Midwinter's Eve

[angharad]

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

2005

Bottle: Kool-aid!

Wearing: Still very sweet Kool-aid! It chills once on my skin and begins to tone down. Once it's dry, it's a very faint, sweet, plum that lasts for several hours. Beautiful, but not what I'm looking for. I'm keeping the bottle, though! Edited November 18, 2007 by Shollin

[CLFilm]

2005 version:

 

Grape Bubble-Yum. Straight up. But, oddly, not in a bad way. This is kind of a fun smell, but I'm not sure that I need a whole bottle.

[glittergal]

I love this one. It just makes me happy! I did a side-by-side comparison of 2004 to 2005 and couldn't tell any difference.

It has, for me, a jovially sweet, vibrant, reddish-purple plum scent with a subtle floral background. I can almost taste it! It is indeed very sweet, but almost nothing is too sweet for me. Now that I have my fresh new bottle, which arrived today, I can feel free to slather. Yum!

[Celogrl]

First impression: Sweet, red, grown up cherry cough syrup! Whoo...this is sweet, but pretty. It is an adult winey, berrylike sweet. I am not sure what I expected, but I thought perhaps this would be darker and not so candylike. I can't say I am disappointed though, as it is very pretty. I am glad I ordered it.

[SeaMonkey]

Very sugary and sweet. When it dries, I finally get the plums. I'm usually not a big plum fan when it comes to fragrance, but this is really pretty. Even my super picky sister likes this one.

 

She said "oooh, it smells like candy!"

[Freya]

Midwinter's Eve smells like those puffy scratch-n-sniff stickers that used to come with My Little Ponies in the 80's. It's very fruity and very sweet. It smells purple! I LOVE this scent. I've been looking for the 'puffy sticker scent' since they stopped giving away those stickers. My only complaint would have to be that this oil has no staying power. It fades away to nothing within an hour of putting it on.

[yeahbutnobut]

Midwinter's Eve 05

 

In the imp: this has the same berry, sugar plum and 'watermelon candy' scent I remember from last year.

Wet on skin: still sugar plums, but this one's a tiny bit sharper and tangier. I get a scent reminiscent of candied citrus.

Dry on skin: oh, pretty. This is similar to last year's but I think this is a bit nicer. This smells a bit like candy floss/cotton candy! It's a fruity sugar scent. This isn't the deep, juicy plum that is usually used in BPAL plum scents, this is a lighter, sugary plum, sweeter and 'pinker' (that's the only way I can describe it) than a normal plum. I get no flowers from this scent, just fruity sugar. It does also resemble a candle, but it hasn't turned waxy (last year's dried down to candle wax on me.) and I must say that it also reminds me slightly of Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo!

After a while: the sugared plum scent grows stronger. It now smells like plums that have been soaked in fruit syrup have been sprinkled with sugar. However the scent isn't cloying-it's light, dainty, candied and pink. As I said before, it's the fruit note from ACJM (or Bastet's Laughter, for that matter), but this time in a more festive form. No sign of candle wax yet, I think this one may be nicer than last year's.

Verdict: this version of Midwinter's Eve is similar to last year's, but so far, it's nicer on me. To me, this is the festive equivalent of Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo, it seems to share a note with that scent. the plum note used here is not the ripe, juicy, deep purple plum I smell in many other BPALs, this is a pink, syrup soaked and sugar covered plum lying on a bed of candy floss. I don't seem to get flowers here, just fruity sugar. Far from being melancholy and deep, this scent is fun and sprightly, sweet and dainty, the scent of the sugar plum fairy, I think. I don't need a bottle but I'm keeping the decant I have of this.

[Chrysantza]

In the bottle: Fruit punch and bubble gum

 

On me: Pure bubble gum! Unfortunately, the smell of bubble gum makes me nauseous so I had to go wash it off. I think this would be a fruity and fun scent on a lot of people but I just cannot abide bubble gum and this is what it smells like on me.

 

Verdict: Off to the swaps.

[desu]

In the bottle: Super sweet. Hardly a floral in sight.

 

On my skin: The sugared plums continue to hold their own on my skin. Not really detecting any florals I can identify.

 

Later on: Whatever florals were there have evaporated, leaving behind a slight sweetness. This one doesn't have much staying power on me.

[Koumori]

This is a really pleasant, sweet floral. It hits first with something like strawberries, then with everybody's favorite sticky red/purple fruit punch. Really delightful, and despite its bountiful fruitiness, it seems to work really well with wintertime!

[Cleolinda]

On me, this smells exactly like those hard strawberry candies you get in Christmas food baskets, you know, with the cheese and the jams and the summer sausages--the ones where the red and green wrappers actually make them look like strawberries. This is a good thing.

[Wench457]

Initially, I also get the powdered kool-aid hit from this. However, Midwinter's Eve dries down on me into a lovely, fruity-with-a-hint-of-spice scent, that just brings a smile to my face. Definitely need another bottle of this one before it goes away.

