The Midnight Carnival

[Ajila]

Cruelty and confinement, small magics and penny illusions: galbanum, teak, myrrh, narcissus, patchouli, cacao, labdanum, agarwood, lavender, neroli, and black moss.

 

In the bottle - Wood shavings

Wet on me - Yes, I still get wood shavings, softened by something like geraniums (goodness knows what combination of notes gives me that)

Dry on me - Kind of clean dry woods with a touch of musk

Overall - Not really me

[JazzieCazzie]

Received an imp of this from my wish list in a lovely swap ... the list of notes intrigued me SO much, so many "yes" notes for me, coupled with the incense mentioned in the reviews. But be forewarned ... this is a really tough review to write. For some reason, though I am familiar with nearly all of the notes pretty intimately, I found this one of the most difficult blends to separate and identify the notes.

 

IN THE IMP: Very VERY unusual, fascinating, unique ... I cannot actually identify a single note from this sniff but I DO get the incense comps.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: This is so odd. I am not getting ANY of the lavender which usually comes out on me. I'm getting an odd mix of "old lady" notes (powdery) and "guy" notes (cologne) and yet I still really like it. Smoky, dark, seductive and also slightly sweet. Some floral but not a flowery-floral. More a toilet water floral.

 

DRYDOWN: A very strong, powdery, incensey-resiny blend.

 

OVERALL: This has TONS of throw and be forewarned, a little goes a VERY long way.

 

On a scale of 1-5, about a 3.5

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Strong and sharp, I can definitely smell the wood notes and the patchouli. There’s a smoky scent in there that I think is myrrh incense, and just a hint of sweet that’s probably the cacao and lavender.

Wet on my skin: Freshly-hewn spicy wood with a touch of patchouli. Still has that smoky edge to it from the patchouli and myrrh, and I’m liiiking that note.

Dry: Oh, I LIKE this. Really like this. I might need a big bottle of it. This smells like expensive wood, smoke, and incense, and it’s got this dark and almost sharp edge to it. It’s like what you might smell when walking into a little voodoo shop in Louisiana. I’m not getting much of the lavender or cacao, except for a very faint and somehow dark/musty sweetness at the back of the scent, like at the very end of each sniff.

Edit: Wore this out and about to a rehearsal last night, and it made me smell like I'd been dancing around a magical, incensed bonfire in the middle of the pine/spruce forests here. It's wonderful and I love it even more than when I first tried it. Definitely going for a big bottle of this once my imp starts running low.

Edited January 29, 2015 by DiesMali

[savage_rose]

For some reason this smells fruity and beach-y on my skin...it reminds me of vacation breakfasts when I would get to have Froot Loops (at home we'd only have healthy bran-laden, adult cereals, but on vacation I would get to have sugary fun cereals). And there's something about it that smells a bit like salt and sunscreen, so I smell this and I'm a kid at the beach. A weird but pleasant reaction to this complex scent .

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Wow, this is so interesting! It's briefly really spicy - not sure what that's from. It's quite Myrrh forward on me, but with lots of complexity. Individual notes are hard to pick out. It's deep, dark, resinous. Sweet and murky.

 

 

Dry: While this is still gorgeous, it has turned mostly to a Myrrh single note on me. It's a beautiful sweet "chewy" Myrrh. My favourite kind. But I was hoping it would keep some of it's complexity.

[freyasfae]

This went through several cycles on me, but I couldn't tell you exactly what notes were prominent at what time. It's very well blended. It has a slight overall powdery quality. The neroli and patchouli seemed very prominent at first, and the cacao and labdanum were more prominent after drying for a bit.

[artisjok]

Midnight Carnival looked so complex and gorgeous, yet the reviews made me a bit wary of blind bottling. A lovely lady shared a decant from her bottle recently.

 

It’s definitely not as obviously complex as I expected, yet beautiful. It’s like wearing a velvet curtain, thick and lush, yet a little worn and scented by years of resinous (mostly myrrh) smoke. Seamless and dark, Midnight Carnival hints at sensuality and mystery, and gives no secrets away. 
 

Though I probably won’t look for a bottle anytime soon, as I have a good amount of dark resinous scents, I wouldn’t have been disappointed if I did blind bottle. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by artisjok

[roseus]

2023 Reboot Edition

In the imp this brought to mind a dark, semi-tropical forest. Earthy woods and patch made a bit humid by the florals and moss. On my skin it makes me think of a mysterious cart selling exotic goods, a fae peddler. It's more incense, with a bit of earthiness behind it. Florals mingle over the top, mostly lavender and neroli.

[Rane.]

Bought 2023. Very complex, but breathy/airy like copal would be. I'm thinking that's the Agarwood mixing with the neroli. The cacao note I was scared of, but you know what? It's smells great & is faint enough to add depth & plays nice with the other notes. That teak & myrrh is sweet too. This one is going to age nicely.