Cathedral

[theseagrows]

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

this pretty much smells like pencil shavings on me, and not much else. i am not that familiar with resinous scents though, so maybe it has something in it that turns on me. i thought i might not like this, but liked the idea of it so i wanted to give it a try.

[Stumbeline]

I agree with the 'High Mass at a Church' comment. This specifically reminds me of attending a Catholic Easter Vigil. I was definitely expecting a much more smoky smell but I'm pleased with the deep, incense-y woodiness of Cathedral. It does live up to its name, and reminds me of time I spent in France and visiting the grand gothic cathedrals.

 

Mostly I find this scent very evocative of memories for me. Not something I would wear on a regular basis, but I will keep the imp and save it for when I need those memories.

[Nachtwulf]

The way people were going on about incense, I thought this would be -really- incensy. And yet...it's not. It has incense notes to it, but clearer, drier ones than the heady, smoky perfume of Gypsy Queen, but even those take second seat to the warm smell of cedar. After about 45m, I get a surge of florals... the flowers on the altar, perhaps... but then that goes away and mellows back down to cedar and a bit of incense smoke again.

 

For some reason, I find this scent -incredibly- comforting. I'm not a Catholic, I think the only times I've been in a real cathedral were for sightseeing. But all the same, this is familiar on some level I can't identify, and I find it reassuring and wonderful where other similar scents (Hymn, Penitence, Anathema) fell horribly short. I'm very glad I finally managed to secure a bottle of it.

[Scarlettfish]

Cathedral smells exactly like a cathedral. In that it smells like the incense burned at church. I am not a huge fan of incense - I can handle it when it is mixed with other scents (like in All Saints) - but this is much too much for me. Almost overwhelmingly incense-y and it's way too harsh for me.

[sookster]

all resinous and all holy this is another spectacularly unique bpal

blend...after about 30 minutes this fragrance warms up and gets a touch

of sweetness...i can even smell the old wooden pews in this church....

very good work.....

[doneyeri]

This scent was a suprise in my package of imps, and I was a little anxious about trying it when I saw it was a resin scent after a nasty run in with the Red Queen (the only other resin scent I'd tried), but, I gathered my courage and doused my wrists. I am so glad I did!

I expected a much different scent than I got. I expected an indoor, sorta stuffy, warm scent, I got an incredibly earthy, woody scent that brought an almost blinding mental image of my mom gardening to mind. It starts as a rich, dark dirt smell, with a little bit of moss in it. Then it starts to dry and mellows and changes a little. This smells EXACTLY like the mulch my mom has used in her flower bed for years.

Definatly a scent I'll be using during the long, frozen winter months to remind myself of the smell of warm earth.

[Oio]

Cathedral

 

In the imp: A whiff of incense, with a strong cedar overtone, and an acrid waxy sort of edge.

 

Wet on skin: Kerosene, followed by a blast of cedar.

 

Drydown: The kerosene fades, and the cedar settles down as warm, sweet, smoky incense develops. The scent gets sweeter and more mellow the longer it is on. It’s great on my skin, and I want to get more so I can scent the rooms!

 

Conclusion: My second big bottle purchase. Love it. Can’t wait to try Midnight Mass!

[inkstone]

This was a freebie from the Lab. On my skin, this was woody, resiny and incensey. I think the wood was cedar because it gave me that faint pencil shaving vibe that cedar always does on my skin.

 

It was also far too too strong for me.

[judas_kiss]

Frimp from the labbies.

 

In the imp, this reminds me of the church pews of St. Mary's church in my home town. The scent of pontifical incense, indeed!

 

On: I am beginning to think I might not necessarily be an "Incensey" chica. This is ALL frankinsence on me. Very dry, and rather dusty.

 

Dry: Yeah, I'm not an "incensey" chica. I want to be, really! Again, this is pure, resinous love.

 

Overall: This is for the ladies and gents who can appreciate incense on its own. Unfortunately, I am not one of those peoples.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Smells like a woodier version of Hymn.

 

Wet: There is a woody smell underneath the frankincense. Like others, I thought there would be more smoke here.

 

Dry-down and Wear: On the scale of "church" scents, this is stronger than Hymn and lighter than Penitence. This is a pretty scent, but of the three I listed, it is least evocative of "Catholicism" (and I am a practicing Catholic) to me. Still, I like it.

Edited December 29, 2005 by The_Merf

[coulrophobe]

In the imp: Woody.

 

On: Yes indeed, woody. Not piney or cedary, not dry wood, but rather richly polished heavy wood furniture.

 

Then the incense kicks in - I smell the smokey-syrup of myrrh (often too sweet on me, but it's really working nicely with the wood in this blend). All in all, a very pleasant and comforting blend.

[lookingglass]

Cathedral smells like church...the burning incense, the pews, the dust, and the divine. It smells heavenly on DH. It is now in our top 10. It must be experienced to be believed.

[Silverstrike]

First impression: this is still wet on my skin, but it smells so dry!

 

After about an hour, it starts to smell BO-ish though, mixed in with the resiny smell (and this is right after taking a shower). After awhile the part that seems BO-ish is toned down a bit and the resins come back out, but I can't decide whether it works on me. Something about this makes me sneeze. And the next day, when it's almost gone, just a whiff still makes me sneeze.

 

Cool scent, but any hint of BO and sneezing are not my cup of tea.

[darkitysnark]

Cathedral

 

A fascinating gimp from kmasden, my Autumn Switch Witch.

