Midnight Mass

[VenusFlyTrap]

... This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. Traditionally, five tears of this incense, each encased individually in wax that has been fashioned into the shape of a nail, are inserted into the paschal candle. This is, of course, represents the Five Wounds of Our Risen Savior. Symbolically, the burning of the incense signifies spiritual fervor, the fragrance itself inspires virtue, and the rising smoke carries our prayers to God.

 

MM is a serene, lovely oil.

It does remind one of old cathedrals and high mass.

When wearing it, I feel calm and centered and, not to sound really odd, blessed.

I also hope that Midnight Mass will resurrect next Yule.

[janelle_hell]

i didn't see pine listed as one of the components to this scent;maybe it's the 'power of suggestion' that's making me think i'm smelling pine. (As most actual Midnight Masses that i've attended were held in churches that decorated with real pine trees or pine boughs.) This is a sweeter,more mellow,pine-infused version of Cathedral,and it perfectly captures the intended image. i hope it's brought back this Winter!

[Shollin]

I wore Midnight Mass to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve (without reviewing it at the time) and it seems very strange even to consider wearing it at any other time.

 

First sniff: Incense perfection. It’s very much church incense, warm, resinous and a tiny bit cedary.

 

Wearing: Just a swipe on my wrist for review purposes, as I still feel a little strange wearing this when it’s almost May Day! It’s still incense perfection, and there seems to be a hint of chill underneath. Like incense smoke on a hushed, expectant midwinter’s night. It’s lovely, but I very much suspect I’ll only be wearing it once a year. It's too important.

[tidesong]

My first review, here goes!

 

In the bottle: Sharp, woody, incensy.

 

On application: Even stronger than in the bottle, the incense scent really comes out. It's not like cheap incense, but a very nice, smooth blend. It's a bit overwhelming.

 

On drydown: The sharpness calmed, and a very warm frankincense, maybe some myrrh, has come out. There is a sweetness to the scent that makes it very delicate. Very faint woody scent, and a touch of smokiness.

 

Comments: Lovely. It seemed way too strong at first, but as it had a chance to settle, it calmed down into a very lovely, warm incense scent. I really like this. It's very calming.

 

I am so glad I managed to score a bottle of this. It's wonderful.

[juniperus]

Bottle: frankincense, myrrh, and cedar, I think. If I recall correctly the other two resins should be styrax and copal, but I don't know that I am clear on what their notes smell like.

Wet: heady incense. I used to burn frankincense and myrrh resin (and pine I had collected myself) back in the day. This really transports me back.

Dry: one of the resins has a slight sweet edge to it - wonder if that's the copal. It's multi-layered and warm.. I can almost hear the chain of the censer clink softly as it moves through a full double-swing, the rustle of feet on the wood floors as people turn to watch it pass.

Later: it fades slowly and keeps it's shape over time. I don't know that I can say more than Wow. And I am so glad I took a gamble on an Ebay LE.

[solcita]

In the bottle: It smells almost astringent, woody and green, somehow, which is odd considering the scent description. In the bottle I can't detect any incense in it at all.

 

On the skin: This one transforms instantly on the skin. There's the incense, and the smokiness. It's a rich, luscious scent; it's not foodlike at all and yet I want to just eat it up and drench myself in it. I keep wanting to say 'caramel', but that's more a visual (color?) description than a taste. It's really beautiful.

 

Verdict: I only own this one because tidesong first sent me a decant of hers, and then gifted me with a bottle of my very own. I've never been Catholic and only attended Mass a couple of times, so I don't know how true this scent is to its description, but I love the perfume.

[absinthetics]

I'm a Huge fan of Midnight Mass. Firstly, it smells like Church. There's this generic incense that churches have that just smells wonderful, but doesn't smell generic at all. I have tried looking for it all over... (Including Demeter's Holy Smoke spray). They came close... Midnight Mass hit it dead on. I suppose I should stock up on it right now before people catch on.

