In Templum Dei

[kashmira]

Oman frankincense, cistus labdanum, white sandalwood, and liquidambar.

On me, the frankincense starts off very strong and almost single note-like, but soon the sandalwood and labdanum start to come out. This blend, once dry, really becomes a beautiful, slightly woody, incense type blend with medium throw. This makes it a pleasure to sniff, but it doesn't overwhelm a room.

Overall, for those who love resin-incense type blends, In Templum Dei will not disappoint.

[zankoku_zen]

Oh man, In Templum Dei and I had a fight. It started off as sour incense, sandalwood and amber and ended up smelling like shoe/wood polish.

 

Yeah, totally not speaking to each other.

[tinyvulture]

Amazing warm incense blend with rich, sweet resins. There's that "cola" scent I often get from frankincense. And, liquidambar? I had to look it up. Now I want liquidambar single note. This blend brings to mind religious rites past in the mint-green-domed abandoned churches of Detroit, with sludgy incense resins built up decade after decade. Must have more.

[OctoberGwen]

This is absolutely stunning, and the first frank-dominated blend I can actually wear. Beautiful, beautiful resiny/incense love. Frankincense sweetened by (I assume) whatever liquidambar is - unlike tinyvulture, I am too lazy to google-fu - and grounded by the white sandalwood.

 

LOVE.

[Atrous]

Frankincense has a tendency to bulldoze over other notes and become Frankie Single Note on my skin. So, I did not have high hopes for ITD.

If you amp Frankincense the way I do you might want to give ITD a try because Frank minds his manners and lets the other notes come out and play.

 

This scent is rich and resinous with a church incense vibe. The Frankincense has a lovely sweetness to it that I attribute to either Sandalwood or Liquidamber or both. They also add a vibrancy and warmth to the Frankincense.

This blend has some layering going on that gives it depth and opulence.

Absolutely stunning.

[stellamaris]

LOVE. this. one.

I am a huge Midnight Mass fan, but this trumps even that. I will buy basically anything that has frankincense in it, but this one is the King of Frankincense. It is so rich, so heady...love this one.

[Antoinette]

Basically exactly what stellamaris just said.

 

Easily my favorite frankincense blend ever. This is sweet and rich and decadent frankincense and I LOVE it with rabid abandon.

[greywind]

I'm a frankincence lover. I'm a sandalwood lover. I like incense and woods in general. From this you can gather that trying _In Templum Dei_ was a safe bet for me, but this exceeded all expectations. It's smooth, slightly sweet woody incense with a nice citrus tang from the frankincence and I am *delighted* with it. This is very much a new favourite!

[pharmgirl]

I agree with Stellamaris, this is very much like Midninght Mass. Midnight Mass is slightly sweeter and prettier. In Templum Dei is a little woodier and the liquidambar lends a mild spiciness. Midnight Mass has been my number one incense blend Bpal from the start but, In Templum Dei is a very close runner-up. I am glad to have both.

[Anne M.69]

About 15 minutes after I put this on the throw started to smell just like these sweets we have in Australia called pink musk sticks, then a little later it has the fuzziness of frankincense over the top but still with the sweetness of pink musk sticks.

[bulletslc]

Most gorgeous frankincense blend ive tried. This is exactly like the frankincense/ copal resin blend i like to use as incense. Long lasting and holy. Purely divine.

 

*Edit...this smells like a scented Christmas card my family received when i was little. I loved that card! It was about the three wise men and their gifts.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Bulletslc

[AmyO'Shields]

I'm glad to see i'm in good company here: this is the first frankincense dominant perfume that i can wear!

I love In Templum Dei. I am sitting on my couch listening to the song as i enjoy the drydown.

This is truly special- feels sacred but whimsical, if that makes sense. The frankincense is strong at first but ultimately gives way to liquidambar's spicy, vanilla-ish loveliness. I may need a third bottle of this before it sells out.

[Minh Scent]

First bottle ever! In bottle- disappointed with medicinal smell. First on skin- medicinal, but then quickly morphs to a most beautiful frankensence which seems to be the dominant note, although there is a small chorus of light wood in the background.Very reminiscent of Catholic High Mass when it was still in Latin and magical. l'm in love.

[LiberAmoris]

In Templum Dei is gorgeous...heavenly church incense! I love Cathedral, Midnight Mass, and Jacob's Ladder, but In Templum Dei might take the divine cake (communion wafer?). The frankincense is so good—it's taken me years and years to properly appreciate frankincense in perfume, but I think I'm there. The labdanum, white sandalwood, and liquidambar round this out with resin and woods, for a smooth, frank-forward and incensey mix. Relaxing and meditative.

[Dark Alice]

How does one review perfection? It' so hard...but this is the perfect Frankincense scent. Whereas Cathedral and Midnight mass turn smoky and become overwhelming on my skin...this does not. The frankincense is just perfectly blended with the sandalwood (which may help keep the balance) I love and adore this bottle. May need another before it goes way for good. This and SN Olibanum are my two go to incensey dream blends.

