Reviews of Breath of God (2007)
by B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful

Breath of God - I would love to hang around to experience the dry-down, unfortunately, the first sledgehammer blast sticks to my skin and refuses to mellow. After an hour I have a screaming headache. Yet....I can appreciate the effect by sniffing the soap froma distance. Odd effect. Kinda like Marmite.

Only a master could blend such an unholy and unlikely combination of notes into something so bewitching.

After an initial, offputting blast of mentholated joss stick underpinned by fruit, BOG settles down into smoky, woody loveliness laced with narcotic florals and lifted ever-so-slightly by the ghost of that opening minty note. The cedar and pepper are present but not overwhelming. The balance is astounding. I have never smelled anything quite like it -- and I've run the gamut of woody/smoky scents. It doesn't seem to develop dramatically over time, but is a shape-shifter in that every time you sniff, you get something a little different. It conjures up a walk in autumn through a deep forest shrouded in fog.

This is a very particular fragrance: think PJ Harvey and John Parish's "Black Hearted Love."

I am in love.

This was a bit much for me, but I can appreciate the artistry behind it because it's different. Smoke, the kind from a gas BBQ grill. I can smell the burning gas, a hint of the roasting meat even. Flowers and citrus only in the beginning, which fade directly into a smoke-infused menthol scent. Then it morphs into a faint smoke incense like the kind you can buy in hippy-type music stores. It's really strange. I have never smelled anything like it. I can't see the connection between this fragrance and it's name. In my imagination, I could never see God smelling remotely like this. From the way we've all described the fragrance, could you? I don't find it to be complex, just different. I get no temple incense, I have no fantastic imagery for this scent. I can't believe it got such a high rating, that blows my mind. I think it suffers from overblown hype and a really pretentious name that puts exactly the type of imagery seen here into people's heads. No offense meant, really. I just don't buy it, regardless of what someone in a book tells me to think about it. I think this is simply a "nice" fragrance that would suit a college student very well. I'm sure people will disagree and think it's great. But that's what I love about the world, the differences we all have that make life so interesting. I did enjoy sniffing it though, although wearing it did little for me. For me it was "Meh...I think I'll layer it with something else." And then it was out of my head and forgotten like it was never on me to begin with.

Inhale too closely or too deeply while the juice is drying, and the initial impression could well be that of being smashed in the face with an incense tree. Some folks might find that a bit off-putting.

Patience and more respectful distance is rewarded, as the more obvious notes settle down (Perhaps the cade oil, as at one point I'm reminded of new tack & harness) while the sandalwood, cedar & rose drift in and out of focus. For me, this Breath of G_d is by turns intriguing and intoxicating.

There are smells that I love: wood smoke, rooms where religious incense has burned for years, fresh cedar, clean sweat, harvest earth. Breath of God contains all these and more. Alas, I do not want to smell OF them. I appreciate the artistry and expertise necessary to compose this complex and mysterious perfume, but my nose finds it unpleasant in the extreme. When I was pregnant, I was once sick on a packet of Smokehouse flavored almonds, and I cannot but smell them in this. And, of course, no amount of scrubbing is removing it from my body or my nasal cavities I recognize utterly that this is personal association on my part, so I wouldn't presume to pan this fragrance. It is, however, not for everyone. Sample well before buying. Don't give it as a gift.

Wow! The first whiff was almost unpleasant - an unlikely combination of citrus and smoke...raw smoke, not gentle burning leaves smoke. Then it turned oceanic and then it turned herbal and green - and then it morphed into "Tatiana and the faeries" floral. I tend to devastate naturals but this one has lasted pretty well.

EVERYONE should have at least a sniff of this amazing scent.

Okay, I'm a big fan of art perfumes, the strange and beautiful, but I think this one takes the cake! This has the strangest opening of any fragrance I have ever smelled, almost repellent, but it quickly morphs into something extraordinary. It is complex, haunting, gray, and smoky. At times reminiscent of Mitsouko and at other times of Sienne l'Hiver - woman and man, soft and hard, warm and cold, it is a study in contrasts co-existing. It was developed by Simon Constantine of Never too Busy to Be Beautiful (Lush offshoot) as a 50/50 combination of his masculine Exhale and feminine Inhale perfumes. Since it is the breath of God, it makes sense that the emphasis here appears to be on the Exhale, smoky incense, cedar, pepper. There is an abstract rose in there -- just enough floral to keep this from being relentless pungent, earthy and smoky. To me, the pictured conjured up in my mind is of a Tibetan temple against a backdrop of a cloudy November sky, barren trees, and the scent of a burning leaf-pile nearby, or incense from the temple. If this all sounds too arch and improbable (the name doesn't help....), give it a try, hang in there for the amazing, lingering dry down and see for yourself. By God, it works! Tania Sanchez of Perfumes: the Guide recently gave it a rare 5-star rating. This is one of those rare perfumes that changes every time you catch a whiff of it. It is far more beautiful from a distance. When you get up close the stark contrasts become accentuated. Can't wait to hear what you all have to say about it. Truly a unisex scent.