Cleric

[Samuraibrarian]

CLERIC
Rose amber, frankincense, myrrh, champaca flower, Peru balsam, cistus, palisander, cananga, hyssop, and narcissus absolute.

I did not have particularly high expectations of this one, but I love resins and rose, so I snagged an imp along with the other RPG classes.

It goes on smelling like a complex, resiny perfume, like Shalimar. A few minutes in, the rose amber suddenly unfolds- I don't know any way to describe it other than that it's like a deific apparition- and it turns into a gorgeous combination of incense and rose. An hour after it went on, the hyssop and narcissus are coming in and making the blend sweeter and rounder. This one's a keeper.

[Penance]

Origin:

 

5mL from the Lab.

 

Preconceived notions:

 

I really want to love this one, but the rose and the other florals have me worried. I'm not a floral fan (at all), so I'm hoping that the other notes overpower the floral evil. Fingers crossed!

 

First sniff:

 

Okay, well...that's not what I expected. I expected either a resinous scent or a floral scent right out of the bottle. I didn't expect a peppery scent, but that's what I'm getting. I'm guessing it's the Peru balsam that's the offender here, but I'm not positive about that.

 

Behind the pepper, I get lovely church incense thanks to the frankincense and myrrh. I don't smell any florals, but they could be hiding behind the peppery scent.

 

Wet on skin:

 

More of the same. I was hoping the pepperiness might let up once I put this on, but no such luck.

 

Dry down:

 

This one's no morpher. Oddly enough, the florals don't come screeching to the front like they so often do on my skin. Cleric ends up as it starts. Peppery wood and a background of church incense-style resins.

 

I could love this if the Peru balsam or whatever it is I'm smelling in the pepperiness wasn't here. At least I've got Paladin to satisfy my appetite for a churchy, resinous RPG scent.

 

The bottom line:

 

This went all wrong for me, and not in the way I expected it to. I would say it's a skin chemistry thing, but it smells the same on me as it does in the bottle. There's just evidently something in here that I don't like.

[meredevachon]

From the description, this was either going to be brilliant on me or terrible. So I took a chance.

 

In the imp: Incensey and resinous. Just a little acrid. This could work.

 

Wet: Rose, with just the tiniest bit of incense.

 

Dry down: in less than 10 minutes even the hint of incense is gone, and I'm left with rose. Make that ROSE.

 

Dry: ROSEROSEROSE, oh, and maybe there's some ROSE in it. Hours later it eventually went to rose powder, but I never got anything else.

 

Overall: I was very quickly reminded of The Miller's Daughter, which did the exact same thing on me. I'd been hoping this time would be different, that the myrrh and frankincense and balsam would let the amber, which my skin tends to amp in almost every other form, bloom. But no, apparently my skin loves rose more than anything else, even if I don't. My guess is that this would be slightly more complex than Miller's Daughter, but possibly something to consider trying now that Miller's Daugher is DC. Then again, it's hard for me to judge, since they don't work with my chemistry.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Sweet incense, almost cloying.

 

Wet: Hi, rose! This bursts into a floral bouquet mixed with sweet myrrh and dry incense. This reminds me a lot of Hymn, but the floral component is stronger and sweeter.

 

Dry: This fades quickly on me. It becomes soapy incense and powdery amber, which I'm not really liking. Normally I do well with florals, and I love incense blends, but this particular combination of the two just isn't working for me.

[countessmouse]

This one morphed - a lot. Mostly narcissus at first (damn that stuff hates me), then more of the florals appeared just as I was about to go wash it off. Final drydown, however, ended at old books with just a hint of floral.

 

As long as I can live through the attack of the narcissus, I think I kind of like this one.

[Blood onmy hands]

I was hoping for more woodsy incense from this, but the rose amber and narcissus seem to freak out and take over on my skin. The rose amber is unpleasantly dry and powdery on my skin, and the narcissus gives the rose a sharper, more perfumey quality. I get whiffs of sweet myrrh every once in a while, but Cleric is mostly a sharp rose powder. It's a bit strong for about a half hour and then fades quickly on me.

[Iceblink]

Rose and frankincense--smells a lot like Rose Cross! The lab's frankenincense note continues to go unpleasantly burnt and ashy on me after a couple of minutes. Not picking up any other notes here--that incense is just too powerful!

[Diva Urd]

In the vial: Herb fest 2011. HYSSOP! MYRRH! Beautifully peppery herbs. No rose in sight so far... might it stay away for once?

 

On: Still peppery-herby, but now I'm getting something sweeter - I think the florals are coming to play. There is a *tiny* hint of rose, a bit more narcissus, and a smidgen of frankincense. This is surprisingly nice.

