It's been one bajillion years since my last Deep Midnight review. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is making some sort of space calendar to describe how long I've waited between Deep Midnight reviews. Fish have grown legs, dinosaurs have shrunk into birds, stars have gone supernova... you get the point.
The perfumes covered in today's review:
- Lazy Days [store link]
- The Woman [store link]
- Isabella [store link]
- Seven Veils [store link]
Methodology
All perfumes in this review were allowed to rest for over a week after arrival. The perfumes were kept in the dark in a plastic box. I did crack them open to sniff them directly after arrival, and with a couple to do an initial test. The reviews are not based off of these initial impressions - though if a rest did change the smell I’ll note that.
I’m doing a half-hour skin test with each perfume. They are always applied to skin that has either been washed or hasn’t had perfume on it that day. Sometimes I will run one scent on one wrist/hand/arm and the other on the other wrist/hand/arm. Before beginning the first test I did a wash with a scented soap (it’s all I have available - shea butter Dove soap or almond Doc Bronners). Before doing test periods I often wear or play with other scents in my collection (that I wash off), so theoretically there could be cross-contamination.
Each sample was gently swirled before application.Each review is written without looking at the notes (in that moment… I obviously looked at them when I bought). At the end of the review I will list what the notes listed in the shop are and comment on how I think they interacted
Bottle Review
See my previous Deep Midnight review [here] for my review of their wand bottles
Now onto the reviews of the perfumes themselves!
A reminder: Each nose is different and each skin’s chemistry is different. Your mileage may vary.
Lazy Days
In the bottle: Spiced blackberry jam, fall leaves and a white floral.
Wet on my skin: The blackberry dials back (still there though), the leaves come forward and mingle with the spices. The white floral is on the very edges.
Drydown: Spiced blackberry forward again. Just a tiny hint of floral. Grounded in the autumn leaves smell. The spices are the most predominant thing in the scent. It smells like an awesome candle - like this would make a killer room scent.
After 30 mins: Still a killer blackberry fall room scent. Very similar to the drydown except I get less of the fall leaves. It’s faded some - but definitely still there. I think with it drying down to a spiced fall blackberry it’d be nice to layer.
Notes on the site: lush blackberries, autumn leaves, clove, and a teeny, tiny splash of chardonnay
Got all those notes except for the chardonnay (maybe that was what I was reading as white floral?). This isn’t really a boozy scent at all. It’s a slightly sweet (but not edible) spiced autumn scent. It’s very good - but if I had to change one thing about it I think a rich, smokey vanilla note would just send it over the top.
Verdict: Keeping the sample! I low-key also want a bottle of this too… but I ought to pace myself so I’ll probably just stick with the sample for now… unless they release a candle of this then I’m a gonner. (Also, true facts, my resolve to pace myself with their full sizes might weaken around fall for this one - it's definitely a fantastic fall scent)
The Woman
In the bottle: Silky, honeyed white florals with an almost citrusy tang to them. A spicy floral. Pale amber. Some other notes I am struggling to pick out - reminds me slightly of L’Air Du Temps (I don’t have a ton of experience with mainstream perfumes - but that one is one of the few I own).
Wet on my skin: Like many Deep Midnight scents this sinks into the skin rapidly. The amber amps over other slightly resinous notes. The amber goes to the very edge of powdery on me then comes back. Scent is gold with swirls of cream, bright silver, and white.
Drydown: Spicy floral (carnation maybe?) takes center along with the amber. Hint of a white floral. Something smokey feeling about it. Some kind of resin other than an amber. Still a golden scent - hint of red to it now though.
After 30 mins: A spicy floral and ambers framing a fragrant fruit. Maybe even a fruit blossom? It’s resinous, dry, slightly sweet, peppery and silky.
Notes on the site: Mallow blossom, jasmine, peony, honeysuckle, and sultry Egyptian musk, blended into a sexy opium accord
Okay so. This tells me that I know nothing, John Snow. I got the notes all bungled. But let’s sort out what I was getting: I get the honeysuckle and jasmine as white (or white-ish) florals. I suppose the mallow blossom and peony are the spicy florals. The opium accord must be where I’m getting the amber from - and the Egyptian musk must be where some of the spice is coming from - but it’s not a powerfully musky scent.
