Cathedral

[Flowermouth]

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

I tried this twice. Like most of the scents I've tried, it smells the same as my skin as it does in the bottle.. And Cathedral, on me, smells like sharp wood polisher-- nothing else. Pinesol. No incense or anything smoky or sweet whatsoever.. Very reminiscent of Anne Bonny. Sadly I won't be using this. Edited February 13, 2007 by Shollin

[otterstamp]

In the bottle: Strongly incensey, smokey, maybe just a touch dusty.

Wet: A little eucalyptus with an unburned incense scent (less smokey). No more dust scent.

Dry: Still ecucalyptus with a faint sweet incense, maybe like an old cedar box.

Later: Still about the same. Softens and sweetens on me, but the incense keeps it from smelling too sweet. Strong cedar undertone.

Impression: A lot like Antisally’s Heathen, too eucalyptusy and incensey to wear at first, but a definite rendition of a cathedral. Wears nicely on my skin after awhile and seems to meld with my natural scent, but not a scent I generally wear. Still too cedary/ecualyptusy.

Buy: No. I just don't like too many incensey smells on me.

[lightgatherer]

Why am I getting lemon from this? Not bright, fresh lemon, though - more like bottled lemon juice. The incense starts to come out more, and the bottled lemon juice starts to smell slightly like skunk. After a while the skunk dies back down to bottled lemon juice. The smokey incense asserts itself more as it wears, and is sweet and lovely, but that lemon undertone just bothers me. Incense and lemon do not go together. I would love this if I could just get the incense smell on its own, and I'll definitely try other scents with incense notes in the future.

[Electra]

Once again, I smell like pencils.

 

*sigh*

 

Is there cedar in this? My skin sure thinks there is. Nuts. I cannot wear cedar for the life of me.

[phedre]

In vial: frankincense and patchouli.

 

On skin: Sweet, smoky. This is so lovely. Definitely frankincense.

 

Drydown: Pure sweet ecclesiastical goodness. I love this, and if/when I ever run out of Midnight Mass, this will be a great contender for favourite incense blend!

[Silentlover]

(First review ever! yay)

 

In the Bottle: A bit strong, very "Look at me!". I get a lot of "Christmas Tree"/'Piney' scent.

 

Wet: Still the xmas/pine scent. Something else, but not quite sure. Very spicy as well.

 

Dry: Not as strong as the last two, but still very noticeable. I'm still getting *a lot* of pine/xmas with some incense as well.

 

Later: Much more subdued. The main scent though is still pine/xmas. Very subtle though and now only a touch of the incense as well.

 

Final Verdict:

 

Nice, very good around the winter holiday season I think. But it's a bit too "seasonal" for me to wear all the time. I've only been in a Cathedral once but I don't remember it smelling like this. I don't hate this scent but it's not for me.

 

Would make a great room scent for the holidays though.

[moon_lemming]

Had high hopes for this one, as there's a song called "Cathedrals" that's in my top ten. Sadly, on my skin it's got that sharp, sweet cedar scent that just doesn't work for me. It could be cedar, it could be something like frankincense. It's just way too high-pitched for my nose.

 

It has crazy mad staying power, though.

[Extispex]

I love me some resins, and I expected to love Cathedral, but alas, something in it soured on me.

 

In the bottle its very nice, warmer and dryer than I expected, but on my skin a sour piney odor predominates. I like woods, but this wasn't a fresh tree scent, it was very stale.

 

After dry-down I get a pungent stab of resiny incense but not enough to drown out the sour pine smell. The resins finally start to play - just before they fade away.

 

Also, my emotional response to this wasn't good. Something about the aroma brought on a melancholy, a wistful memory I couldn't quite grab hold of.

 

I think I'll be swapping this one.

[isabella]

this reminds me of an empty church but the candles and incense are still burning

[eanewsom]

In the imp, this smells like smoke, but not any particular kind. Definitely not wood or incense smoke. On, the smoke note is still there, but a sharp cedary note comes out as well. It kind of burns my nose, and it won't wash off. As it fades, the smoke note goes away, and I smell like hamster cage. I was really excited to try this one, but it just doesn't work at all.

[modernsaints]

SHARP cedar - indistinguishable from anything else that has ever had cedar in it. Note to self: cedar is a perfume-killer.

 

Boo.

[t_for_tau]

On me, a more resinous Loup Garou with less eucalyptus and lots of smoke. Divine.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Cedar! Cedar cedar cedar, and thick resin incense, and a touch of woodsmoke. Golden and dry and rich. This is lovely and solemn and reminds me very much of fall.

 

Wet: A burst of that woodsmoke smell, a little too bitter for my taste, and then a secondary waft of cedar and incense. I'm pretty sure there's a bit of vetiver in here too. There's something sweet and pretty hovering behind it, but it's almost completely obscured by the harsher scents. And..... there's something really familiar and very.... very.... familiar... BANANAS? Holy crap! Yes! Bananas! I can smell bananas in the throw of this. SweartaGahd. WTF?

 

Dry: Smokier and less banana but still..... eurgh. Something in this is making me nauseated and headachey. GET IT OFF!

