Midwinter's Eve

[tsarina]

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

The first waft out of the bottle was sweetness, like holiday candy. At first it was all plum, delicious sugared and jellied plum. As it dried, I could smell something floral to it, and the fruit smell grew more complex. It makes me think of candied fruit pieces and bouquets of pale flowers. I am madly in love with this scent.

[requieminblack]

My review of Mid Winters Eve is short and to the point.

 

It smells like cherry kool aid.

 

I really wish I could smell plums and spices but on me all I get is cherry candy/kool aid.

[Longstofly]

Wow, I had no idea this was going to be such a candy-like scent. It smells red but without cherry which is good because I haven't done well on the very cherry bpal scents so far. Like another poster said, it reminds me of sweet tarts or something similar. Quite yummy. It never goes spicy or buttery on me. Just stays candy sweet and eventually fades a bit. I have to be careful though because it does give me a headache if I put too much of it on.

 

Beautiful scent!

[Donnababe]

I can't really add more to the previous reviews

 

MWE is sweet, juicy plums. It's far too sweet for me to wear everyday but it's a perfect Cheer Me Up on a Cold Day scent.

 

Lovely. I'm glad Beth brought it back

[Gin]

This is a fabulous sweet scent. I don't smell the flowers, but I do smell the gorgeous sugared plums. As others mentioned, this is similar to Bordello, but not quite so thick. It's divine.

[sarahj]

Midwinter's Eve

 

in bottle: sweet, sugary plums

 

wet: starts to have more depth; I think I detect grapes and/or cherries in the background

 

dry: still sweet plums plus other fruits in the background (sometimes I think I smell watermelon!)

 

verdict: lasts over 6 hours; I love it!

[Digital_Hypoxia]

Mmmm…

How I wish I had more than just an imp of this.

 

It smells like all of the good fruity/molasses bits of fruit cake, without, well, the fruitcake.

Its like spiced plum tea and Christmas candy swirled into one.

Its sweet without being cloying, and soft without being wispy.

 

Methinks I’ll have to pay ebay a visit.

[sarahjay]

I have sadly come to the conclusion that plum & I do not get on... this smelt shockingly sweet in the bottle and whilst it did get a bit deeper & darker when on, it's just not me.

 

I've passed this on to a friend (who likes blackcurrant and other fruity scents more than me) & I hope it suits her

Edited March 4, 2005 by sarahjay

[Doroshii]

Straight out of vial: Sweet yet tangy?

 

Wet on skin: There's a soft floral but more of a plummy tang to it.

 

Dry on skin: Also quite yummy but not in an edible kind of way. It's sweet but sour (good sour, not bad) at the same time. Another one that made me want to sniff my wrists all day.

 

as I said regarding Gingerbread Poppet, I'm a BPAL newbie who came in just as the 2004 Yule LEs were discontinued...however, like with GP, I was lucky enough to snag 2 5mls of this off eBay

[Shollin]

Thanks to kadmia for the decant!

 

First sniff: Oh, wonderful cold bright fruitiness. YUM.

 

Wearing: Midwinter’s Eve is absolutely fantastic. It’s a crystalline fruit, subtly sweet, brightly coloured but delicate, as if it might shatter at a touch.

[Spastik_Kitty]

In the bottle: Wet fruit and cinnamon

 

First on: The cinnamon is very strong, there is also a cool note.

 

After a while: Juicy plums and fig with a hint of spice and snow. This very much a winter scent. I simply adore it. I had my sister in-law smell it and all she said was "This smells like Christmas, I need some!"

[joseybird]

Sugar plum candy! I get no cinnamon or anything else...just sugar plum candy =) Not quite my style, but very nice!

[feline.by.design]

Can you believe I bought this straight from the Lab and I'm just now trying it on?? Slacker? Yes, that could be me.

