All Saints'

[lixolux]

Based on a venerable French pontifical incense blend: monastic frankincense and myrrh, Damascus rose, Russian gardenia, cassia, and lily of the valley wafting on a chill Autumn wind. A celebration of the glory and suffering of the saints and matryrs of the Church.

I tottered over to Black Broom to get this lovely - so glad i did! Bear with me, I really cant figure out why i love this so much, but it is really comforting and delicious!

out of the bottle - smells just like Harvest Moon when you put it on - the part where it deepens into chocolatey dark corny bread. uhoh, i am hoping this isnt a mislabel! but its definately different from Harvest Moon out of the bottle, darker, softer.

upon wearing - de - li - ci -ous!!!!! Its very dark and soft, i cant pick out any particular notes just see in my mind dark wood moulding, marble floor, woolen suits and maybe a little tobacco

drydown - It gets a little lighter, like the florals are making a last desperate attempt to push their way through the dark softness, but then settles into a lovely softness, much like velvet but darker and smoother and lighter (is that possible! yes it is!). It has lasted a really long time on me, i put it on like 4 hours ago and i still can a sniffasniff....

This is my FAVORITE oil to date. I cannot stop sniffing my wrist in the most obsessive way! I also must state that this smells NOTHING like what i thought it would from the description!! I didnt immediatly order this when the LEs were announced because i was a little scared of the rose and gardenia aspect of All Saints - I have been having bad luck with florals lately - but whatever the "Autumn Chill" is seems like what helps it mix into something so indescibably formal, delicious and comforting! I wish it was cooler here, this is what i want my turtleneck sweaters to smell like, and makes me want to wear my glasses and a bun in my hair. In a sexy librarian way, of course!


edited to add: i wore it again today and its less foody, more resinous, im feeling the church thing a lot more now. I realized that it reminds me exactly of that Claire McCardell Monastic dress, brown jersey with a hood from the 40's, severe and sexy but tres formal. Still hard to pick out any notes. Still feels lovely formal and soft, and yes, monastic.

[fairywingmaker]

All Saints...

 

The Autumn leaves jump out at me first, with just a soft hint of the florals. The myrrh keeps everything warm and soft. This is an incredible scent. I don't normally wear anything with rose as it turns to powder on me, but this doesn't do that. I can see myself wearing this every day. It's just beautiful.

[Eris]

Interesting...as a fan of incense smells, I was ready for something like Penitence or Hymn when I took off the lid. Instead, my first scent was a sort of buttery, tobacco scent. It wasn't exactly bad, but it was hardly what I expected. In re-reading the ingredients, I'm wondering if this is the 'chill autumn wind' part.

 

On the skin, that odd scent lingers for about a minute and then steadily fades, giving way to the floraly, incensey fragrance I'd been expecting. It is a thick, lush mixture of incenses--coming off less purple/grape than Cairo and less rose-y than Hymn. This holds out for a few hours and then fades to a dry, thin incense smell--sort of like when you've left incense sticks in a drawer for too long.

 

Overall, this scent doesn't surprise me much (except for that initial autumn smell), but it is in the range of Church-esque fragrances that I love, so I think this will be a keeper.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

I applied All Saints last night before going to bed. Perhaps it was because Sugar Skull had taken over my sense of smell but I really couldn't smell All Saints at all. (And this was after I had showered!)

 

This morning is a different story. The scent remained with me throughout the night. It's not "heavy", rather I would describe it as "steadfast" and most definitely comforting.

 

This is one of those "come closer" blends. The fragrance is rich as you would expect of a combination of frankincense, myrrh & Damascus rose. It's a wonderful combination with my chemistry. (Although, I did not smell gardenia, cassia or lily of the valley.)

 

I'll try it again tomorrow & update my review, should anything change.

[Sheila]

Love, love, LOVE All Saints'.

 

First off, straight from the bottle or after immediate application, it smells HORRID--salty yet sweet like a popcorn-flavored jelly belly. (I hate that flavor!) But after 10-15 minutes I get pure incense--spicy, gently floral, and warm. I don't get any particular floral note, but rather a mellow spice that reminds me of all my incense sticks together in the metal tin where I store them.

