Description
Nuit de Longchamp has graced the shoulders of elegant women since 1934, like a magnificent garden of white flowers blooming in the twilight. From the African shores of the mediterranean and the Ottoman gardens, we use only the most precious flowers and balsams, with their timeless scents which capture the hearts of women everywhere.
Notes:
Sicilian bergamot and Tunucuan orange blossom, nutmeg, cardamom and ylang-ylang; Turkish rose, Dades jasmine, iris of Florence and Mysore sandalwood, broom absolute; patchouli and Haitian vetiver, Tolu and Peruvian balsam, labdanum and oakmoss.
“first version 1934, worldwide version 1937, 2 more versions in the 1950’s then in the 1980’s
We have rebuilt the formula, which is close but not identical to the original, starting from the 1937 and 1950’s” Gilles Thevenin.
Puzirek2010 – :
Smells its age, yes, but in a very positive way. When a rose was a rose and a woman was a woman. Thank Heaven not a fruity rose, but a real red rose bedded in soft spices. Elegant, classy. I love it.
rsn049JeomiWogkig – :
Unfortunately I agree with what a few have said below. It’s reminiscent of some kind of soap that has been found at the back of my Nanna’s cupboard.
IlyasHoopr – :
This is really lovely, it has a very vintagey-old school type of aroma, but without actually having “that vintage smell”, if that makes any sense. Kind of, it smells like a modern remake of a classic vintage, which is exactly what it is.
Very soapy-powdery on application, I really thought there were aldehydes and lily of the valley in this, though they aren’t listed. To some extent this reminded me of a combination of traditional triple milled bar of soap, some imperial leather talc, thick face cream and the colour white, or rather ivory cream colour.
This has a lovely stage in the heart that reminds me of my Grandma. No, I don’t mean /that/ dreaded phrase, this is a compliment. When I was young my maternal Grandma always washed with imperial leather soap bar (she has switched to Dove now!) she even used it for her hair instead of shampoo, used the imperial leather talcum powder, the one in the red bottle, applied astral or nivea cream to her face, and on laundry day washed everything in her top loader twin tub with traditional soap flakes. If she wore daytime perfume it would be L’Aimant. This is what NdL reminds me of, that particular mix of ingredients that became part of her general scent, so for that reason alone I love it.
I also love it because it smells good. This is, as you’d expect from the memories it evokes, a very comforting scent for me. Certainly not something I would personally wear for seduction or painting the town red because that would clash with how I perceive it. This to me is perfect for cozy snuggles, winter days when the weather outside is wild and stormy but I am safely inside comfy and warm.
The opening is quite full on, heavy soapy powdery aldehydic white florals that cocoon like a big fluffy cream blanket. In the heart it develops the scent I described above, clean but lived in, it does smell clean to me but not sanitised, not fresh. In the drydown the vetiver, oakmoss and sandalwwod become more prominent and the soapiness recedes considerably to reveal more of the powdery iris and soft jasmine.
In the beginning this is pretty much room-filling and may be overpowering to those who dislike more old fashioned scents or who are averse to aldehydes, soapiness and powder. it gradually wears closer and closer as it moves through heart and drydown. Longevity is not the best but it isn’t terrible, probably 4-6 hours.
**EDITED TO ADD: I was wrong, this lasts far longer than I had previously thought, when I got undressed to change for bed the scent wafted from my skin again clear and true a good 11 hours after applying, maybe I become unable to smell it on myself after a while or something. But the longevity (full wear in cold winter weather) is 2-3 times longer than I originally stated at 10-12 hours. END OF EDIT**
Very feminine.
It does remind me somewhat of Carven Ma Griffe (modern version, I don’t know the vintage) and Arpege though it is less indolic.
Best for autumn, winter and early spring IMO. I love it on a cold winters day, with a big thick snuggly jumper or a chunky knit scarf!
Shuler88 – :
I have the vintage. Don’t think it is really my thing. It was a blind buy because I liked the vintage toile bottle. Maybe it will grow on me
jnfhbyf – :
It might be different for many others, but I tried this today and it smells like an old piece of soap you find in grandma’s closet after a while. One that has been laying there for 40 years at that. I love Lubin’s Galaad, but this is musty old ladies stuff on my skin. Which means it probably doesn’t agree with me.
