Midnight Mass

[grrrlennyl]

MIDNIGHT MASS
I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts.

But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.

In Roman Catholic tradition, the Christmas season begins liturgically on Christmas Eve, though it is forbidden to celebrate the Christmas Mass before midnight. The most devout attend Midnight Mass, celebrating both the Eucharist and the drama of the Nativity.

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.

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

at first: soft resins and incense.
on: sharper than in the bottle, but still softer than i thought it would be. very lovely. exactly like church incense.
half an hour later: this is still pretty much the same, maybe a tiny bit sweeter.
1.5 hours later: still the same. amazing! the sweetness is pretty much gone.
2.5 hours later: yeah, i don't know what else to say.
overall: lovely stuff. this was the only yule LE i ordered and i'm glad i chose it.

[sarada]

What can I say? Let's just rename this: Sarada's Dream Blend. Though I suspect Penance will like it too! I can't even figure out how to be eloquent about this, it's just the epitome of the resinous church incense scent.

 

Other than frankincense and myrrh I don't know what is in this, but it's got the glorious radiant beauty of Cathedral and Penitence, and then some. There's something that kicks it up just a little bit stronger, a little more powerful, a little sweeter. But not as sweet as Al Azif, not by a longshot.

 

This could be an every day scent for me but I'm trying to limit myself to one bottle since I have sooo many resin scents, and I like to try to rotate them now and then. But I might have to get a second, just because this is the PERFECT church incense/resin smell.

 

Not too smoky, not too sweet, and I have a feeling like with all of the Yule scents, when you step outside into the chill winter night with this on, your skin will warm this wonderful fragrance and the wind will lift it up in a cloud around you.

 

I don't even go to church but if it smells this good I might have to become a nun.

[nineveh]

This is so good.

 

I've never been in a Catholic church, so I can't comment on that aspect. But I love incense perfumes.

 

This is similar to Cathedral, somewhat, but sweeter and with less of the polished wood scent. I can also pick out a faint bit of burning candle, like in Gypsy Queen. There's also some spicy frankincense. I can't pick out anything beyond that, but this is smoky without being overwhelming, and absolutely wonderful.

 

If you love incense/resins, you've probably ordered this already. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?

[UltraViolet]

 

Bottle Pic: http://pic7.picturetrail.com/VOL202/154131...8/120641038.jpg

 

In the bottle

Mmm. Warm and almost foody with the golden resin. Less myrrh than I thought it might have. In fact I don't smell any myrrh.

On

This is the one blend I couldn't wait to try. I smell Frankincense. (glad I reviewed that sn or I wouldn't know this) I smell smoke and their might indeed be myrrh. It's so damn lovely. I thought this blend might be kind of strong or not easy to wear to all places but it's not quite like that. It's a meditational blend for me moving forward let's just put it that way. Absolutely soothing and warm.

30 minutes

lol, memories of my knees aching from the kneeling and the getting up and down.

Throw:

Yes, a bit.

Scent category:

Incense

Summary

I smell the sweet dill quality that Frankincense has in places. And then a greyish Myrrh in the middle and Sandalwood (or a light wood like cedar) and something else I can't quite place wafting on top.

It's solemn but not "yeesh" smelling. Just enough sweetness to make it even sensual dare I say.

Purchase again?

Yes. This is right up there with "Horus", "Tushnamatay" or "White Light" for tehe just right meditational vibe.

1-5 rating (5 being best)

4.5

[lorajc]

I'm not Catholic, so I'm not much familiar with the incense (except at a funeral once)....so I can't compare that aspect of this scent....but I must say that this one surprised me. I only ordered 1 bottle, as I wasn't sure I'd like this, but I really like it. It is not a strong or overly incensy blend. I think I may smell just a tiny bit of rose at first, but it blends with the resins so well that it smells wonderful (I don't really like rose on it's own). This is just an unbelievable scent and I'm really surprised by how much I like it. I'll be ordering more of this one. A very soft and unique scent that is very calming.