 

My husband was raised Catholic, so I've attended services a few times--and this scent does remind me of the incense they use at "high church" masses.

 

Isn't it amazing how a scent can totally transform itself from the bottle to skin?

 

ETA: And it's a lovely room scent, too!

Edited November 19, 2004 by Sheila

[TygherRayn]

*blinkblink* Okay, I wanted this one because of the floral in it, but sniffing the bottle ... and Jason noticed it too .. this is foody. *blinks and sniffs again* Okay, did my bottles get switched? Ruh-roh?

 

It sure does .. all foody. Like a nutty chocolate .. very similar to Gluttony or Bliss smell to me. It makes me rather panicked, too, because this was not what I envisioned for All saints at all. but I trust Beth's vision, so on it goes!

 

Immediately on, it stays foody for a second, but giving it just a bit of time to breathe the scent totally changes, and it's so extremely strange! Beth is apparently becoming the Goddess of the ever-changing scent. After a minute, this becomes floral indeed, and a beautiful, dark, brooding floral. The despair and the passion of the saints. Walking into a glorious stone cathedral, one of the old ones with ivy climbing all over it, seeking every nook and cranny, and how it smells just after there has been a marriage .. or a funeral. The scent of sweet white flowers .. roses, lilies .. but there's more. Almost a minty smell somewhere in there. Something herbal and green, but still sweet .. and yet very somber, very rich, very ... divine. After about 5 or so minutes it gets woody .. like aged timbers, and a little incensey too. I'm loving this.

 

The deliciousness stays for a long while .. I don't even want to try and pick apart the notes in this, because it's just so simply wonderful. Wood, and flowers, and smoke and the delicious foods one might find at a wedding celebration .. or a wake. A celebration of the glory and the pain of those whom have been elevated for living their lives. A remembrance of the importance of doing just that ... living.

 

This blend is almost too ... *ponders the right word* ... stately for me to wear regularly. It's a powerful scent, and stirs a lot of things in me, but I love it too much not to wear it just the same. It makes me want to sit for hours in the back pew of my mimere's old Catholic church, listening to the organ play, and pondering the mysteries of the universe, of my faith, and of life in all its forms.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: very odd. flowers, but...an odd type of incense. i'm not sure if i'll like this one.

on: i think of yellow and white when i smell this. very floral, but with a heavy sweetness to it. i think i smell lily and a lot of other flowers.

1 hour later: more rosy, and dusty. almost like flowers that are being dried. lovely and peaceful.

2 hours later: still beautiful and calming. it's mostly that same dusty floral, but with a hint of sweetness.

3 hours later: much lighter, but still nice.

overall: i'm glad a grabbed a bottle of this. i like how the sweetness comes and goes. i'm not always a huge fan of florals, but the dustiness of this agrees with me. lovely.

[FireInCairo]

Really REALLY love this scent. It is very resin-like. Almost like insence burning in a Greek Orthodox church. Makes me think of my favorite saint- St. George. I will wear this with pride!

[rdeadline]

I've only had it a few days and already I wish I had bought more. It smells like the catholic church in SF I visited as a kid. Like flowers and well oiled wood and candles.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Gluttony? First whiff is very foody but second sniff adds a light wood note that seems to conflict with the nutty toffee smell

 

On me: I'm glad this scent isn't true to the bottle! Very incense-y, I can pick up the frankincense and myrrh easily. I can detect something else there but I couldn't tell you which of the assorted florals it is. This reminds me of visits to different historic missions that we visited on family trips when I was a kid.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: Harvest Mo....hmmmm? SUN!

 

Second Impression: I can understand the comparisons that have been made to Harvest Moon, but All Saints' is a bright, sunny, chilly autumn day where Harvest Moon is a cold autumn moonlit night. I get the same buttery pumpkin top notes but the floral drydown is very different, brighter and sunnier but still decidedly fall.

 

Final Analysis: Harvest Moon gave me a four hour experience, this is much less, and while I like this, I still prefer Harvest Moon.

