L'Examen de Minuit

[angelicruin]

L'EXAMEN DE MINUIT
Enfin, nous avons, pour noyer
Le vertige clans le délire,
Nous, prêtre orgueilleux de la Lyre,
Dont la gloire est de déployer
L'ivresse des choses funèbres,
Bu sans soif et mangé sans faim!...
- Vite soufflons la lampe, afin
De nous cacher dans les ténèbres!

- - -

Finally, drowning vertigo
In stark delirium, shamefully,
We, levites of the Lyre, lo! we
Whose glory was devised to show
Sorrow's brave rapture and grief's spark,
Have feasted without appetite!
— Quickly, let us snuff out the light
And hide in the indulgent dark!

The rapture of sorrowful things: frankincense, black plum, melancholy lilac, rose otto, and myrrh.

On me this is a very strong myrrh, incense, and dark fruit scent. The rose is very subtle and I am not picking up on the lilac at all.

[Dark Alice]

Pardon me, Moderators...but I didn't see a thread for this one.

 

Wet: Soft myrrh and Black Plum

 

Drydown: Black plum, frankincense, with the barest hints of lilac. The myrrh really does soften this and the plum keeps it lightly sweet and keeps the myrrh from becoming too powdery. This is absolutely gorgeous and I think I will have to track a partial of this down at some point.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Shollin
Merged with existing topic --Shollin

[Iceblink]

I get a dark rosey, fruity incense from this and it's quite pretty. If the frankincense doesn't eventually do what it tends to do and amp to crazy levels, this'll be really nice on me. A bit much for warm weather, though.

[edenssixthday]

L’Examen de Minuit – I was so excited about this – four of the five listed ingredients are among my favorite notes and the notion of them together had me really excited. And sure enough, on my skin, it’s almost lovely. Unfortunately, I don’t like the way the rose is blending (or not blending, as the case may be) with the frankincense and myrrh on my skin. The rose is just way too strong, and it seems like those three notes are in a real power struggle for top billing. I wish the plum were a bit heavier on me and the rose a lot more subtle. If that were the case, this scent would be to die for. Maybe I’ll try it again sometime when I’m at a better time in my monthly cycle and see if maybe hormones are just throwing the balance of notes out of whack.

[Venneh]

In the bottle, I'm getting an equal blend of black plum, rose, lilac, and frankincense/myrrh. On my skin, this is mostly frankincense and myrrh with the rest hiding in there somewhere. Not working really well for me, mainly b/c of the frankincense/myrrh and rose dominiating.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Venneh

[morganacat]

The only questionable note in here for me is lilac. I haven't been thrilled with it in the past. I think it, along with the rose, is what is giving this a hint of that "antique" potpourri smell, especially when wet. But the resins and black plum dirty it up plenty. I don't smell the plum as fruity at all - but that's what I like about plum, it seems to sweeten things up without being traditionally fruity. My honest overall impression is of a dusty, haunted attic. The myrrh note is lovely on dry down. Just don't know about those florals. But thankfully the resins dominate more the longer I wear it.

[hkhm]

imp: very, very, very strong frankincense and myrrh.

 

wet: this is all frankincense during the wet phase. not bad, i love frankincense, but very strong.

 

dry: the frankincense does fade a bit, though barely. it's still the strongest note on my skin, i can't smell anything else.

[Little Bird]

I love frankincense, lilac, and myrrh, and I like plum and rose as long as they're not too strong, so I was excited about this scent. Unfortunately, I'm kind of let down by how strong the myrrh is. I can't really pick out any of the other notes at all. Sweet, smooth, golden, resinous myrrh. I might be able to smell some dark, glossy plum, but if I didn't know that there was supposed to be plum here, I doubt that I'd ever identify it. I'm surprised that I don't smell any rose, because rose is usually insanely strong on me.

 

Tons of myrrh and a hint of plum. I might keep my decant of this to see if it gets more complex with age.

[starfish327]

there's something not right about this one, and i'm certain it's all me. it's very off-putting in the imp; i found it to be very strong, medicinal and almost woody.

 

wet there's a hint of some type of kitchen spice but i'm not sure what. my first impression is clove but it smells nothing like clove.

 

dry the rose comes forward and helps to balance out the blend. i'm guessing that it's the myrrh that's throwing me off in this blend because i don't really get the frankincense either. it dries down to really expensive soap. i smell very clean like a dove bar.

 

this should have worked and doesn't.

[CitizenBree]

I get mostly rose and lilac from this. Very pretty and feminine. Maybe the frankincense or myrrh give it a deeper darker edge. But it's still a little to straight forward floral to me. Going to have to swap it out.

[Reedsong]

Pencil shavings with a slight hint of dried rose petals in the background. That would be the frankincense doing its usual "Hi, I'm here to be a complete JERK" thing on my skin. Frankincense is usually a death note, and in this scent, it's too strong. Sadness.

[SophieCedar]

Wet: strong myrrh, frankincense and then a touch of purple fruit. I don't get any lilac at first.

Drydown: the resins have burned off a bit. I can smell dusty lilac and plum now. The rose is obscured by the frankincense still. Much better and complex.

[crebbsgirl]

On my skin, this is primarily frankincense to start. As it dries, the florals come out more, with the final result being a resinous lilac scent. The rose stays relatively under the radar here. I'd love this, but for the frankincense. We tend to not get along.

[lookingglass]

Bright, sharp resins flash, then a breath of lilac exhales fleetingly before sweet myrrh and rose lull this scent down, down, down to darkness. The lasting effect smells like bruised skin looks-overripe and slightly dusty. I love it. Suprisingly, it wears very much like All Souls!

