Stormclouds Over The Midway

[iiinterstate]

In your smoke-addled confusion, the Midway seems strangely empty and devoid of life. The tents that line the path appear distorted, out of proportion, and cartoonish, their angles arching menacingly.

For a moment, the only sound you hear is the soft squelch of your boots on the damp ground. As your eyes adjust, the tents right themselves, the sounds of the Midway swirl around you, and you feel the press of the crowd against your body. The Calliope's eerie drone lilts above the swelling chatter.

Wine-colored storm clouds are gathering, and the scent of incense and ozone is thick in the wet air.

Thunder-charged ozone, plum-colored incense smoke, opium tar, and wormwood.

A first review? Me? No way. Someone else is probably going to post at the same exact time.


In the bottle this smells exactly like rain to me, or the smell of the air outside right before a storm breaks, and the air is already heavy with it.

On my skin the ozone isn't too strong, but its detectable. It goes very nicely with the incense smoke and what I think is the slightly sour opium. I don't know what wormwood smells like so I can't pick it out.

Overall, I really like this. It is reminiscent of Midnight on the Midway, but heavier and darker (maybe that's the wormwood?) and the scent stays closer to my skin. Smokier too. The damp rain smell hangs on too. Its one of those notes that's pure genius on Beth's part. I can't quite describe it...wet but certainly not aquatic. I like this and I'm glad to have a bottle! I'd definitely recommend this blend if you liked Midnight on the Midway.

(If the ozone in this blend is scaring you away, don't be worried. It doesn't overpower!)

edit: Over time the incense and opium smoke really amp for me and that's what I get in terms of throw. I didn't care for the opium in Parliament of Monsters but combined here with the incense its very good in an unusual way. I can see this being a unisex blend as well.

[alicia_stardust]

This starts out as an almost salty ozone. There is just a touch of rain in there and I imagine dark clouds rolling in and a feeling of tension in the air. Just as soon as the oil dries, though, the ozone mellows out and takes on a lower pitch. At that point I start to really smell the incense smoke and opium tar. The opium tar has a dark, gummy quality to it and the smoke really does have a cool, bruised purple vibe to it. I can't really verbalize what the wormwood is like but it's in there, too. There seems to be a bit of a clear, crystalline brightness that shoots through this, even amidst the wormwood, opium tar, and smoke.

 

This has a good throw and the ozone aspect of it doesn't dominate. I really love the opium tar and smoke in this. It's cool, sweet, dark, and tumultuous amongst the charged rainclouds.

Edited June 10, 2008 by alicia_stardust

[savage_rose]

I've only tried a few CD IV blends at this point, but this is my favorite so far. The smell from the bottle is this heady, herbal intense Bed of Nails. On my skin it's like Bed of Nails, clean and ozoney/aquatic, but with an incensey, smokey undertone. Sexy, sweet, undulating, perfumey smokiness. This scent is haunting, gorgeous, and although it loses the intensity that it had in the bottle once it hits my skin, it becomes a different kind of wonderful altogether. Mmmm.

[Brianne]

Definitely ozone and incense, and something slightly floral as well. That must be the "plum color" perhaps - this comes across like floral incense wafting over the cool airs of a storm. It's pretty and light - not too strong on the ozone - and would make a wonderful Summer scent. There is also a slight minty-ness to this... the wormwood?? It's VERY light, so if you don't like mint don't fret over that too much

 

Normally, I don't care for ozone scents and though I like incense blends I don't reach for them that often. But this scent is making me think I need a bottle of it. QUITE pretty!

[slave1]

STORMCLOUDS OVER THE MIDWAY

 

In Bottle: Dark smoky ozone

 

On Skin: What a contrasting scent! It has the bright ozone note which is instantly shadowed by a cloud of dark smoke. So the bright colors of the carnival still showing themselves while a raincloud passes overhead. I swear, this is so unique and beautiful! Not a scent I would normally try, but I am happy I got to! I want my husband to try it because he loves ozone scents, but sometimes they’re just too sharp. Here the sharpness is softened so well by the resins and darker notes. Beth did a great job! Light to medium throw, short wearlength.

[sookster]

straight sniff from bottle is heady, smoky, plummy, incense...

 

once applied this gets hayoogely perfumey...like a woman marinating in a vat of essence...

hmmm...

while i loved how it smelled from the bottle i cannot say i feel the same about the after affects...

 

i think this needs lots of aging to get it just to where it is right for me

[MeiLin]

In the imp and wet: Incense and opium, definitely plum-colored, thick, smoky and a little bitter.