 

I just can't pin this one down... it keeps shifting not only through the various phases, but also depending on how close you are to my skin. This is really amazing.

 

In the bottle:

Sharp green, resinous cedar.

 

Wet:

The sharp edge softens, the cedar warms, and it feels like a combination of incense sticks got snuffed all at once.

 

Drydown:

I'm getting a very strong, dry, warm Nag Champa.

 

Later:

This has medium to light throw on me. What's really beguiling me at the moment is the waft vs. the "wrist sniff" scent. I'm wafting a cool, lemony incense note. Very bright, yellow, just a touch soapy. As my nose approaches my wrist (and trust me, everyone at work thinks I'm a total freak now but I can't! Stop! Doing it!) I can almost visualize the yellow fog dissipating and parting to reveal an incense stick ash-stained wooden chest. It's warm, dry, and just the epitome of comforting.

 

I'm not much for lemony scents, but this other side of the split personality effect is gorgeous! The very tail end of my deep wrist inhalations evoke a very strong sense memory of watching my grandmother on my father's side genuflecting to her small altar in her Hong Kong condo.

[Celogrl]

Ah, the hopes I had for this imp. Upon my first in the bottle sniff, I noticed the wood and resin and was so excited- when I applied poor Cathedral, it immediately turned to insect repellent on my skin and stayed that way all through drydown and beyond. This will have to be a swap pile imp. Doggone it.

[cupide430]

Cathedral

 

Dry, smoky, dark. This has a slight woodsy overtone and is very dry and smoky on me. Definitely too heavy for me.

[arabella]

First Impression: Lighly smoked resin.

 

Dries down to: Feels like frankincense but mellow, without any sharp edges, making me think there's definitely amber in here also.

 

Additional Comments: More than some of the other incense scents, this one reminds me of high mass, which is comforting to me. This is what I had hoped Midnight Mass would be. It's the scent of incense wafting from the censers during mass.

 

Lasted: Quite a few hours.

 

Rating: 3 out of 5

[Wench457]

Cathedral: Churchy - frankincense and sandalwood.

 

On: So my power to amp sandalwood totally out of control remains strong. Good to know.

 

Dry: Ditto. It is a truly lovely scent, but not on me, since the sandalwood overpowers everything else.

[Miss Lynx]

This is really lovely. It's got more complexity to it than I'd expected -- sometimes the heavily incensey scents can come as a bit flat on me, but not this one. There's an element of sweetness to it, too, and it seems to blend really nicely with my natural skin scent. It doesn't come across as particularly heavy on me at all.

 

It's similar to Midnight Mass, but I think I actually like this one better, which is good since unlike MM it's a catalog scent, so I can actually get more of it. I would even venture to say that it's almost as nice as Aureus, but not quite. I think Aureus will continue to be the incense scent for me, but this is a close runner-up.

 

Grade: B+

[MistressTera]

Fresh From The Imp: Very woodsy. I can't pick out any individual notes, though.

 

Wet On My Flesh: This reminds me of the dresser my grandfather made. Everything that goes into it comes out smelling like a combination of cedar, pine, and oak. And that's what I'm getting so far with the oil.

 

Drying Down: I'm picking up the old church references now: The wood of the pews, the faint hint of incense in the air.

 

Hour To Integrate: Most of it has faded away, leaving very little behind.

 

End Of Day/Final Report: As neat as this one is, I don't think I'll be keeping it. I get this same smell out of my dresser every morning, after all.

[fiddlehead]

Cathedral

 

That lovely scent that I went nuts for in Arcana must be in here as well. Frankincense? This is sooooo good! I can also can smell other things if I concentrate, a bit of cedar or sandalwood, but the Frankincense is what I'm loving. *drool* This is really beautiful

[filigree_shadow]

Another reviewer said it smelled like pencil shavings or the inside of a pencil box -- that's what it smells like to me, too. Definitely cedar and resin. Unfortunately I'm not getting a whole lot of incense out of it.

 

I will pass along the imp to a more appreciative home...

[n0thing]

Definate big bottle later in the year, think it's be great for autumn/winter

 

It smells just like being in a big, cool, stone cathedral. Dust, wood, incense, warm candlewax..moss sometimes on me. And the 'pencil shavings' note doesn't take over at all for me (it ate *everything* with Red Queen. Boo!). Really calm, peaceful smell

[gwyllgi]

This was one of my first imps; I usually flock to resin/incense scents. Something in this one just doesn't work for me, though.

 

It's an interesting, musty scent, indeed like an ancient cathedral. On me, though, it becomes more must than interesting; it becomes less ancient cathedral than it does abandoned tiny wooden church, falling in on itself as sparrows nest in the cracked rafters. It spawns interesting imagery, but it also makes me uneasy on a visceral level.

 

I've tried using this as a scent in a sachet also, and it works better there, although I nearly keeled over the first time I opened the container in which I'd been letting the scent set. When it's diffusing throughout a room, the mustiness recedes and instead becomes a somehow comforting scent, as though life is settling into the well-worn paths of tradition. It still makes me a bit uneasy, but much less so than when I carry the scent with me.

[batsy]

In the vial: STRONG smoky incense.

 

On the skin: This blend is strong! Almost too strong. As it dried, the resins still burned my nose. It might be a better scent for like ritual work in small doses then as a perfume. Still a nice scent, just strong for my tastes.