[edenssixthday]

Midnight Mass 2005 is a really nice, mellow incense blend. It distinctly reminds me of Catholic Mass, and since I only ever attended Catholic churches on Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass, it seems very appropriately named to me. It’s mellow and liturgical and sacred. Unfortunately for me, I don’t really find myself attracted to wearing incense scents on my body, as much as I love the scent otherwise. So I passed along my bottle, but if you’re someone who likes incense scents, it would probably work well for you.

 

Midnight Mass 2006 - This smells just like Midnight Mass 2005. I don't notice even the most remote change in formula. It's very dry and incensey, and not really my style, since I prefer my incense blended with either floral or cake notes. It's not bad, just not my speed.

Edited December 1, 2006 by edenssixthday

[provocateur]

In bottle: Resin. It somewhat reminds me (as a former altar server and sacristan in a catholic church for 10 years) of more of the ritual incense that was used for masses, rather than midnight mass proper.

 

On skin, wet: Oh, wait. there it is. I can't tell you how many Christmas masses I was exposed to with this incense in the burners.

 

On skin, dry: Oddly, this dried down to a resinous frankincense.

 

Conclusion: It's an interesting mix. I love this as a room scent, but I have a lot of incense room tarts/oils/sticks that it would seem a waste to hold on to this for that sole purpose. 3/5

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Incense.

 

On me: Insence, but wow - it's morphed into something much sweeter. I am absolutely adoring this scent. It is almost like Snake Oil on me, but without the vanilla. It's just very sweet-smelling incense. I love it!

 

Verdict: I must have more.

 

Rating: 5/5

[portalkat]

My favorite part of High Mass in the Catholic church was the incense. I no longer go to church, but I was at a Catholic funeral recently and they had the incense I absolutely love that smell and Midnight Mass did not disappoint. I could smell the incense and also the floral notes which reminded me of the floral bouquets at the altar. I don't smell the intense wood as I do in Cathedral. This has more floral, although I would never describe it as a floral scent because of all of the other things going on, resinous incense, a whiff of smoke with bouquets of flowers in the distance.

 

Midnight Mass is a beautifully balanced blend and I am definitely going for a big bottle.

[Syzygy]

This is more like Post-Midnight Mass: the scent of the quiet church after everyone's gone home, a whiff of sweet incense still in the air, the lingering glow of peace and goodwill. The priest moves about unhurriedly, softly singing a hymn as he lovingly puts the hymnbooks back in their racks, tidying up the place most sacred to him. This is his favorite part of Midnight Mass. This is his quality time alone with the Lord, his true communion.

[buzz23666]

I'm still on the fence with this one.

 

Wet - I get heavy frankincense (I think) and a slight bit of honey.

 

Dry - the heady incense feel calms down a bit and leaves me with what I can only term as "general liturgical incense" with a burning candle wax kicker.

 

For some reason this makes me think of funeral service incense and not something like Christmas midnight mass.

 

It's not a bad scent - I'm just not sure what occasion I would wear/use it for.

[forspecial_plate]

At first Midnight Mass is pretty strong frankincense and myrrh. As it dries, I get flashes of 'lit' incense. Out of nowhere it smells like burning, lit incense, and then it goes back to basic frankincense and myrrh, and back and forth. It's the strangest thing. Also I think I smell just a little bit of cedar in it, but that comes and goes too.

 

Still it's just a little bit more sweet than what I wanted. If it comes up in the Yule scents this year, I will probably pick some up. Otherwise I doubt I will seek an older bottle of it, unless the mood really strikes me.

[supremegoddessofall]

I really only tried this one today to see if I want to try the '06 version. All I have of it is a testable sniffy. Smells fairly generic incense-y. Pretty, but I don't know if I need a whole bottle. It is very pretty, though..

[fiddledragon]

This is a truly glorious sweet resin combination; mostly frankincense and myrrh. For some reason, Hymn to Proserpine is very similar on me, so I'm guessing there's some amber in there too, or something like that?

