Midnight Kiss

[mhickle]

Eternal desire, unquenchable passion: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, and blood wine.

This is super sweet, but not in a cloying way. I get a lot of cherry action going on, even though there isn't any listed in the notes! I get a bit of the cocoa, and definitely the red musk (puts me in mind of my bottle of Smut). To be honest, I like this a lot more than I thought I would - I kept sniffing the imp and just thought "hmmm too sweet, I think, too heavy." But it's not at all. I think the spices, though I couldn't point them out to you, help to ground it.

[femmefatale]

This started out wonderfully. Beautiful slightly sweet berries with a hint of patchouli. After a while the red musk begins to come and go in waves. Not sure if I like that, but then that's how I am with red musk. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I really don't.

And then it begins to fade quickly and it's mostly a very very faint dusty berry. So sad. I wish this stayed around a bit longer to see what else it would do since I got no cocoa, sandalwood, nicotiana, or amber.

 

[aiko]

In the imp, this is sweet wine and musk with an underlying cocoa and patchouli note.

 

On my skin, it smells of mainly sweet berry wine and blood. The patchouli and cocoa notes that were gounding the scent? GONE! It still smell lovely but it could have been better.

[sirensea]

In the imp: Vetiver isn't one of the listed notes, but... that's all I can smell in the imp.

On my skin: Chocolatey. Slightly sweet, but mostly strong and almost... floral? I'm thinking it must be the patchouli I'm associating with vetiver. There's a hint of cherry in the back of my throat now. Very interesting!

[BuxomM]

I smell musk, amber, a bit of patchouli, but mainly grapes like in sangria. I get a faint whiff of cocoa. I prefer sweet foody scents so this wasn't for me.

[djsiberia]

this is a beautiful complex scent. i love it. the patchouli and wine mix together with red musk, amber and sandalwood...this scent is goregous on. it's one of my favorite scents and i get a lot of compliments when i wear it.

 

it's so dark and brooding...not one note dominates the other.

 

 

[juniperus]

bottle: sweet. smells, er.. red.

wet: the notes are separating... I can discern the musk, sandalwood, and wine.

dry: no cocoa or patchouli yet, but the others are present. I'm hoping the wine doesn't sour.

later: yep, the wine went off on me. bugger.

[Eros]

Huh, thought I'd reviewed this.

 

If it was lovely when I first got it(when it made its debut), it's even moreso now. Aging has made it richer and given it more depth. Most assuredly a red scent. Juicy & musky with a touch of (again) rich resin. The wine note in this is perfection and smells, to my nose, like the pomegranate in Misfortune Teller. The nicotiana is gorgeous(a favorite note of mine), similar to that in Kali. Like walking into a humidor full of the most expensive and exclusive cigars in existence. I tend to amp patchouli but here it stays in the background helping ground the scent. I don't really detect the cocoa absolute, aside from what I've mentioned, notes that peek out just long enough to distinguish themselves, this is a very well blended oil.

Hints of Gluhwein every now and again and very definitely reminescent of Misfortune Teller. I'm surprised there isn't more hoarding and coveting of this one, it's right up there with, as mentioned Mme. Moriarty, as well as Snake Charmer, Sin...

I also, btw, wore this one for my wedding(which also happened to be on Halloween). Very fitting, methinks.

 

This is a real beauty. If you haven't tried it, look for a decant at least. If you have it and haven't worn it in a while, go get it and put it on. Now. You'll be glad you did.

 

 

 

[undream]

ohmygod, this is beyond lovely. definite cocoa hints from the imp, but once on it unfurls a bit. i'm noting a lot of people saying that it smells like cherry cola to them, or dr. pepper, and i can see why. however, to my nose: there is a gum from my childhood that was labeled as dr. pepper gum. it came in packages of five individually wrapped squarish bits, and it was filled with a thick candied liquid (also "dr. pepper" flavoured). this oil, on my skin, smells exactly like that gum (with a hint of cocoa), and it. is. gorgeous. just beautiful and delicious and yum, and i am so despondent that it's not a GC. but also

 

it does not seem to last very long on me, but with a smell-good that smells this good, i wouldn't mind slathering! i definitely must get my hands on more of this.

