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sarada

Heavenly Love & Earthly Love

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Ambergris accord, benzoin, teakwood, frankincense, myrrh, Mysore sandalwood, and incense.

 

You want to see me weep? Open a bottle of this near me. Seriously, this is the perfume I would have designed for myself if I had unlimited resources at my disposal. I will have to have someone else upload a picture of the beautiful artwork by Giovanni Baglione but I know a lot of people will be curious about these Salon scents so I'm going to try to describe the ones I have.

 

In the bottle, this is fistfuls of glittering beads of resin, pouring through aged hands onto a polished wood table. Deep, dark polished teakwood. A thin layer of incense dust coats the thick glossy varnish. Dark, sweet, crystalline wood. Sacred, holy resins. Not smoky, just clear and glistening. More stately even than Cathedral or Penitence, layer upon layer deepened and darkened with age. A darker Schwarzer Mond, even. I can smell every perfect note in this, they chime together like a chord on an ancient church organ, an absolute hymn of scent.

 

So yeah, I kind of like this one!

Edited by clover

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This a an absolutely beautiful blend. Sweet sandalwood and incense. A warm and smooth blend. So yummy. The teak is just a gentle layer that adds just the right dry wood note. Dark without being masculine. Stays close to the skin.

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Oh huminahumina... damn, this is good. All the things I love about Sri Lanka - the clean woodiness, the spicy myrrh, the awesome incense finish - smoothed out & gilded with ambergris. Wet, it's almost effervesent, sweet & spicy but with a dry bubbly undercurrent. Once it dries down, it's incredible... the teakwood & Mysore are warm & woody, and there's just enough sweetness that the potential for the dread pencil shavings is soundly banished. This is a very quiet, but very powerful scent, quite a presence but in no way brash or overreaching... It's a good thing I got a bottle of this just for myself... I can see this in my Top 10 in another few wears.

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When I first put this on, it was mostly ambergris, but as it starts to dry down, all sorts of complexities emerge. The incense--which really reminds me more of the freshest puffs of incense smoke from a thurible during the Triduum--mixes very well with the ambergris. At this stage I still don't get any of the woody notes--this is absolutely incense and ambergris swirling around in an old stone building under dim candlelight. In fact, I still don't get them really notably in the later stages, but I can tell that they are in the background and contributing to that sense of "incense smoke." Eventually the scent loses a lot of its strength, and this is when the sandalwood and other woody notes start to emerge (it really is sort of like there was incense on your skin that was burning itself out to leave only wood behind). That stage is lovely as well. :P

 

In terms of comparison to other 'churchy' blends, I'd say that this one is more sophisticated and likely to morph that the standard GC Sin n' Salvation blends (not meant to impugn those blends, which I love and own bottles of) like Penitence, Hymn and Cathedral. The resins are not as influenced by "outside" forces (florals) as blends like Rose Cross and Resurrection of the Flesh. In terms of changeling ability and complexity, I'm reminded most of Midnight Mass 2005, which is one of my very favorite blends.

 

I think this is one of those blends that is just going to age very, very well.

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This is soothing, comforting, and sexy, all at once.

 

Wet - the teakwood is prominent.

Dry- the sandalwood comes out to play.

 

It doesn't have a lot of throw but the scent is so heavenly that I don't mind that you have to get very close to me to smell it. (insert raised eyebrow here)

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Wet: a fragrant wooden chest, fresh-cut. Then a sort of caramelized-sugar undertone, very very subtle. Then the incense, austere and beautiful without any connotations of dryness. This is a very 'alive' smell. Sandalwood mixes with that... oddly not an overpowering, wafty scent. Almost private, not masculine but carries a sense of strength. Nice! I will give the imp some months to age before I render the bottle verdict.

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This scent is gorgeous- for all of five minutes on me. Then it fades away into a veerrry faint sandalwood. I'll give it a few months to age, because darned if I don't love every single note listed. (I'm a sandalwood and frankincense JUNKIE!)

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This is quite light on my skin. When I sniff up close, I can smell the most exquisite lit-incense scent ever. The throw of the scent is too light, though. It comes across as light powder, kind of fading into nothingness. It has a 'papery' feel that reminds me a lot of Lurid Library.

 

That up-close scent is soooo promising, though.....I don't think I'm giving up on this one that easily. It really is like the ultimate incense scent when I sniff from about an inch or two away, really quite beautiful. Maybe some aging will help?