Verdict: Swap? Maybe? It’s a little feminine and powdery for me, but it’s certainly pleasant to smell and I could see wearing it on my more femme days if the competition for perfumes to wear on my femme days wasn’t so stiff.
Isabella
In the bottle: Powdery amber-ish note, golden spices, feminine florals, wrapped in a haze of musks. The base note in there seems kind of woody - it reminds me of oud. A almost hidden sweet midnote that could be a fruit or a floral. It’s very similar to The Woman in some ways but more powdery and more feminine.
Wet on my skin: Golden, florals become less indolic (but very silky now - delicate whites) and the powdery-sweetness I associate with certain ambers dies back. A little shock of ‘oriental’ (I am not a fan of that term - but I know it’s the official one for that smell family) spices. It’s still kind of feminine but less overwhelmingly so. Very musky. A hint of something almost foody in there. Reminds me of toffee or butter. So to sum up: wet it is delicate whites with a whiff of make-up powder, a touch of something reminiscent of toffee/butter. and a swirl of spice over a slightly woody, golden, VERY musky base.
Drydown: It’s going back to how it smelled in the bottle. There’s still remnants of the wet scent there but now it’s just smelling more an more like how a makeup pad full of concealer smells. It’s still rich in musks but for me it’s hard to enjoy past the ‘makeup pad’ scent. Only the barest hint of anything toffee/butterish now. Plenty of throw - with the throw it’s very white and golden musk dominated. It’s almost like wearing straight musk if not for that makeup-pad-in-a-compact note.
After 30 mins: It’s mostly golden-musky with some sweet, silky, white florals and a touch of that makeup-pad-soaked-with-concealer smell and a little bit of spice. Almost nothing of the buttery. It’s died back some in strength which is good because it was overwhelming me initially. Very ‘oriental’ (see my previous statement on the term). I want to emphasize that this is VERY musky.
Notes on the site: A golden musk accord that is my personal blend of five different musks, ylang ylang, neroli, bergamot, lily, saffron, and creamy nectar. This is deeply sensual and compelling fragrance
Okay, so, from the notes I expected this to be way, way more floral. It is VERY musk dominated. I can see ylang ylang being in there but it’s so overwhelmed by the powdery I can’t really pick it out. I’m guessing the powder might be lily. I am linking the smell to lily now that I see the word in front of me. I get none of the orange- tones of the neroli or the bergamot (unless what's pinging me as golden in the musks has to do with them). I’m guessing the note I was reading as ‘foody’ was the nectar. The saffron must be what was pinging me as spice.
Verdict: Swap. This one I initially expected to be in competition with The Woman for which kind of light, more mainstream perfume-y scent I wanted to keep from Deep Midnight but I personally cannot tolerate whatever that makeup pad smell is (I suspect lily but cannot say for sure). I never expected a perfume to be too musky for me but this is getting there. If you’re a giant fan of musks and feel like you can never find a perfume that goes hard enough on being musky this one might be a win for you.
Seven Veils
In the bottle: Rich vanilla, amber, spices, musk, faint booziness.
Wet on my skin: Vanilla definies the scent but isn’t as strong as it as in the bottle. Getting more amber (very golden), kind of a sugared note, spices and musk. There’s some subtle edge florals.
Drydown: The edge florals come forward. They’re white and golden and creamy and honey-sweet. The thick vanilla rounds out the scent and supports the florals. The spices, musk, sugar etc are all still there. It’s a very layered note. Appropriate for a “7 veils” scent. Good throw.
After 30 mins: Rich vanilla still makes up the core of the scent, the floral notes that rose to the top are now mostly gone with the hint of a sweet white floral remaining. There’s more booziness - and for me a definite honey note. Thick musks swirled with spices now compliment the vanilla.
Notes on the site: earthy Madagascar vanilla, velvety orchids, white florals, the softest musk, sweet golden amber, spices and exotic resins
Got it all except maybe the orchids. The ambers blend in well - they don’t stand out on their own so much as giving the scent a ‘golden’ character. The resins, too, blend - this time with the musk for me (or perhaps the musk blends with them?) creating a thick, sensual scent. I think the resins were what was giving me a kind of ‘boozy’ impression. The vanilla in this is really unique and botanical. Beats me what I was getting as honey unless there's a semi-unlisted honey note being used to sweeten the amber accord.
Verdict: Keep! I can’t see wearing this quite often enough to justify a bottle but I’ll definitely be keeping the sample.
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