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: smokey and perfumey. Maybe some frankincense but it doesn't make me think of a catholic church, so far.

 

On my skin: more and more perfumey. It makes me think of something my grandmother might wear. It's not unpleasant, but not for me, and not really matching the description.

 

After a couple of hours: it fades quite quickly but doesn't morph at all.

 

Verdict: I kinda grew up in catholic churches and really, Midnight Mass doesn't evoke them at all. Cathedral was much closer to the smells of my childhood.

As for Midnight Mass, I'm not too crazy about it.

[steffanina]

Midnight Mass-

 

In Bottle: Sweet-smelling, a little resinous, pretty!

 

Wet: The same--resinous and sweet.

 

Dry: This smells like...Christmas and candy. There are a couple of other BPAL blends that do this and do it in a way that I prefer, but this is sweet and interesting in its own right.

 

Overall: Not bad!

[portalkat]

06 Offering

 

This is very much like the previous version, but I think that it's a bit lighter on the floral note and heavier on the wood and resin notes, but that could just be the aging process. It also seems a bit more balanced and cohesive. Midnight Mass is in my top 10 of BPAL scents and I was so glad that it appeared again this year. This is very beautiful and I will be stocking up. For those that were able to try the previous offering, but were not able to get a bottle, this is the chance for you to grab your bottle of Midnight Mass.

[Briar]

Scent: Midnight Mass '05

Bottle: Years of incense, built up. It's got this "weight of ages" smell. A little old books, a lot of smoke, and some woodsy undertones.

Wet: Something sweet comes crawling out when I put it on, like candy and incense. How strange... There's something in this that's also in Kathmandu - I swear - and it's whatever part I liked.

After a While: In the car, on the drive to work, it began to smell juniper-y in a nice way.

Before It's Dead: Unfortunately, here it is noon and it's doornails again. *sigh* It was very short and sweet, I guess. I'm going to have to try this one again, when I have time to sit with it and pay attention to it, and get a better-rounded "scent" from it.

[GypsyRoseRed]

How come I didn't buy Midnight Mass last Yule? Hmm? I know I would have stocked up if it I'd sniffed it, because the 2006 offering sounds like it's very similar and it's wonderful. This is probably tied with Jacob's Ladder for my perfect holiday scent, because while I'm in love with amber, the smokey incense and oiled-antique-wood smell of Midnight Mass is very elegant, and classic with good throw and wear length. I'm sure I'll give in to temptation and snag a backup bottle of this before it goes away.

[blackfelicula]

In the bottle: This is 100% yummy-smelling resin incense.

 

Wet: This is awesome as an incense blend: resinous, a touch smokey, an undertone of wood.

 

Drying down: This is actually smoother and richer than the incense they used when I followed my Catholic parents to Midnight Mass. That is fine with me, since the stuff they used stung my eyes and make me cough.

 

Dry: This scent wafts up around me like burning incense! I would love to have incense in this house that smells this good. My skin is amping the myrrh, which is one of my favorites. This shares similarities with Schwarzer Mond.

 

Later: It wears a lot like Schwarzer Mond! To me, this is an excellent perk. I love incenses and resins, and Midnight Mass does not dissapoint me.

[Alchemy21599]

Midnight Mass O6

 

In the vial: I don't remember pine being listed as a note, but that is the dominant note that I get when sniffing the vial.

 

Wet: lovely incense with frankincense being the dominant note.

 

Dry: the pine note is lingering in the background of the incense. I'm on the fence with this one because the incense is fantastic, but I've recently discovered that pine and I don't get along. Hmmm.

[nightbird]

2006: this is deep, somewhat spicy, maybe a little woody incense on me.

[theseagrows]

this smells so familiar, like an incense i burned a lot in high school. i cant quite place it, but it's got a bit of sweetness to it. i tried it last night and got a faint pencil-shaving scent, which usually means frankincense or cedar for me, but today it just smells like pure incense. it really does have a generic incense feel, as others have said, but i really really like it. may have to get a big bottle of this one.