Rose Cross

[hkhm]

A profound symbol of an individual’s personal initiatic process, spiritual refinement and evolution, synthesis, grace found as a result of trial and suffering, and the alchemical process by which we transform the raw essence of our souls through light in extension. This is a holy oil, a representation of the triumph of spirit over matter: purest rose with sacred frankincense.

imp: an incensey rose.

wet: the frankincense warms instantly while the rose threatens to turn soapy.

dry: the frankincense wins out and keeps the rose in check. this smells like a dusty, dried rose on my skin.

[Lyrical]

In the vial: rose. I don't like rose.

 

Wet on skin: mostly very pale rose. I put a fair amount on, but it seems to have almost vanished!

 

Dry on skin: hmmmmm - this is the lightest, sweetest, most delicate rose imaginable. I can't make out any frankincense, but this is definitely wearable! In fact, it is exquisite! It seems I do like rose after all!

[Rouge]

In the vial - A very sweet, very graceful rose blend. I can see why this is part of the Sin and Salvation category; it reminds me of the compassionate beauty in icons of the Virgin Mary and of the roses tumbling through the air in pictures of Saint Cecilia.

 

Wet on the skin - Sweet and heady, and predominantly rose.

 

Next stages - The curse of roses strikes again. Rose often turns into a sour note on my skin and I'm afriad this blend is starting to head down that unpleasant road...

 

Dry down - It's fighting back! Although the rose is still threatening to tip the blend over into something that turns extremely unpleasant when it comes up against my skin chemistry, from time to time I smell a sweet and resinous cloud of incense that's intriguing enough to make me want to try again with this blend. I shall probably keep the imp and use it for ritual purposes - it's a little too sweet for my taste in room scents.

[yokaitenchi]

Bottle: Light kick; I get almost a bourbon smell with a hint of metal if I get too close.

 

On my skin: Oh my goodness, this is a frustrating scent. On my skin, there's not much throw; with my fan on, I get occasional, light wisps of a rose-wood smell like rosaries, drifting up to my nose--which I adore. But it's so light and teasing...if I lean closer to smell it, Rose Cross suddenly goes BLOODYMETAL on me and makes me cringe. You know how the school water fountains taste first thing in the morning? And they reek of rust and metal? Well, that's what it smells like.

 

The description says 'frankincense', but since I've never smelt it (knowingly), I'm not sure. It definitely recalls memories of Notre Dame though. I'm not sure if I would wear this out very often...more like if I were trying to write a scene for a story that had to do with angels or church.

 

I have a 45% filled bottle (bought from LJ for $2.50 ^o^), and I think that will be plenty for a long, long time. Doesn't hold a candle to my Dragon's Reverie.

[mistri]

This is a beautiful rose scent to my nose. It's a rose that will never lose its beauty - dried petals perhaps. There's something more solid and permanent behind it - the incense maybe?

 

It's classic and pure but not too girly or overly green and fresh. After dithering for a year or so, I've finally decided to order a 5ml of it

[VioletChaos]

in the imp: a rich, musky rose. lovely!

 

wet on skin: somebody mentioned dried roses, and i agree. that concentrated, but toned down rose, that's this.

 

dry down: more of the same. it almost reminds me of the smell of rose hookah tobacco: a rich rose with a hint of molasses.

 

in all: a rose to keep, even if you are not much of a floral person- which i'm not!

 

 

 

[Ajila]

In the bottle – Very sweet heady roses

 

Wet on me – Soft powdered rose with a sharp frankincense backdrop

 

Dry on me – Deep dark resins with a slight softness from the rose on top

 

Overall – I liked this more than I anticipated (not being a rose lover) but it still isn’t something that I would ever wear

[Emerrific]

I am a GIANT rose junky...so I was really excited to try this.

 

It is lovely, and ROSY! Backed by the warmth of the frankincense. On me it smells warm, something I'd love to wear in the summer and sniff from a warm tanned wrist. Yum.

 

I don't think I will get a big bottle, because this reminds me very much of Wanton and Hymn (though on me the rose in this is more prominent than in Hymn and a bit less damp-rosy than in Wanton) and I already have 5 mls of those. I will definitely use my imp and love every drop.

[ElinaMakropulos]

In the imp: I feel like I got punched in the face with a dozen roses! No frankincense here.

 

On my skin, wet and dry: rose, rose, ROSE! And nothing but. It doesn't smell especially ecclesiastical to my nose, all I really get is the rose. For some reason, when I sniff this I see yellow roses in my mind's eye. Admittedly I am not a fan of rose scents that are not actual roses, but I'd be curious to see how this ages.

 

Curiously, it seems to have attracted my cat, Trouble - she won't leave me alone!

[alicia_stardust]

This is beautiful. The rose is both lush and yet gentle, and the incense has a sharp, gummy bite that blends into the rose. I find this to be bold and strong in its essence. It has a strong throw and long wearlength. This blend is simple yet breathtakingly beautiful.

[Pika]

Sounds like a good combo to me in theory...

 

In the imp, I smelled very much rose, not much frankincense. And though I could guess from the imp it'd be the soapy-rose on me, I tried it anyway. Unfortunately, I was right, soapy rose and minimal frankincense on my skin. Too bad, it was a lovely concept.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Rose incense.

 

Immediately on skin: This is just like the description says: roses and frankincense. The rose is a little lemony almost, and the frankincense is a little bit of a sharp note. But they’re blended together very well.

