Now Winter Nights Enlarge

[MCS4096]

Shorten those tedious nights with a surge of body heat: vanilla-infused red musk, champaca, petitgrain, ylang ylang, patchouli, nutmeg, honey, galbanum, and traces of caramel.

I didn't realize until now that its the caramel note, that has appeared in several blends that haven't work for me, that is the reason they failed. I assumed it was some other foody note, like cake or something.. but I do believe it's caramel.

This becomes dusty plastic.. also similar to that "curry" smell some people describe.. I'm hoping that with aging the caramel will blend better as the other notes come forward, but for now it's not really wearable.

I had the same thing happen with Zombie Apocalypse recently. It smells nice on for about 15 minutes, but then my chemistry buggers it all up

It's ironic that it's supposed to be "traces of caramel" yet that's the only thing we can all smell I was really hoping for red musk and champaca dominating this... Edited December 17, 2009 by MCS4096

[verbranden]

In the bottle, this was really sweet and foody. The caramel and nutmeg really stood out; my husband thought it smelled like gingerbread cookies. Luckily for me, that only lasted during the wet phase. It has since dried down to a rich vanilla red musk, champaca and patchouli and it is wonderful on me.

[SeaMonkey]

I'm getting a bottle of this, based on my decant. I don't get carmel at all. I get lovely red musk and patchouli. Its very sexy!

[malaliath]

In Imp: Caramel swirled over red musk. Dirty patchouli underneath.

Wet, On Skin: Mmm! Thankfully the caramel has died down and the musks and patchouli are out to play. They're dancing, it's not competitive at all...this is quite intense and sexy.

Dry, On Skin: Something wants to go to baby powder. Huh. Usually sandalwood is the baby powder culprit on me, but I'm vaguely wondering if it's the way the vanilla is playing with the musk.

Later: It's sexy. It's a bit reminiscent of Tombstone on me without the sassafrass. I like it quite a bit. I will probably put a bottle on my wishlist.

[juniperus]

Bottle: incensey cake...like the inside of a can that had cake in it, then patchouli and nag champa sticks.

Wet: more incensey than cakey, and something very sharp and aggressive is charging forward.

Dry: the sharp note is getting stronger and, oddly enough, the cake is back.

Later: sharp and bitter and sweet and... very, very wrong on me.

[anomie]

In the imp: Smoky and sweet. The nutmeg is like an actual grated nutmeg, yum.

 

Wet: A delicious and unfamiliar dessert treat. Almost bready.

 

Dry: Still bready. And sweet. I'm still getting the nutmeg but I am not really getting anything else specific.

Edited December 21, 2009 by Nomie

[filigree_shadow]

I automatically try anything that has red musk in it. I like that musk a lot. It's a prominent note on my skin (and it lasts forever), but I enjoy it a lot so that's all right. The difficulty here is that I end up wanting a LOT of red musk blends, and my rational thinking tells me I don't need tons of them. Pick a few that are particularly good and very different from each other, and let the other ones go. So although it's a note I love, it's also a note I have to be pretty ruthless about.

 

Except with this one. Surely I have room in my BPAL box for one more. This one is fabulous. It's deep and smooth, and the red musk is there but not too loud. I love the patchouli, honey, nutmeg, and caramel with it. It's a much more complex-smelling scent than other red musk blends I have.

 

It was a little bit harsh when it was wet, but give it a chance! When it dries it warms up into something spectacular. I think it's beautiful.

[HamletsKeeper]

Well this one is interesting and I'm so glad it's got noticable caramel in it because I've been toying with the idea of trying out some foody scents since my skin loves sugar. On initial application it smells like burnt sugar which thankfully subsides on drydown. Once dry I get brown sugar, red musk and something I'm not very fond of which I suspect is the petitgrain and ylang ylang doing some kind of evil mojo on my skin. The spices in this are bitter and dusty not really foody at all. And my overall impression is a pot of caramel with black pepper in it.

 

It reminds me of snake oil a bit, but where snake oil becomes sweet vanilla custard on me this stays dark and somewhat dry and bitter. Can't say I love this scent but at least now I know that caramel behaves on my skin and I can safely try other scents containing it. I love that brown sugar smell and I've got an idea that this layered with dragons claw may just turn wonderful.