[SoapyRN]

I can't add more than what has been said already. Floral notes. Basically, the BPAL description is, as they say, "Dead on balls accurate." *

 

*Stolen from My Cousin Vinny!

[Northernminx]

I had such hopes for this one given the description and notes involved but my chemistry doesn't seem to like it. Buttery and almost tobaccoy out of the bottle, theres a faint touch of myrrh and incense before this simply fades on me. While I occasionally can ferret out a wisp of flower if I press my nose to my wrist, my skin has eaten this one alive. What I could smell was lovely but All Saints and I just aren't getting along so well. I'll be selling my bottle shortly.

[antimony]

I got a weird blend of florals and spices... maybe spicy florals? It's hard to say. It doesn't smell church-y to me at all, not like Cathedral or Sin.

 

It's nice enough, but on me it faded quickly, all gone in half a day.

[Belladonnastrap]

First sniff

A sickening incense floral that sort of reminds me of Harvest Moon's first initial foray. I'm hoping it'll turn yummy on me.

 

Wet

....wow. I'm 9 years old and in the church at my fathers funeral. The priest is leaning down to kiss my cheek and I'm gagging on his scent. This is what All Saints reminds me of. Very altarish I get NONE of the foody stuff others have. It smells a lot like notre dame.

 

Drydown

Still church smell, giving me a headache and I'm remembering my fathers funeral.

 

Aftermath

Not for me, smell memory is too strong.

[lorajc]

This went on me smelling somewhat like Harvest Moon, but then it turned into an incensy floral. It didn't have very good staying power on me. I liked it, but I'll have to wear it again to appreciate it. I had difficulty picking the individual notes out (which seems to be happening to me a lot lately).

[Caitfish]

In the bottle:

Dominant notes: Not clear, this is powerfully sweet in the bottle, as others have said, it smells deceptively foody. I think that this is actually florals mixing with the Frankincense and myrrh.

Impressions: Really lovely at this stage, and I hope that it stays true, despite what I've read about the tendancy to morph.

Initial On:

Dominant notes: Frankincense and myrhh, all the way. This is incredibly spicy when on.

Impressions: Very spicy, I can't really detect many florals yet.

After a while:

Persistent notes: Frankincense and myrhh, blended florals, esp. rose and gardenia.

Notes that fade: The frankincense and myrhh really do step back quite a lot, but this never becomes an outright floral, or even a detectable one if you aren't aware of what the two top notes are doing to the flowers. It's difficult to describe. The flowers are definately there, but they are given an air of venerability by the spices.

Staying power? It's a strong but inconsistent blend. Lots of changes in both strength and color, though this is still detectable after eight hours at class.

Summary: This is a fantastic creation. It's one that you have to live with for a while to understand the way the notes are balanced, but once you have, it's easy to appreciate the craftsmanship here. It's mature, contemplative and surprisingly dark. I am very glad that I purchased it.

[TheDarkMother]

In the Bottle: All Saint’s is a lot more foody than I would think. It has almost a caramel scent to it, though there could be some rose in there somewhere.

 

On Me: There’s the Rose! Oh wow, that’s super nice! Rose and autumn leaves, frankensence and myrrh. The foody scent is deep in the background now and very, very faint, which is good. This takes on a very holy scent, a pure scent mixed in with the falling autumn leaves. Oh my goodness, this so far is my favorite Halloween scent! There seems to be a bit of mint in here as well, and oh my goodness its just perfect!!! I am so glad that I got a bottle of this! I am so slathering this baby on!!!

[silverangel]

At first it smells like Harvest Moon on me. Then after fifteen or so minutes the foody smell fades and it's a resiny/incensy blend with a light floral after taste to it. As time goes on the floral notes emerge more and the resiny/incensy pulls back a bit. But the resin and incense never totally goes away but the florals do very slowly come up to the front. I love this!

[Damask Rose]

This one keeps changing on me! I still can't figure it out. In the bottle it smells very smokey and when you first put it on it smells the same way. Then after a really short time it changes and "thins out" a lot and that's when I get the autumn chill scent. It's like a floral scent on a very cold wind. Then after another hour or so it warms up again and it has stayed like that on me - a kind of smokey, incense floral smell.