[sarahmarie]

I didn't really expect to be able to wear this, since I'm not a big incense-wearing person, but I had to smell it just because...it smells like church! And I don't do church anymore, except when I visit my parents for Christmas, but it's evocative to me. And Midnight Mass does smell like church...but on my skin, it's mostly just really strong frankincense. My skin amps up frankicense and it can be a headache trigger, so I probably won't keep it. But I can totally see the potential for awesomeness if you can wear frankincense and like incensey smells.

[summer]

This is just beautiful. The surprise winner of all the Yule blends for me. When I first applied it, it smelled (unsurprisingly) very incensy. Incense and smoke. But it has dried down into the most gorgeous warm, golden, close-to-the-skin, sexy resin scent. It's not too heavy or overpowering, but it is deep and present and calming. I love it. I can see myself wearing this often.

[Nachtwulf]

In the bottle, this reminds me very much of a slightly sweeter Cathedral. I can pick up the cedar qualities to it (which I lovelovelove in Cathedral), which indicates I've got a new version of an old favorite. Warm sweet cedar makes me happy. <3

 

Wet: Hmnrn. I smell...cedar. I think it may be a little bit more floral than Cathedral, but not a lot. It's a lighter scent, and despite being extremely similar, doesn't seem to have quite as much throw. There is a whisper of incense, but only the barest whisper.

 

Dry: Well, when it's dry, it finally morphs away from being a Cathedralclone and into its own scent. I'm pretty sure there's frankincense in it, that's more detectable in throw than up close. The floral qualities have faded, leaving wood and resin behind.

 

Final opinion: Well, I love Cathedral, so I love this. But I have to say, don't feel like there's a panic to get more, since Cathedral is a catalog oil and isn't going anyplace, and through most of its existence, Midnight Mass is very close, at least as far as I can tell.

[Nadirah]

This is Christmas in a bottle. 100% Real Xmas scent to me. Its got a bit of sweet pinion resin or something in it maybe this is a frankincense? It's incensey but not overpowering, Its not too much pine (is it pine at all or a resin?), not too much smoke, its got a hint of sweet candy in it. Midnight Mass is just BEAUTIFUL, it lasts a good amount of time. This will be my scent for the season. I may just have to buy another bottle of this! I give it 5 out of 5 stars, it is damn near perfect!! Definately at my top 10!

 

It actually made me *feel* like it was Xmas time, not just a heavy shopping season!

[wolfie13]

Midnight Mass is a nice incense/resin scent.

I'm just not as excited about it as I was expecting to be - i think I'm picturing something very specific in terms of this scent, and through no fault of the lab, it's just not what is in my mind's eye, so to speak.

 

It has elements of Cathedral, Penitence and Aureus - which happen to be 3 of my very favorite Bpals. However, to my nose, the combination is less successful than these scents are on their own. I like each of them better than I do this one.

Edited December 12, 2005 by wolfie13

[shelldoo]

in the bottle: resins, like chunks of frankincense, myrrh, and another that i know i know but can't place at the moment.

 

wet: wow yes incense intense.

 

as it dries, this is not the "cheap" incense you can pick up at any flea market stall it is the resins you buy to make an offering. it is as if i took a chunk and crush it in my fingers rubbing it to help the scent escape.

 

 

gorgeous.

[Lucretia]

hmn, I'm just not crazy about this one. Still not the particular blend of church smells that I remember from when I was a child.

 

I guess resins smell like pepper on me, cause that's what I get at first. As it dries down I get smokyness and darkness.

 

This just doesn't develop well on my skin. Oh well, I'm sure someone else will love it.

[tinyvulture]

at first this smells slightly of bananas, which worries me. but as it dries, that quickly fades and yes, it smells exactly like the catholic church incense i remember from my churchgoing days.

 

i'd say it's warmer than cathedral, more complex than penitence (i think it's got something besides frankincense and myrrh), and not quite as sweet/foody as aureus. i love all of the lab's incense blends and this one's a keeper for sure.