 

(so yeah....basically I echo Hayet's review above me.... :P )

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In the bottle this is smooth, pure incense. Five minutes after I put it on, however, my skin turns it into baby powder. I'm heartbroken since it's so gorgeous in the bottle. :P I'll let it age a bit then try it again. There's just too much promise there to give up on it.

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straight sniff from imp is a very expensive and elegant fred soll incense :P

 

once applied the frankincense is right there...beautiful...!!

the ambergris and myrrh and sandalwood are perfect together....

 

if you are a lover of incense type blends, this is most definitely for you...a

gorgeous, cool weather blend for the bleakest of dark, dreary wintery days to come...

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In bottle/imp: Spicy incense and bitter amber.

 

Immediately on skin: I had to look up Ambergris accord, and it is grey amber (from the intestines of sperm whales. Thank goodness this is fragrance oil and not the real thing!), which explains the dry, powdery amber note on my skin. This scent is extremely faint, even though I just put it on; it’s soft and dry with a spicy incense feel to it. It’s just slightly sweet and woody, and very pleasant.

 

After a few minutes: This has gotten a little stronger as it has warmed on my skin. It’s now a dry amber scent with a touch of teakwood and myrrh. The incense wafts through lightly and there’s a bit of sweetness from the resins.

 

Overall Impressions: Warm, soft, spiced incense and resin… that’s what this blend is. The wood note is nice, but stays subtle in the blend. If you’re a fan of soft, spiced amber blends, you might want to try this. But be warned... it's VERY light!

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In the bottle: incense and sandalwood.

 

Wet: myrrh and teak come out to play.

 

Dry: the notes blend together beautifully creating a mysterious, tres sexay scent. This is a multiple bottle scent for me.

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HEAVENLY LOVE AND EARTHLY LOVE

 

In Bottle: Incense

On Skin: This is the incense motherload. I feel like I’m in church. I smell the frankincense right away, and am transported to the many many days in church I spent while going to Catholic school. Very resinous, very smoky, very woody. This scent screams warmth and incense. It’s sweet, it’s dark, it’s beautiful, and I need to make a room scent out of it. It’s like burning incense without the messy cleanup. Hell yeah! It is very soft, very well blended and the absolute perfect incense blend. I can smell the teak, the ambergris, the individual resins, then they all embrace and it is perfection. I would love to smell this on my husband, but alas… he hates incense. Light throw and moderate wearlength.

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I have to echo Slave1's reference to her Catholic upbringing when smelling/wearing this blend.

 

I smell the frankincense, the teak, the ambergris, the individual resins, then they all embrace themselves to utter perfection.

 

My description of utter perfection = church pews drenched in the deepest of wood finishes.

 

While this is a lovely room fragrance, I'd rarely wear this as a perfume. It lends a room something that is 'otherworldly' in terms of time and space. This is one of those 'transport me to......1594, please!' scents. :P

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I put this on before going to bed, and my opinion after the first few sniffs were that this was a slightly harsher cousin to my favorite incense/resin blends, such as Penitence, Midnight Mass, The Pit and the Pendulum, etc. It seemed edgier, sharp around the edges, more raw. Nice, but nothing to get too excited about. BUT... after about ten minutes of reading, snuggled in my nice warm bed, I was suddenly aware that the scent had mellowed into sweetness, radiant like fireplace embers glowing in a darkened room. The first resiny rawness is the earthly love, perhaps, and then the heavenly warm bliss follows. I'm so glad this blend will be around for a while, because I intend to SLATHER.

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In the decant: Ambergris, and sweet, sweet benzoin and sandalwood.

 

Wet: That is one damn fine sandalwood right there, heavily surrounded by resins.

 

Drydown: As the blend dries, the teakwood and incense become more prominent, lending it a considerably dryer feeling. I was never a regular churchgoer as a kid, but the frankincense and myrrh are almost tangible and very seasonal. Warm, sweet, gently glowing. I'm a bit bummed that the throw is so low, but hmm. The boyf is an ex-Catholic... ooh, I have a cunning plan! :P

 

Verdict: I'm with the others: age and re-test before deciding on a bottle. But this is very, very tasty.

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This scent is the most divine blend of resins I have ever encountered. It's as if it was made for me. I can't pick out a single thing about it that I would change.

 

I get a complex mix of golden, glowing, sticky teardrops and dusty rocks of resin. There is a gummy bite and a layer of smoky-sweetness. The teakwood is beautiful. The myrrh adds a touch of darkness and the sandalwood provides a soothing, woody base for all of the resins.

