Noche Buena

[skyelyric]

A celebration of the Nativity: the light, uplifting incense of the Misa de Noche Buena, purple sage, and a vibrant bouquet of plumeria, chrysanthemum, tuberose, Angel's Trumpet, Mexican tiger lily, dahlia, and azucenas.

 

I don't get any incense out of this at all, maybe because it's fairly aged at this point. On me it's a bright, almost syrupy chrysanthemum. I think I'll be happy with my little tester, since it's not a particularly "me" scent, but it is quite lovely.

[milo]

This ends up being a non-quite heady floral, but I'm thinking the plumeria is drowning out everything else, as I don't get anything but a strong floral here. I love chrysanthemum and like incense, and don't get any here. Dahlia interested me, as I don't get any scent from the Dahlia's that I grow every year, so I was definitely curious. Pretty much singular plumeria here, folks.

 

2011 Version: Strong heady floral as well, no other notes but the plumeria. Reminds me of a tropical vacation, which is nice for the scent association, but otherwise, not for me.

Edited January 7, 2012 by milo

[Incendiare]

2010: Oh, I love this in the decant. It's a fresh, airy floral. The plumeria and tiger lily are the stars so far. The flowers seem to bloom once I apply the blend to my skin. Although the plumeria wins, I can smell a very well-blended mixture of other florals in the background. As it's drying down, the plumeria still remains on top with the other florals as distant secondary notes. After five minutes or so, there is the slightest hint of sage, but it's practically unnoticeable. I don't get any incense whatsoever. This was a nice surprise as I had no idea what to expect from this one. I can see myself wearing this in the spring and summer.

[SophieCedar]

Whoa.

Wet: plumeria, chrysanthemum, tiger lilies, dahlias, and azucenas (lilies). KA-POW! Knock your nose on it's ass heady flowers, mostly lilies.

Drydown: the unexpected like of the 2010 Yules. The plumeria comes out more and the lilies are wonderful. Turns a little sweeter too! Only complaint is that it fades quickly.

[grrrlennyl]

Noche Buena 2010

 

On: Fresh flowers and herbs.

1 hour in: Powdery flowers.

2.5 hours in: Powdery flowers.

5.5 hours in: Sweet, powdery flowers.

Overall: This isn't very interesting on me.

[crebbsgirl]

Heady floral on me. This is primarily lilies and chrysanthemums on my skin. There's a faint hint of incense underneath, but you've really got to seek it out. It's very pretty, but it's too floral for my tastes. As it wears, it does go a little soapy on my skin.

[sihaya09]

I had high hopes for this, but I got an initial hit of incense followed by nothin' but soapy florals. Not for me.

[pandorasmuse]

In the decant: Florals and greenery. Nothing too strong, nothing too dominant.

 

Wet: All kinds of florals floating around! It’s kinda soapish, but not unpleasantly.

 

Drydown: I get a little bit of incense after this dries. It’s not overpowering. Usually I don’t like incense, but this is nice.

 

Later: I think I’m gonna pass on this. I don’t DISLIKE it, but I don’t like it strongly. I had to test it twice, actually—and I still can’t remember my impression. That’s a strong indication to me that it’s not for me.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Purple sage, but only lightly, and lots of florals.

 

Wet: Sage is coming more strongly, but lots of pretty flowers.

 

The dry-down: I just can't pick out each of the flower notes; they were blend together from the first sniff. There's some I'm not overly fond of, like mum, plumeria, tuberose, and lily, but the angel's trumpet and dahlia are probably over-riding them. Azucena seems to be lily of the valley, which usually doesn't work on me; it's a lovely scent at first, but it can dry to a sharp brown note. If there's incense, it's very faint. At any rate, this is another perfume oil that could work well in the late spring and early summer. Not much throw, and even though I slathered a bit, it seems to be fading faster than expected.

[puck_nc]

Origin: decant from a circle

 

Initial Thoughts: It's been three years. Surely my skin chemistry has aged enough to tame the lurking incense?

 

In the Imp: Rich and dark and so sweetly floral that it's almost like wine-soaked currants.

 

Wet: Dusty incense and lush florals. I don't remember the incense announcing itself so early before. Perhaps it'll peak and move off?

 

Drydown: Drat. The florals have faded to a mere impression under the weight of the incense.

 

Verdict: Still not for my skin, though now I have scent lockets...

[strahlend]

2011 version

A celebration of the Nativity: the light, uplifting incense of the Misa de Noche Buena, purple sage, and a vibrant bouquet of plumeria, chrysanthemum, tuberose, Angel's Trumpet, Mexican tiger lily, dahlia, and azucenas.

 

I can't say I'm familiar with very many of these flowers, but this scent is very pretty!

It seems a little golden sort of floral with some greenery. It's like sticking my nose into a fresh bouquet of golden flowers and juicy green leaves with maybe some dry leaves thrown in for contrast. I amp rose but I don't smell any of it here. I think I'm getting the mums and the lily. I'm surprised this doesn't get more love, it's a very beautiful scent.

