Midnight Mass

[alicia_stardust]

... 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.

 

This is a soft, sweet incense at first; mostly frankincense and myrrh. After a while I get more of a dry woodiness to the resins and it turns bitter on my skin. HOWEVER this makes the most amazing, comforting, magickal, peaceful room scent on the planet!! For that alone I will always keep a bottle of this for as long as it is offered at the Yule updates.

[arabella]

2006 Version

 

First Impression: Soft incense

Dries down to: The incense gets stronger

Additional comments: I thnk I prefer last year's version. It's straightforward incense - okay for a room scent.

Lasted: Overnight

Rating: 2 out of 5

[girlygirl]

06 version

 

This is the incensey, woody, resiny blend I have been dreaming of! LOVE!!

[delicate_fangs]

i fear my true heathen nature as i posed all those years as a solemn, dutiful believer has been found out, and this is some kind of punishment. i guess one shouldn't feel sexy and naughty when smelling like church. . . .

 

I must respectfully beg to differ; that seems the perfect time to feel that way!

 

Midnight Mass is resiny incensey goodness on me, and the pine (cedar, I guess) is nice, after I get past the tiny hint of banana that seems to come up early on my skin whenever I'm wearing something with this note. (Freshly-sawn pine boards have a tinge of banana scent to my nose, too, so maybe it's just that my smeller is off.)

 

Back to the feeling sexy and naughty part: I once put on some Midnight Mass and a bit later had the occasion to tell a dear friend of mine "I am wearing an Oysterband t-shirt, a wicked grin, and I smell like church." His response was ... gratifying. Keltic, I hope you can find an incense blend that works with your skin chemistry. I think I've found one of my favorites in Midnight Mass.

[akiko]

I don't know which year this is. I got it in a swap, and the decanter didn't note on the label.

 

Imp: Very subtle, nice incensey resiny blend. I got this one because it reminded me of Pit & the Pendulum, except very much less so, and I wanted to smell it on my husband.

 

Wet: Still a nice blend of resins. This must share a note with Heavenly Love & Earthly Love, because there's the same note that makes me gag a bit. In this it fades off as it dries, which is good.

 

Dry: Goes kind of powder/wax on me.

 

On SO: Smells nice, and it doesn't get that gag note.

[DogNPonyShow]

On the bottle: Incense and cologne.

On: Peppery cologne with a faint hint of incense and smokey woods. I love to smell it on a guy.

Verdict: This is very comforting in a way. It isn't something I'd think would work for me, but it does.

[tartchef]

(I have to wonder just how many resiny incensey woodsy scents I need to try/have in my collection... doesn't stop me from try9ing new ones, though! )

 

A nice thick oil, like honey in the vial... always a good sign. Once on, Midnight Mass is a beautiful frankincense-based blend, with touches of myrrh & smooth sandalwood & cedar... this is what I hoped Cathedral would be on my skin If Heavenly Love & Earthly Love, Valentine of Rome, Anne Bonny & Black Forest weren't all gorgeous on me, I'd absolutely be adding Midnight Mass to my bottle hoard, but it's similar enough to these favorites that I think my decant will be just fine...

[anardana]

I got my hands on an imp of this- and I'm so glad that it smells pretty much like Penitence (GC) because now I don't have to go hunting for more of MM. It's a little stronger and sweeter than Penitence, but I don't like the added sweetness.

[nightbiscuit]

2005 blend:

 

Incredibly rich and chunky incense, the resins are practically plantlike, they are so moist. This scent is sharp, dark, smooth, and intense. My skin brings out a very sweet tang which is almost citrusy. So interesting, because when I first put it on, I could have sworn I smelled cinnamon in this. Morph-y!

[Jadys]

2006 Version

 

This isn't as incensey as I thought it would be and however described it as the smell of the wooden pews of an old church is dead on IMHO. A warm scent that stays close to the skin on me. Nice enough.

[GhillieDhu]

2008 version.

 

Inadvertently tested this while decanting for my circle people. It is delicious. This is exactly what I'd hoped Cathedral would be. Golden frankincense and syrupy myrrh, with soft beeswax and a little bit of mellow wood... cedar? There's something spicy and almost green in this... smells like coriander or maybe sage. It's probably the frankincense interacting with something, but it keeps this from being too dark and heavy. It stays true on my skin for a long time. This is a quiet, peaceful, sacred scent - as it should be.

 

Verdict. I think I need a bottle.

[strangemodegirl]

Oh wow.

This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for. I have never tried the older versions, so I am not sure how this compares, but the '08 version is absolutely lovely.

No single note is really standing out to me, it just seems to be a perfect blending. Could also be that I am still terrible at trying to pick out individual notes..

I am very glad I got a bottle and plan to get a back up or two.

[porcelina]

ok, THIS is my perfect incense blend. midnight mass is effing fantastic. i want to wear it, spray it around my room, use it in my oil burner. it's curling blue smoke and dusty pews. it's like having sex in a church. i think it will age spectacularly... i need exactly 500 more bottles now.

Edited November 8, 2008 by porcelina

[osbick_bird]

This is such a lovely, evocative scent! I'm so happy to have gotten it in the mail today. Like everyone else has said, this is a sweet, resinous blend with a little cedary evergreen in the mix. It's warm and comforting. The little bit of sweetness rounds it out beautifully! It was an impulse buy but I am so happy to have splurged on this.