 

In any case, after the initial "wow, bubblebath!" smell that is likely the plums, my skin morphs Midwinter's Eve into the smell of those holiday candles. It's gentle, nice, but... candles? Seriously, it's like I've got my nose to some green wax. I'm really amazed at how *dead on* the smell is, but I'm kind of waffling as to whether or not I want to hold onto Midwinter's Eve. I may try it out as a room fragrance before I give the final yay or nay, but as it stands, I don't think I'll be wearing it often. It's a lovely fragrance, just not for me.

 

-doreen

[quimerula]

Wet it's sugared plums (accurate description), sweet and a bit cold.

Dry the flowers go strong, but the plum is still in the first line, a white plum as the one in Kitsune Tsuki.

Nice and almost eatable.

[Pixie-elf]

Midwinter's Eve, I'd describe it as Bordello without all of the depth...

 

In the Vial: Plum, Plum and more Plum!

 

Wet: Sweet, yummy plum is pretty much all I smell wet on here... It's beautiful. Plummy yumminess!

 

Dry: Like sugary plummy fairy candy, if I had ever ate any sugar plums, I'm sure they'd smell like this, juicy, sweet, a little tart, but mostly sweet, and yummy.

 

Conclusion: Next year when it comes back I might wind up getting a bottle. But, honestly? Bordello is a LOT like this, and if you're looking for a subsitute for Midwinter's Eve, try Bordello. Both are good, I'm not saying MWE is bad, not at all, but Bordello just has more depth. This is still really nice tho... Winter-y.

[byrdie]

Vial ~ Sugary strawberry bubblegum.

 

Wet ~ The best, most flavorful chews of original flavor Hubba Bubba bubblegum.

 

Query ~ Is there something I'm missing about Christmas treats? Are some subset of them supposed to be a crossbreed of pink bubblegum and Hawaiian Punch? Or am I experiencing sugar plum for the first time? Yowsa.

 

Drying ~ It's starting to mellow and deepen a bit, as if there's a light musk behind all the sweetness. Or perhaps, a less hyperactive fruit, like mango.

 

Drydown ~ *hee* This is starting to smell on me the way that Lush's Angel's Delight soap does during a shower. There's still much bubblegum to the scent, but it's definitely leaning towards fruit punch.

 

Dry ~ And we have firmly achieved the Angel's Delight / fruit punch stage!

 

Fade ~ Something pink and fruity happened on my wrists hours ago. It's rather blunted and almost plasticy smelling, but without the plastic As though there was a firm, clear barrier between the fruit scent and my nose.

 

Final thoughts ~ I think that fans of Lush's Think Pink / Angel's Delight or Creamy Candy / Rockstar / Candy Fluff lines will find this oil to be a wonderful accompaniment. If you love one but hate the others, beware: it may well morph on your skin between product lines.

Edited April 17, 2005 by byrdie

[slave1]

In Bottle: Plum bubble gum.

 

On Skin: The plum is very sweet and dominant. I’m not sure if it reminds me of winter since it is so juicy and fruity. But it is deep and delicious. The florals are very light, yay! I love that the plum still stands out over them. This would be a beautiful scent for a candle as well. As the scent develops, I do see it being very holidayish… it’s more berry than plum and I am reminded of the smell of all the candles around my house during Christmas. I love it!

[Ajila]

I love this scent, on me it is Haribo sours (or tangtastic or whatever they're being called now), specifically the green 'stem' bits on the cherrys . I almost entirely disagree with the discription though, I got no plums and no florals and I thought it was a very cheery, up-lifting scent rather than being melancholy. Having said that I probably like it more than I would have done if it had been like the description, it is just perfect for sitting on the grass in the sun reading, which is what I've done today .

[Ariella]

This smells EXACTLY like those fruity gummy candies that are covered in sugar. In fact, throughout the day as I wore this I kept looking around for the candy bowl. I'm continually amazed at how Beth can make such totally sugary, sweetsweetsweet scents without having them be cloying or obnoxious at all.

If Midwinters Eve were a smiley, it would be this one:

It's really a playful scent (not melancholy on me in the least, either) - perfect to wear when I'm feeling silly (which often involves covering myself in glitter).