[milo]

This smells a lot like Red Lantern to me, but with slightly less caramel. There is a nice musk here, and the sweetness from the caramel is maybe a bit much here. Still on the fence about this one. I can see the potential with a bit of age, and if the caramel retreats even more, that would be a good thing. This is basically a dark, sweet scent, and unless this improves, I really do have my doubts that I'll keep the bottle.

[alioth]

I really wish I got the sweet caramel everyone else is talking about. On me, Now Winter Nights Enlarge smells like I've been thoroughly doused with the dust swept off the bottom of someone's very old spice cabinet. I'm really, really hoping it changes up with age, or it'll be off to the sales page.

[kerikeri]

This is primarily red musk with undertones of dusty spice and incense on me. Red musk has a very sweet, syrupy, candy-like scent on my skin, which can be nice in some contexts but is often just too sugary for me, and that is unfortunately the case with this blend. I was hoping for something a little more like Red Lantern, especially since so many people mentioned getting strong caramel (which is a note I actually like) from this, but I get no caramel at all and the spices are overwhelmed by the musk.

 

Alas, this is not my kind of scent at all, and will be passed along to someone who gets along with musk better than I do.

[laslibres]

Okay, this scent is confusing me. At first, it was all holy caramel vanilla awesome, Batman. A little nutty, a little patchouli-y, and of course, there was that vanilla-infused red musk.

 

But then something weird happened. Some kind of spice crept in that started making it smell...savory. Kinda like pepper, kinda like, weirdly, hops. Kinda like...gravy. It's very weird. I enjoyed gravy with my turkey a couple days ago. I do not enjoy it on my skin.

 

I dunno. It goes through some really good phases, smelling sort of spicy-sexy and a little bit foody but not too...and then...gravy? I think I have to retest this again to make sure I'm not going bananas. Gravy?

[sqwook]

In the bottle: Weirdly foody. (I say weirdly because with these notes, that surprised the heck out of me! Also because I was a bit disappointed, as I don't generally go for the foody ones.) Caramelly vanilla nag champa.

 

On me: Warm sweet maple-syrupy. Almost cake-like. A slight hint of musk & incense grounding it.

 

I've read all the reviews, and I think what's happening is that everyone who would love this scent hasn't tried it because of the listed notes, and everyone who loves the notes is flummoxed by how foody it manages to be. We need to get the people who *would* love this to actually try it!

[starfish327]

I was actually a little disappointed in this one because it honestly sounded so good in the note list and just didn't work for me. It's not a bad blend, it's actually nice for what it is, but it strikes me as meh when it's on my skin.

 

I got two sensations from it which probably won't do anyone a world of good: the first is that it reminds me of spiced cookies that have been sitting out in cigerette smoke too long. It's a weird ashy kitchen spice note that I really can't place, and I find it actually to be disappointing. I love spice notes, and I love tobacco- I especially love smelling like clove cigarettes. I think that if either the spice or the tobacco notes where stronger i would be in love with this scent, but right now it falls a little flat. Perhaps after it ages a little.

 

The second scent image that I get from this blend is the smell that patcholi can get if it's been on the skin too long- it's like really stale incense. It reminds of something probably smelled good fresh but the main oomph of the scent is long gone- sort of like a room can smell after a scent is used but hasn't been in awhile if that makes sense?

 

I find this to be one of the hardest of the scents I've tested to describe, but in general it didn't live up to what I had hoped it would be.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Not entirely fortunate. That’s a lot of red musk and the champaca is a bit stale smelling here. The ylang ylang is not entirely integrated. Wet: It’s just not working on me. The musk is at war with the sweeter elements like the caramel and honey. The sad thing is now and then I catch something lovely, when the elements balance just right. The vanilla/red musk combination is reminiscent of snake oil and the floral elements do go well with that base. The issue is likely my skin chemistry, honestly and your mileage may vary wildly. Dry; It’s quite lovely now. It balances out just fine, even with my musk amping skin. It’s not as good as snake Oil in my opinion, but it’s close.

[voodoocatwoman]

I just don't do well with caramel. This blend stinks. It smells like something burnt that someone sprayed room deodorizer to cover up.

[jade_starlight]

Oh, this is dark and lovely. The vanilla and caramel keep it from getting too overpoweringly musky and the musk and patchouli keep it from being too foody. This one is definitely a keeper.

[tunedtochords]

I got this as a Christmas gift, which was perfect, since it's not something I would've typically bought for myself. I was intrigued by it, but there were too many risky notes.