 

Dry: Out comes the ozone. Still very incense-and-opium-smoky, but smoke with impending rain and lightning looming over it threatening to blow it out of the air. On the right guy this would be hypnotic, even though it reads a little feminine; there's something very menacing about it. It's quite "toppy." I keep hearing "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"...

[sofaking6]

In the imp: incense and opium

 

Wet: Lovely ozone and incense with the sweetness of opium, just gorgeous!

 

but...

 

As soon as this starts to dry on me, it's all smoke. I would love it if it could retain that exciting wet stage.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not usually an ozone fan, but the mention of "plum," "opium," and "wormwood" in the description for this had me highly intrigued. I've been really looking forward to trying this one because I had no idea how these notes would come together and what this might smell like.

 

It's awesome! It's sweet incense smoke (light on the smoke part -- more the scent of incense rather than the smokiness of it), but it's sweet in an almost indescribable way. Like lightly fruity sweet, but not overbearingly fruity. It's combined with the sweetness of the wormwood, so you just get the hint of it.

 

The ozone deepens the whole scent and makes it smell a little more pointy than incense haze usually smells. It kinda has a little bit of an edge. But the ozone isn't loud at all.

 

YAY! I like this one a lot.

[tartchef]

Ozone usually sends me screaming into a corner, but iiinterstate's review made me reconsider... Stormclouds opens with a beautiful fresh rain scent, clean & clear & lovely. As it dries, there's a hint of cloying "Rain Fresh" that has me a bit concerned... the incense is smokey & sharp, and I can just barely taste a bit of the sour opium. A very evocative scent, but alas, not one I feel comfortable wearing - my decant might find a second life as a room spray, though...

[milo]

Hmm, this is nice in the bottle. Fresh smelling, like the outdoors, a touch of greenery, and subtle florals. I don't know why, but this amps something very floral on my skin, (a strong and heady one) and I don't get any fresh at all, unfortuneately. Sadly, not for me, stupid skin chemistry that loves anything floral.

[akw]

Wet and fresh on skin, I had great hopes for this. It's exotic, evocative and complex. I love the opium and the plummy incense. It could be the wormwood that adds a wet, very different characteristic. It's like something deep and just a little sweet with a layer of sharpness or brightness barely floating across the top. So interesting.

 

Unfortunately, after a few minutes I get mainly the wormwood which goes sharp and soapy on me. If your skin plays well with herbs, you might love this.

 

The deeper notes are so lovely that I plan to keep this for awhile and see how it ages. Also looking forward to trying it in a scent locket to keep it away from the evil skin.

[motdakasha]

In the bottle:

Rating: 5

Notes: thunder charged ozone, opium tar, wormwood

Comment: Very ozone.

Wet on skin:

Rating: 5

Notes: thunder charged ozone, wormwood, opium tar

Comment: Very ozoney smell.

Dry on skin:

Rating: 4

Notes: thunder charged ozone, plum-colored incense smoke, wormwood

Scent Intensity: 3

Comment: Unfortunately, this smells kind of like old lady's perfume when smelling it as a collective perfume. I can pick out the ozone note separately and each note does smell good like this, but not so much as a single scent.

Misc:

Duration: 3+ Hrs.

Keyword(s): N/A

Color: N/A

Smells like: Old lady's perfume

Edited July 2, 2008 by Akasha Tsang
Removed Lab description --Shollin

[forspecial_plate]

I noticed right away something reminiscent of both Midway and Midnight On The Midway......slightly sugary with incense. But I found this much lighter than M On The M. In fact, this scent seems to shift like crazy on my skin, never really settling into something that I can get a grasp of. Very light, not much ozone, and slightly herbal. Other than that, it seems to want to run away from my nose. I can tell something is there but it's hard to describe what I'm smelling. Reading back over the notes, I expected something like Midnight On The Midway, but darker. This doesn't smell as I expected it to!

 

I will most likely give this at least one more chance, but I think I much prefer Midnight On The Midway.

[ImperatrixMundi]

When wet: Screaming "ozone" over heavy incense.

 

Note to self: Keep in mind that incense turns to powder within no time at all. D'oh.

The ozone does not stick either and I am left with a powdery residual scent in which I cant identify anything any more.

 

Error. Critical chemistry failure. Reboot of olfactory system in 30 seconds.

[ladyver]

when i tried this i had midnight on the midway on the other arm - so it was interesting to compare. in stormclouds over the midway i could spot midnight underneath with a big storm rolling accross the top!

