Midnight Kiss

[a_llb]

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

In vial: Fruity.
Wet: A crack of sandalwood, washed over by fruity wine.
Dry: The only cocoa I sense seems pretty syrupy, I think because of the wine. I'm reading the wine as cherry, mayhap it features a drop of dragon's blood as well? Chocolate cherry wood would be pretty accurate for what I'm experiencing. It slowly gets dirtier, the patchouli and nicotiana slicing the sweetness to shreds. A punch of red musk seems to scare everything else away, and it gets dank and a tad soapy at the same time? Very disconcerting.

Verdict: Seems overbearingly sweet and fruity at first, but then all of a sudden morphs to a dirty musk (not in a way I enjoy). Too weird for me.

[elka_knits]

I am not fond of the wine scents. There is also patchouli in this one and patch has turned into the no-no scent. HOWEVER for some reason both are tame in this particular blend. On me a dusty musty scent with the sweetness of wine. When I first ordered these this one was the scent I was sure I would love but I ended up liking vamp tears more over time. It kinda reminds me of the plummy scents out these days... that sweetness from Snake Charmer? Maybe the red musk... Something similar either way. I so like this one but my personal scent profile is skewering towards the innocent and this one is not

[Vega]

Sniffed: Red musk with a nutty undertone, and hints of wine, patchouli and cocoa.

 

On skin: Now, it's been a while since I've tested (or worn!) BPAL, and my scent memory isn't great, so... Upon first sniff, Midnight Kiss seemed to be predominantly red musk. A well-loved note, but apparently one-note. With further investigation and comparison, it actually has a certain character and distinctiveness from all my other red musk blends. For one, Midnight Kiss is brighter and lighter than, say, The Arbor, Countess Willie, or Mme. Moriarty; possibly more like Tombeur, Scherezade and War. Over time, I'm able to pick out brighter, glowing notes above the red musk base: possibly the red wine, patchouli and amber. Midnight Kiss is rich, smooth and liquid, and doesn't morph too much. Unfortunately, I am missing the cocoa, the note that I most wanted to smell! Colour impression is scarlet with a golden tinge.

 

Verdict: I like Midnight Kiss. It's not as dark as its name suggests, and I'm sadly missing the cocoa. I'll have to test it a bit more with my other red musk blends to place the other notes I'm smelling, but I think this will be a keeper.

[sunlitgarden]

In the bottle wine is the dominant note along with some red musk. On my skin, still wine (which on me is usually just "grape" and this time is no exception), but the cocoa note starts to come out more, but unfortunately fades away fairly fast. This isn't really my style to wear on a regular basis, but it does smell quite good. I'm getting a dark red-purple vibe from it. As it starts to dry the grape-fruity note is amping on me, smelling very candy-like, along with red musk. I'm also getting what smells like a sweet floral note? It's been quite a while since I smelled it but I feel like Hollywood Babylon was fairly similar to this on me.

[ringmaster-red]

In the vial: slightly boozy chocolate

Wet: I’m definitely getting the cocoa, musk, amber, woodiness, and a slight touch of booze. Interesting. It’s mildly cloying. As it dries, it warms and smells “dry” and slightly woody.

Dry: Woody fruity cocoa. Lots of throw. It’s a little childlike. I’m not sure yet how much I like it. I’ll have to test it another time.

[Lorna Brigid]

I can't believe I never reviewed this one! It is one of my most favorites.

On initial application I can smell the cocoa-esque scent and the wine together... It's like a flat cola with a few drops of red wine..and then coming out of the drydown is that beautiful nepalese amber that I love sooooo much!!!

This really melds and mixes with my chemistry to be one beautiful scent!!! The nicotiana and patch kind of flow along the amber and cocoa and wine, keeping them on track together.

This is my signature "keep me warm on new year's eve" scent. But oh my, how I loooooove the nepalese amber!!!!

[ziggystardust13]

I adore Midnight Kiss

 

Initially, I get a blast of the wine and cocoa. (Note that cocoa usually turns funky on my skin, but in this it somehow works!) The cocoa begins to die down and the wine begins to mingle with the other yummy notes. I definitely get the red musk (which I love) and a little smokiness from the nicotania.

 

I get very little patchouli and amber. They aren't the main players for me, though I'm sure they add depth to the scent. I love this one throughout every stage - wet to dry, but I especially LOVE the dry down. This is sexy without being too strong. Its light and dark at the same time and definitely evokes the color red.

 

final thoughts - This is one of my favorite bpal scents! It's one that I wear with confidence. I'm coming to find that my skin chemistry loves red musk. The one and only complaint is that I do need to slather this one or reapply, as my skin drinks it up after an hour or so. What I'm left with is faint, but gorgeous. Still, I find myself reaching for this one all the time. And I love the label art!

Edited March 2, 2015 by ziggystardust13

[savage_rose]

It smells lovely and deep and sweet in the imp, like wine and chocolate. Wet, it keeps vacillating between too-sweet and bitter. After the drydown, it's a nice mix of a hint of fruit and a hint of the bitter cocoa. It's okay--not amazing on me, but nice.

[mmcfa2]

This one has aged beautifully! The result is somewhere between Wanda and Bloodlust, minus the cinnamon. I did not like it as much upon purchase, the cocoa made it overpoweringly dark chocolate, but now it is warm and delicious.

[Lucchesa]

All these lovely notes, and what do I get from Midnight Kiss? Grape juice. No cocoa, no red musk, almost no sandalwood or patch, just Manishevitz. Thanks, skin chemistry.