[Aviatrix]

I have never been good at distinguishing different types of resin. To me this smells sift and beautifully smoky without any one note standing out. It reminds me somewhat of Hesiod's Phoenix.

If you like that kind of scent you will love this!

[theseagrows]

this starts out with the labdanum and some frankincense in the background. luckily this frankincense actually works pretty well and doesn't turn too leadlike on me, yay. then the sandalwood and liquidambar make later appearances and it melds on the drydown into a beautiful ambery resin scent. it's so pretty and cozy. i would love to wear this on a cold winter evening.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Sooo much Frank! Frank is such a bully on me. The labdanum is coming off slightly cola-like right now, which I don't think I have experienced before. No sign of sandalwood. Don't know what liquidambar smells like, but I don't think I can smell it.

 

 

Dry: The frank actually fades a bit and lets other notes come out, and then I didn't know what I was smelling for a while! But I looked it up, and it's the liquidambar, which actually reminds me of benzoin. Which makes sense, from what I can gather they are similar or perhaps even the same thing? Google was confusing me.

 

ANYWAY, I like this. It's not amazing on my skin, but it's pleasant. Glad to have tried it!

[Blood onmy hands]

Ian is my one true love of the OLLA series, but I also enjoy In Templum Dei. I have to remember to shake up the bottle of this one, because it has a blackish, heavy oil that sits on the bottom, and In Templum Dei smells sort of flat and lacklustre on me when it's not fully mixed up.

 

If you enjoy fragrances like Midnight Mass and Cathedral, you should also enjoy this. It's warm, dark gold resins with hints of dry wood, spice and vanillic tones to it. In fact, it's so much like Midnight Mass and Cathedral and my resin Phoenix blends that I'm not sure I'll even keep my bottle, even though I do enjoy it. I need to death match them all at some point.

[Casablanca]

The frankincense is strong in this one, and Frank dominates the first impression on my skin. But there's plenty of labdanum present, rounding things out, and a side of white sandalwood that reminds me of the sandalwood in Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn.

The liquidambar, which the internet tells me is resin from the American sweetgum tree, seems to appear as the blend warms on my skin. There's something sweet and ambery at that point -- maybe there's some amber accord in here, too.

In Templum Dei is a committed oriental for those who love resins.

[Jenjin]

No where on earth does a better sandalwood, frankincense, and amber blend exist.
It is luxurious, and takes incense oils to the highest level of craft.
I have made a promise to myself, to never run out of this one, it is so good.
So, so heavenly, and calms my nerves whenever I wear it.
Rich, complex and slightly sweet, warm, and woodsy.
It surrounds me with its amber warmth and kitten fur softness.
~Aum~

清浄心身 Purifies the body and the spirit
能覚睡眠 Awakens the spirit
静中成友 Heals loneliness
塵裏愉閑 Calms in turbulent times
Edited April 17, 2017 by Jenjin

[theshapeshifter]

Lovely resins. It was sweeter (maybe the liquidambar?) and softer on than I expected. I need to give this one another try and slather a bit more generously.

[Lucchesa]

I had a liquidambar tree growing outside my bedroom window as a child, so I had to try this one. I'm so glad I did. It's outstanding. I see a lot of comparisons to Midnight Mass in the reviews, but where Midnight Mass 2017 (only one I've tried) does not last long on my middle-aged skin, I put In Templum Dei on yesterday around noon and could still smell it at 9;30 at night. It was a skin scent, but that's normal on me; such a long wear length is not.

 

Wet, it was all glorious resins, but as it dried down the sandalwood made itself felt. I'm not sure I could really parse out the contribution of the liquidambar, but after about an hour I was looking up the ingredients to see what the whisper of spice was, so I think the gum was adding that hint of warm, slightly sweet spiciness. Some franks are too dry for my taste, but this is gentle and absolutely gorgeous.

[suki]

In The Bottle: I get the sweetness of the labdanum straight away, with the liquidambar coming in after. Which is a GREAT start.

 

Wet On Skin: So sweetly, deeply, resinous. The ambar is reminding me of some magical amber I've had for my entire adult life. It's sexy and warm and quite strong. The labdanum is adding that hallucinatory aspect as it is wont to do, and I *LIKE* it.

 

Dry Down: More of the same. This is a great scent for anyone that loves rich, sweet resin scents.

I cannot *wait* to see how this ages.

[dementia_divine]

2018 release.

 

In the decant: Deep, warm resins accompanied by a bit of spice. The frankincense in this smells amaaaaaazing.

 

Wet: This is definitely one of those church-y resinous scents, only better. The frankincense note in this is full of win. I’m reminded of the frankincense in Hope and Fear Set Free.

 

Dry: The frankincense dominates, and it is glorious. I am not able to single out the other resins, but they all combine to create this wonderful resin cloud.

 

Verdict: I don’t think I reach for pure resins scents enough to warrant getting a bottle of this, but it is gorgeous. I think this would go really well with the Post’s Implacable Beautiful Tyrant hair gloss. I’ll be keeping my decant for sure, and if I end up reaching for it enough, I’ll consider a bottle.