large and a little sharp, and the frankincense and myrrh are coming out underneath it all.

Later: the lily has stopped amping, much to my relief, and this is rounding out more..still heavy on the lily, but it's not taken over completely. The more delicate resins are hidden, but the frank'n'myrrh are still apparent. Amped but still lovely. Joy.

[mountainwitch]

A delicate and lovely rose, neither overwhelming nor too brief, balanced with lily and something else delicate and sweet that I can't personally identify. This is a great "rose-plus" scent that reminds me of Parlement of Foules. Parlement is ultimately much more intriguing for me, but of course I do have a finite suppy of that beauty. I guess if I ever succeed in using the bottle, Hymn would make a pleasant replacement in the BPAL box.

[hologhost]

Others have said gentle. To me it's very faint. Almost no smell at all. A little rose, a little resin. My skin eats what's left.

[SultryWolf]

imp: Smells rather like a conventional rose perfume.

on: The other notes arrive. I can see why this is often compared to soap, but for me, the clean, floral-myrrhy scent is appealing. This has a great, rosey throw for several hours, then settles into myrrh and lilies, closer to the skin.

 

 

 

p.s. I think "Myrrhy" is the best name for a cat.

[sofiaviolet]

This smells a lot like Rose Cross. The lily bursts through on my skin, but I don't really like lilies all that much. I'll stick with Rose Cross for frankincensey goodness.

[maijasu]

This is incensey and a little bit floral, although I don't smell the roses that some others do. It's pleasant enough, but not the sort of scent I usually gravitate to, so it will probably go to swaps.

[supremegoddessofall]

The rose and the frankincense are not playing very well together. Sort of smells like a Sharpie pen to me.

[portalkat]

Hmmm, I thought that I had already reviewed this. This is a scent that is part of my regular rotation with Penitence, Midnight Mass and Cathedral, Rose Cross and Parlement of Foules. On me, Hymn has a little less of the resins than in the other blends and the flowers are a bit sweeter because of the Lily-of-the-Valley, but it is in that vein. It is also a bit more subtle, without the drama of the others. This must be the regular Sunday scent in the small neighborhood church.

[julesofdenial]

Despite not being particularly Christian, I somehow woke up feeling close to the Madonna this morning. Let's blame the Hispanic heritage creeping in despite personal religious beliefs. Anyway, it seemed a good day to test my new imp of Hymn, and I definitely didn't regret doing so in the slightest.

 

On me, this is a very beautiful incensey rose. The individual notes all blend wonderfully and give it nice depth, but overall the effect is definitely that of lovely, pure, dare I say holy rose incense. Wonderfully done by the lab, though no surprise there, of course

[Alchemy21599]

In the vial: rose, lily and spices.

 

Wet: A rose blend with spices.

 

Dry: Too much rose for me. I was hoping that the myrrh would be the dominant note, but for me it was the rose.

[Antaria]

Hi!

 

Hymn ist very simple to describe:

If I wear it I feel like a woman. A real woman. Not a girl, not a coworker. I feel as if all man would turn around and come after me - perhaps they do I don't turn around to check that.

 

Of course it has something to do with "feeling sexy" - but in a grownup way - not the girl with a short skirt - no, this scent feels like "I could wear a sack - I'd still be recognized and adored by everyone". So the perfect scent if I wake u and feel grey and *yuck* again

[phedre]

I got this in a trade with someone recently, and now I'm considering ordering a bottle. This is the perfect blend of resins and florals, just enough rose and lily to keep it lovely, enough incense to spice things up, and enough myrrh to smooth it out.

 

Wet in the bottle, I get roses and florals, with a touch of spice. On my skin, the myrrh and frankincense come out to play, lending sweetness and warmth. I really love this one and I've put it into regular rotation!

[theseagrows]

this is a churchy-rose scent on me. for some reason the frankincense works well and doesn't turn to pencil shavings. i dont get the lily much, i think it just adds a background to the rose. the myrrh gives it a nice warmth/almost spiciness.

[nikkoblue]

First official review! I am not very good at picking out notes, but here are my impressions:

 

(note: this is the third time I'm trying Hymn, each time at a different hormonal stage....this is the first time I've liked it as the other times the initial floral never went away)

 

Bottle: whew! heavy duty floral madness; I can smell lilies in there. I don't really like lilies.

 

Wet on skin: SOAP. realllllly soapy but the lilies have faded a bit. This smells like a forgotten dish of nice guest soap in a rarely-used bathroom.