[bubblefish]

I really like the combination of sandalwood, amber, and patchouli. And in this blend the three are very nicely interwoven with a dark red sweetness. It's not foody, but more of a floral sweet.

[Diva Urd]

Vial: Chocolate liqueur and woods. Interesting.

On: Initially a blast of chocolate, then the cocoa goes into the background and lets the wine and the woods play.

Later: After drydown, this smells almost like "Fenris Wolf" on me... must have something to do with the red musk in this. I wasn't all that fond of it, so I can live without this one.

[hlemonds]

I was gifted with an imp of this, and it is one of the first red musk blends i've been able to wear without the red musk taking over completely. I definitely get cocoa and nicotiana, plus a hint of fruitiness which i'm guessing is from the wine. Overall i really, really like this blend. Moreso than other red musk blends i've tried as they simply became too red musky and/or headshop-y on me.

[Venneh]

Got this as a tester in a recent swap; I get a Centzon Totochtin, with a sharper sort of bite to it. Not anything I'm going to particularly seek out more of, I think, and will put it up for swap for someone else.

[Geminirubyshoes]

I was gifted this by Gingiemay and I am eternally grateful.

I have been on the hunt for this for awhile now and she gave me an imp of it.

Midnight Kiss is everything I thought it would be. It's musky, sexy, dark and chocolatey. I think my eyes rolled around a bit when I first sniffed it. I can smell the wine note but only a tiny bit when I first put it on.

It's gorgeous and I am going to go through the imp fast. The search for a bottle will continue.

 

Update: bottle obtained thanks to Ishtar smells even better straight out if the bottle!

Edited January 3, 2010 by Duskinhereyes

[Amoraexcena]

Imp: dark, strongly alcoholic red wine, patchouli.

 

Wet on Skin: suddenly the alcohol disperses and we’re left with a lovely aged strawberry dessert wine, perfect for sipping. There is a whiff of smoke of some forbidden opium-like drug- nicotiana? The red musk and sandalwood to ground it all but not to overpower. Lovely.

 

Drydown: Lovely lightly tart red juices, sweet musk, a warm amber and the grounding sandalwood. This is absolutely stunning, with good throw and decent staying power.

[Phantasmagoria]

Got this as a frimp from a forumite:

 

In the imp - a particularly light, fruity wine.

 

Wet on skin - wine, musk, and patchouli

 

Dry on skin - musk and patchouli. Too bad I don't like patchouli..

[EmpressPixie]

I got this at C2E2 after everyone started raving about it on the C2E2 thread. Half of the notes are things that usually do not work on me: most cocoas turn into cheap tootsie rolls, amber goes powdery, patchouli just takes over, and wine smells like rotting grapes.

 

Midnight Kiss is not that kind of scent. Wet and in the bottle, midnight kiss is glistening red fruits on top of freshly baked brownies.

 

As it dries, a deep, red incense and whisp of tobacco smoke begin to emerge still overshadowed by the red fruit. The brownies wave goodbye, which is a shame because they were delightful. The scent goes from dark forest brownies to red, deep, and sultry.

 

[meredevachon]

Got this as a frimp way back when, it didn't work for me, and I never got around to reviewing it. But I'm trying to get more organized so I can gift friends with some of the imps I don't wear (for whatever reason)...making room for more, obviously. Hence the backlog of reviews.

 

In the imp: bitter chocolate, maybe a dutch-processed cocoa? and roasted hazelnuts. I'm not really one for foodie scents, but if it stayed like this, I'd at least want to sniff it now and then.

 

Wet: And here comes the grape Bubble Yum, I mean wine. Every. Single. Time. White wines seem to work okay, but if it's red, it's going to turn into grape bubble gum. At least I can still make out a little of the chocolate.

