Cathedral

[juniperus]

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

Bottle: a panopoly of resins
Wet: resin-y goodness - I can pick out my buddies frank and myrrh, and rest of the notes aren't distinct enough for me to pick out yet
Dry: I loves my resins, and this is a lovely blend - not as sweet as the top edge of Midnight Mass, nor as dusky/smoky as P&P.
Later: dry, and comforting (no, I'm not nor ever have been Catholic!), and brown, and warm, and luscious. I realize I might be the only person who describes resins, not fruit notes, as luscious, but there you have it! Edited May 31, 2006 by Shollin

[PilotKitten]

This smells just like Brimstone to me.

 

Which is kinda ironic when you really stop to think about it. Brimstone and Cathedral.

 

This is woodsy smoke and incense bottled. EXACTLY like wood smoke, so if this is your thing, great! It'll work out for you perfectly. Woods are just not my thing I guess.

 

 

ETA - Me and DH went to visit some churches/cathedrals in Venice and I must say, that incense blend (minus the burning wood) that Beth uses in this is DEAD ON to the what these places smelled like. I seriously walked right into the front door and said, "OMG, it smells like Cathedral!" and DH just kinda looks at me like Duh... we're in a cathedral.....

< rolls eyes > Men, they just don't get it.

Edited June 17, 2006 by PilotKitten

[edenssixthday]

Cathedral - When wet, this smells strongly of incense and dust – lots and lots of dust. It reminds me of some of the old churches I’ve explored in my life. As the oil dries, the incense scent gets even stronger, but the dust scent completely disappears. I’m not the biggest incense-lover around and really can’t distinguish between the various incense blends, so to me it smells just like Midnight Mass and The Pit & The Pendulum. It’s very strong and a little goes a long way, so if you try it on, apply lightly until you find the amount that’s just right for you. It lasts and lasts on my skin. It’s a great incense scent, but since I don’t usually like wearing something that smells only like incense, I’ll probably swap it off for something I think I might like more.

[portalkat]

This scent brings up so many images and memories. The first thing that I smell is the wood note, perhaps cedar. It reminds me of a church, but not a cathedral. It reminds me of the churches in the missions in Southern California. I can smell the San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara missions. It smells old, but not dusty, just old wood, aged old wood. I can smell the incense notes behind it and it conjures up images of monks in prayer in earlier centuries.

 

I also had an image of the woods down along the Little Sur River. I could smell the wood of the trees and the sweet smell of the leaves. The Big Sur area is like a cathedral of sorts.

 

The wood note stayed on my skin the longest and after a few hours it was mainly the incense that I could smell. It's going on my list for a big bottle.

[ouch!]

Well...... I'll try and give an honest review.

 

At first sniff, wood wood and wood, with something else lying behind, it's almost menthol to me. Defiantley the smell of churches.

 

When it dries after about 40 mins it changes, the wood fades and it turns sweeter almost like vanillary wood. The menthol has completley gone. And it's now a sweet woody smell.

 

As it fades further about another hour, all thats left is a very faint sweet woodsey smell still.

 

I think that vanilla just loves me!

 

It's growing on me more and more eveytime I wear it. Quite a masculine scent, but I can imagine it might make some people smell like old cupboard!!!!

[Galatea]

In the Imp: An almost buttery mid-depth resin with a little bite.

 

Wet: Hello Amber! Definately some smoky frankinscense too.

 

Dry: Initial phase reveals a strong wood note, not piney per say, something with more depth. Sandlewood? Oak? Cedar? I think that's the one, but don't hold me too it. There is also an unexpected background hint of vanilla.

 

Throw: Just like incense in a cathedral, it really travels.

 

Overall: I'm a little ambivelent about this one. It's nice enough, very woodsy and incense filled, but I'm not bowled over. I kind of wish I were.

 

Rating: +/- (neutral)

 

[whitecrow0]

In the bottle: There's that weird - well, it's not an odd scent, it's just that I haven't been able to put a name or better description to it yet - note that is, I think, in Anne Bonny; the "pine" that I am pretty sure isn't pine. There may be a bit of smokiness underneath, or that may just be in my head, suggested from the description. But that one scent is all I smell.

I actually really like churches, so I had high hopes for this; I also thought it would make a good Greyhaven reference. But I'm not sure it will work.

 

Wet: Okay. I smell smoky wood, which is better than the Anne Bonny whatever in the bottle. There is something resinous there. It's ... I am not sure I'd describe it as pleasant, but it's calming. Oddly, this doesn't smell as "masculine" to me as some imps with floral notes do. It smells more neutral.

There was a brief spike of the Anne Bonny-ness which made me twinge "Oh, no!" - but before I could even finish that thought, it went away again. Back to the woodiness, which is of course not an outdoor forest, but a pencil shaving, sandalwood incense, new unpolished furniture/trim sort of smell. I can handle the woodiness. Perhaps not as an everyday scent, but it doesn't make me want to toss the imp.