AgeseIrrids – :
As others have mentioned, this is a very classic scent, maybe even old-fashioned but it truly oozes class. I’d imagine Sophia Loren to smell of this, dressed in a beige cashmere jumper, slim legged trousers and some driving shoes. A scent that would easily take her into an elegant evening. Floral but without that toilet freshener vibe I so despise and much nicer than Chanel N°5 which I truly hate, there is a kindness – for want of a better word – to this scent, like the elegant grandmother who is always impeccably dressed and expects you to behave but who would do anything to make you find happiness and success in life. Someone who has lived and seen it all but does not need to shout about it.
kpluvkzd – :
Olfactory pleasure guaranteed for group of amateurs of Capucci de Capucci, old Climat Lancome and old Caleche Hermes. So much grace, (and ylang-ylang) manners and class in Nuit de Longchamp. It might seem a bit too soapy at some point, yet there is undeniable magnetism in this fragrance, which makes your nose attached to the wrist all the time.
I think November is a perfect time to wear it with long scarf on a long coat. Image and status perfume.
infillabuprap – :
an aldehydic masterpiece! complex, sparkling, elegant!
DJ_BAIZIL – :
When I selected a completely random sample vial from my queue today, labeled only NUIT DE LONGCHAMP, I knew absolutely nothing about the perfume, not even that it was really launched not by Longchamp but by Lubin. Nearly immediately upon donning this creation, I said outloud: “Arpège”. Needless to say, I was surprised. What was ARPEGE doing in a vial labeled NUIT DE LONGCHAMP????
I had requested this sample along with an order from Aedes a while back and do not remember having known anything about it then either. I was just interested in trying a perfume called NUIT DE LONGCHAMP. Now that I’ve looked into the history a bit, I understand why–or rather how–it can smell so similar to ARPEGE: both were launched in the early twentieth century. This is a reconstruction by Lubin of the original perfume.
Clearly there are aldehydes present in this composition, just as in ARPEGE. I have no idea why they are not listed among the notes. (Another reviewer compared this perfume to Amouage DIA, which I take as further confirmation, since to me DIA is an aldehyde bomb.) From there it’s a topsy-turvy tumbling and waning and waxing of tons of notes. In the end, however, whatever the differences in suggested notes may happen to be, these two perfumes smell an awful lot alike. There is a deep dark woody quality and some orientalia along with a fairly strong mixed floral component–not abstract floral notes, which have become much more common than not in recent mainstream launches, but the scent of actual flowers–but the aldehydes are always there quite prominently and adding that extra vintage-smelling oomph.
In a side-by-side test to determine whether my memory was not deceiving me, I confirmed that in fact NUIT DE LONGCHAMP smells much closer to ARPEGE than to any perfume launched since. This is a throw-back to the 1930s (ARPEGE was launched in the 1920s), and is only going to work for people who love vintage perfume and aldehydes–and, well, ARPEGE! People who already own bottles of ARPEGE, which appears to have been serially reformulated, might want to try this composition to see how far ARPEGE has changed. It is quite similar to the liquid in my bottles, but they are not too recent.
This composition smells like perfume used to in the olden days, before the advent of sweet laundry scents and fruitchouli and SSRI frags, and smelling it reminds me how much we are conditioned by and habituated to whatever happens to be currently in fashion. I am quite sure that many younger perfumistas would dislike this as much if not even more than CHANEL NO 5. But it’s a great opportunity for those who’d like to travel back in time, as the reconstruction of this classic perfume by Lubin seems to me to be really quite good. The soapy iris, the oakmoss, the aldehydes… these are all important parts of what used to be considered perfume.
ulipka – :
An uptight, formal floral with a mellow heart just dying to get out, and it does. At drydown. The bottle I got as a steal ($24 USD, I know, right! 😉 looks just as the one pictured here, so I guess I have the most recent version and I’m OK with that. I’m not sure which fragrance I may have or have smelled in the past that reminds me of this one, but it is right on the tip of my memory. I am certain I have smelled a similar scent.
This is one of my ‘mature scents’ as I couldn’t see myself wearing this at <24 years old. There is an air of refinement that goes along with this EDP, one that makes one sit up and take notice, or at least give the appearance of self assurance like some perfumes can.
I first put on today before 0730 hrs. It is now 1350 hrs and my wrists are still faintly scented. Powdery even with just a hint of the florals which were so brash and demanding this morning.