[LiberAmoris]

When I was living in New Orleans I used to buy this incense that came in a little box with an image of the Virgin Mary on the front. It looked like peat moss and it would smolder for hours, making my apartment smell like a church at Easter. Since I left, I've been searching for this incense, or a decent replacement, to no avail. But Midnight Mass is pretty close!

 

I definitely feel like I can pick out the traditional 'churchy' resins: frankincense and myrrh. Past that, I feel like there's perhaps a very muted rose note that's just on the periphery. On the drydown I'm picking up cedar, maybe a little sandalwood, and galbanum. It does bear a resemblance to Cathedral, although Cathedral (at least with my skin chemistry) is heavier on the wood notes and Midnight Mass is more resiny.

 

One thing that did surprise me was that I was expecting Midnight Mass to have a 'smoky' note, like in Gyspy Queen or Hexennacht or Devil's Night. But on me it's smokeless incense, like entering a room in which incense has been burned for many years and the scent has worked its way into the walls and curtains and furniture (or pews)---so it's all around one like incense, without the smoke.

 

I think I might have to get another bottle of this just to use in my oil burner. Between this and Jacob's Ladder I am in resin heaven.

[coulrophobe]

Preconceived notions: Well... I didn't have any. Being raised a godless heathen, I have no clue what traditional church incense smells like.

 

In the bottle: Much more woody than I expected - heavy wooden furniture (uh... pews! Yes. That's what they call those benchy things), worn with years of use, furniture polish.

 

On: Now I can smell the resins, rather than just a generalized woody smell. First I get a blast of frankincense - the "soapy trees" smell is unmistakable. Then I can smell myrrh, which always smells a bit like syrup to me, thick and heavily sweet - it becomes the dominant note pretty quickly on my skin.

 

This balances out to a nice myrrh blend - a little too sweet for me, but not to the point of being cloying.

[joseybird]

This stuff is HARD CORE! Not sweet and soft and wimpy like incense sticks, but the real stuff, somber, heavy, and somewhat sharp (from the frankincense?). This is definately a blend that needs to be sniffed from at *least* a few inches away (pressing my nose to my wrist, I get a very sharp dill smell). I get a sappiness, and a waft of dark, powdered minerals, as well as the woodiness that coulrophobe describes.

 

Interesting...I have no idea where/when I'll wear this, but I'll hold on to some, just in case.

[Little Bird]

Midnight Mass was the Yule blend that I was most excited about, though I have no idea why. I am nondenominational Christian, so I have no real association with church incense or the midnight mass ceremony. As it is... I don't even really love a lot of incensey blends. Still, I've been having dreams about this one for the last month, so I'm excited to finally give it a try.

 

When I first put this on, I actually said "wow" and swooned a bit. This is possibly the most beautiful scent that I've ever tried from BPAL. It's not my all time favorite or anything, but it's beautiful. Soft, sweet, and gorgeous. Sweet incense, powdery golden warmth, and just a hint of sweet polished woods in the background. My boy sniffed my wrist and said that this smelled like moonlight.

 

This is really and truly amazing. If the idea of an incensey blend appeals to you at all, I'd recommend getting a bottle of this one. Of all of the yule blends, this is the one that I feel the need to buy multiple bottles of.

 

I'm so glad that I went along with my unfounded love for this blend and ordered a bottle. I can actually see myself wearing this one quite frequently. I love it.

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Swet incense. Very smoky. I don't know what the traditional incense smells like, so I can't say if this is dead-on or not, but I certainly agree that it is a sacred, holy scent. It smells like a wooden base with definite frankincense and myrrh.

 

On me: Perfect room scent. It seems sweeter and warmer than Cathedral. Cathedral is a big empty room after everyone has left for the night; Midnight Mass has everyone packed in together listening and worshipping together. There's a certain sweetness, perhaps a resin I haven't encountered before, that even makes this blend wearable, so I could use it for more than just a room fragrance.

[desu]

I'm not Catholic, so I don't know what this is supposed to smell like as far as church incense goes.

 

In the bottle: Resiny. A little worried about how this is going to develop on me. I have a fear it's going to go spicy-obnoxious on me like Azathoth and Hamadryad did.