 

Drying: Sweet with a bit of a tang. I just let my best friend (Jet) in and it goes really well with her canine-and-dirt; a fresh, dog-huggy smell. It's thick but airy; I get wafting cedar, a hint of pine and a sweet resin. I don't smell a cathedral, which is a disappointment.

 

Afternotes: It's interesting, and complex to my nose, with continuously shifting scents on my skin. I get a brief spike of something sort of amber-lemon, a millisecond of something not quite vanilla, a teasing hint of tang, but mostly shifting wood and resin under a thick top note that's a sweet cedar. I don't find anything wrong with this scent; it doesn't make me as uncomfortable and not-myself as Anne Bonny. It's not as heavy and strong a scent. But there's something about it that isn't me; it's more like me in a place I'm a bit antsy to move from, to get on to somewhere else. It's a scent for movement. I'm not getting anything definitely Greyhaven about it; it's not Ragnar, it's not St. Etiennes, it's not the woods above The Cliffs. Almost, but not quite.

[EDIT: This scent lasts. I should mention that I tried a tiny drop on my arm last night before I went to sleep, and I drifted off very comfortably. When I awoke, my arm smelled bright and clean; I personally prefer the scent at that stage. And I just tried to wash this off to dull the scent, because I'll be trying another imp on my other arm, but after a big sudsing, it is still there.]

 

Scott-sniff: "Mmm! I like that!"

 

Verdict: Heh, I guess my family likes it more than I do! Not that I dislike it; I just wasn't certain, and there are so many BPALs I want to smell. I'd been considering keeping it "for now" and offering it for swap if I saw something I reallyreally wanted in trade, but I suppose I'm back to keeping the imp. I don't think I'll order it again, however. And I think I'd like this better on a day when we get out more. It's a scent, on me, which asks for sun, laughter and fresh air.

[sofiaviolet]

This smells very odd.

 

It's a freakishly exact replica of the musty, piney place where I had my music classes in middle schhol: the old chapel, which was situated right on top of the mausoleum at Ursuline Academy.

 

I would never wear this because I don't want to smell musty, but I am awed by how strongly this scent evokes that one place.

[QueenFae]

True to its description, this is a straight up incensey blend. The resins used in this are very sweet, though, as opposed to overly smokey. This blend reminds me of an old head shop, drenched with the smoke of a thousand different sticks of incense. As far as resin blends go, this is not a bad one, even though these type blends are not my style. For resin lovers, this is surely the perfect scent.

[LadyMedb]

Oh my god I love this. It's a fabulous smoky, slightly powdery, marginally sharp incense blend with tons of frankincense and myrrh. It smells a little like Anne Bonny, but I feel like the frankincense is stronger in this one, giving it a slightly citric bite even as the sweetness of the myrrh and the powdery resinous whole comforts in its dark mystery. What a wonderful blend! Especially on drydown....perfect balanced bliss!

Edited August 26, 2006 by LadyMedb

[Trish]

As a lover of old churches, wood and incense I was really looking forward to this one!

 

In the imp: Incense and woods, sweet, fairly light and a bit sweet.

 

Wet: Not very strong for about 20 seconds and then it REALLY takes off. Very strong frankincense is my first impression, followed closely by cedar which takes over completely. And oh boy, is it cedar! Freshly cut sharp cedar. Now I like me some woody scents, but this is a little too much (however if it were sandalwood instead I would be in heaven).

 

Drydown: Cedar cedar cedar frankincense cedar myrrh. And a wisp of smoke from the incense. Hey come back! I like that wisp! Smells a bit like furniture polish. It's very dry.

 

1 hour: Still the same, although the cedar isn't quite as sharp.

 

2 hours: Cedar and myrrh. I like myrrh as a support act, but not when it's taking (or sharing in this case) centre stage. It's still pretty strong too.

 

3 hours: And still the same. This just ain't going to get any better on me.

 

 

This is the first woody/incensy blend that I haven't really liked (except those containing too much patchouli). However I don't exactly dislike it, and I do want to like it. I might try layering it with some sandalwood oil, or maybe a soft floral. I just feel it needs a little sweetness and softness for me.

[buzz23666]

Not much to say about this one.

 

Churchy. Not bad, not good.

 

To me this one is very plain, so to speak. It really doesn't do anything for me one way or the other.

[savage_rose]

This was a lab frimp with the leaking cap issue that I had to decant into a different imp. I had tried it before and not liked it, so I decided to give it another shot.

 

In the imp: I don't really get incense, but it smells resinous and sweet.

 

Wet: Yuck! Something going sour, or smelling like bad patchouli or tobacco on me (sometimes, in the right oil at the right time, tobacco or patchouli can be wonderful). It completely eclipses the sweetness, and it smells like I need a bath. It's not dirty hippie, it's just dirty.

 

Dry: That off note is disappearing...but so is the rest of it. This is probably a good thing!

