September Midnight

[brilliantcat]

A myrrh-darkened amber chypre sweetened by newly-ripened black pomegranate.

 

Murky, resinous pom. This is the perfect pomegranate to my nose. Juicy, sweet, but with a dark side. On me, it goes predictably powdery but it's the best powder I've ever smelled. The pom is distinctly sweeter, fruitier, and more girly than in the bottle. I'm hoping the amber and myrrh calm down, as amber usually smells amazing on me after a little warm-up time. Tis not to be though, the oakmoss chimes in with the resins and together it smells like musty powder. Not for me.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Chypre and pom.

 

Wet: Close up, dusty amber. Far off, myrrh and the pomegranate.

 

The dry-down: The pom is trying to fight against the amber. I hope it wins, as I love pom amd myrrh.

[theseagrows]

this starts out with a woodsy-forest-y berry scent. not like pine, per se, but just trees and leaves and greenery. it's very well blended, so difficult to really pick out notes. it is much subtler and softer than what i imagined it would be. after it's on my skin for awhile, the pomegranate smells juicier and lss like berries. it gets increasingly soapy, in a green sort of way. maybe i'm amping the chypre? not really my type of scent, so it goes to the swap list.

[ltrittipoe]

I wanted to love September Midnight. I really, really did. I love the poem, and all of the notes are perfection.

 

Wet, it's lovely, fruity and slightly resinous.

 

Dry, it's nail polish remover.

 

I seriously checked to see if I had somehow spilled nail polish remover somewhere around where I am sitting. I was a little concerned as I haven't been using polish remover, but I had to check anyway. I finally figured out that the acetone scent was coming from... me, or at least the part of me where I swabbed September Midnight. Eye watering acetone. Very sad! http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/icon_sad.gif

[Nemi]

My favorite of the weenie decants I have tested. In fact, a new favorite scent. Sweet yet dark and mysterious and I adore it. So juicy-sweeeeet! (in voice of Gollum hehe)

[Atrous]

The Lab's Pom works beautifully on me and there are no dreaded death notes, so I thought I would love this.

I was further convinced because the wet stage is autumn pomegranate. So lovely.

 

But on the dry down there's a floral that I don't care for. And, I'm rather "Meh" about the scent.

 

I will often test a scent in the Morning, on my way to work just to see what a scent does during the course of the day.

Even though I'm not personally thrilled with this scent I got a lot of compliments from folks at work.

So, do I keep it or not? I'm still on the fence and will test it out a few more times. Also, going to test it out in my oil diffuser since I love the wet stage.

[milo]

This is quite lovely. A bit of spicy pom, amber, and myrhh. I'm leary of the lab's pom, as it often goes dusty on me, but so far this one is behaving. This reminds me of some of the lab's 'red' blends. Red Lace, mostly I think. This is a bit like Hellion and Mme Moriarty. I really like this, but have those other red blends that are quite similar. I don't know, the more I smell it, the more I want it though! I may just hunt down some more.

[porcelina]

september midnight is so rich and dark. it makes me think a little of incense, because of the smokiness of the myrrh. the pomegranate is rich and dark and almost syrupy. it softens on my skin and doesn't have a ton of throw but when i sniff my wrist, the scent is beautiful!

[Myrrha]

This is utterly fantastic.

 

At first, I could just smell a wafty, airy pomegranate. This is one of those very dispersive fragrances that scents the room when you open the bottle. Certain ambers seem to do that.

 

I didn't get the dramatic morphing that others have described. The forest-amber of the chypre background gradually became more apparent but it blends with the pomegranate and isn't ever really a separate or noticeable thing.

 

After three hours it was still noticeable but faded.

 

I have Fruit of Paradise and wondered if I needed two scents that are so strongly pomegranate. This one is silkier and much more airy. I like it better.

[Little Bird]

I wanted this to be lush and sweetly fruity with dark, syrupy, sweet myrrh, but it's coming off as very dusty and powdery on my skin. I was hoping that 'newly-ripened black pomegranate' would be different from the usual pom that never works on me, but it has the same powdery sweet tarts candy smell. The amber smells dusty, dry, and wooden. I can't really pick out the myrrh or chypre at all.

[roseus]

2016 version:

 

This starts as mostly juicy, tart pomegranate. Dry it's myyrh and amber dominant. It's rich, warm, and sweet. Very smooth. There is just a hint of tart pomegranate that brightens things up a little. A quiet blend, it straddles that transition of warm summer into cool fall very nicely.

[Little Bird]

2016 bottle (which I stupidly bought because it has owls on it, lol):

Smells like powdery amber and a ton of white musk. Very perfumey, sharp and nondescript. Almost watery and washed out smelling.

I smell like I dumped a bunch of drug store white musk colognes on myself and then ran through some baby powder. No pomegranate or myrrh.

ETA: Around the two hour mark, this reminds me of Fledgling Raptor Moon's powdery, woody thing, but with sharp musk.

Edited October 28, 2016 by Little Bird

[Sara Goldfarb]

I didn't expect to fall in love with September Midnight, but I did, I've never smelled anything like it, ever, it is smooth, smoky , dark gorgeousness !There is something delicious in there as well, but I can't figure out what. It also truly has a haunted quality to it, like being lost in a beautiful haunted forest on Halloween, and you can smell bonfires in the distance. Very classy, too, There is an elegance to it. It is my standout favorite !I didn't expect to fall in love with September Midnight, but I did, I've never smelled anything like it, ever, it is smooth, smoky , dark gorgeousness !There is something delicious in there as well, but I can't figure out what. It also truly has a haunted quality to it, like being lost in a beautiful haunted forest on Halloween, and you can smell bonfires in the distance. Very classy, too, There is an elegance to it. It is my standout favorite !