 

Later: The rose has definitely come out to play, but for once, it's tempered. This is now smoky, frankincense-y rose with a slightly peppery edge in the background. It's not shabby, though I assume it's probably better on me in a layering situation rather than by itself.

[AnyseLawsBray]

In vial: Resins & prickly florals.

Wet: The frankincense and myrrh go powdery at once, but I like it with the rose amber. It does seem churchy, an illumination of warmth and understanding.

Dry: The florals stay pretty understated, except for the champaca which comes off as incense- never very intense, but present.

 

Verdict: Even though it goes to powder, it's in a very good way. Rosy, incensed and glowing. It may be disappointing for some, but the thing to remember is that these are meant to be layered- I have a feeling that cleric will be even more fantastic with the right race + alignment pairing!

[reverendsquid]

Ooh, first one of the RPG scents I've tried! I played D & D for about 10 years with a group of friends and I'm still kinda sad we don't do it anymore. Anyway...

 

In the imp: This is almost identical to Gothic Horror. Dusty incense and rose. I like it, but I have to confess to being a little disappointed.

 

Fresh on: This goes on exactly like Gothic Horror, but when it hits my skin the rose is immediately overtaken by a dry, bitter, incensy ashiness. This is like incense smoke and old parchment. It's very evocative, but not too nice. Luckily, it too calms down very quickly. I'm left with a slight hint of rose, some very light citrus (no idea where that's from!) and lots of resinous incense with a slight hint of smoke and ashes.

 

 

As it dries: Once it got to the 'smooth resinous incense' stage, this stopped morphing, and I'm very glad it did. This is really really lovely. It's quite a faint scent on me, and I can't comment on it's wearlength because I had a shower , but I don't think it's a quick fader. Nice.

 

Conclusion: I've really enjoyed wearing this. It's very evocative of a cleric, with the incense and also hints of parchment, but nice enough to be worn for itself. I found it similar to Gothic Horror, but it's deeper, less floral and a little more masculine than that. I'd say it also has some similarities to Midnight Mass and All Souls, so if you like those, Cleric may be worth a try.

[ellebelle]

Sharp, sharp, sharp florals in this for me. I can also get some of the pretty resins, but then I get a stabby headache inducing floral again. At the far, far drydown I get glorious amber.

Edited June 10, 2011 by Ellebelle

[astarinel]

I love Clerics, but I knew I wasn't going to love this.

 

Rose is a great scent-ruiner for me -- most blends it appears in go to straight soap on my skin. It's not even really an issue of rose amping, it's that the note turns bitter and horrible and soapy and THEN stomps all over the other notes with great big stompy boots. Most scents with rose in it that I try end up smelling the same, which is to say, awful.

 

So, while I can smell some nice resins in the imp, on my skin this is soap. Floral soap.

[surlygurl]

Wow! This is stunning! I originally passed this up due to the rose, but the other bits had me intrigued.

 

First on, I get amber rose. Now, rose is a death note for me *except* when it's a rose resin combo. My first though was "This is a much lighter & brighter Binah". The dark resins are lifted up by something almost cheery, almost citrus-y. And as it dries, the scent gets brighter while still maintaining a soft resiny quality. Usually resins ground a scent, but I think that the rose grounds this and keeps the sunny resins from taking on a too churchy tone. I love it.

[Ryokumuji]

Incensey, woodsy, sweet. This blend plays very well on my skin. Normally, I'm totally not a resin/incense sort of person but frankincense seems to play very nicely on my skin, as well as myrrh. Of course, I also do well with florals too, especially rose. This is a beautiful blend and it does a great job at evoking the image of a cleric in my mind.

[ajansuz]

Cleric was my favorite class in my D&D days, so I was pretty excited to see the scent interpretation of one from BPAL.

 

In the imp, it's really impossible for me to pick out any single note. It's sweet incense but not as church-y as I expected.

 

Wet, the incense impression is even stronger. I can definitely imagine a cleric smelling exactly like this, particularly the robes.

 

Dry down unfortunately I'm amping too much Frankincense, which is often the case when it's in a blend. It goes sharp and high almost to headache inducing proportions. It's still beautiful, and I'm hoping age may settle that down a little bit. I'm super curious how this will blend. Of the two really incensy RPG scents, Mage is winning out for me so far.

[morganlise]

Have to agree with Penance, this is VERY peppery. It's almost so peppery that I feel like I'm smelling oregano or a cooking herb... Wet is my favorite stage, where it's freshly ground pepper and something vaguely sweet hanging around in the background which I think is the Peru balsam. (Peru balsam should be a vanillic, slightly sweet scent.) I honestly think some sort of pepper essential oil is an unlisted ingredient here because it's so strong. Regardless, I'm not a fan, but glad I got to try it!