[zillah37]

This reminds me exactly of last year's version, sweet grape candy with a hint of tang to it. It's so pretty and sweet and very, very girly.

 

I love this scent.

[zenvodunista]

note: i have a tendency to amp berry.

 

this is Jolly Rancher on me. ah well.

 

n.

[Fefferbella]

Fruit Punch candy!

 

 

This is a fun blend, but *way* too sweet on me.

 

Off to swap pile

[foxroses]

this is surprisingly light and sweet, i like it. i love sweet, and plum, and this is lovely. it's not too much floral for me, either. it smells like grape candy, in a way, without smelling like grape. if that made sense.. ha. it reminds me of those little plastic fruits that are covered in glass beads, it smells like those look. i love this one.

 

its staying just perfectly like that, all the way from the wand to dry skin.. mmmm.

 

i do get a tiny hint of wine, but white wine, not red.. almost champagney, or a light fruity dessert. white and that gorgeous plum purple, i love it!

[Ajila]

2005

 

In the bottle - Sweet berries. Slightly more like the actual fruit than the 2004 version which was very sweet like.

Wet on me - Leaves, of the freshly torn variety, with the sweetness of the berries in the background. More green and sad than the 2004 version.

Dry on me - This is what I expected sweet, yet also tart, lush berries and sugar and it lasts as well.

[mexicat]

I really like this...sooo sweet.It smells just like Strawberry Bubble-gum!!! It never morphs on my skin, it just stays that same yummy scent. Unfortunately, it fades pretty fast. I am still deciding if I need more than my imp...

[slave1]

2005 version

 

In Bottle: Berries and plum

 

On Skin: This is a lot jucier than 04’s version. Last years turned into a dry powdery scent, whereas this one oozes with fruity juice. The florals are light and don’t compete with the plum. It is so sweet! Yum! Still the same notes though with the nostalgic feelings of the holidays. I would love to have candles in this scent all over my house for the holidays, it inspires the perfect festive mood. After a 20 minute drydown, it does indeed have the powdery effect last years had.

[brownbear]

'05

 

JUICY! I expected this to be more floral, but I was pleasantly surprised by how fruit juicy it is. It's not especially sweet, but very fruity. yum cute roommate response: juicy

yup it is

[lookingglass]

Initally, this is very much like grape gum. Drying down, it is more like Bordello, but not as sexy, and the flowers are not agreeing with me.

[LittleGreyKitten]

Wet: Bubblegum! A hint of fruit but absolutely bubblegum.

 

Drying: Less bubble gum and more buttfruit. Sour and very unpleasant edge coming out.

 

After a few hours: Pure buttfruit. Ew. My chemistry is hell on this poor scent. I dunno what's up, but this is not remotely the way it smells in the bottle! Yikes. Wash off immediately! Glad I got an imp only. I can almost smell how my body chemistry is souring this scent- it starts out nice and minute by minute goes horribly wrong. Oh well.

Edited January 19, 2006 by LittleGreyKitten

[jewelbug]

Bottle: All berry fruit punch. Sweet and light, and definitely a cherry red kinda color.

 

Wet: Still fruit punchy, but it got darker and takes on ever so slightly an edge of green. It's slightly tart, as well.

 

Drying: The florals start to come out, but they are very light, sweet flowers. Sad and sweet. They get a bit more astringent as time goes, and kinda feel like an evergreen plant's chlorophyll. This isn't piney at all, don't get me wrong. Just that quality of smell.

 

Dry: This loses the fruit punch to me. It's still predominantly fruity, but it’s a deeper fruity now. Still sweet. Though this is primarily a fruity smell, the florals are apparent on the drydown (I didn't really get much floral wet). They are tart, green, slightly chlorophyllic and astringent florals. That sounds harsh, but they are actually quite gentle. This is a fruity scent with personality, and doesn't go "air freshener" berry on me like so many other fruits.

 

Overall: This is surprising. I was worried by the overly fruit punch/lollipop smell at the beginning, but my concerns were unwarranted. This settled into a deep sweet plum underscored by a touch of green and floral. The floral is barely there after 6 hrs, but the fruit stays. Throw is pretty good. Lasts for 6-8 hrs, though it obviously fades. I'm not usually a fruity blend person, but I like the drydown of this and will hold onto it for at least a bit longer.

Edited January 19, 2006 by jewelbug

[jazlyn]

In the imp Midwinter's Eve 2005 smells a bit like berry/grape alcohol, with a bit of a florally undertone. On it's berries! Very sugary grape/berry bubble gum!!! Bubblicious (sp?), bubble gum tape (whatever the actual brand/name is I forget, it's been a while!), fruit snacks! This is really sweet... and it also fades quickly.

[Victory]

Midwinter's Eve starts really fakey smelling. I don't think it's fruit punch so much as just... I don't know. Fake. Once it's dry, it turns into an incredibly sweet scent. I don't get much floral or fruit, just gently fading sweetness. (Can I describe scent or what?) I would have NEVER guessed it, but I really love sweet scents, so I'm a fan of this.