When I was a kid, I went to piano lessons at a convent in New Zealand, which was covered in jasmine. When I opened this bottle of A La Nuit, I was instantly transported back to when I was 6 years of age, and attending that convent for my lessons. The opening is such a fresh real scent! Unfortunately, jasmine scent - much like many white-flower scents - ends up smelling a bit old-ladyish on me, which drives me away from it. Unusually for an SL fragrance, there seems to be few other notes to investigate, but I am leaving it on for a while to see what develops. Perhaps I should layer it with La Religieuse (which I utterly adore!) and see how I get on ... :) Show  I decided to try A La Nuit after reading various blogs and articles about Indolic perfumes. The name kept popping up and it piqued my curiosity since, though I've probably smelled indolic scents, I'm not sure I could identify which ones are or aren't. So, I bought a sample based on the name alone, without even knowing what was in this. I assumed it was either jasmine or other white florals of some kind - I just wanted to see what made this different from other white florals. If it truly was 'dirty' or 'fecal'... Right off the bat, it's a very powerful scent. A sweet and smoky burst of jasmine, accompanied by pleasant green notes. I'm still not sure I understand indoles, but what I do get out of A La Nuit is a very believable, deep floral experience. It's like sniffing actual jasmine in a dewy, grassy field. But those green, grassy notes quickly dissipate and it develops into something much sultrier. Whew, there's that smoke again! I can tell it's the cloves causing the back of my throat to tingle, because it's exactly the same sensation as being around second-hand smoke from clove cigarettes. (Which luckily reminds me of my late teens, hanging around in clovey smoke-filled concert venues). That smoky quality also dies down a little bit, and leaves just a lingering trail of smoke and spice, like an incense stick burning out. Ahh... If this indeed features indoles, fear not - this isn't fecal at all. Is it 'dirty'? Well, maybe in the way that soil can have a rich, pleasing earthy scent. Also worth noting - various types of African/Indian jasmine were used in this composition, and it shows. It's absolutely exotic and fascinating.
The first moment I sprayed this, I got scared that I wouldn't enjoy it because of an odd watery synthetic smell, but that was gone in seconds and what was left was a near-perfect recreation of the smell of blooming jasmine. It grows wild in Italy and Croatia so the smell transported me vividly to memories of being there. It lasted forever too. I easily got over 12 hours and a lot of those hours were projecting pretty strongly. This is fresh, bright jasmine and seemed pretty much linear on me aside for a gentle softening over time--the vanilla in the base never becomes too noticeable. Very feminine but I'm confident enough with my masculinity that I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable wearing a very gentle touch of it out of the house. Needless to say though, stay far away if you want to smell masculine or if you're a man and want to blend in. Any woman who loves florals would smell great wearing this. Genre: Floral À la Nuit is a sweet indolic jasmine scent with a certain intense clarity about its structure. It shares this clear, focused character with two other Sheldrake-Lutens floral compositions: Un Lys and Sa Majesté la Rose, but the more potent indoles in its jasmine make it a more heady, decadent, and indulgent perfume. À la Nuit rests on a sweet vanillic base that's common among Lutens fragrances, but this version is less oppressively viscous than some of the house's heavier orientals. À la Nuit is one of the more enjoyable jasmine soliflores I've tried, especially because it displays plenty of depth without becoming cloying.
I have not had much success with Serge Lutens but ordered a sample of this and received it today, opening it with great expectation due to so many positive reviews. I have wonderful jasmine in my yard that is blooming and wanted a fragrance that captured the sweet, heady fragrance. Unfortunately, A la Nuit falls far short for me. Instead of sweet I get sharp, instead of light I get dark and musty. I smell something like lime and old gardenia mixed with a burnt popcorn aroma. I think it could be that the base used in Serge Lutens is simply not compatible with my skin chemistry as the scent in the sample does smell better. A very clear and sparkling jasmine that is uplifting and true to the essential oil. In fact it reminds me of this Egyptian Jasmine I brought back from Cairo for my girlfriend many years ago. There is also a hint of green making the jasmine smell fresh like it's just been plucked from a bush. Great if you love your jasmine straight up without other notes. But may be lacking if you expect more complexity from your fragrance. Great jasmine though! The scent of Jasmine is alluring enough as it is, but the flower gardens in my native Cyprus just OOZE of Jasmine after dark. The baking hot sunshine that radiates on the flowers during the day causes the aroma to be released ten fold at night, in my opinion. This is my first Serge and Lutens fragrance and is quite an amazing one. You don't need a lot, as the scent is quite concentrated as it is. Just a spritz and you can expect it to last all day. This scent amazes me by how "close" to the real thing it really is. I feel like I have my face buried in a flower bed of jasmine plants when this is down to the heart notes. Jasmine, jasmine jasmine jasmine. It's like thrusting your face into jasmine and getting a blossom into your mouth. Not quite choking on it, but you're transported there, via your nose. Perhaps a little high-pitched for some, but in the spring, or when you're dying for it to be spring, it is exquisite. A touch of indole to make the jasmine more photorealistic, with a tiny bit of musk to carry it along. I love Big White Florals, but I find this one to be a bit too much for work. I can wear it all day long on my days off. Drops off pretty sharply about 5 hours after application, so I reapply. I thought Nuda by Nasomatto was the business when it comes to jasmine but wowzah .... A La Nuit is THE Queen of the Jasmine Scents . It is not that I have never tried A La Nuit before but I have always tried it when I was busying bingeing on other scents at the same time. Out of this world bell like sweet white flowered happiness of the jasmine blooming at night . It heaves and sighs JASMINE. The honey muskiness at the end is deliciously addictive and complements the jasmine oh so well - never distracts from the purity of this soliflore. Slightly indolic- just a touch compared to Joy EDP - it is a baby in the indolic dept. Tenacity is not so great to b e honest . A La Nuit is a heavy hitter in the first 30 min - 1 hr. Strong jasmine and you will not mistake this for anything else. Then it all quietens down to a fairly light fragrance on me - persistent but light. 