Theotokos

[GoldenRubee]

Άξιον εστίν ως αληθώς
μακαρίζειν σε την Θεοτόκον,
την αειμακάριστον και παναμώμητον
και μητέρα του Θεού ημών.
Την τιμιωτέραν των Χερουβείμ
και ενδοξοτέραν ασυγκρίτως των Σεραφείμ
την αδιαφθόρως Θεόν Λόγον τεκούσαν,
την όντως Θεοτόκον,
Σε μεγαλύνομεν.


It is truly meet and right to bless you, O Theotokos,

Ever-blessed and most-pure mother of our God.

More honourable than the Cherubim,

And beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim,

Who without corruption gave birth to God the Word,

True Theotokos: we magnify you.


Calla lily, Egyptian amber, frankincense, chrysanthemum, daphne, and red roses.

When I received this is the mail, my first thought was, "What was I thinking?" I didn't like the smell AT ALL! I am happy to say that I am glad that I let it sit for two days and recover from traveling. I purchased it for several reasons. First, my Grandfather had a beautiful garden and had several different colors of Calla Lilies, and I remember going to his house and 'helping' him with them. Secondly, I have a tattoo of three Calla Lilies on my forearm (one for each of my children). Thirdly, I love each of the components listed so it was a 'must buy' for me.

The opening is beautiful with the calla lily actually behaving itself. Sometimes calla lily can be really strong, like stems that have sit in water too long. But this is beguiling with the chrysanthemum and and Egyptian amber wafting softly together. The frankincense is extremely light, barely noticeable and the rose is a light red rose. I amp rose and tend to stay away from them but in this blend it is wearable. Daphne is more of a shrub plant and I do notice a light green note mixed in. All in all, I am happy with Theotokos and am glad I went with it unsniffed.

[Dark Alice]

Wet: Wet small red roses and the unmistakable gloriousness of Calla Lily. As this dries the frankincense and Egyptian amber peak through the roses.

 

Drydown: Frankincense, with the hint of red roses and warm musky Egyptian Amber. This is lovely...but not for me. But I will keep this decant.

[sundrop]

I am delighted with Theotokos - I ordered a hopeful bottle (unsniffed). I tend to prefer fruit and sweeter smells, and this is a nice compromise between a full-on sweet or rosy smell, and a stronger base of a muskier hint of something (amber? frankincense? not sure). Many perfumes seem to be "eaten" by my skin realtively quickly, but I have still a hint of Theotokos at the end of the day, which is wonderful.

 

A solid 4.0 of 5 stars, perhaps a bit more - well-balanced and pleasant, I am very happy.

[zankoku_zen]

Lilies and roses! It is mainly a lily blend until the first hour, and then the mix definitely switches to roses being more predominant. It's green, fresh, lilies and roses.

 

This is a voluptuous and sophisticated floral. Heady.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Grassy! Has a golden aura, a bit scratchy and yellow

 

Wet: Florals start to emerge, but it's still got a grassy overtone. Mums are dominant and the overall feel is dry and dusty. I get colors of light tan and wheat, like a herd of dun horses.

 

Dry: As this dries, it becomes warmer, with the amber and frankincense kicking in. The overtly grassy notes calm down, and I get a lovely dusty, wispy, slightly green scent, mixed with sweet chrysanthemum and powdery rose. Soft, warm and comforting, very pretty.

[theseagrows]

hmm, i think this is nearly all lily on me. i am getting a strong, sweet cloying floral, but not any mums or roses. perhaps it is the lily and daphne, since i am not familiar with daphne as a note at all. there may be some amber/frankincense way in the background, but if so, it's subtle. this is just a strong, sweet floral on me, and sadly, this is not for me, so i'll have to swap it.

[milo]

I love a few of these notes, so I thought that this would be at least somewhat good on me. I'm getting sourness and a touch of frankincense. No Egyptian amber or chrysanthemum. This fades to almost nothing in half an hour.

[lunaticana]

I just knew that this would be pure love on me

so offcorse I got it, unsniffed

 

it is PURE lily mixed with heady, very heady roses !!! amazing, the rest is only in the background,

but I don't really care cause it is wonderful

I already got 3 super positive comments

[stellamaris]

Waaaaaaaaaaah I can hardly smell this at all!!!!! I love lillies and roses, and I love the bottle art, but, sigh, I have tested it fifty times, and not a whole lot there.

maybe it will age well...

[killersandliars]

Theotokos is absolutely one of the most beautiful perfumes I have ever smelled. On me it is mainly incense and rose with a touch of amber and the lightness from the other florals. I wish the lily and the chrysanthemum popped a bit more on me, because I can detect them in the bottle, but I do get very faint whiffs of them. On me, I believe they serve more to balance the oil and keep it from getting too dark or heavy with the rose, amber, and frankincense. All in all I love this blend and I have found myself wearing it often as winter transitions to spring.

[yakiguri]

Rose tends to be hit-or-miss on me, and unfortunately in Theotokos it's most definitely a miss. Every once in a while I get a tiny whiff of mums, amber, and lily, but on the whole I get a sharp, nose-pinching rose. I guess I can't do rose unless I have a more powerful note(s) to keep it in check.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Red rose and frankincense--lovely.

 

Wet: The rose is not so prominent now.

 

The dry-down: The rose faded into the background, and the calla lily finally appeared, with a hint of the amber (which is not too powdery!). No mum, thank goodness. There's a fresh coolness to this scent now, which probably comes from a combination of the calla lily and the daphne aka laurel. It isn't ozone-like or aquatic, either. Perhaps it's just the feeling of walking through a garden early in the morning as the dew is drying. Very delicate and light and quite a morpher, but in a slow and soft fashion. Alas, it fades fast. I may order another bottle, as the half-bottle I have now won't last, as I will have to slather or touch-up quite often.

 

I love calla lilies, and the artwork is elegant, as befits the Mother of God--the bf and I were just discussing Christian iconography the other night as regards Aslan and the Lion of Judah, so this elegant and delicate scent fits right in with my current research.

[Little Bird]

Bpal's rose scents tend to amp up near rose single note territory for me, so I'm not surprised that Theotokos is mostly rose on me. It's a sharp, perfumey sort of red rose with a bit of grassy greenery to it at first. Dries down to rose perfume with more of a dry, powdery, slightly spicy, golden incense feel. Starts off strong, but fades a lot and is really subtle after a half hour.

I have incensey-rose scents that I like more than this one.

[AnnabelleLee]

I really like the theme of this perfume and the inspiration behind it.

From the imp is rose, lily and something fresh maybe this is the chrysanthemum.

On my skin I get mostly roses and frankincense and a tiny bit of daphne. Elegant and feminine.

It reminds me All saints from 2010.

[ShadowEtienne]

The cala lily is the leading note on this for me, unsurprising as I tend to amp lily, and excellent as I love lily. This is a freshly bloomed cala lily and it especially reminds me of the darker varietals. It's a soft, spicy-sweet floral on my skin. The slightly peppery chrysanthemum supports and complements the cala lily beautifully. This is perhaps my very favorite of the lab's frankincense notes as well, a softly spicy resinous warmth that acts as a base for the two star flowers.

 

The daphne and rose while present are very much in the background of this on my skin. They add to the overall floral, gardenlike element, but aren't prominent. The amber mostly just seems to be powering up the resinous notes of the frankincense for me because I'm not getting any distinct amber.

 

Overall, this is the lovely cousin of the GC Seraphim for me. I like this better because it's smoother and more balanced towards my favorite notes, but I appreciate that Seraphim is more readily available.