Cathedral

[Shollin]

Cathedral, from Sin & Salvation:

Venerable and solemn: the scent of incense smoke wafting through an ancient church. A true ecclesiatical blend of pure resins.

 

First sniff: Hard to pin down - definitely warm, spicy, a bit sweet. An old stone church at midnight Mass.

 

Wearing: Quite sweet on my skin. Maybe a bit too much. Warm and comforting at first, but I've discovered that resin scents don't like me - it turned unpleasantly sharp-sweet within a few minutes.

 

Diffuser: Very, very incensey and a bit woody. Mostly incense. Might be too strong even as a room scent.

[viciousviolet]

The scent of polished pews in a gorgeous old church, with wafting remains of long-gone incense in the background. This is one of my favorite blends for my home, though I rarely wear it as a perfume. On my body, the frankincense is too dry and thin a scent.

[nephthys_lvx]

It is so different from what I normally wear that I'm having a little trouble deciding if I like it. I keep sniffing my wrist trying to decide. It's a little too sweet, but I'll wear it for a few more days to see if it grows on me. I do like it as a room scent.

[blackrayne]

I have only been inside Catholic churches a handful of times, and most of those were for funerals. This scent captures the essence of the church perfectly.

 

Great for people who like the smell of churches...I do not fit into that category, though.

[lorajc]

I like resin scents so was not surpised that I liked this; however, I think it is very soft for a resin scent. I still don't know how Elizabeth makes her resin scents so understated. This reminded me a lot of Velvet but without the coccoa vanilla overtone. I didn't think it lasted long enough and had to reapply, but I liked it.

[aessedai]

All I could smell in this scent was earth. Now, I love that dark, earthy smell a lot. However, I was really hoping to pick up on some of the incensy notes--- maybe each batch varies slightly, or maybe it was my soap, or my personal chemistry.

[Lady_Ell]

This starts off when wet as a ultra-serious, somber, incense-fest. But when it was dry, on my skin I just felt like I smelled like dusty old tapestries that really should be washed.

[RosieP]

When I was a kid I had one of those sandalwood pencil boxes - you know the kind, with a sliding lid. Cathedral to me smells EXACTLY like that pencil box - comlete with the cedarwood of the pencils, and even the slightly peppery smell of the graphite pencil-leads!

 

I've always wanted to have that smell bottled - thank you, Elizabeth, I adore it!

[jj_j]

Dry, bitter incense wafting through the air; warmed with melted wax and sandalwood, plus the teeeeeniest, tiniest hint of ... red currant?

 

Something fleeting that makes me think of tiny possum grapes bursting on my tongue, it isn't there when I smell my wrist, but every once in a while I smell it for just a split second.

 

Oh, I like this! It's exactly what it claims to be - incense, first and foremost (and I could drown in the frankincense here ... ahhhh!), with the crumbling, earthy undertone of aged stone. While it's very different from Etro's Messe de Minuit, it's more what I wanted MdM to be - and there's no "cat pee" smell, as my ex-husband used to refer to MdM. I always thought of it as old books in a damp basement, personally - and I'm glad Cathedral retains such crisp, dry clarity, instead.

[antimony]

I got this as an extra in my last order, and I decided to give it a shot, even though I didn't think I'd like it.

 

In the vial, and when I first put it on, it had that same overwhelming sharp bitter tang as Sin and Damnation (all three smell almost identical in the vial to me - and whatever that sharp note is, I don't like it) I'm kind of rolling my eyes thinking, "all these people are insane, this stuff doesn't smell a thing like church incense, it smells like someone's driving nails up my nose!"

 

It started mellowing once it warmed up on my wrist, and now, about 2 hours later, it finally smells kinda like church incense, it dries down nicer than Sin or Damnation, but I still don't think any of these suit me.

[byrdie]

This is one of the original six Imps Ears from my first order. I'm strongly tempted to think that putting my nose so close to my wrist at any given time will produce a "warm" sensation, so I'm trying to leave that comment out of my review proper.

 

wet ~ My immediate impression was of wood furniture, perhaps after years of soaking up incense smoke. I haven't been in enough churches to know how close this scent comes to the aroma of an actual cathedral.

 

drying ~ Suddenly, I'm reminded of Barbie and other baby dolls I had as a child. Interesting, as I don't remember being all that fascinated by their smells; but this oil becomes somewhat plastic smelling. Am I detecting the wet resin?

