Vol de Nuit (1933)
by Guerlain

I'm trying a decant of the vintage edc that a Basenotes friend sent, and I think it is heavenly. At first I thought it smelled similar to Mitsouko (which I have trouble wearing), but VdN soon turned sweet - like the most delicious pastry cream - on my skin, with no clovey spiciness, and that sweet Guerlain base underlies the autumnal chypre aura, so that VdN is bittersweet, not too bitter, nor too sweet, just perfectly, perfectly balanced. And the rubber tire note, whatever that is, is genius. This is the only version I've tried so far, so I'll be interested to compare it with more recent versions when I encounter them. Guerlain's vintage colognes are the MOST amazing formulations.

31st July, 2011.

Vol de Nuit is a monument in perfumery and there is a 'mystery' around this creation. In fact, it is not an 'easy' fragrance and one reason may well be that I perceive it both as chypré style and 'powdery oriental' (as jdt put it in this review) at the same time. This interplay and phases of different emphasis really is something I needed time to interpret for myself. I also think Vol de Nuit is a fragrance that is very prone to 'distraction' if there is still another fragrance faintly lingering on your skin. I have found the subtle interplay and transmission of chypre and oriental can be disturbed and Vol de Nuit sort of falls apart in nothing. What you want to experience when wearing the extrait (which is IMHO the only way to experience Vol de Nuit due to longevity and the perfumes' subtle facets) is exactly what sean-dt described in his beautiful review, when he states that a 'unbelievably' delicate aura seems to appear out of nowhere just when the perfume seems to fade.'
Experiencing this is truly the magic of Vol de Nuit! It will always have a very very special place in my heart. It, both, comforts me and complements me by creating an aura of mystery and allure. At least, that's what I like to think...

ADDITIONAL comparison vintage vs. current extrait (June 2011):
The overall mood I think is more dramatic in the vintage, whereas the new is simply beautiful, if that makes sense. I also think the vintage jus demands your emotional involvement, whereas the new is again breathtakingly beautiful AND contemplative. The vintage has a spiciness that reminds me of the Parfum de Toilette of L’Heure Bleue. It is very French, very Guerlain and vintage (although mine here is only 10 years old, but that ensures the floral notes are well preserved as some claim Vol de Nuit does not age well.) smelling. I think that the vintage extrait of Vol de Nuit is even more the quintessential Guerlain to me than L’Heure Bleue. The new jus has a more pronounced floral heart (I like to think it is the jonquil absolute as core accord) with its edges rounded off with the help of the Guerlain vanilla and benzoin (?), which I absolutely adore. It is less spicy, less complex or is it complicated ?, less powdery and more fragile (I have found that it can sort of collapse into nothing on you when distracted by your skin chemistry – e.g. faint remainders of former fragrance) than the vintage. It also does not produce as much sillage as the vintage and is more 'unisex' to my perception making it clearly an amber-emphasized fragrance, in particular in the drydown.
In the end, I think the new Vol de Nuit is a sort of "modernization" and I like it at least as much as the vintage. It is the best reformulation I can think of, but I could see the loss others might feel compared to the vintage, too.

31st May, 2011. (Last Edited: 10th June, 2011.)

Eau de Toilette

Vol de Nuit is a gorgeous, gorgeous green-floral with a distinct "brown" or "autumnal" quality to it, as described by sean-dt. It is never too strong or overbearing; simply smooth and comforting, like a sunset, or.... a night flight. :)

Like Mitsouko, I find Vol de Nuit to be beyond time and gender, but still smelling damn good.

23rd March, 2011.

The Bottle is beautiful the artistry and
craft they painstakingly created with it's
Topaz cut and ruched glass cut with
gold insignia inside a circle with gold
metal Vol de Nuit is the hight of Art Deco
and liquid from the fragrance is pure gold. Channels the playboy aviator & eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes with
his planes and women of course women!
numerous of them well know actresses
you can think of had an affair the most
well know was Katharine Hepburn Jean Harlow
and Ava Gardner.
Squiring jean Harlow on the red carpet
of the Lavish Permire of Hells Angels
beautifully reenacted by the Pop Singer
Gwen Stefani from the Martin Scorsese's
The Aviator.

Or Walking though a Brown Smokey Quarz art deco nightclub
where the smoke stains the mirrors and the women whearing
skin tight Golden Dresses And Men with italian Suits
And the feeling of sex Is every where and the sound of a
single Saxophone Playing though the night.

the scent which i agree with Kastehelmi
it does fly off your skin there is no silage strength and if you compared
to shalimar it is obvious that Vol de nuit is an icy sphinx not letting know
her life nocturne introverted Elegance
compared to shalimar with allmost an
more of a masculine yang presence aggressive and yet like Vol refined.

12nd February, 2011.

I love perfume but sometimes I simply can’t analyze a scent and identify its constituent parts. This seems to happen in two particular instances. I can’t deconstruct the fragrances that I wore when I was young. Each exists as a whole, like an object. I would have trouble analyzing Antaeus or No 5 beyond saying that one is huge and the other is aldehydic. The other instance is the early Guerlains. I love Vol de Nuit, and I recognize it the instant I smell it, but other than saying it is a powdery oriental, I’m adrift.

But I do love it. It is clearly complex, and the complexity reads as a richness that even I get. Although I can’t break VdN down in my head and look at its bit parts, I can describe it. It feels lush and unhurried. It is soft in feel. Not weak and vague, but deliberately diaphanous, ethereal. This softness gives VdN an atmosphere rather than an edge. VdN doesn’t cut or strike, it haunts.

25th January, 2011.

Sean (Ireland) described Vol de Nuit wonderfully. I use the perfume for years now. Sometimes I try something else, but quickly return to the lovely scent of Vol de Nuit. When the first notes faded away, it reminds me of warm sand in summertime.

13rd January, 2011.