 

I'm really glad I bought this as it's not at all the sort of scent I would normally wear but I'm intrigued by how changeable and individual it is.

[Penance]

Whoa, this one was a total surprise! I was convinced I'd gotten a mislabeled bottle until I read the reviews, but apparently I didn't...how odd.

 

That being said, here's my review as originally written...

 

First sniff:

 

Did I get a mislabeled bottle or something? This smells exactly like a lighter version of Dia De Los Muertos. I don't smell anything resembling incense or flowers. What I'm getng is almost like what Harvest Moon smelled like...buttery and warm and cozy rather than eccelsiastical. That's really bizarre...I can't wait for my other bottle to come to be sure that this is right, it's so differnt than what I was expecting.

 

Wet on skin:

 

Still very buttery and autumnal smelling, like a cross between Dia De Los Muertos and Harvest Moon. I dpn't smell anything even remotely resembling incense in this. Maybe it's Hunter Moon instead? I really have no idea since I haven't smelled Hunter Moon and haven't gotten my second bottle of All Saint's yet. I could very well be mistaken and this is how it's supposed to smell, but it doesnt' smell anything like the description.

 

Dry down:

 

Now it smells exactly like Harvest Moon. Slightly buttery and autumnal smelling and [i[very[/i] foody. If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was Harvest Moon.

 

The bottom line:

 

Beautiful, but it doesn't smell like I thought All Saint's would smell like. I was expecting strong, dry resins and a touch of florals and instead got something very sweet and foody smelling which is beautiful but nowhere near what I was expecting.

[Morrighana]

I honestly don't know how people get "foody" out of All Saints'...I know it all comes down to skin chemistry, but it never fails to baffle me how these wonderful oils can smell so different on people!

 

In the bottle and when wet on my skin, All Saints' smells very much like Jack II to me, which also isn't foody in my mind. Instead, it is hot and dry and...acrid. Not fun. But, I waited it out, and All Saints' bloomed into a wonderful bouquet of soft florals...I can't pick out individual flowers, but I assume this is the rose, gardenia, cassia, and lily of the valley coming forth. Not too much rose, though, which is great as sometimes rose can be overpowering. There are traces of other notes, which I cannot for the life of me put my fingers on, but I certainly cannot detect any of the frankincense or myrrh in the description on my skin.

 

I think...All Saints' is everything I was hoping it would be, and then some. My review here isn't really doing it justice, and I will try to refine it at a later date, but rest assured All Saints' is such a lovely, calm, sweetly serene blend that if there is any possible way you can lay your hands on some, you'd be a fool to not!

 

[TrayLynn]

My All Saint's is really nice and spicy. I get more of the Autumn fragrance kick from this oil than the florals. I can only smell the floral notes at the very beginning of the application. After the drydown I get a yummy incense and spice medley. I really like this one.

[Summerpixy]

All Saints is wonderful.

 

Soft florals and dry resins. I couldn't distinctly place any of the individual flowers, it was very closely blended. I almost wish there was a bit of white musk in here... but it's not present. Still, gorgeous.

 

It's not a scent I'd wear every-day, but I may grow to like it to that point over time. I think I prefer Samhain right now, but it could just be the season we're in. I may love this over winter.

[shadow]

Oh, another gorgeous blend from the lab. I get the Harvest Moon comparisons immediately after application. There's that warm, rich foody smell - pumkins? Butter? I don't know what it is, but it overpowers everything else at first. I guess that's the autumn breeze part, because it just wafts away VERY quickly, and then the rest of the scent comes out. Where Harvest Moon turns into huge autumny colored blooms, I get formal white flowers. With the richness of the incenses underneath. It really is beautiful, and may be one of my favorite florals so far. The autumn breeze eventually does come back, but as a wispy supporting player, just enrichening the scent and rounding it out so it still has substance. It's really beautiful.

 

Oh, if Samhain is a harvesty autumn afternoon, and Hunter Moon is a cold autumny night by a bonfire, this one is like a clear cold day, after all the leaves have fallen off the trees, right before the first snow. It's that short time right in between autumn and winter.