Midnight on the Midway (2006)

[gaai]

Lightning splits the sky, illuminating the skeletal skyline of the carnival rides: sugared incense and night-blooming flowers.

I love how this smells......the flowers, the sugar, the incense.....they just blend in with each other beautifully.......but.....

It gave me a headache must be one of those nightblooming flowers I guess......

( and I was all ready to swap my Black Moon for a bottle too...... )

[nightbird]

I opened up my little imp of this (I love decant circles), took a deep sniff, and said "yikes!" flowers like jasmine just don't work on me, and this one is full of jasmine and all its friends. I passed it on to a jasmine-loving friend so at least it has a good home.

Edited September 28, 2006 by Nightbird

[Eunice]

I can't make out a singe sugary note. To me, MotM is like a light floral and pine incense. It does get the tiniest bit sweet after about 10 minutes but mostly this is pine trees, flowers and headshop. A nice scent but just not what I was expecting.

[Reinaluna]

Midnight on the Midway: This one is kind of strange, from the bottle it smells like the description but when I apply it I get a real strong floral at first. Then after about 10 min give or take a few I get something similar to Antique Lace. I dont think that this will be one of my favorits. I will have to try it a few more times to see.

[eggplant]

Oh this is sooo pretty. At first I don't get any resemblance to midway-it's just a beautiful sugared floral scent. It also smells tropical somehow-it reminds me of some of the wanderlust scents. As it dries I begin to see the midway resemblance but this is much less 'in your face sugar' and much more grownup. I do detect a faint hint of "soap" but it's not overpowering. I absolutely love this.

[sarada]

Say 'incense' and I perk right up. I'm even open to sugared incense. Even with night-blooming flowers, and those have given me wee stabby headaches from time to time. Put that all together and I think this is my favorite of the four in Act I, but I think I'm glad I didn't get a bottle after all because I'm just not seeing myself wearing it enough.

 

The incensy elements are like those in Cracked Bell to me -- it's a bit perfumey and ozone but there are hints of champa in it. Not getting so much the sugared aspect, but the florals are definitely suspended in the air alongside little wafts of that slightly dusty incense scent.

 

It does make me a tiny bit queasy though, kind of like Chrysanthemum Moon did. I can't really account for why. But even though I love the faintly sweet echo of smoky champa in the distance, it's crowded out a bit by a powdery cloud of perfumey florals.

 

This actually matched very well with the dress I was wearing today (a hippie dress with draping, bright orange bell sleeves and otherwise mostly black), so I am glad that I have some of this to suit those strange moods where I feel both brightly hippyish but secretly dark and brooding. I'm not getting that "gotta have!" feeling though.

[aimeceleste]

Um, oops, I posted this review in the wrong spot, I hope one of the mods notices it and deletes my old posts, it was one of the others that began with m....

 

Sweet? I like...Incense? I like...This was a sure bet for me, it's just a great smell. I couldn't stop sniffing my arm!

[sofiaviolet]

Mmm, smells like cotton candy! Sinister cotton candy. I don't get any incense or florals, because my skin chemistry is clearly teh weird.

 

This is a keeper.

[Dark Sparkle]

Oh dear, Midnight on the Midway did not work with my skin chemistry at all - it almost instantly turns into a sharp, soapy floral and stays that way for hours - and I was soo hoping for some spun sugary incense

 

Maybe it is the jasmine, I am not sure but this imp will have to be loved by someone with an agreeable skin chemistry.

[silver_dollar]

I don't get any incense out of this, in fact it's really mostly sugar. Maybe a hint of flowers for the first few minutes. It's a lot like Dorian without the vanilla. Dorian's one of my favorites, though, so I'm not complaining.

[The_Merf]

Obtained via a swap with the lovely and generous Buddha Mama.

 

In the bottle: This is what it says it is: florals, sweet sugary notes, and a very unique sort of incense.

 

Wet: The floral in this is very sharp--it reminds me of the "hairspray" floral in Stardust. The incense is very, very sweet. I didn't try Midway so I don't have a point for comparison.

 

Drydown and wear: Count me in with the headache crowd--and this is the first BPAL that has ever had this effect on me. A shame...but I know it will find a loving home.

Edited October 7, 2006 by The_Merf

[jenleigh]

This smells nothing like Midway does. Midway is all sweet sugar, and I'm not getting a single sweet note in this at all on my skin.

 

It actually reminds me much, much more of Zorya. It's not quite got the spice note that Zorya does, but the flowers and the incense are really reminiscent. This one is nice, but I don't know that it's bottleworthy just yet. It's not headache-inducing for me, though.