Edited May 7, 2005 by Ariella

[dreadeddragon]

In the bottle: Berries! Yum!

 

First on: Fruit Stripe gum.

 

Drydown: A nice icy plum scent, not too berry and not too aquatic. I really like it.

[purely_cosmetic]

I think I was expecting this to be a bit...richer, although Im not sure why. In the vial it smells like light plums, and once I put it on the skin it changes very quickly into a cherry/plum "kool aid" smell which is odd, but not unpleasant. I can't smell any sugar in it, but I think the lightness might be what consitutes as sugar.

 

This fades on me very quickly, although I do like it. It smells so similar to bordello - it's very much like a watered down version of that with an extra sugar kick to get it that extra bit "sweet" Im not sure how to describe the sweetness. As I said, it doesn't smell of sugar, but it smells sugary. In the same way that jailbait doesnt smell of sugar, but still smells sugary.

 

If bordello is a bit heavy for you, (asit was for me) then this is perfect for you. I'm glad I have a bottle of this on its way.

[QueenFae]

This has got to be my favorite limited edition scent yet. It really makes me think of ripe, frozen berries scatted over snow....under a full moon in the dead of december. The berries are so potent they are about to explode on my skin, I can't get enough of this one. I just sit there and sniff my wrists like some kind of freak... or addict...

[cupide430]

Midwinter's Eve

I've been putting off trying this one for a long time. I don't usually like fruity smells so I'm not sure why I got an imp.

 

It smells like bubble yum bubble gum. Maybe strawberry flavor? Definitely a strong berry bubble gum flavor. It reminded me of those pieces of bubble gum that were so big and soft that it made me feel like I was going to choke on the giant blob of gum. Another one for the swap pile.

[Little Bird]

Midwinter's Eve is the best LE blend that I've tried. I love the candy sweet scent of sugar plums. And this is sugar plums, only better. Somehow this scent manages to smell very wet, like plums so full and ripe that they've burst open and are dripping juice. But it also has a very frosty quality, like those same plums are sitting outside in the snow with a layer of frosty chill covering them.

 

These are plums that hang out in the happy world of Santa's Christmas Workshop. Picking up sweetness and magic and rolling in the snow with the elves. (No, I haven't slept in days, why do you ask?)

 

The scent never changes on me, just stays all plummy sweetness and winter wonderlands... but it only lasts a little over 3 hours on my skin before I have to reapply. I'll definitely buy several full size bottles of this whenever I get the chance.

[PurringPulsar]

Midwinter's Eve

 

In the bottle: sweet berries and watermelon? Not a scent I would associate with the Yuletide period, but with summer. It's very pleasant, but very sweet-like candied berries.

Wet on skin: very very sweet berries. Reminds me of a soap from the Body Shop. And yes, there's still watermelon, it's got a coolness to it.

Dry on skin: sweet berries, candy and ice. This is very sweet but quite pleasant. The scent is cool, like chilled cranberry/blackcurrant juice-I think I can smell cranberries in this, but without their distinctive dryness. There's probably plum in this too. It smells just like fruity sweets, so edible. I want to lick it off.

After a while: the scent gets more tart. It still retains it's sweetness, but there's a fruity tartness, like cranberry juice, that comes through. in fact, now it smells similar to the Body Shop's Cranberry scent they released last December. However the tart note also reminds me of white wine or champagne! But there's still that cool, almost watermelon like, background scent-gives a feel of ice or snow.

Verdict: this is really nice, but incredibly sweet. This is just like chilled fruit juice with fruit candies sprinkled with icing sugar. A nice cheerful, delicious sweet scent, bright and bubbly, an antidote for winter, and quite nice for summer too, strangely enough. I think this will be fantastic as room fragrance.

 

Edit: This fades too fast on me-and changes from crisp berries to plasticy scented candle wax.

Edited May 31, 2005 by yeahbutnobut