 

On the skin: Develops in a quiet, well-behaved manner. The throw isn't particularly strong on me, but I'm okay with that. This a very solemn and somewhat mysterious scent. The resins are balanced by something sweeter and milder in the background.

 

Later on: This just mellows more and more. It really is quite lovely on me. This is something to scent a room with or wear when I want to feel cozy and relaxed.

[gdogs]

OMFG.

 

i didn't have MM on my list to get, for some reason i thought jacob's ladder would fill the bill. but when the reviews started coming out, i realized i needed to try this.

 

 

this is heaven. this is beautiful. . . i don't know what catholic incense smells like. this is sweet myrrh, thick resin. . . .this is twitch in a bottle for me. seriously. . . its like there's amber under the myrrh, and honey under the frankinsense. .. (i know. . .my spelling is attrocious. . .)

 

this is what i hoped jacob's ladder would smell like. . . and like someone else said, it has evokes cathedral, penitence and aureus for me. i love all three of those.

 

 

i've only ever got two bottles of one thing - snow white. i'm considering getting 3 of this.

 

 

[cranberry]

Midnight Mass is simply a beautiful, rich, deep, warm incense. It's gorgeous. In the bottle and when it first hits my skin that is.

 

It's been a while since I've smelled the incense in church but I can imagine this oil captures it perfectly. I have to agree, it is definitely sweeter and warmer than Cathedral (which I love).

 

But, as it develops on my skin it does something unfortunate. I don't even know how to describe it but it's not good. I thought it was a fluke but it's done it just about every time I've worn it. So. I don't know what the offending note is, but it doesn't work for me and I'm going to have to bid MM farewell. I'm envious of those of you on which Midnight Mass remains the same; I thought I had found my HG of incense scents but tis not to be. Yeah, I was never really the religious type anyway.

[SevenSins]

This former Catholic girl is in heaven. As much as I reject the Church doctrine and belief system, I love the pre-Vatican II ritual and this is right there! I love incense to start with - especially sacred incense. It does take me back to the 2 hour Latin high mass with all the trimmings.

 

An absolutely beautiful scent. I am ordering more of this before it's gone! I can easily see using this both as perfume and as a ritual scent.

 

Absolutely perfect!

[merivelle]

I asked Brian at the will call on 12/15 for a good incense-y scent and he handed me a tester for Midnight Mass. This is an awesome fragrance and a must have for incense lovers. It seems to be frankincense and myrrh with maybe a little bit of distilled patchouli thrown in. If there is patchouli in it, it would have to be the sweeter, distilled variety. It is different from Cathedral, it's a much sweeter scent. I'd highly recommend ordering this scent before it's gone.

[couscous]

I agree with the above who say that Midnight Mass is sweet incense. It's remarkably church-like (bear with me, it's been a while), but really wearable, with surprisingly light throw.

 

Midnight Mass is also not smoke...these resins have not been burned yet. It smells alive.

 

There's not really much more to say, because Beth has made a true representation of the ritual. Those of us who thought we would love it probably will, because this one delivers exactly as it promises.

 

More than anything, I'd like to stress the scent's wearability for anyone thinking that they'd like to smell it but wouldn't like it on the skin. This would be lovely in a burner, yes, but it honestly sweetens on the skin, and it most appropriate wafting up from warmed wrists. It's NOT too strong, it's NOT terribly heady and thick, and if you have any inclination towards this scent family, I'd suggest taking a chance on this beauty.

 

I'll be buying a second bottle of this. I'd buy even more, but it's so incredibly evocative of the season that I feel I may have to break my all seasons/all scents rule and reserve this one for special occasions- including all of the upcoming holiday celebrations.

 

I love it. I just knew Beth would nail this one. Bravo!

[maewitch]

I get the frankincense, and possibly some myrrh, and some sort of wood that makes me think of sitting in those benches. Not really a wearable perfume for me, but I would totally use this as a consecration oil.

 

I think I will let this blend age a bit before trying it again. I get the feeling that with all the woods and insence in there it will just become fuller, deeper and more complex with time.