Midwinter's Eve

[blood*rose*flowers]

A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers.

In the bottle: I smell fruit (ok I don't eat enough plums to recognize their distinct scent), a slight bubblegum and sugary sweet tones. Delicious but not childish how Jailbait starts.

On: Sweet candies not modern ones but the kinds they would have eaten in the Victorian Era all handmade, delicate and beautiful to look at. It also has sort of a clean scent as it sits becoming a slight bit fruitier and a tad bit less sweet.


Over time I get the scent of Christmas morning as a kid in the 1980's this smells like my sisters Strawberry Shortcake Plum friend sweet and memory filled. But don't get me wrong I don't smell plastic or an artificial tone to this scent at all but more like this scent hints at that Christmas bringing happy memories of the old days.

I love this scent and I have to say it is officially on my top 5 favorites list!!!

Addition: I actually had this review saved up due to some internet issues but since then I decided to throw it on and have to say I have a slightly different view of it this time. Today it smells more grown up, more fruity less sweet, but still delicious. I smell like fruit instead of candy. Its a fun change that still makes me love this oil!

[theshapeshifter]

This really is the "visions of sugarplums" from the poem!

 

Wet: It's intensely sugary sweet liquid fruit. In fact, the thing that comes to mind is mixing up a batch of Jello.

 

Drydown: The 'hot liquid Jello' stage backs off a bit, but it keeps its essential character - this is fruit candy, not actual fruits themselves. I like it a lot!

[OriginalWacky]

Bottle (Imp): Ooooh plum. Sugar plums even.

 

Just On: Oooh, this is sweet, and I'm liking it. Sugared plums is all I'm getting, and I will NOT complain a bit.

 

An hour or two later: Oh so sweet, and hard candy? Super sweet rock candy to be exact. I LOVE that.

 

Around 6 hours: Still a bit of the rock candy smell (I LOVE that), and something else wants to peek out.

 

12 hours: Yummy yummy yummy, but starting to fade.

 

Overall: Absolutely this is jumping up in the favorite area. I adore the sweet sweet scents, and my skin seems to love this one as well. If this comes out again, I am so buying some. I love, love, love this, and the sweetness lasts a long time on me. As in, 24 hours later, I was still smelling some of it. Yes!

 

After reading other reviews: "Mixing up jello" is a pretty good description. I'm in love with this one.

[Aredhel]

2004 Version

 

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a word or two: Berry gum.

 

In the imp/bottle: Cold flowers, berries and plums. Berry gum!

 

On skin, wet: This is a very sweet, fruity berry, with just a hint of something floral.

 

On skin, dry: This dries down into something that smells of mixed berry gum!

 

Conclusion: This is very fruity, but certainly not what I would associate with the name "Midwinter's Eve." I'd love to have a candle scented with this, but not a body fragrance.

Edited June 2, 2008 by Aredhel

[stardreamer]

In the bottle: Berries, citrus, is that coconut?! This smells more tropical than midwintery!

 

Fresh on: Yes, a very sugary-berry smell, like fruit jam. The coconut seems to have been my imagination.

 

Drydown: Still very berry. There's something underneath that might be just a hint of fireplace smoke, but only when I sniff at close range.

 

Staying power is moderate. As often happens to me with berry scents, that note pretty much drowns out anything else and is the last thing to fade; I get no floral at all from this. There's a lot of similarity to Bordello and Lady MacBeth here. It's a nice scent, certainly a keeper, but not something I'll feel any particular need to replace once it's gone.

[aidenraine]

Woah! This is so sweet my teeth hurt a bit!

 

On me I smell a strawberry bubblegum smell- the same powdered sugar/fruit scent. I can almost feel the texture of the soft gum. Very pinky-red scent.

 

But I'll give it some time to dry down more....

 

 

Ok.... very fruity, definitely reminiscent of Christmas berries. I could almost say cranberry sauce now, as it's more tart and less sugary than it initially was.

 

It smells a bit too much like synthetic drugstore strawberry scents to me though. I only have a wee decanted imp of it, but I think that'll be enough.

[sh1mm3r]

I don't know if sugarplums are real things (like in the Night Before Christmas) but if they are, this is what they smell like!

 

I tried countrymouse's bottle of this during the Chicago meetup and it was very sweet, but the floral seemed to balance it out and not make it "OMG I want to kill myself" sweet.

 

I'm curious to see which Yule scents make a reappearance this next year.

[modesty_blaise]

I´m not sure what a sugared plum is, but does it involve wine? Or some fruity liqueur?

 

On me, Midwinter´s Eve is fruity as can be, and as it dries down, some sort of booziness comes out. It reminds me of those boxes of chocolates we used to get for christmas when I was a kid, where almost every single one would be dark chocolate filled with madeira or the likes. I never cared for candy mixed with booze, but as a perfume? Much better!

 

It´s a rather strong scent on me too, and it wafts every now and then, reminding me that I´m wearing it. I think it´ll be much more appropriate during the winter, though, so I´m gonna hide this little imp in order to try it out when the snow comes around again

[korshka]

In the Bottle: Very, very sweet. My boyfriend turned his nose up at it b/c he doesn't think I need to smell like candy. So I waited to a night home alone to try it out on.

 

On the Skin: It doesn't take long for the sweetness to calm out and reveal the florals. Now it is more a softly sweet and floral smell with just a whiff of wine in the background. As it dries - the wine because stronger.

[madelf]

This is intensely sweet plum. It's amazing and exactly the sort of smell that sugar plums conjures in my head. It softens a little after drydown but, it stayed lovely and sweet, very close to the in bottle scent the entire time I was wearing it.