100 % a great choice for jasmine . In fact get 2 bottles. I love jasmine, so naturally I love A la Nuit. Jasmine haters be warned. This is a blunt, modern jasmine that is relatively indolic, but not as indolic as jasmine heavyweight Nuda by Nassamatto. This is a glowing yet sheer jasmine more forgiving, but not as forgiving as Blush by Marc Jacobs which is so sweet it's almost bug spray. A la Nuit is a persian princess's garden on steroids. It's almost a soliflore in that it doesn't morph as much as the other Lutens. You just keep getting jasmine over and over. It's actually quite wearable on a hot day and definitely brightened by humidity. I am disappointed in the staying power though and do suggest you rely on wearing it off of places where it doesn't rub away easily, like the wrist. In the elbow crease, on the shoulders and in the hair would be better. The early minutes of the scent a sour note stands so high that besides jasmin i feel like some orange flowers and some gardenia is clearly there. Later jasmine grows to be more jasmine but still acidic more than indolic. I have some arabic jasmine growing on my porch which i admire. When it is on full bloom it has such an earthy animalistic note that my mum cannot belive jasmine is blameworty but my cat is. so i like jasmine as it is ; earthy or indolic or dirty. This jasmine is too clean for my taste. I cannot get any honey or musk. ı find nothing positive or negative about this scent. People with ambivalant feelings about jasmine should give a try. A la Nuit starts spectacularly and then undergoes a rapid devolution through the seven stages of fragrance doubt. Well not really there are no seven stages of fragrance doubt that I know of, but A la Nuit as it dries down does bump and thump it's way downward. The opening is a great balanced accord of pretty jasmine and the right amount of musk underneath and that will be as good as it gets. In a short time the fragrance reaches the dreaded "old lady perfume" stage where I start having serious doubts that any male other than Quentin Crisp could pull this one off....not even Mr. Crisp now considering. As the jasmine continues it's pitiable fade it submits to a leathery tryranny of musk and with the jasmine leaving I lose interest. Jasmine Full by Montale a scent I relish is another jasmine that does an ignominious fade but in Jasmine Full's case as it dies it's slow or not so slow death it stay true to it's lovely jasmine heart.
Superb rendition of pure jasmine - for both men and women. On men it will mix with body oils to "masculinize" it - is that a word? - in about an hour. Long lasting - an evening's worth easily. This is the sort of cologne one would expect a gorgeous Northern Italian model to wear - Botticelli face and form - soft, gentle, yet quietly masculine and refined.l This is at the same time both the king and queen of jasmine scents. Oriental-spicy floral with a bunch of diverse varieties of jasmine spread along the trip as an olfactory backbone surrounded by spices, balsams and resins, with a green-citrus presence at the opening and in the base. Further a star jasmine the key elements are honey and cloves with their sweet-spicy-bitter accord. The composition is oriental but in an exotic way because of several spicy fruits and green elements. The strong spicy presence provides a slightly bitter undertone to the sweetness and balsams. There is a touch of exotic sultriness in the final outcome that turns the concoction out wearable even in the tropical climates. I detect some fruits in the dry down side by side with flowers, woodsy musk and balsams (honey, vanilla, benzoin). This is basically a feminine creation less dense and deep than Chergui or Fumerie Turque but with notable sillage and longevity. I really ought to love this, but sadly as with other Lutens fragrances l've tried, the sillage is poor & it only lasts about an hour on me. lt's a warm, yet green jasmine, with honey & benzoin in the base. lt's very pretty, but l like my jasmine much more in-your-face, so for me this doesn't come close to Montale's Jasmin Full.
I tried this scent when I ran out of Creed's Jasmal and before I got hooked on Love, Tears, Surrender by Kilian. Funny thing is..although they're all indolic scents they all smell slightly different! I found A la Nuit to definitely be a Jasmine scent however I seem to detect either a note of Gardenia or Lily of the Valley in it. Beautiful..just different! Also the animalic notes make it different than other "fresh" Jasmine scents...like a night-blooming Jasmine @ midnight in the heat of Summer. Pretty but I've smelled others I like more!! Years ago I was in Egypt and I loved a nice scent I perceived in the garden of the hotel. I later discovered it was a tree of jasmine, indian jasmine. When I first smelled A la nuit it struk me how a perfect reproduction of indian jasmine it was!! True jasmine at night, when the heat of the day leaves space to the fresh wind of a parfumed egyptian night. Perhaps the only problem of this Lutens is that I would not spend so much for a soliflore. What does La Nuit smell like?Bright, masculine freshness combines with sophistication and nonchalance to create a fresh, yet deep and mysterious scent with notes of cardamom, cedar, and coumarin—a structure of contrasting forces. Is Serge Lutens a luxury brand?Serge Lutens is a pioneer luxury perfume brand created by a true artist. A visionary of beauty in all its forms, he has led many revolutions in the world of perfume. What smells like tresor La nuit?Similar perfumes at Bloom:. PG26 Isparta by Pierre Guillaume - Parfumerie Générale.. Spice Must Flow by Etat Libre d'Orange.. Experimentum Crucis by Etat Libre d'Orange.. 101 by Bon Parfumeur.. ELLA by Arquiste.. Megalium by CARNER.. Old but Gold Pack by Bloom Sample Packs.. Who owns Serge Lutens perfume?Serge Lutens | BRANDS | Shiseido Company. Driven by his passions and curiosity, Serge Lutens has created more than 90 perfumes in timeless collections, and led many revolutions in the world of beauty and perfume. |