 

dry ~ Very complex, as if I'm smelling many different types of wood all at once. It's like being in an unfinished furniture store. My main impression is of hippie scented sawdust. It becomes lighter, though, less of a wood scent.

 

later ~ It dries very determindly and becomes a very old smell. It's not a bad impression: it's very secure and comfortable, as if it's saturated my skin because it plans to move in to stay.

 

final thoughts ~ I have to wonder if it's just my skin, or if all of the earthy oils dry into sharp, powdery scents?

 

verdict ~ I like where it goes as it travels towards settling in.

Edited December 24, 2004 by byrdie

[waxing moon]

Though I am now a "recovering Catholic", this scent brings back all kinds of churchy memories, both good and bad. First on, it's a almost sharp cedarwood, evocative of my first Communion dress, which had been worn by many women in my family and was kept folded in a cedar chest when not being worn. After a few minutes, rosewood blooms on my wrist, and I am back at Christmas and Easter masses (which are all about the "smells and bells"). It's smokey, resinous, and dry. Halfway through the day, a slightly sweet balsam scent lingers, just like the chrism used to anoint the heads of newly Baptised babies and Confirmants. I am truly impressed by Cathedral, I think it's my new favorite fragrance.

[darkling]

Cathedral has quickly become one of my absolute favorite scents. The only drawback is that it smells like damp earth on me for about a half an hour after application. As gruesome as this sounds, it reminds me of what it might smell like to be newly buried.

 

After drying, it smells phenomenal. I lived in England for a brief period of time, and Cathedral reminds me of the York Minster. It brings to mind catacombs and carvings, incense and ceremony. It evokes a pleasant melancholy, like being homesick for a beloved childhood refuge.

[friendthegirl]

I was worried that I wouldn't like this, because some people described it as resinous, I think, but I'm really find that I like that!

 

I can't really describe it beyond that, but it's nice and subtle, which is good for me.

 

Like someone said before, it kind of does smell like earth mixed with old walls, like being underground in a catacomb!

Edited March 31, 2004 by friendthegirl

[Becky]

I just got this in a swap and I'm really loving it so far. in the bottle is smelled a little strong, but on it calmed down and was quite nice. it was very different from what I thought it would smell like though. I thought it would be warm, heavy and thickly inscensy, but on me at least its really not. it ended up being a very dry, very sandalwoody scent. its much better than what I was expecting. I think it will be great on a hot summer night.

 

[twistygirl]

WOW, did this one ever change drastically from wet to dry-down. When I first put it on, all I could think of is, "this smells like the Pacific Northwest" (I live in Seattle) - all I could smell was wet, cut-down wood and pine. I thought "this would be nice on a man, but not for me." But knowing how much BPALs can change from wet to dry, I decided to reserve final judgement, and this is NICE. I was raised Catholic and I can't say that it really reminds me of the church, not on me, as it is very light and not the smoky-incensy fragrance that I relate to the church. On me, this is just a lovely blend of resins - I would love to know exactly which ones are in this, as I LOVE resiny scents, and I seem to be able to wear all of them well with the exception of dragon's blood (smells like metal on me). If there is dragon's blood resin in this, I have finally found a dragon's blood resin scent that I can wear. I can't really pick out any particular resins with the exception of amber and some myrrh or frankincense, but whatever is in this, it's lovely, and while a man could easily wear this, I find it quite feminine.

[skg]

w00t!

Lemme just start off saying ...

I lurve Cathedral!!!!

When i first sniffed the imp I thought maybe too much of the resiny pine (and I never say that) but upon putting it on it toned right down.

It reminds me of dusty pine needles being raked up or what the Renn Faire (in Colorado) smelled like after a hard rain mixed with age old wax and smoky incensey notes.

This is a defo 10 ml investment for me no doubt about it.

I also have to chime in with twisty girl by agreeing that a man (with the right chemistry) could easily wear this.

[autumn24]

The deep old, oiled wood of church pews. Hours later, it surprisingly mellows out to smell like vanilla pipe-tobacco.... pretty freaking amazing and weird, all at the same time.

[stitch of bloodh]

Cathedral -

i love it. It smells like an abandoned temple, very resinous and sweet.