 

But. I'm really, really glad I have a bottle of it now. In the bottle, I get straight-up honey. Very sweet and warm. On me, this reminds me of Smut, but waaaay toned down. I'm guessing I amp the red musk. It's very warm and sexy, and it lasts a long time. I can definitely see myself wearing this at a small intimate gathering where I'm flirting with someone, or wearing it on a night in cuddling with someone special.

[Sawasdee]

This is all around sexy, sticky, and gorgeous. Initially on it is hello caramel, which takes on a burnt quality, very foody. Then I get a short whiff of floral, which I'm guessing to be the ylang ylang. After about 20 minutes the vanilla, musk and patchoulli come out to play along with the caramel. Love this, so glad I got to try it.

[FandF]

foodie wet but then starts to really amp the caramel note. I could smell a brash of honey when I first put it on but it went under…didn't come out and amp…yet. The musk is definitely coming out on dry down to make it musky caramel. It turned from a foodie love to an icky scent on dry down adn super dry down...don't know which note is the problem or if it's a combination of the notes that is making this funky on my skin. Shoot!

 

[MamaMoth]

As others have noted, the caramel is the dominant note here. Caramel and sugar usually go kind of sharp on me, but it stays pretty true here. Unfortunately, combined with the honey it's just very sticky and heavy to me, and it hangs around like nobody's business. (This is one of those that lasts through several scrubbings. :|)

 

Behind the caramel and honey I get the most wonderful spiced-vanilla-red musk, but it never outpaces the sticky sweets.

 

This could be teh secks on the right person, but it just gives me a headache. :\

[rayvn1]

I was very hopeful for this one, but a little worried about the caramel note, (the caramel in Melainis turned my most anticipated Lupercalia into Coca-cola). No such thing here! The caramel is present, but behaving itself and is nicely subservient to the musk, patchouli and a bit of petitgrain, I think. I'll be trying this one again once it's sat for a while. I can only imagine it will get darker and more luscious as time goes on.

[kakiphony]

In the decanted imp: Caramel - deep and dark.

 

Wet on skin (upon application): The caramel is there, but this is MUCH more complex than it smelled in the imp and it's not the CARAMEL that some other folks have found in their skin. I'm also getting big gusts of champaca and a dry, almost powdery tobacco/patchouli base.

 

Early dry down (15 minutes after application): This is very complex on me. At the top I smell champaca, ylang ylang and caramel. The top notes are high, sweet, a bit floral -- not exactly foody, but definitely luscious. The base is a deep resinous patchouli with a bit of spice.

 

Late dry down (45-60 minutes after application): As this has developed on my skin the various scent notes have merged to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. It's like a caramel and slightly floral pipe tobacco or a caramel and slightly floral, deep black tea. Which is not to say that it smells like either tobacco or tea exactly, it's more impression of something that has been blended and flavored to be a complex brew.

 

This reminds me of Red Lantern and of the Pumpkin II from 2007 (tobacco, champa flower, carnation, and tonka) -- both of which were lovely, complex, gourmand yet also very classic and not quite foody blends. It also reminds me of Hetairae, but with added depth. Hetairae is classicly feminine (the pearl necklace and little black dress) whereas this is classically femme fatale (plunging necklines and a side slit skirt).

 

Verdict: I love this and am kicking myself for not trying my Yule decants sooner. I have no extra cash right now and really wish I'd gotten a bottle of this.

[hkhm]

bottle: red musk and caramel. yum.

 

wet: wow, this is sexy! deep, dark, slinky musk with a honeyed caramel back. this is going into my "date night" bpal box. rawr!

 

dry: the champaca really warms up on my skin as this dries. a lovely blend of red musk, caramel with hints of honey and vanilla over champaca.

[PeshaRocha]

This is definitely a strange one, both on me and in how very different it smells to/on different people who have commented. First off, NO caramel at all to me. It starts out very foody, yes, but to me it's just vanilla and honey, which is lovely. On drydown, those both fade, and out come incense, powder and something both musty and slightly sharp. This smells to me like the closed-up home of an old, incapacitated lady who uses a lot of powdery perfume to cover up the less pleasant smells that sometimes accompany very old age. Not what I want to smell at all, much less wear. Even though neither she nor her nursing home smell anything at all like this, it reminds me terribly of my grandmother who is fading fast.