 

I can't get over how glowingly beautiful this is!

Edited by alicia_stardust

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*sigh* I really wanted to love this one, but it seems to have that sweet (almost nutty?) note that turns me off about Al Azif if I'm around it for too long. Otherwise, it's a deliciously smoky blend of precious woods, soft and intimate and very ecclesiastical. You can almost smell the resins drying on the trees. I'm going to pass this along to someone who doesn't think it's too sweet.

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My god this is good. I haven't been moved to review a scent in a while, but I *adore* this. It's everything an incense blend should be -- woody, resinous, slightly sweet and it makes my shoulders relax. :P

 

It reminds me a bit of Chitmani Dhupa (sp? you know the LE of which I speak), but... it's much more. It's rounder, brighter, sweeter. If that one is a 4 star blend, this one is all 5stars. Too bad it's going to be such a pain to acquire more of. :D

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I will echo everyone's above sentiments to say that this is gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful.

 

 

When I first applied this this morning I was overwhelmed with a sense of familiarity -- I knew I'd smelled something like this before, and I would have sworn to you it was BPAL. Then a few minutes later I decided that perhaps my mom had owned something like this at some point.

 

Now, I can tell you that this is a blend of all good smells in this category that I've ever encountered. I can smell references to Anne Bonny, Al-Azif (as Lady Medb mentioned upthread - there is ALMOST the threat of that too-sweet note but I have avoided it here) and almost certainly something my mom wore when I was growing up. Something mysterious and womanly and heady and incredible. But Heavenly Love and Earthly Love is absolutely better than the best parts of all of those.

 

I thought at first that there was something citrusy about this note profile, and I can still smell what makes me think that - just not sure what it is. Altogether I get a very warm, glowy, coppery-orange feeling from this blend: perfect, as others have said, for the winter months. I will seriously consider picking up a bottle of this, but as always I'll have to see how frequently I reach for it over a few months.

 

Verdict: :P

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Beautiful incense, with sharp, strong resins and then the most amazing dry but sweet amber drydown. I think this is the first BPAL church incense scent that has come anywhere near working on me.

 

To put it in context, my husband actually said, "what are you wearing, it's lovely". He doesn't normally pass comment on my perfume without being asked for an opinion, but this one wins for both of us.

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I generally like resinous scents, although I like them a little more balanced with other notes. Nevertheless, let's try it!

 

In the imp, this is quite strong and very heavily incensey/woody.

 

On, it continues to be quite strong with a lot of throw, and starts out pretty true to what I smelled in the bottle. However, given some time, it first started to warm up and then suddenly turned a bit unpleasantly sharp. I wish I knew what was doing that, so I could avoid that note in the future, but it began to border on chemically-cleanerish and I eventually had to wash it off before it gave me a headache.

 

Quite strong throughout, though. This had a lot of throw which started off good and then quickly became very bad.

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*sniffs wrist with Heavenly Love and Earthly Love on it* Ommm nomnomnom.....!

 

This one is right up there with Minotaur in terms of resin goodness!

While Minotaur is resin grounded by black musk this one is resin grounded by sandalwood and amber.....holy yum! I smell like sweet, sweet incense and my favorite amber.

 

This one is so good an imp of it went into a rollerball bottle to be a go-to-work with me scent!!!

 

 

 

:P

Edited by Bulletslc

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In the imp, I get incense, myrrh, sandalwood, frankincense - rich, warm, spicy.

 

On my skin, the ambergris is something sharp and cool under all the warmth of the spices and resins.

 

When it's dry, it's quite lovely - the ambergris balances out all the resins and woods so lovely. It's not quite a WOW for me, so I'll be passing it on.

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This absofuckinglutely gorgeous! As I knew it would be....

 

I knew I wanted this after reading Sarada's review, because we're scent-twins, and if she swooned over it, I would too. And it does not disappoint.

 

Often the Salons morph quite a bit on me. This one does not. In the bottle it is frankincense and the absolute best grade of sandalwood with the richness of teak. On me it is like that too, though when it dries on me, the sweetness of the frankincense starts to soften with myhhr and with I imagine is the ambergris accord (that note is hard for me to pick out since I only have tried one other ambergris accord--and the BPAL ambergris is not like that). But it softens on the skin, goes just to the edge of powdery without ever getting powdery. I think of it as incense powder at this stage.

 

Overall, this surely is the holy grail of incense scents, even truer to incense than Bien de Loin Ici which is very resinious on me. I LOVE it! :P

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