[pkthunder]

To me, this is nothing like the original Midway. Midway has the oily doughiness of funnel cakes, butter and caramel popcorns, and the salty taffy.

 

This is exactly what it says it is, a little sweet, a little incensy, and quite floral.

 

The soapiness is going back and forth for me a little here, but now that I think about it, it might be due to the beer I'm drinking while sniffing. For a moment, I could have sworn I smelled passion flower, but I'm not sure and I don't even know if that's a night-bloomer.

 

This would be great if I can just make it stop being kinda soapy. I will try it again in a few days.

[amberlox]

Midnight on The Midway-

 

Sugary. Turns to soap quickly. At least my wrist smells clean.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Extreeeeemely sweet flowers. Possibly some sweet pea.

 

Wet: Smoky sweetness... the same smell you'd get if you got steam out of fizzy sugar sweets.

 

Drydown: I get sweet pea, fizzy sweetness, smoke and mostly of detergent. It's acid and aggressive and smells like extremely cheap sweets, or like deodoriser, or maybe even like these dolls I used to have, that were perfumed in their plastic and stank horribly of fake flowers.

 

Overall: It reminds me of the boozy blends like The Hamptons and Swank, that same toilet deodoriser or detergent scent. It's certainly... well, electric, but it smells very nasty on me, and I have an urge to scrub it off. Not my cup of tea.

[steffanina]

Midnight on the Midway-

 

In Bottle: Sugar and soapy flowers. Neat!

 

Wet: Soap and sugar.

 

Dry: Oh, this is such a beautiful dry-down! It reminds me of the sweeter perfumes I used to try when I was younger--anything with vanilla made me happy, and of course you couldn't get straight foodie perfume; it all had flowers. But this is the lightest of vanilla/sugar florals. It's beautiful. I don't know if I'll wear it often but it's the sort of scent I'll want when I feel the need to smell like actual perfume and not just something foodie.

 

Overall: I love.

[Emma2403]

In the bottle: oh that's a pretty floral.

 

On my skin: jasmine!! Go away now!

Well, maybe, it's not jasmine, because jasmine usually remains overpowering for hours on my skin, and here it fades away quickly, to let some other florals take place (I'd say muguet, but I'm not sure). There's sugar too, maybe cane sugar.

 

After a couple of hours: sugary floral. Nice.

 

Verdict: I didn't expect to like this one so much, but I do. It's a keeper to my own surprise.

I've never smelled any incense there, though.

[cranberry]

I loved Midway so I was really interested in trying this one. In this imp this smells like jasmine. And flowers. But also something much darker.

 

On the skin, jasmine, other flowers and incense. It reminds me of another oil but I can’t place it right now. I don’t know my florals well yet, and for incense scents, maybe the Cracked Bell? Pit and the Pendulum?

 

This is an evocative oil and bring to mind the night. There is a touch of soap but I think that elements of the incense that are doing it. Or maybe the night blooming flowers. But it’s not bad and somehow fits.

 

I do like this. Not enough for a bottle but certainly to keep the imp.

[slave1]

In Bottle: Soft and violet

 

On Skin: I get a violet feel from this right away. Soft and dainty and a lightly powdery floral. I also get a bit of a white musk note with the tiniest touch of a clean soap feel. It’s also very sweet, vanilla I think. This is like a stronger floral version of Antique Lace. Also, this doesn’t remind me of the scent “Midway” in the slightest, the vanilla is the only foody part of this scent, it is much more a floral whereas “Midway” is pure foody love on me. There is some incense but it is very light and not at all smoky… just a bit spicy which blends so very well in this scent. Very pretty and a very soft scnet. It has a low throw and short to average wearlength on me.

[Monster]

Out of the bottle this is sweet and powdery smelling. It almost smells like old lady perfume :/ I'm actually slightly afraid to put this on my skin.

 

Wet on my skin this is all powder, which is really disappointing. I loved Midway and was expecting this to be a slightly more grown up version.

 

As this dries the powdery smell fades a bit and the sweet, sugary of this amps up quite a bit (my skin makes bpal oils really sweet ) The old lady perfume has completely gone away and has left what smells like soap. Just a soapy residue.

 

Well, that was disappointing :/

[tempestteapot]

In the bottle I smelled a lot of sugar.

 

As I put it on and it dried down, the jasmine came out and pretty much took over. I'm not a huge fan of jasmine and so it became overpowering pretty quickly.

[PilotKitten]

Mmm... *very* sweet floral. After the initial drydown though, it turns to soap on me. Cheap hotel room

 

soap. After more of a drydown, a little bit more floral comes peeking out, but soap is still predominant. < cries > And I was so

 

hoping to love this one too....