 

Dry: Within 15 minutes, all I get is the sickly sweet and sticky grape Bubble Yum, even the chocolate's gone. Massive throw, lasts until I just have to wash it off - I think I lasted 5 hrs once, when trying to see how long it would last, and I gave up before it did.

[pixiedoo]

Wet and in the imp Midnight Kiss is chocolate covered fruit and I was concerned it was going to be way too foody.

 

On my skin it morphs into something quite outstanding. A rich sweet heady smell that is stopped from being too foody by the presence of the sandalwood and patchouli. It is luxurious and damn sexy. It's intense, dark and musky but at the same time sweet and somewhat fruity.

 

It has a similar vibe to Blood Kiss but is slightly darker, sexier and more complex.

 

Needless to say I have already tracked down a full bottle!!

[strahlend]

I keep going back and forth on this scent. Sometimes I really like it, sometimes it seems just nice. I think it's because I really like the feeling of the deep, rich red wine and wood but I'm not so fond of when the red wine fades. The cocoa and sandalwood are great for giving depth and interest to the scent, I enjoy red musk... but when the beautiful red wine fades and turns into red berries it loses my interest.

Edited July 25, 2010 by strahlend

[dreamingjune]

In the bottle: This reminds me an awful lot of Centzon Totochtin with the cocoa and wine notes. I used to love that scent but just can't handle the wine anymore.

 

Wet: Ooh, this is almost like a lighter version of Boomslang with a strawberry wine note! I always want to like berry notes yet rarely do. Somehow I am really loving this.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same. This is way lighter than I expected, and there is a fresh berry note still present at the forefront. Not too much musk, but just enough to keep the berry/wine note from going crazy. I don't really get much in the way of sandalwood and patchouli, though those notes are favorites of mine and rarely jump out to my nose.

 

Overall: Definitely not what I am usually into but I am quite in love with this. It is sweet and fruity yet grounded with a touch of musk, cocoa, and maybe a faint hint of woods.

[tealeaves]

I got this as a frimp from the Lab, and I was a bit apprehensive as I don't love sweet fruit scents. I was right - this went horribly south on me. No depth at all, it smelled like a cherry Tootsie Pop or maybe Robotussin. Cloyingly sweet. Unfortunately, one for the swap pile.

[calivianya]

Ooh, this is good.

 

Midnight Kiss is initially all red musk, cocoa, and wine on me. After a while, I can smell the patchouli trying to fight its way out, but red musk and wine amp on me so well that it's not winning. Eventually, the cocoa fades and all I have left is red musk and wine. I never quite get the amber, nicotiana, and sandalwood, but it's very good all the same.

[Larinessa]

This oil was one of my high priority wish list items, but unfortunately this did not live up to my expectations. In the bottle: Holy Moly red musk! Absolutely wafting from the bottle, and almost put me off from skin testing. Wet on skin: red musk, patchulli, and what might be the nicotania. A bit... Sour. No cocoa at all. Dry on skin: grape wine, pleasant, but not quite what I was wanting. Where's the cocoa? This has moderate length and throw. I am going to sit on this a bit before deciding what to do with it.

[Helas]

I love the idea of smelling like wine. Unfortunately, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab seems to share the same operational definition of wine as an evangelical communion deacon - which is to say, that it can adequately be replaced by Welchs grape juice. Most of the Lab's wine scents have turned to sugary grape drink on me, and Midnight Kiss is no exception. The wine note in this one is particularly egregious, artificial and candy-like in its sweetness, with none of the slightly bitter, decadent booziness that I was hoping for. The chocolate amps the sweetness even more and gives the blend a dusty feel. I get no sandalwood or patchouli whatsoever. I was hoping for a woodsy, grown-up cocoa and wine blend, something like Velvet meets the Zadok Allen Vineyard. I got Cadbury mixed with Welchs, which may sound like a good idea until you actually try it.

 

Lasts forever and throws like a mofo. I ended up washing this one off.