[aquazoo]

Sweet and mild. Too mild. Smells nice enough, but what’s the point if I need to make an effort? trade.

[KassiK]

All I can really say is that they really nailed it with this one. If you want to smell like a church, wear Cathedral.

[porcelina]

at first it smells like sandalwood but then the spiciness fades and it just smells like... i don't know, generic wood? oddly enough later in the drydown it becomes considerably spicier. i wish i knew what i was smellng! it's a pleasant, comforting scent to me, but i don't think i can wear it as perfume very well.

[CrazyPretzel]

In the imp: sweet frankincense combined with cedar of doom.

 

Wet on me: Very sweet - the incense is winning over the cedar at this stage.

 

After a few minutes: The cedar in this blend is really warm and golden. I kind of like it. In fact, it might be sandalwood that I'm smelling... There's still a strong and very pretty aroma of frankincense.

 

Drydown: The cedar has been sufficiently masked by sandalwood and frankincense that it's wearable for me.

 

Mild, sweet, resinous and comforting. Not a great cold stone church; rather the scent of a brightly-lit cathedral at midnight mass on Easter Sunday.

[Iceblink]

Smells like ashes on my skin (that darn frankincense!) but this makes a great room scent--it really does smell like you're inside a church after the services have ended. Very evocative.

[daiconharuko]

For some reason, the imp smelled very GREEN to me in the bottle.

 

Dry down... mmmmm sweet sweet sandalwood and a hint of cedar. It reminds me of a bit of Tushnamatay but more fierce. It does remind me of old churches... but not the kind I ever went to.

 

Very awesome. I love it.

[elphaba]

Nothing at all sharp or green about Cathedral on me. This is a brown scent - woody, resinous, and yes, incensey. I didn't grow up Catholic, so it doesn't have a lot of church associations for me. It smells... old. Not in an "old lady" sort of way, but in an ancient, lasting way. It's a scent that has seeped into a building over hundreds of years and yet, there it is, distilled into an oil and applied to my wrists.

 

I'm actually not sure what to make of Cathedral. I love the scent and it makes me happy, but it's not really one I associate with me and I'm not quite comfortable wearing it. I think I'll save the imp for rainy afternoons at home alone.

[hkhm]

imp: this smells like frankincense and myrrh incense.

 

wet: very piney, like cypress or juniper with the smoky scents of frankincense and myrrh. this is a very somber blend, i like it a great deal.

 

dry: this has softened to a sweet, resiny, piney incense smell. there is the faintest trace of myrrh that gives it a wonderful zing.

[jaeyne]

I really like this! It reminded me of Midnight Mass at first but I could really tell the difference as it began dry down. More Copal and Sandalwood in this. I want a big bottle!

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

Yum! This smells exactly like the Notre Dame!! Conjures images of sun streaming through great stained glass windows, incense smoke, holy water. Exquisite! Starts off a bit harsh with the old school incense smell, but mellows on the skin into something soft, warm, smoky and holy...in a fairly dark, medieval and gothic way. Gorgeous! Smells exactly like a cathedral...I love this one!

[LuvMuskHunySukl]

My tiny vial of Cathedrol has a big voice...huge actually....so i will let him describe himself...

 

"I sit on high eating my crumbling biscuit of cedar and sweat...

 

I am a sauna... a woody pulp soaked full of my sweet juicy sap and swimming in a puddle of perspiration, sweat...yes B.O.

 

I am no solemn event...

I am a good time guy...

My laugh is deep...

I am bass.

 

When she wears me, we grind together...

She is mine.

Her eyes cannot hold their focus.

I like her like that - she is prettier...smiling mad, eyes wild.

Sex on a cracker

I finish her up.

I am sated because I ate it.

 

Gave him a run I did - ol' man DeSade...I snuck in with my righteous name - him all sin - but I am the one who did her in!"

 

Yes, i like when he talks! (ppssssttt....don't tell him but i still love DeSade more

 

oh thank you all who sent me this as a freebie!!!!!!!!!! x

[fabricdragon]

I am new here, and this is my first review, so bear with me if i don't have the terms down yet...

 

The first thing i need to state is that i made the mistake of trying this scent right after smelling a really luscious pomegranate soap, so , since i love pomegranate, there was some initial let down....

 

Out of the bottle this was a high bitter, medicinal scent. I applied it anyway. Wet it smelled very bitter, Frankincense tones coming out strongly, and i didn't think it was going to work on me.

 

dried and mellowed: This is still a more masculine scent than i am used to wearing, but i kind of like it. the smoky overtone would come and go, it was a bit strong at first but mellowed into a faintly sweet musky tone on my body chemistry. Once it settled this was very much the scent of incense "out of the box" but with a warm and sweet undertone that mellowed the scent. This scent has grown on me, i could see wearing it for solemn occasions or "every day" scent.. its not feminine enough for my dress up scents. This would work on most men, but apparently the sweet overtone varies by body chemistry.

 

at the end of the say it had faded *to me* but others said they could still smell it somewhat.