There's something desirable about it. It reminds me of searching through an abandoned asylum, dripping water from rusty pipes, dark walls and hallways, spirals of dust swirling behind. This is a good summer scent for a *happy go lucky chap always dressed in black*.

[Ina Garten Davita]

First Impression: This takes me back to when Rob and I were courting and he was taking me all around his England. We went to bunch of gorgeous, old stone churches. It especially reminds me of Lincoln Cathedral.

 

Second Impression: This is beautiful and sexy on my skin. All smoky, resiny, woodsy and just a little sweet.

 

Final Analysis: I love this as a personal fragrance, it's deep yet light. Not too long lasting. I also think I'll try it as a room scent in the winter.

[janelle_hell]

Cathedral is the bottled smell of Midnight Mass at a gorgeous old church...and though 'candle wax' isn't listed as one of the compinents,i definitely smell it in there...or maybe it's just my decrepit imagination...

[TygherRayn]

I liked the smell of this one in the bottle .. it really does remind me of the smell of an old catholic church.

 

But on me, it's decidedly cedar. I didn't wear it long enough to see if that mellowed, because I smellt just like a cedar plank .. like when my parents were siding our old house and I was helping, and would smell like the planks for the rest of the day. It hangs onto me, and it's just .. overwhelming. Not in a good way I'm afraid.

 

As an incense, or a candle, this would do well I think. Perfume? Sadly, no.

[Morrighana]

In the bottle: Freshly cut wood and lingering incense...I'll have to try this as a room scent one of these days.

 

Wet: Whew. Wood. My first thought after applying this was, "Cathedral? Not likely. More like Log Cabin!!!" Way too strong, to say the least.

 

Dry: Hmm. Once the sharp wooden scent calmed down, this actually became quite nice. Understated, a bit powdery...the melted candle wax smell that someone mentioned is certainly an apt description...it is warm, but not spicy, and...comfortable. The wood is still there, but it is in the background; nothing of the invasive presence it held during Cathedral's wet stage!

 

Overall, I don't think Cathedral is the right scent for me, which is unfortunate, because I so wanted to adore it for its name and description! Also, in my opinion, it definately belongs in the masculine category...while I wouldn't wear it myself, I wouldn't mind falling asleep to its warmth and subtlety. It would be the perfect scent for a guy(or a girl, just not this one! ) who wants to smell good without smelling like he's actually wearing a cologne...you know?

[JazzieCazzie]

This is one where I didn't think I liked the scent in the vial, but ON me, I loved it ... probably the first non-floral BPAL that's worked for me ...

 

The cedar is definitely the overwhelming scent and for me that's a very comforting one ... I wouldn't know the smell of a church from Adam, but when I was little we had this cedar-lined closet in our apartment (named, appropriately enough, the "cedar closet") where my family stored winter clothes in the summer, old suitcases and, at birthdays and holiday time, "hid" our presents (like we didn't know where they were). Sometimes when I was young and needed to get away I would go in there and sit on the floor and just breathe in the woody smell and be calmed by it.

 

It took me a few minutes of sniffing my wrists and arms (I put it in the inner crook of my elbow and on my wrists when I'm testing it) to realize that the familiarity of the scent comes from the closet.

 

Definitely a 5 ML purchase on this one. (Thanks, Andra, for the swap!)

 

REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED IN MAY 2013:

 

Bought an imp of this to add to my stash and am revisiting from that, with a little more note-specific knowledge than I had 9 years ago!

 

IN THE IMP: Frankincense, frankincense, frankincense and cedar.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Frankincense, frankincense, frankincense and cedar, cedar, cedar.

 

DRYDOWN: See above.

 

OVERALL: Love love love love love. But yes, I am much more familiar now with the scent of frankincense, thanks to BPAL (how else would a nice Jewish girl be familiar with it???) so some of what I thought was pure cedar was actually frankincense. Cedar is a little sweeter on me while frankincense is dryer. Combined? Truly divine. Pun intended or not.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 5.

Edited May 7, 2013 by JazzieCazzie

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: like viciousviolet said, polished pews

WEARING IT: polished with pine sol maybe. this is very strong on me and very masculine. it smelled a lot calmer in the bottle. i can definitely smell old wood...and unfortunately that pine smell again.

 

FINAL VERDICT: this isn't a scent for me, glad to have tried it though!