[crebbsgirl]

This one was mainly frankincense on me. Wet, there was a pine or cedar like vibe and as it dries, there's a polished wood feel to this blend. Throughout the drydown, it was predominantly frankincense. Very warm and incensey, but on me, this lacks depth.

[Schmoozy]

Midnight Mass 2005

I wasn't sure if I would like this as incense really isn't my thing, but Midnight Mass is magical. I am unsure whether or not to sniff a fresh bottle, as I can see it being a little to dark & incensey for me.

However, 2005 bottle is dark and woodsy. There is pine and smoke, and it smells like a brand new peice of pine furniture before it is stained or painted. It is warm, and inviting and very intoxicating.

[lefthandmade]

MIDNIGHT MASS 2008

 

I was immediately reminded of CATHEDRAL but it's not quite as sweet and woody, it's slightly more smoky. Because of this I had MIDNIGHT MASS on one wrist and CATHEDRAL on the other while testing it. They are less alike than I thought they would be when I first sniffed MIDNIGHT MASS in the bottle. CATHEDRAL is lighter and sweeter and it doesn't have the smoke thing going on to the degree MIDNIGHT MASS does. Usually i'm a little weary when it comes to smoke because some smoky scents hasn't worked on me but this one dries down to sweet and resiny gorgeousness. It outlasts CATHEDRAL and when it dries completely it's much better too. Who knew?

[MCS4096]

2008 blend

 

In the Bottle: Incense (duh) and a fruitiness actually, like apple maybe.

 

Wet: Pretty much the same.. sweet incense with cedar. I'm still thinking apples It makes kind of a wine note.. so I'm thinking wooden pews in a dark church, the taste of sacramental wine on my lips. I don't get anything smoke like here.

 

Dry: Like others have said, this is a pretty straightforward scent, it doesnt change much over time for me. It's not very complex, but as a newbie BPALer and incense fan, I'm glad to add this blend to my collection.

[myth]

I have a bottle of a previous year of this [can't recall which] but I might need this year's as well, especially since the husband has finally capitulated and begun allowing me to apply scents to him.

 

I would absolutely guess it includes strong frankincense component, there is the rich wood quality that frank has. If you like incense scents you need to try this. I don't mean headshop incense though... this is Three Wise Men incense. It's perfect and gorgeous; simply a classic.

[Seadreamer]

Version: Yule 2008

 

In the Imp: Smokey resinous incense, sweet, gorgeous and deep.

 

Wet: Much the same as the imp. Maybe this will be one of these rich, dark perfums I can actually wear.

 

Drying: Oh. OH. Noooooo... What IS that? My skin is doing something awful to this scent. *sighs* There is something in here that is in Snake Oil. I don't know what it is, but after it dries it has that same smell. Oh well. Since I honestly ordered this for a friend who is devoutly Catholic and once told me, "I love the smell of Christmas mass" I think it's OK. In fact, it's beautiful on her. It doesn't morph from the bottle scent, and keeps that same lovely incense smell. She's thrilled. And I'm happy if she's happy. Maybe Midnight Mass has birthed another BPAL convert.

 

***Edited because I can't spell. Or type.

Edited November 25, 2008 by Seadreamer

[greenranger]

Sweet resiny incense. This is much sweeter than I had thought it would be. That's fine. I get along well with sweet. This is less peppery than most of the frankincense I have sniffed. There's a bit of a similarity to penitence or cathedral(bot favorites of mine)...but, this is both sweeter and milder?

 

Mmmm. Yeah. I think this will work.

[milo]

This is another Yule win for me. I really like this, it is a soft, mild incense, perfect for the holiday season. It kind of reminds me of the incense in Midnight on the MIdway, only milder and without the flowers. I detect a slight woody note, I think it's cedar, but it is not bothering me like it usually does. This is definitely a bottle for me to wear during the holidays to come. A previous poster said this is a classic, and I wholeheartedly agree.

[forspecial_plate]

Midnight Mass 2008....

 

I'm reviewing this newer incarnation even though it smells exactly like the older one to me. The reason for the new review is that my tastes have changed a little.

 

Over the last 2+ years, I have finally accepted that I just don't like frankincense as much as I thought I did. I like the way it smells at first, but basically, it ends up smelling like bologna on me. Weird, right? I do like this more than Valentine Of Rome or The Magi. This is a little softer on the frankincense, and it does have a nice burning incense smell. It's peaceful. I will definitely always keep a decant (or two) of Midnight Mass, because I know it's a scent that I get in the mood for every once in a while.

 

Maybe I amp frankincense, because that particular note lasts and lasts on my skin, and kind of takes over the whole scent (not just in M.M., but in other blends as well). In its favor, this scent smells very much like the highest quality frank & myrrh incense that I've burned in my apt. (from Fred Soll), but that incense ends up smelling like bologna too, or roasted meat, or something. : ( So it's really my nose's fault (or my brain's?), not the scent itself.

[sookster]

2008 version...

 

straight sniff from the imp is cedarwood incense...

 

once applied the cedarwood is strong and i detect myrrh and frankincense...

works oh so well with my chemistry

 

a really great blend for the holiday season

[Dark Alice]

This scent inspires feelings of holiness, prayers, and gorgeous candle-lit illuminated churches. This is absolutely gorgeous! I think I have found my final yule that I will purchase!