I think this would work in an office environment, provided a judicious hand were used. Upon drydown it becomes less obtrusive, like a rowdy child who has now tired of being rowdy and is sitting, hands folded in lap, behaving beautifully.
duminica-96 – :
This is really nice pretty scent with that classic like smell. I will not say it smells to old though and that someone 30 and under couldn’t wear this, because I’m sure it would smell very nice on the right person. It has a nice powdery-ness to it and a nice spicyness to it w/o out being overly spicy just enough to add some warmth. Very nice scent however it faintly reminded me of another perfume. (I work in a Niche shop) then it hit me it was very reminiscent of Amouage’s “Dia Woman” only not as sharp and slightly turned down. Try them both out side by side for yourself, you’ll see. Overall very enjoyable scent if you like those older style scents, but again I’m sure anyone could wear this if they wanted to. It’s EDP so I’m sure longevity is quite well, you could, but I probably wouldn’t do this every day more suited for a special event or occasion., deff. worth a wiff. 🙂
Overall: 8/10
vil_bk – :
This perfume reminds me of a cross between Chanel #5 and the original “Miss Dior”. It doesn’t smell like an “old lady”, it smells like the old lady would have smelled when she was a young chic french lady right around ww2. On ME it smells sort of uric-meets-baby-powder, but on one of my friends it smelled divine. I like this smell around me, but not on me; my body chemistry is ruining this one.
focusnick – :
I really liked it at first, but the Mister dismissed it as smelling too vintage. Not a perfume for day time or work. Also, I detect a hint of aldehydes, that could cause the “old lady” scent.
It has a very good staying power and sillage on my skin.
If you like powdery perfumes, it could work for you.
Assan – :
(Review from a tester of the current version)
I like Nuit de Longchamp. It’s a classic example of a throw-back floral with lots of white blossoms. If you enjoy classic floral scents like White Shoulders, Detchema, Fleur de Rocaille, or even Fiji, you’ll probably enjoy this one. I get mostly the floral notes from it, until the dry-down with powdery vetiver occurs.
Very feminine, very French. This is the kind of scent that never seems particularly in or out of fashion, though it does smell unusual nowadays alongside trendy contemporary perfumes. (Which is not to say it smells dated, because it doesn’t.) I could see a woman acquiring a taste for this one in her youth and wearing it her entire life, assuming its available.
Sillage is good, longevity was a bit lacking for me–4 to 5 hours–but very nicely done overall.
Arebmaluarm – :
“All my writing is about the recognition that there is no single reality. But the beauty of it is that you nevertheless go on, walking towards utopia, which may not exist, on a bridge which might end before you reach the other side.”
Marguerite Young
Nuit de Longchamps is one of those scents that you will never mistake for another. My mini is dark caramel in color wiht a black top, so I believe I own a vintage version.
It seems every time I wear this it wears differently; thus, my attraction to the above comment ‘no single reality’. Sometimes it is a strong hairspray/aldehyde that makes me think ‘oh oh’, and sometimes it is a smooth, highly polished woody oriental. I want to point out the two balsam notes, so ask yourself how you’ve rated similar scents in the past (Ormond’s Tolu Balsam, for example). The dry down is sweeter than the sandalwood/oakmoss would suggest.
I agree that this is more of a ‘mature’ scent. If you bid for it on ebay you won’t be competing with any of the younguns, that’s for sure. Certianly for your own private utopian use.
I like it, and place it in my ‘quirky gems’ category.
Heappinge – :
Good old-fashioned feminine fragrance, absolutelly not for a girl – for mature independent elegant woman. Long lasting and – i can tall the same what tessture said – it is ok, smells well, but it is not my cup of tea.
But it is really ok
vvovan – :
Yes this is an old fashioned powdery-perfume but it is also a grower. Initially I noticed it smells very similar to Chanel No 5 which to be honest I am not a huge fan of, and looking on this site they share a lot of the same notes.
But there is more to like in this perfume, it is a more wearable and friendly smell, and of course less instantly recognizable.
Once it warms up on your skin it comes alive, it is one of those wonderfully spicy sweet cozy womanly smells that makes you want to cuddle the wearer.
I am impressed by this perfume, it is great to find this style of oriental floral without the overdone vanilla-amber-musk base that every other perfume you can buy at Myer seems to have. Good job Lubin!
makszmw – :
An old style scent very like En Avion. Dries down to a very powdery, slightly medicinal fragrance on my skin. okay, but definitely not my thing. Slightly too formal, and smells its age.