Messe de Minuit Etro for women and men

Now I understand what the incense is...
The opening is bright, quite chypre, then the base...
I feel the сhristian church aroma and wetness, I mean the smell of the damp building. From the one side - that fragrance makes me calm and relax, from the other - it smells disturbing. Something from my memories...

I have to say......I LOVE my Messe de Minuit! I do not wear it out. I'm kind of an extrovert and usually wear what I'll call "beautiful social or sexy scents"....but this one is for me alone! I SWEAR.....if I cannot sleep.....I get up and spray Messe d M. on me and it's the BEST sleeping pill ever! Cosy, calming......spiritual scent. I got it in a swap.......so glad I did.

It opens orange and cinnamon with woody smoke, than comes patchouly and honey. When dries down, I smell wood,patcouly,musk and cinnamon with a little bergamot. It's sharp and deep at the same time. I like it very much, but can not say for which occasions is the most suitable, depends on personal feelings. It can be winner on summer night or winter day.It's good when I feel shortage of energy!

What I like at Etro , is that usually doesn't classify perfumes into womens and mens. In my opinion that should be a general rule. People are sometimes frustrated if wearing a perfume which is classified like opposite gender scent. That's something what I don't really understand, but that's how it is.
What do you think guys, the most important after all is the smell itsef, isn't it ?!

Bravo ETRO!

Stating to the name of this fragrance I was expecting a dark and mysterious interpretation of the churchy frankincense theme but all I got was a (no more than) honest spicy citrus-patchouli-honey combo with some incense. The citrus is mainly orange that while blending with cinnamon and honey brings to mind of those bags of potpourrì you receive as a present from you neighbours at christmas. Not completely bad, but absolutely nowhere close to Avignon, Bois D'Encens or Zagorsk.

Rating: 6/10

Someone pointed out this scent and some others by Etro to me. I usually like incense scents. I think I tested the complete Etro line that was in the shop and didn't like any. I don't know what Etro does to it's scents that they all are so very harsh and masculine. Nothing for me. Also my companion that day didn't like any of Etro. Sometimes I think there is a reason, why some brands are not spread so much.

This is a bit much for me at first, but eventually dries down to a very pleasant fragrance. The notes are natural, well-articulated, balanced, and there is good dynamism. It takes at least an hour with my skin chemistry to get to this point. Longevity and projection/"sillage" are good to very good, but not outstanding. Note that this is not a dry, woody frankincense (like Avignon or Timbuktu, or any number of ones released during the incense craze of a several years ago) but more of a damp, resinous incense. If you have never smelled this, you may like the former but dislike this one, so sampling first is a good idea. There was at least one site selling this last time I looked (don't remember which one), I think around $150 for 100 ml.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: According to a member of basenotes.net, there are at least three versions of this fragrance. The first was an EdC with a round label on the bottle. This one is very musty and not very fresh. The second one is also an EdC, but it comes in a box with a brownish/reddish paisley pattern. This is the one I have tried. The bottle has a gold cap and there is a square label on the bottle, though it says the same thing as the first version. The most recent version is an EdT and is the freshest one, possessing little of the musty/incense qualities of the first two. The one I have, apparently, has a nice balance, though if you want the full musty treatment, you'd want to try and track down the original (good luck with that!).

WHERE CAN I GET THIS!? I have been searching everywhere!

translation of merilu59's review

"mentre molti profumi di incenso hanno tendenza a portare le associazioni delle chiese polverose scure antiche al punto che confina fra misterioso e deprimente, questo odora luminoso
È messa di natale cattolica in una bottiglia. Adorabile, caldo, resinoso, delizioso."

While many incense perfumes have the tendency to carry the associations of dusty dark churches to the point that they border between mysterious and depressing, this luminous odour is Catholic mass in a bottle. Adorable, warm, resinous, delicious.

mentre molti profumi di incenso hanno tendenza a portare le associazioni delle chiese polverose scure antiche al punto che confina fra misterioso e deprimente, questo odora luminoso
È messa di natale cattolica in una bottiglia. Adorabile, caldo, resinoso, delizioso.

I am very fond of most Etro scents including this one. It seems that maybe some people are reacting too much to the very first opening fragrance which is a little sharp and quite incensey. But as with all good perfume it evolves and changes as it blends with your own chemistry. The Etro perfumes are sophisticated and complicated which makes them so satisfying to wear. You can sniff your wrist every 10 minutes and notice a small change or a new fragrance development. Messe de Minuit dries down to a very subtle very pleasant smell. The frankincense shock at the outset is just its opening line to a very interesting, historically accurate, romaticist conversation that is private and enlightening for the wearer. If you were put off at first try, have another chat with it, you may come away with a new appreciation.

this is not an easy to wear fragrance, but - oh! it's quite special)) For once, this is the truest frankincense representation in perfume I've ever came across (at least the type of incense burnt in most Orthodox churches): smokey, orange-zesty and woodsy; you have to be in a mood to wear this.

Just got a sample of this in a swap, and I'm loving it! I don't get anything musty, depressing, or creepy from it, maybe because of not having all of the Catholic associations. It seems like a warm, cheerful scent to me. I can see how it could seem Christmas-y, but in a happy, not a cold way. At first I smell a little bit of citrus, a lot of cinnamon, sweet honey, and what I assume is ambrette. It dries down to a lovely spicy-honey-musky scent. There's not a lot of incense, especially compared to something like Avignon, which is pure incense (and one that I also love). I would wear Messe de Minuit any time. I think I would even spray it on myself, and that's saying a lot.

OMG! I have to agree with all previous reviewers about churchy Messe de Minuit! It is a very good and exact rendition of the typical smell of ancient well kept, not too dusty Catholic churches and even more Ortodhox churches! It is not something I would wear on myself. Definetely too reminiscent of a church, which is not my aim and would be annoying in a long time, but definetely an interesting, clear, and well crafted scent!

Yep - it is repeating the smell of the incense that is burnt in Catholic or Orthodox churches.Slightly sour, smokey, woodsy.Very bright glimpses of orange peel and wax candles.It is definitely not ordinary and will draw looks and comments!How is it possible to forget someone that smells like a wedding in a church?

I love it, my husband loves it, my kids love it - and we all went trick or treating wearing Messe de Minuit tonight! Very suitable!

When I sprayed it on my skin at the first time, and labdanum notes made me feel myself in the church. I'm not a catholic, I belong to a Russian Orthodox Church, and it smells in our Russian churches like this perfume does. It was a strange and unusual feeling, like my room returned into a small Russian Orthodox chapel.
Then came some orange notes and it make me feel more comfortable. I think I will use it rarely.

OMG! it's a frickin' graveyard! I've got some creepy scents in my collection but this is by far the creepiest I've ever smelled! Heh, Halloween is going to be fun this year: dress like a corpse, smell like a corpse. Great!

I agree with CaraMia completely. There's a note in resin church incense that is at once sweet and slightly musty and this has it down pat. It is Catholic midnight Mass in a bottle. Lovely, warm, resinous, delightful. I can see the candlelight streaming through stained glass right now...

This is the closest thing to a real churchy midnight mass incense that I know. It has that gorgeous aroma down perfectly. I don't know what went into the incense I remember or whether there was any Myrrh in it at all, but this Etro fragance is reminiscent. Even if you don't think that smelling like a church at Christmas is a good thing, this one is definitely worth a try. Don't think this is a head shop smelling incense or a burnt smelling one because it isn't. It is posh and rich smelling. My only qualm is that it should last longer, but 4 hours can get me though a nuce evening.

I love it!