 

Strange note: I was keeping the bottle as a possible swap sniffy, and the lid was trashed so I threw it away. I forgot about it. But I started smelling this smell like...great shampoo. Soapy, sweet, a little herbal. Hmmm! So I started investigating, and it's Cathedral ?!? Evidently when it hits the air, it becomes a great room scent, but when it hits my skin it becomes something rotten in Denmark. Wow.

[forspecial_plate]

I really can't distinguish my resins, and this is no exception. All I can say for sure is that Cathedral reminds me very much of the Pit and the Pendulum (more PandP than Midnight Mass), with cedar when you sniff up close. But the throw is sweet resins, frankincense and myrrh I guess, and I do like it a lot. I had been thinking about seeking a bottle of Pit and the Pendulum, but if I can't find that, I know I have this to fall back on. And that's a good thing. I certainly wouldn't need both unless I wanted to try aging one....hmm, that's not such a bad idea actually!

 

But as far as GC scents go, if I had to choose I would pick Aureus over Cathedral. The cedar in Cathedral is just a smidge too harsh and dry, whereas in Aureus the wood note is perfect. LOL maybe this post belongs more in the 'resins and incense scent' thread...

 

Cathedral is a nice sweet resinous blend that, up close, has a sharp cedar note that keeps me from loving it more. I do like it and will probably wear it again but there are other bpals that I like more, that would take its place. There, how's that? : D

[fiddledragon]

There are beautiful, beautiful resins in this -- definitely frankincense and myrrh and maybe some other things I'm not as familiar with -- but the wood notes take over and cover them up; my skin amps them unreasonably. This is going take second place to less woody incenses like Penitence or Midnight Mass for me.

[steffanina]

Cathedral-

 

In Bottle: Candied peanuts.

 

Wet: Very strong pine resin bloom; not just pine but pine sap, more. Woo, I feel like I'm gathering pine cones in fall.

 

Dry: Hmm. If I wanted to smell drying pine sap, I'd like this. But it doesn't do anything for me.

 

Overall: Not for me.

[supremegoddessofall]

Tried this at a meet and sniff. So light I can barely smell it. Faintly incense-like, but my skin ate it within seconds.

[space girl lost]

all i smell in this is the cedar. nothing else. no incense. no calmness to it.

 

it makes me think of the inside of a drawer with cedar chips or mothballs.

 

definately not for me.

Edited October 18, 2006 by space girl lost

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: smoke is prominent, then comes the incense.

 

On my skin: incense. It really feels like being inside an old catholic church.

That makes me feel really nostalgic.

 

After a couple of hours: it gets a little powdery, but the incense's still there, strongly.

 

Verdict: beautiful. I wouldn't wear this everyday but whenever I long for my childhood, I'll have to remember Cathedral.

[miss_mimic]

In the bottle: Very smoky incense… nice, smooth, rich. Frankincense?

 

On skin, wet: Deep and rich incense. This is a very comforting scent to me.

 

On skin, dry: This hasn’t changed much at all on my skin. It smells like sun warmed pews and incense. It’s just gorgeous, warm and woody. I like this very much.

 

Drydown: This scent didn’t hang around very long sadly. It’s very soft and close to my skin. It’s still gorgeous though.

 

Conclusion: I really like this scent. I’ll be wearing this as a comfort thing. For some reason it reminds me of my grandfather’s house in England. It's resin-y on me, with the incense notes softlyly underneath. It’s warm and feels like a big hug, like I’m being cradled. Love it.

[Alchemy21599]

In the imp: sweetly smoky and resinous with dry, aged wood.

 

Wet: cedar! Then the lovely smoky frankincense comes back.

 

Dry: a gorgeous blend of resins. IMHO, this is like Midnight Mass without the fir note. Definately need a big bottle

[Luhtarian]

This is a LOT of resin, faintly spicy/smoky? I smell a lot of ceder... I don't really like it, but resins never work on me and honestly, I don't really like them. (it was a frimp) It's very nice and well-blended, though, so if you like resins, go for it!

[Vampy]

Cathedral = Aureus with extra frankincense and something spicy that bites in the back of my throat. Lovely scent, warm and glowing like a candle. Odd thing is it not only smells like the resinous blend, but also like the charcoal that it's burning on. Don't know yet whether I like it or Aureus better, I think it will take a few wearings to decide.

[Brianne]

In the vial:

Incense

 

On me:

Frankincense and then a very woody patchouli. So wood and incense. I am discovering that very resinous blends like this just aren't for me, they all smell pretty much the same on my skin.

 

Final note:

If you like Sol Invictus, give Cathedral a shot. It's too incensey for me but incense lovers should love it

[oh_the_horror]

In the imp I smell mostly vetiver and it's intimidating.

 

Ugh, and there it is. The creamy motor oil smell. There's some sweet incense in the background which is nice. But the vetiver just makes me think of a black oil slick. It's just not good.

 

When I sniff my arm it's all vetiver, but if I forget about it, I keep wondering what that lovely sweet incense smell in the air is. Sad sad.