[fashionfaerie]

Caron has a gorgeous fragrance called Parfum Sacre, and the frankincense/myrrh/rose combination in Cleric reminds me of that a little. Those notes, along with narcissus and amber, are favorites of mine, so I adore this! I experience it as a true balance of florals and resins, with neither getting the upper hand. I've about used up my frimp, so it will be a full bottle at the next Will Call....

[angelicruin]

Not skin tested as this is a gift for someone, but sniffing the decant it's all rose and incense.

 

 

ETA: I got a frimp of this in my last lab order so I was able to finally skin test. I was surprised how sweet it smells on me. On me, I barely smell any rose and get lots of sweet myrrh, frankincense, and herb. Very resinous.

Edited December 11, 2011 by angelicruin

[dreamingjune]

In bottle: Light incense and floral notes.

 

Wet: Something almost like black mixed with a red musk note is giving this a bit of a softness. There is a bit of a rose note popping out, but it is very incensey.

 

Dry: Now I am picking up on the myrrh and I am enjoying this more.

 

Overall: This blend makes me feel like I am in a new age store, which is odd because I almost always wear incensey blends and I rarely feel that way. It's not a bad thing, however. To my nose this turns out to be a perfect unity of incensey myrrh, frankincense, and rose. If you are into that sort of thing. I like it, but I feel like I will go for something like Ysabel or Rose Red if I want rose, and something more incensey and dark if I want that sort of thing. Truly not bad, though.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Heavy flowers and incense. (Full Disclosure: this worries me)

 

Drydown: Soft resins and sweet flowers. Something strikes me as distinctly purple, which would have to be one of the flowers.

 

Dry: The flowers become lighter and are more of a side note. A deep wood note joins the resins and the amber adds some warmth. Overall the blend is soft, sweet, and warm.

 

 

Cleric is so much nicer than I expected. The flowers didn't overpower the resins and woods and I never even detected the rose, which is a good thing in my book. I look forward to layering this with other RPGs.

[zankoku_zen]

Soft incense and resins, with a swirl of rose. On the drydown, it gets warmer with the amber.

 

Again, I'm surprised by this. Really want to see this layered with Halfing, Lawful and Neutral.

[Vega]

Sniffed: A rich and vibrant blend of resins, woods and herbs.

 

On skin: Cleric is the most complex RPG scent I've smelled so far, in that I can actually pick out individual notes (whereas the other blends present themselves as simple, unified accords). Deep incense, dry but bold woods, austere herbs, and a hint of a floral note (from rose amber and rosewood/palisander) all mix together into a beautiful whole. When wet, Cleric is glowing and resonant, and I can smell individual notes. Some of the radiance is lost with drydown, but it remains deep and full-bodied; over time the notes blend better and start presenting more as a coherent accord. Cleric ends up soft, simple and skin-hugging like the RPGs. It's like the herb-touched baby sibling of Penitence, Midnight Mass and Philosopher in Meditation. Colour impression is a deep red-brown.

 

Verdict: Not only do I love resins, woods and herbs, the cleric class most fits me IRL, and I tend to gravitate to that class in RPGs too. So I'm ecstatic that the Lab has created a scent that smells as good as the class!

[Mechanical Death]

I would expect Cleric to be a light scent, but it's not in the slightest.

It's spicy, has a tone of full red roses, incense, and magic-- magic is the only way to describe it. It just sparks. It's bright and sparkling, and at the same time deep and heavy. The scent stays low to the skin, and has low throw, but it swirls around lightly in wafts of spicy sparks. On the skin it's soft and dusty amber rose, followed by pepper. I just get spice. Which I don't mind at all, in fact I love it. I will admit though, that I don't know what half of those things smell like, so I can't say weather or not I smell them.

 

 

When I first tried it, I thought it was a very male scent, but it has grown on me-- it could go either way really. It's also not very strong despite it being so spicy. You have to slather it-- it fades VERY quickly, at least on my skin it did.

 

I haven't tried mage yet, but this strikes me much more as a mage scent than a cleric.

 

All in all I really enjoy this scent, very versatile, and I keep coming back to it. It doesn't make me go "Yuummm!" but I keep picking it out over the ones that do. I'll have to get another bottle, perhaps 2. I may try aging one and see how it goes.

5/5

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Spicy, powdery florals. Is that rose? Uhoh...

 

Dry: Nope, nope, nope. All powder all the time.

 

 

1/5

[fairestrocza]

Sweet and resinous, with Frankincense dominant. I am not a huge fan of the church resins, so this one isn't for me. Additionally, the imp broke in transit, and in the course of salvaging the oil, my kitchen ended up smelling like Cleric for a few days. Pungent.