[Natch]

in the bottle: sugar, a little lemon, and very soft florals. Very pretty, subtle, and sophisticated.

 

wet: much stronger. Can smell some incense now, and slightly stronger florals. A tad powdery.

 

dry: floral!!!! Wow. A sweet, powerful floral- maybe jasmine and others? For a short amount of time I get something almost metallic underneath. Slightly powdery, very lady-like.

 

overall impression: Nice, but I'm not a huge floral fan, yet my skins seems to amp a lot of florals ._. This is one of the few florals I've tried that I actually might wear, as it doesn't go powdery or cloying overkill on me. However, I would reserve this for those special "lady-like" moments- perhaps a cocktail party or a fancy dinner? I may keep this imp, but maybe not. We'll see it. It doesn't merit a bottle on me though. Just too floral for my taste.

[metaldog32]

Midnight on the Midway..one of only two CD scents I bought. What was the draw?? First off...I like the imagery the name of the scent conjured up for me..the idea of a midnight or noir-like carnavale..seemingly fun but seductive with hints of pleasure and fantasy..with an undercurrent of...something sinister?? I don't know..I guess I have a bit of a vivid imagination..hahahahahaha.

 

Secondly...I do like incense..especially in my fall/winter fragrances..it's a component/note that I am intstantly drawn to..and well couple that with a touch of sweetness, some night blooming floral and lightning..well..I am intrigued enough to make the purchase.

 

I have been wearing it all day today and here are my impressions:

 

Initial sniff from bottle:Something akin to citrus..perhaps lemon..maybe lemon verbena and floral..it's gotta be the night blooms. Not exactly what I was expecting..but it's early. There is a sweetness too..but no incense to speak of. It actually smells perfume-like..the old fashioned kind..so this really throws me for a loop.

 

Applied wet on skin:Night blooms are in my face..and it is one in particular..that smells an awfully like jasmine...although I swear that something in this is making me think violet too..like that roaring and headache-inducing violet in Numb...uh-oh..please don't let that happen here... It's kind of an aggressive floral right now..almost a tad bit soap-like...but I am waiting it out....the lemon vibe is nowhere in sight..

 

This isn't at ALL what I was expecting..but then again..I wasn't expecting anything like Midway either..so right now I am just going with the flow of this blend.

 

Couple of minutes on skin: So now the teetering vicious violet note has seemed to have evaporated and I am getting more of a jasmine note...and this is something I can deal with. I have never been too keen on florals..but since I went to Spain I now have very good memory associations regarding jasmine..especially night-blooming jasmine. This still has a bit of a perfume like quality to it..kind of old-fashioned..and every so often I am now registering a bit of the incense..but it's light and it's as if it is floating softly over the floral...I am usually used to the incense being the predominant and stronger note..so it's kind of interesting that at this stage it's playing the supporting role..interesting.

 

When I walked to see my sister and some friends for lunch...I kept getting wafts of this fragrance..but instead of straight up jasmine..I kept getting subtle waves of the sweet and light incense interspersing between the jasmine..but if I sniffed real close all I get is jasmine..it's as if the other notes are just floating out of my reach...and only come to me at their will instead of me commanding them on my skin.

 

This again isn't at all what I expected.

 

Drying:Floral..and at the tail end it kind of has a soap-like tinge..but I am okay with it..because there is some sweetness too...and yes...like some others stated...I get wwwaaayy in the back a very faint metallic echo..I like that very much...maybe it's the airy incense too??? I have no idea. Oooooohhh..the sugary incense starts mellowing into the back...really nice.

 

Drydown:Almost invisible...with the barest and I mean barest breath of incense and sweet.

 

Throw is soft to medium..the strongest in it's wet phase and when it's had a couple of minutes to warm up on my skin. Lasting power is actually not bad...4-5+ hours.

 

Bottom Line: Midnight on the Midway is definitely not what I had expected..but then again..the notes were dead on. I think the expression of the notes caught me off guard because I was expecting more incense and less floral..but I do like it. I actually would wear this as a winter scent..especially in maybe January because it kind of gives me a bit of a cold like vibe..not cold like as cold feeling...just not warm and inviting..it's a bit stand-offish...but there is something so alluring too. The airy wispiness of the incense with the heady jasmine kind of has me a bit confused..but in a good way. Not a holy-grail fragrance for me..but definitely a thought provoking one...am glad I have my 5ml.

Edited November 13, 2006 by metaldog32

[sophia_helix]

I rarely ever have to wash off a scent, but Midnight on the Midway was such overwhelming waxy-sweet plastic on me that it had to come off within a few minutes. I think it's probably the jasmine, although Beth's incense note is hit-or-miss on me too. Another casualty of skin chemistry.