 

the ozone is very dominant on me - it takes quite a long time before i can really spot the incense on me. my initial reaction is that this is fairly masculine - & i am sure this would be lovely for a guy - but i like it! however, if i find i am always picking up midnight over this one, then i may consider giving this to one of my brothers... if they are really, really nice to me

Edited July 5, 2008 by ladyver

[oakmoss]

I really can't do ozone at all, it goes very sharply perfumey on me, but this is nice and gentle. Very much like Absinthe and L'Heure Verte, with a hint of mint and dusty florals. I kept smelling it and smelling it, not sure if I actually LIKED it, but definitely fascinated. I'm glad I got to try it, but I think it's not for me.

[darkblade]

Wet: Hooray! Storm that is not Irish Spring! and definitely incense, possibly a bit of burning wood as well.. though it's not your normal campfire/stove type wood.

 

Dry: Ack! Where did everything go? Faint incense.. and the pause before the storm.

 

Half an hour: A little more incense, and stray bits of cotton candy.

 

 

 

I may need to retry this and just slather it. Or moisturize first. I've washed my hands several times today. (Before application!)

[tativa]

I didn't get the ozone or incense at all in this one... just an odd indian food restaurant meets tar. Not sure what notes those were... but off to swaps!

[Katherynne]

I just received my decant of this

 

It's very smoky, smoky and dark. It's got a wood smell to it, and it doesn't smell SWEET to me the way Midnight on the Midway does. It has that sort of incensey-rain-heavy smell that the atmosphere has before a storm, which I really like. As it dries down, I'm really amping the wood, I guess -- I'm mostly smelling wood and ozone.

 

bottle worthy: nah.

[innocent]

In the bottle this seemed interesting, and the ozone didn't seem too overwhelming... but BAM! I put it on my skin and it turned into instant old lady perfume (and not in the good way that certain other blends manage). I can't even pick out any individual notes... bah, my skin chemistry is fail.

 

I'll probably try it again in a few weeks to see if it's improved, if not I'll give it away / swap it.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Strong incense and ozone.

 

Immediately on skin: I can feel this scent in the back of my throat… it’s so thick and electric. Mostly this smells of ozone and incense, but there’s also a medicinal twinge to this and a hint of opium. Mainly this is just soapy ozone and incense though.

 

After a little while: This loses its thick edge after a while. It settles down into a soapy ozone incense scent with a hint of opium. It smells dry and powdery, but also clean from that ozone note.

 

Overall Impressions: This is an interesting scent to experience, but I don’t think I’d wear it. This is a more unisex scent with a very smoky incense and clean ozone type of feel, and it doesn’t have much sweetness or perfumey-ness at all. This is dry and soapy, but definitely brings dark rolling stormclouds to mind. If there’s any wormwood in this, I can’t identify this (I’ve never really smelled that note before) and it blends into the other notes enough not to stand out on its own.

[nekogrrl]

Oh yum. This smells delicious.

 

In imp: ozony goodness

 

Wet on skin: soft incense with ozone

 

Dry on skin: the same

 

I don't particularly smell the wormwood or opium tar. Which is not something I'm arguing about, because this scent is absolutely lovely. Definitely worth a full bottle.

[Little Bird]

I loved Midway, liked Midnight on the Midway, and by the time we get to Stormclouds Over the Midway, I'm not really liking the progression on the Midway at all, lol.

 

In the bottle this smells like dry, papery, slightly sharp opium flowers. Papery, dried flowers with sharp, cutting edges. The opium's very white sharpness mixed with the soapy sharpness of the ozone is already scaring me.

 

On my skin, this starts off not-so-bad. It smells like crinkly, dried flowers, a waft of incense, and cool air. Sadly, that stage only lasts about 30 seconds on me, and then Stormclouds morphs into dish soap with smoke.

 

Headache on the Midway.

 

Dish soap and sharp, white smokiness. Too sharp and too soapy for me

Edited August 6, 2009 by Little Bird

[Dark Alice]

I was excited about this particular scent, as I am now on the prowl for a light, ozone scent. However, it seems that I am going to have keep on looking....

 

Wet in the imp: Incensy ozone (love the incense note)

 

Wet on skin: Ozone

 

Drydown: Ozoneriffic!!! Any incense that may have been on my skin, was eaten up! Gobble, gobble, gobble!

 

Ozone remains alas, off to the swaps/sales bin!