Around Midnight (2009)
by Mark Buxton

With its sophisticated structure and its woodiness, this should be the exact type of fragrance that I love. But love doesn’t happen. It has a nice opening – sophisticated, balanced… I don’t think I can label it except for saying that it is spicy green, but not strongly spicy nor strongly green. I can also say that it is perky but not loud or gaudy. I think the chamomile and jasmine are responsible for the smoothness and pleasantness of the opening dominated by pepper and geranium. Around Midnight gets a lot more serious after the opening: The castoreum and patchouli move in to take control in a dark, somewhat bitter way. I don’t appreciate the ingredient quality of this second accord… it comes through as neither pleasant nor interesting. When the bitterness eases, the remainder of the fragrance is persistently and disappointingly generic.

Around Midnight could have been a contender but I feel it misses on its delivery. It starts beautifully, but for a time it turns bitter, harsh, and then uninspiredly generic. Soft sillage and average longevity.

17th August, 2011.

This is not a bad one. It's quite ok, actually, but it's unfortunately is by Mark Buxton.I don't understand why some perfumeurs deliver better fragrances when they work for other brands instead of their own. When I think of Mr Buxton what comes to my mind is Comme Des Garcons 2, or the original Comme Des Garcons, or Ouarzazate, or CDG White. Masterpieces! Around midnight is a smoky, dark and minimalistic frankincense sfragrance (even if incense it's not listed among the notes). It's quite ok, if you don't know any better.

Sillage is barely acceptable, lasting power no more than 2-3 hours.

8th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 16th January, 2012.)

Mark Buxton Around Midnight

Notes: pepper, geranium, chamomile, jasmine, patchouli, ciste, wood (from luckyscent.com)

When I first sprayed Around Midnight, I thought, "Hmm, fougere, no wait, oriental. No no, it is chypre. I have I had these thoughts before, but when? Ah, I remember now...." Somehow, either by design or by accident, Mark Buxton has backed into a variation on Guerlain's Heritage. AM starts very herbal and vegetal, not overly green, but somewhat medicinal (check). Then when the herbs start to subside, touches of dry, herbaceous leather start to emerge (check). Finally, the base is an inviting, aromatic, sweet amber and vanilla accord with a dash of pepper and spice (check). What a relief--now I can confidently declare that AM is a modern take on a classic fragrance! Perhaps it is an unfortunate comparison considering Heritage's, um, heritage. On the plus side, AM would be great for anybody who finds Heritage too dated or "mature", or for those who like Iso E Super. Ultimately, Around Midnight is a confident and well-rounded composition, but sadly, it does not quite measure up.

29th November, 2009.

This is such a memory raiser! Midnight? -totally. But forget the Jazz Club! This is the Alpine Christmas scent par excellence, a bottled nativity play in a pink and gold baroque church - this is the kind of incense crystals my sons use when they work in mass .... us up in the choir leaning into the old wooden benches and the incense wafting up. Utterly lovable! And most saintly.

8th October, 2009.

I think the proper name of this stuff is "round midnight"? Oh, actually checking the luckyscent site it's indeed around. I thought it was named after that film... about the jazzer... although that doesn't make a whole lot of sense does it.

So I am the first to review it!

Well, I recently came to the end of my bottle of CdG Avignon. Simple matter, right? One replaces the bottle! Well... not after testing "Around Midnight" which is not as strong as Avignon but it's soooo wearable, so seductive...And the price point is about the same ml for ml.

I asked the sales person "are these temp labels on the bottles?" and immediately felt self conscious for having essentially critiqued the packaging. The sales person told me however to turn the bottle around. The reason the actual name of the fragrance looks. . . a bit on the crappy side... is that the bottle is meant to be displayed in your perfume den turned the other way around. The other side ot the label is where the pretty graphics are to be found, which you look at through the liquid. So the ugly label that bears the name is lackluster on purpose, leading one to turn the bottle round. Clever and I feel rather comme des garcons qu'ils font so to speak for having picked up on this strategy myself!

11th September, 2009.

Comes on strong. Well, it is supposed to evoke a Parisian nightclub, though that category covers a multitude of sins and this will not work for those trying to revive memories of Le Trap (they cannot be many). Also : Thelonious Monk’s classic is called ‘Round Midnight’ and that would have been a better name, not only because it’s correct. Oh the scent ? A small dab releases a hefty waft of essence de Buxton – grainy, ticklish with pepper, cloudy, resinous. This one is sweeter and more floral than the hot,dry blast of Ourzazate, more in the direction of his Vetiver for Le Labo but not quite all the way down that path (you don’t end up smelling of pale toffee). Buxton is one of those artists who rings the changes on a limited set of notes, like Ivy Compton-Burnett or the Pet Shop Boys, so fans of his work like me will find this one comfortingly familiar, which is not how I like my Paris night-clubs.

25th August, 2009.