 

After a little while: This has lost the little sweetness it had and has become very sharp on me. The rose and frankincense are still both present, but the rose lost it’s smoothness and the frankincense is rather dark and bitter.

 

Overall Impressions: This one didn’t work on me… I’m not sure why the notes turned so disappointing, but this just turned sharp and sort of acrid on me.

[SootAndStars]

I adore this scent. It's a perfect representation of the Rose Cross because not only is it a fresh rose but its perfectly offset by the sacredness of frankincense. Everytime I wear it I either get told that I smell wonderful or I smell like good incense. This is a really good ritual blend and it lasts on my skin for hours. Fans of rose will like this and should definitely give it a shot though it can be a bit sharp, and fans of incensy oils will probably like it too. Definitely buying a big bottle of this in the future!

Edited March 20, 2008 by SootAndStars

[taramarie]

On me, Rose Cross is mostly tea rose with frankincense way in the back. It's nice but not really me. Still, I'll keep it around.

[cassandrakfreaq]

this goes very much rose but almost with an aquatic tinge to it I have a tart called rose garden from beaded hemp that it smells so similar to. I do not like rose but even I can say this a pretty even if I would not wear it.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Rose. With a hint of frankincense. Yyyyep. My 2 worst enemies. I'll try anything once though.

 

Dry: I can't smell any frankincense anymore. Now.. it's just rose. Soapy rose. Rose, why do you always turn to soap on me?! I think we could be friends (unlike frankincense)... but no. Soap. Every. Time.

 

 

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give this a 0. [i'm cheating on my own scale!]

Do not want!

[djsiberia]

i don't know what it is about rose blends with mrryh and frankincense...it always turns into an old lady band-aid scent. even when used in a locket. the locket did help keep the rose scent around longer...still it was band-aid roses

[donnatron]

Imp: Frankincense and rose. No surprises.

 

Wet: A sweet, strong rose hardly tempered by the frankincense. Me likey.

 

Dry: The rose continues to linger and the frankincense becomes the dominant scent. Very dry and sacred smelling. I really, really like it. It just smells clean and pure and very holy and... sacred. It's an every day sacred, if that makes sense.

 

Throw: Good.

 

Overall: I love it. It smells very purifying and uplifting and just seems perfectly designed for when I need a spiritual boost.

[lizardqueen]

In the imp and on me: this smells like rose incense, plain and simple. When I was a teenager I had a packet of rose incense that I'd bought at some vaguely religious hippy-ish destination in coastal San Diego county. I put the incense in a ziploc bag, in a drawer, and could still smell it across the room. Rose Cross smells, to me, exactly like that incense -- not while burning, but while sitting in its packet in my drawer: I guess it's sort of like rose oil with a hint of powder. I eventually had to throw that incense out because it was just too strong (made me sneeze), and likewise, I don't think I can handle this oil. But if "rose incense" sounds like just the ticket to someone else, I'd recommend Rose Cross quite highly.

[coldandsleepy]

This is one of those ones that's got a pretty perfect description from the Lab. Definitely rose and frankincense (in that order) on me. It's a more serious rose to me than many others... nothing particularly girly or playful about this one. It's not quite as somber as I expected, but still pretty good. As I love both rose and incense, this works quite well for me! Yay!

[goth_huntress]

I love all things rose, and I've spent the last year looking for MY signature rose scent. Rose Cross is it. I think I'll be ordering a bottle with every other order to make sure I NEVER run out. It's serene. It's sexy and it's just beautiful.

 

ADDED June 27:

 

I love this more than life. I ordered it unsniffed, and have never been happier.

Edited July 1, 2008 by Shollin

[hellomoonglow]

Rose Cross is THE perfect rose. And I am always on the prowl for the perfect rose! It instantly reminds me of my Grandma, which is nice, since she passed away over a decade ago. I can't really use words to describe it more, other than it is the perfect rose: not too damp, not in any way decayed, not cloyingly sweet or seductive. Just a beautiful, dew kissed rose.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Another rose frimp.

 

On Application

Unashamedly rose

 

Dry Down

The BPAL rose scents are great but one of my least favourite notes. The frankincense gives this a depth which is lovely. Will pass on though.

 

Rating (0-5)

2

[heathercaley]

Holy Roses!!! No really... Holy roses! I put this on and was like.. whoa.. I saw someone else had just done a review and remembered that I have this imp and was curious again (Cause I like me some roses and all) so I put it on.. and it's rose and holy incense. It's a very deep rose incense. Lovely.. but I just might be biased cause i LOV3 Beth's rose.

 

edited to add: several hours later... still goin beautiful and strong. It's almost a smoky rose. If you love rose...this would be a great imp to get.

Edited June 22, 2008 by Purrsnikety

[undream]

in the imp, this smells like a very clean rose, more like a rose scented soap than the actual flower. lovely!

 

as soon as it hits my skin it becomes mostly sandalwood? or maybe it is just doing what sandalwood always does on me, and so it's all my nose really recognizes, just a sweet, powdery scent. oh, wait! the rose is coming out more now, very pure against the skin and more lush and warm in the throw.

 

overall a very sweet, powdered rose scent. i'm not certain yet if i will be keeping this or not as it does remind me of a few oils i already have - actually, it smells exactly like what two, five and seven does on me! - but it really is beautiful, and a must-try for rose scent lovers.