Edited October 2, 2010 by lookingglass

[Ashenrook]

In the Bottle

Frankincense and...hm. I think that's the rose.

 

On Skin: Wet

This is kind of wood-y, but...there are no wood notes in here. Like another has mentioned, I am reminded of pencil shavings. Uh oh. I can smell something resembling rose in the background, but thus far there's no plum or lilac.

 

On Skin: Dry

Okay, now the rose and lilac are starting to come out more. Still no plum. But it is still very much pencil shavings...

 

Afternotes

Same as before. Alas...

 

 

Verdict

On an American scholastic scale, I'd give this a C.

 

While it is by no means bad, I just find myself going 'meh' at it.

[zankoku_zen]

Lilac, frankincense, roses. Unfortunately the frankincense and roses tagteam the lilac into oblivion. Pretty big throw.

 

Resinous, rosy, floral.

[filigree_shadow]

Smells like lilac and frankincense with a bare smidge of plum, little to no rose, and noticeable myrrh.

 

And this would have worked for me if my review had read like this:

 

Smells like lilac and plum with a bare smidge of myrrh, little to no rose, and NO noticeable frankincense.

 

Ahhh, so close. But frankincense is almost always a killer note for me, and in this one it's too strong.

[elinox]

First Sniff: Freshly ground black pepper

 

Wet: A bit of rose with pepper.

 

Dry: As it dried, the sharpness of the pepper faded into a nice blend with the flowers.

 

My Reaction: It’s definitely a somber scent! The pepper was an interesting addition and not what I was expecting at all. Pepper does not, however, make me think of sorrowful things. And since I already have and love several other light, flowery scents I don’t think this one’s a keeper. Also, I hate not being able to pronounce something so if I can’t say it, I shouldn’t have it!

 

Rating 1-5: 1.5

[patina]

This smells a lot like Cathedral. Cathedral with some soft, purple florals. It's light and very beautiful, but the plum is just the tiniest bit sharp.

[Suu4LC]

In the imp, I mostly get the frankincense and myrrh. A touch of florals, but they are not particularly distinctive in the imp. A dark, deep incensey scent for sure. Too bad I don't notice more plum, because I love lab plum.

 

On my skin, this is much more floral. Still dark and incensey, but I get that rose otto and a touch of lilac. A pleasant incense scent for sure. For me though, I enjoy these types of blends for their ambient quality and not so much as perfume.

 

As this continues to dry I get a lot more and rose and a bit more lilac. Rose haters beware-it is definitely noticeable here.

 

On full drydown, this is a powdery frankincense/floral blend. Not sure which of the notes went powdery, but this is a problem I run into frequently. My skin just loves turning things to powdery. I could see this type of blend being a lovely ambient room spray, but it didn't work on me as a perfume.

[melrose]

It's very faint, very manly with a touch of florals, which is not bad. Unfortunately, once it dries down, I get nutmeg. I don't like nutmeg. I surely would love to know which note or combo of notes is doing this to me.

[SadariEvenstar]

First thought: OMG, I'm wearing a scent with lilac in it without having an asthma attack!!!!!!!!!!!!! That being said this is a very pretty, soft scent. I'm getting mostly plum, myrrh and frankincense. I'm very pleased with this.

[surf-tormented]

It reminds me a lot of the Frankincense and Clove hair gloss I just swapped for. It's strong frankincense on me, with something spicy and woody in the back that is a lot like clove. I also smell a tiny bit of rose, dampened by dark fruits, but it is very light. I don't get any lilac or myrrh, even when it is drying and on my skin for a long time. It just fades being the same frankincense/clove with a tiny drop of rose/fruit and note the fruit is dry, not sweet. It's nice either way, I was just expected lilac since i love lilac perfumes and this one doesn't deliver the good on my skin.

[mymymai]

In the Imp (ITI): I can smell frankincense and and a little coldness from the lilac. It’s rather feminine.

 

Wet: Strong rose otto is first to meet my nose, followed by lilac, frankincense, and just a hint of myrrh on close examination. Plum seems to be obscured by the force of the other scents.

 

Dry: It’s sweet myrrh and frankincense that remain on my skin. Pretty, but it does not strike me as new and different.

[hexnut]

Another "blind test" of a freebie, this one included with my Dragon Moon 2012.

 

L'EXAMEN DE MINUIT

 

In Vitro Sweet but not floral or spice, probably a base note. Some alcohol sharpness.

 

Wet Still sharp and less sweet, with an odd musty note like curry or cumin. I found it unfamiliar and nearly unpleasant.

 

Drying The sweetness contrasted with the mustiness and exacerbated my nascent headache. Later the scent blended and the "curry" vanished leaving a faint sweet smell that slowly faded.

 

Thinking that the headache might have colored my perceptions, I tested this again on a different day using much more oil. Big mistake - I ended up wiping my wrist with rubbing alcohol, scrubbing with soap, and dousing it again with alcohol to finally erase the slightest whiff.

 

This was my first true failure among my imps. When I say I smelled curry, I don't mean the good kind like in Indian food. I mean the ominous yellow powder in a fading aluminum box gathering dust in a spice rack in a suburban house, exhumed for the occasional "exotic" recipie. (Thanks a bunch, Mom.) From the Lab's description, I would tenatively exclude the fruit and flowers from my list of suspects. Myrrh and frankincense, I'm looking at you.

 

10

Edited May 7, 2012 by hexnut