 

Dry on skin: aaaaah. soap is going away now and being replaced by frankincense. It's still a little soapy and it's not very me, but it's soothing and pleasant. The frankincense has added a little bit of oomph to the fragrance so that it's not just a flat floral. The person who called this a 'cold' fragrance is so right on. It really does remind me of those hymn books in old, incense-ridden catholic churches.

[PirateMaggie]

Hymn is just how I had hoped Rose Cross would be on me.

 

My skin tends to amp rose into something shrill and unpleasant, but not so here, perhaps because my skin also amps myrrh. What I got was a lighter version of the frankincense and myrrh combo I love in Penitence, sweetened by lily with just a hint of fresh, non-powdery, non-soapy rose that never gets cloying. Really, the rose here is so light and fresh it smells like a fresh bloom still on the bush. Staying power is excellent thanks to the resins; throw is lighter than I'd expect from a resin blend, so Hymn would work well in academic and office environments or when one wants to smell nice without risk of becoming the Dread Overpowering Perfume Lady. Sometimes resins can be a bit dry or dusty, but not so with Hymn; the florals prevent it and the overall effect is of wafts of florals and incense on a fresh spring breeze. This is a beautifully meditative blend, evokative of Gothic cathedrals and cloistered gardens. This one may end up being a big bottle scent.

 

edited to correct typo

Edited January 17, 2007 by PirateMaggie

[filigree_shadow]

Not too much rose in this, mostly a sweet and hazy blend with a slightly floral overtone. Warm and pleasant. I really like the myrrh in this. This seems like a good scent for a lazy afternoon.

[femmefatale]

Once again, the rose amps and ends up old lady powder. I really wanted to like this one.

Off to the swap pile!

[Nia]

I so much wanted to like this one, but apparently, every time BPAL makes a blend that is supposed to smell "pure" or spiritual, my skin goes bleh.

 

in the imp this smell overwhelmingly of cologne. Not floral as in natural flowers: perfumey, as if it had alcohol. On my skin, the cologne was still there, but there was also something soapy and something weird, foody, that made my stomach turn. Sniffff.

[maribouquet]

I want to love Hymn...the rose is clean and light, understated, and the drydown is resinous in a soft, polished pew in the sunlight sort of a way. But the lily is too strong on me and overwhelms the overall scent. So, it's just a like at this point. Very pretty.

[bryghtrose]

I couldn't differentiate any notes in the bottle. It just smelled of "perfume." When I put it on, I could smell the florals and incenses. I love labdanum as a base note, and the rose absolute works on me Yay! The first rose blend to not go straight to powder.

 

This blend really wants a mood description, more than a list of what I can and can't smell.

 

I was in a foul mood last night, and I thought a drop or two of this would calm me down. It did. Rather than stay up half the night steaming, I fell asleep at a reasonable hour.

 

Today is a glorious, sunny, warm spring day. Hymn is the perfect scent to be wearing.

 

This is a perfume that just feels right, and holy, and pure, and nothing bad can happen when you're wearing it.

 

[Naamah_Darling]

Wow. This is a crystalline, incensey floral, perfectly balanced between fumes and flowers.

 

Rose comes ahead of the lily, and the resins are too well blended for me to tell them apart. Ah! No, there's the frankincense.

 

Once it goes on the lily of the valley is a little stronger, vying for first place with the rose. The thing is, this scent is really held down by the incense, so it's not what I'd call an overpowering incense blend at all.

 

The throw is a clean, pure floral with a hint of clean resins. This isn't a soapy scent but it is very pure, very pleasant. Up close it has an almost fuzzy quality, the product of the sweet rose and the myrrh blending, I think. The frankincense and lily go together to create a clean clarity. And the labdanum is sitting right in between, gluing it together with its gentle golden radiance.

 

A very well-constructed blend, one that would agree with a wide variety of people, I think. The presence of the lily of the valley and the rose make this traditional enough that it would appeal to a wide variety of folks who don't normally wear incense blends, but it's incensey enough to offset some of the florals' tendency to go rank, making it a good choice for those who tend to avoid florals for that reason. Folks like me, say.

 

As it ages, it does get some of that sharp, soapy stink that lily of the valley tends to turn to on me, but it's less unpleasant than usual, and I think if I hadn't put quite so much on, it wouldn't be so pronounced. The rose is a powdery undernote, not prominent on drydown at all. Present if you know to look for it, but otherwise more of a hint than a note. The resins are more or less one clean, hard resin-y smell now; it's lost some distinction.

 

I'm going to peg this as a nice, neutral, feminine scent that is doomed by my chemistry, but I insist that it is still a beautiful scent, one nice enough that I'd like to try to use it in a scent locket or an oil burner. Most of the time I don't try if I can't wear it, but this is pretty enough to be worth the effort.