 

This is absolutely edible, and carries the potential risk of friends trying to chew your wrist off. Seriously - it happened three times while I was wearing Midwinter's Eve.

[maewitch]

Ohhhh, I LOVE this.

 

This is plums and red berries and candy-sweetness.

 

This is purple glowy goodness, a lovely shimmer of pure, juicy fruit.

 

This is staying up christmas night when you're a kid, sniffing those sugar-covered fruit jelly candies.

[BelladonnaBarbie]

This is one of those scents that is definitely nice, but not on me. It is indeed very sweet, it reminds me of the scent of red holiday candles in the bottle. When I first put it on I get a bubblegum note, but not the typical BPAL bubblegum, just a bit different. It dries down very quickly and is just as it smells in the bottle, but it also takes on a burning candle note. The scent reminds me exactly of the holiday season with hollyberry candles burning all throughout the house. I plan on using this one as a home fragrance. It will be lovely, I'm sure .

[malanna]

OOh, this is berries in a bottle! On, I wholeheartedly agree with what everyone said about this being hard candy. It makes me think of a sweet drink or candy I had as a kid, but I don't know what. It sort of fizzes--not in a coke way, but with oomph. Definitely plummy, but not so much like Bordello, in that it's just candy sweet and not so wine-y. this fades away after three hours.

[Rackham's Vanity]

On first sniff: Winegums!

 

I really didn't expect to like this scent as much as I do. The red-fruit sugar-sweetness of the blend is calmed by a lingering tartness...like the perfect ripe raspberry. The scent remains amazingly true throughout the day, softening only after twelve or so hours.

 

Midwinter's Eve reminds me more of cranberry harvest season in Massachusetts than Yuletide, but that's a minor academic point. This is a lovely, bright, playful, yet oddly sophisticted scent. I'm hooked.

[puck_nc]

Origin: Bought a decant off someone's LJ sale

 

In the Bottle: Sweet, tangy, almost sour. It smells tantalizingly familiar.

 

Wet: Icy notes come out, melding with that sweet scent that I just can't place. Once I look at the description, I know I'll be smacking myself on the forehead.

 

Drydown: *pout* The icy is leaving! Now all I'm getting is cloying fruit...like gum or punch or something. The icy was what made it interesting!

 

Verdict: (looks at description) Oh, that was plum! Okay, yes, the plum jelly my mom used to buy from a roadside stand. If only the icy cool notes didn't run for cover within minutes...think I'll be swapping or selling this.

[-Jamie-]

I *love* this. If it comes back, I will be stocking up like crazy. I'm already terrified of using up my wee shortie bottle too quickly.

 

In the bottle, very very fruity and refreshing.

 

On my skin, it smells a bit richer. Less fruity, warmer, with a hint of something boozy coming though.

 

After a while it turns into a kind of fruity punch, less boozy and closer to the original bottle scent.

 

I need multiple full-sized bottles of this, because the urge to just slather it on is overwhelming.

[mandalinn]

In the bottle---this smells so familiar.

 

On my skin---bright and juicy, still very familiar. I asked my husband and my mom, they both said it smells like when you open the jello package up. LOL!

 

Dry down---nice fruit punch smell, I am in LOVE!

[sophia_helix]

Loved this one. Just sweet, juicy red-berry smell, a little like fruit punch but not so much that it's overwhelming. Very red and long-lasting -- hope this one is a Yule '05 scent!

[Firewaver]

This reminds me of cranberry sauce.. well, not cranberry sauce, but that red jello salad that features cranberry sauce as it's main ingredient. Very red, juicy and sweet.

 

Like a dousing of yummy jiggly red jello goodness. I would say cherry jello, but we all know that cherries don't taste anything like RED jello.

 

I like it, it's very uplifting and swoon inducing. It also KIND OF reminds me of the drydown of bordello. Sweet and red. Hope this comes back soon.

[quikslvr]

Courtesy of the random LE swap circle.

 

The plums here are beautiful, and as always, I love the way they're softened by the wintry-ness of the blend. This blend stays pretty steady throughout, sweet and light.

[wickedgoddess]

Wet - Mmmm, this smells more like blackberry than plum to me, but whatever it is, it is dark, ripe and fruity.

 

Dry - sweet and fruity, but an underlying sourness comes out that I don't like. Is it sour wine? I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it ruins my enjoyment of this.

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 2.

[Julilla Regina]

This is for the '04 version:

 

Yes, I smell plummy, dark purply juice and something sweetly floral. It has good staying power on me, but I don't know how much throw it has. I've never had a sugar plum, so I can't say that this is exactly what it would smell like, but it seems wintery yet cheerful.

[Voleuse]

2004 Version:

Sugary fruit on first application--a bit like fruit-flavored candy, actually, with a bit of cold in the background. Simple and delicious. After a while, however, this becomes stale candy and plastic on me.

 

2005 Version:

On first application, this is sweet and juicy plum, dusted with a bit of sugar. It's a purple sort of scent, at first. In a short while, however, it goes plastic on me, and while that goes away, eventually, it never becomes quite as delicious as it was at first. I end up with Starburst wrappers instead.

Edited December 28, 2005 by Voleuse

[olympia301]

 

This one reminds me of Bordello with all of the red fruit and it makes you feel jolly whether you want to be or not. It is long lasting and will put you in a festive mood. Putting my nose in the bottle, I can smell pineapple and even a lick of banana. Such a festive and sweet perfume, you should keep it handy for the holidays and wear it frequently during the feasting.

[AlaskaSnows]

Wet: Tangy berry candy!

 

Dry: It's tangy and sourish and a bit of sweet, and there's a hint of green. This could be interpreted berry or plum. It's juicy. I am not entirely sure it reminds me in any way of the winter holidays, but I do like it. Not much throw.