[Casablanca]

Pomegranate is often high-impact, but this one has more restraint than I expected. It's dark in a way that reminds me of how the black cherries in Yipe! were dark. But it's much softer than they were. A pomegranate with poise. The amber blends into it beautifully, smelling less like some external sunlight than some native, polished warmth to the fruit.

I think I'm getting some bergamot from the chypre, too. And then I seem to smell neroli. And then, I smell a lot of neroli. I know I amp this note to high heaven, but the neroli is crazy on me now. I pick up pom coloring it, but this isn't mostly pom anymore.

I'll test later and see if my skin or nose is just being weird.

[Coldfire]

Decant: resinous dark fruit
Wet on Me: glorious resinous dark sweet fruit reminds me of walking in a Kirklands Store
Drying Down: lovely pomegranate and sultry resins. not only does this remind me a Kirklands but also your local metaphysical shop.
Dry: lovely! Could be bottle worthy!

[iskhavin]

Juicy, almost syrupy pomegranate, with an undertone of oakmoss and amber. I agree with the above comment that it's a sophisticated red fruit scent, if your skin chemistry doesn't pull it too far to the syrupy-sweet or masculine side.

[lucycat]

I really enjoy the Lab’s pomegranate note, but it’s not well-represented in my collection, so I wanted to give September Midnight a try.

 

There are two strands here: the rich, sweet juicy pomegranate, and the myrrh-amber-chypre, which combine to smell like a classic perfume.

 

Very pretty and feminine. Also very similar to Second Spring, with which it shares many notes. I already have a bottle of Second Spring, so I’m not sure if I need more than a decant of September Midnight.

[Cali]

A sweet scent drifts in the cold night air in the forest. From the imp, anyway.
On my skin, it morphs to a thicker amber, and a warmer, red tone with dark fruits. Soft and cozy!

Sliiiiightly reminds me of in winter in my room. Only slightly.

[gloame]

2013 bottle straight from the Lab. Dry, resinous. A lovely undercurrent of berry. It's a very dark purple smell to me. I can never decide if I love this or feel indifferent about it.

 

ETA 7/24/17: I love this. It has aged very beautifully. It's so somber, quiet, and nostalgic. Everything about it feels like I've entered a magical world. From the first wet sniff when it's juicy, tangy purple fruit to the somber drydown when it's deep, dry, and crackling like a dying summer. I hope they do this one again this fall. I'm ready for another bottle.

 

Where I'd wear this: To set up a Samhain ritual outside, when it's chilly

Edited July 24, 2017 by gloame

[Bamels]

I can smell the pomegranate, someone mentioned a dark purple smell, which is exactly right. Like a dark, alcoholic berry syrup. I'm starting to get a soapy note and the syrup is disappearing. Not keen on this, it's a bit sharp and is leaving a chemically taste in the back of my throat.

[joopjoop]

September Midnight is one sophisticated lady!

 

The pomegranate note is dark and rich and regal - really deep and lovely. As it dries, it becomes very 'perfumey' for lack of a better word with the myrrh and amber taking center stage. The chypre grounds things and gives it that high-end commercial feel. I think it is beautiful but I'm not sure if I enjoy wearing it that much. I love the Pom - it is very different from the other pomegranate scents I own - and the chypre is a great compliment - but the amber and myrrh, hmmm, they are a bit much somehow.

 

I'm going to have to try this one a few more times, and maybe I will fall in love, but I'm thinking the decant will do for now.

[ToadinaTophat]

First Impression upon initial receipt 1/17/17. In bottle deep dark berry scent with a vague suggestion of incense. Wet on skin is a rich and heady berry scent with a very pleasing warmth to the smell. On dry down slightly syrupy deeply sweet and still whispering of berry. Strange but uniquely pleasing.

 

On a full days wear 1/18/17. Within first 3 hours, the scent had died down into a delicate glaze of soft berry with glimmering notes of musk and incense.

It remained stronger where I applied it under my clothes and had faded no further at the 7 hour mark. The scent slowly transformed into a very notable pomegranate losing all the other bits.

[Bamels]

2017 version.

 

Ugh, I had forgotten I bought this last year, didn't realise until I saw my review! I am hoping there is enough difference for me to like it. So far so good. It reminds me of "Plum Rain" shower gel by Lush when first applied, but is now starting to mellow. Oh no, that sharp note is back. Assuming it may be the amber. Go away! It smells like generic Lush soap. I think I prefer it to last years and will keep it to see how it ages.

[Minh Scent]

2017 version

I see "chypre" and have to give it a go. On application, I do get a lovely ambery chypre and think I have to get a full bottle immediately! Then the pomegranate leaps out. It is very sweet and fruity, not "dark" at all.

 

I like the way the notes play back and forth with each other during drydown, from amber to pomegranate, with a wisp of myrrh. It is pretty, youthful and if you are a sweet fruit fan, you might like this. For me, I will enjoy my decant.

Edited November 26, 2017 by Minh Scent

[LiberAmoris]

2017 version:

 

I've never tried September Midnight before...it's a little bit like an autumnal Persephone! The combination of the amber chypre, myrrh, and black pomegranate is harmonious. If you love the black pomegranate note, you should definitely give this a go. Juicy pom on top, and underneath, hints of dry autumn days—turning trees and golden sun.