[stellamaris]

This is lovely and very green on me, more green than flower, and just how I imagine a poinsettia would smell, if they smelled like anything.

[Incendiare]

2011: There is something medicinal about this upon first sniff, but the florals soon follow after. The plumeria and Mexican tiger lily are the most prominent florals in the vial. On me, the sharper florals such as the mums and tuberose blossom. I find this year to be not as tropical as last year's, which was major plumeria-y. This year, it's slightly crisper and greener. I don't find it soapy at all. Beautiful blend.

[Ghost of a Rose]

My imp is a decant from the lovely PhantasmMystera.

 

In the imp: With all those flowers, I knew I'd love this - but even so, I'm stunned by its beauty. It's a fabulous bouquet of florals. I don't know what most of these particular flowers smell like, so I can't identify the specific notes, just that it is a unique blend. I do recognize a bit of tuberose.

 

On me, wet: Rose and plumeria with other realistic florals. Utterly stunning.

 

After 10 minutes: Now less rose - a blend of flowers with just a hint of incense.

 

After 30 minutes: It has become a soapy kind of scent that reminds me of jasmine, which isn't in this. No more rose or plumeria, and I miss them. I don't love this as much now.

 

After 1 hour: Same as above, and already much faded.

 

After 2 hours: Pretty much gone.

 

Verdict: This started out so promising - no, much more than that - exceptional. But by 30 minutes, I was disappointed. It was okay, just nothing special. And then, it faded away faster than any BPAL I've tried. But I was so totally in love with the initial scent, that I still have high hopes for it in the perfume locket. In any case, this is a very exclusive blend - for flower lovers only!

 

 

In the perfume locket:

At first, I don't smell much of anything. But as the oil is exposed to oxygen and warms up, the gorgeous scent I loved in the imp (and for the first 10 or 15 minutes on my skin) wafts out.

After 2 hours: The same scent, now with a faint undertone on incense.

Over the next 2 days: The fragrance blooms into swooning rose-and-plumeria heaven . . .

After 4 days: The throw is weaker, but the same wonderful scent remains, with the incense note now a stronger presence yet still in the background. It never did develop that soapy jasmine-like scent that it had for a while on my skin. So that must have been my skin chemistry.

 

 

Oh yeah, I need a bottle . . . Three if I can afford it! To wear in the scent locket rather than on my skin.

 

My rating: On my skin, 4 stars

In the perfume locket, 5+ stars

Edited February 3, 2012 by Ghost of a Rose

[ami226]

2011 Version

 

On the skin: Lovely herbs and florals. It turns very green on my skin. It's very pretty and green (never turns soapy on me at all).

 

Not for me, but this is pretty lovely.

[thekittenkat]

This is for the 2011 version.

 

In the decant: Lots of flowers!

 

Wet: The flowers are somewhat sweeter than before, and there's hints of the lovely sage.

 

The dry-down: Pleasant florals, but nothing special. And really, that's a surprise, because of the mum, the tuberose, and lily, all of which can turn sharp on me. Was expecting this to be a hot mess, but it's okay, probably because the purple sage roped and tied the flowers.

Edited February 6, 2012 by thekittenkat

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): Strong, soapy florals of plumeria, lilies, and dahlia. I don’t get any incense at all or sage for that matter.

 

Wet: Soapy floral, oh no.

 

Dry: It smells of faint florals, most notably dahlia, lily, tiger lily, and tuberose. There is still, however, the overpowering soapy overtone. This isn’t for me.

[neuilly]

I'm not sure which version I have (pretty sure it's the older one but I could be wrong).

 

This is a very bright and green bouquet of flowers. I'm not familiar enough with the individual flowers to know exactly what I'm smelling. However, it feels like they were just cut - green, fresh, and crisp. Really lovely, but I know it's not the type of scent I wear.

 

Might be nice for a room scent.

[sarahmarie]

So, I do not like florals in general, but I do love Tiki Princess - plumeria works for me. Lily often doesn't, and strong, heady florals can be A Lot, so I was a bit nervous about this one...but I think I like it! It's warm and rich. Definitely floral, but in an unusual way. I can certainly smell the lily, but it doesn't take over and run away with everything like it sometimes can for me. It reminds me of DDLM - perhaps the chrysanthemum? But it wears better on my skin that DDLM tends to, even though I do like DDLM in theory. I'll have to wear it a bit more to decide what kind of mood I will wear it in, but I'm pleased that it's a possibility for me!

[VetchVesper]

Very pretty and different from a lot of the other BPAL florals I've smelled. There is a chill tartness to the fragrance and an astringency that makes me think "bright white." The plumeria and lily are sweet and almost fruity, but the chrysanthemum lends a dry greeness to the blend. This is strait up floral on me. No incense. If you are a floral enthusiast, or like that dry dusty thing that chrysanthemums and marigolds have, give this a go. I could also see fans of white tea digging this. It doesn't have the note, but it does have that same chill, sweet astringency.

Edited January 17, 2018 by VetchVesper