Reviews of Les Nuits d'Hadrien (2003)
by Annick Goutal

A dry citrus with wet yet light florals and a patchouli drydown. Too bad the top notes are what's best.

A favourite summer fragrance; I love the herby underton and the clear citrus. Very sophisticated and classy in my opinion.

This juice is incredible, intoxicating, and luxurious. I loved it as soon as I smelled it on me. In my opinion, it's better than the vast majority of non-niche "classy" fragrances out there (e.g. Tom Ford for Men, Boucheron Pour Homme, most Acqua di Parma --- except for maybe Colonia Assoluta, and even anything by Creed). This is usually what I wear when going to an upscale restaurant well-dressed with someone I want to impress.

Les Nuits d'Hadrien was a let down for me.

Over several wearings, it just seemed to be a confused, unfinished fragrance with a lot of projection.

The patchouli overwhelms the citrus and there's a nagging cumin in the background silently screaming for attention, yet getting none. On my skin, it's a heavy fragrance that I consider feminine. Not sure why, but it does. More of a combination of hairspray and patchouli - something the "society ladies" of the little farm town I grew up in would wear.

I think that those who are fond of the vanilla/sandalwood sweetness of Chanel Egoiste will also love this one. In fact, the first time I smelled it, I thought that this is what "Egoiste for Summer" might smell like (if such a thing existed), given the similar bases but the addition of the citrus over top in the Goutal.

All around, very pleasant, but it IS sweet. If you like your citrus very foul and pungent (ala Eau d'hermes or Malle Bigarade), this one may not be a good fit for you.

But, in the quest for the fully rounded citrus wardrobe, this one is essential.

Spicy citrus with some patchouli. WOW. Fantastic, only problem is longevity. Only lasts on my skin for an hour MAX. Too pricy to be reapplying by the second, so is a definite considered purchase for those of us who are not made of money.

Good dry citrus, 3 out of 5 stars. The opening is the best phase, imho. This is one that I can admire but not love.

When I was nosing around this summer for a non-white floral, citrus scent, Les Nuits de Hadrien is the one I finally settled on. No flowers to speak of, but such lovely citrus with a touch of the Silk Road spices at the back. I generally don't care for scents that have this much of a powdery overtone, but Nd'H has enough other interesting things going for it that I'm willing to cut the powder notes some slack here.

Third best citrus around, just after Ricci Club and Eau Sauvage Extreme. For the price, though, I'll take Ricci Club. Oh, and avoid Mandragore if you like citruses. Betwixt the two, I'll take Eau d'Hadrien ANY day of the week.

I tested this one about a year ago. It is much better and quite different from the original version. Much more powdery and smooth. Not so much bugspray, washingdetergent as the original.
benb

Brilliant dry lemon, lifted and sustained by aromatic cypress, sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli, amber, white musk - heavenly hot summer evenings on the patio, trailing vines swaying in the desert wind! Adobe walls giving back the solar heat they've soaked in during the blazing hours. Lovely basenotes. No longevity problem with this citrus semi-oriental.

A refined and smooth citrus. Very subtle, and there is a warmer feeling than is usually the case with citruses. In the heart notes, the herbs and conifers continue the elegance in a rich, full accord; I think the cumin plays a very important role; it is used brilliantly for depth and richness, with no negative vibrations coming off it. The dry down is as elegant and well constructed as the top and mid—not too sweet, but quite a bit too subtle.
Les Nuits d’Hadrian is a wonderfully constructed and balanced fragrance. And it smells incredible. But I believe that the base should have more presence, and, most of all, the scent should have a longer duration. On my skin, the entire progression takes a little over an hour.

Starts amazing, green and fresh and then turns to a very powdery and spicy smell surrounded by sweet notes. The dry down is a bit annoying to me.
Well, all in all It's an interesting fragrance.

I finally got to try a sample of Les Nuits d'Hadrien thanks to a generous swapper. :) I instantly loved it. It smelled so comforting and natural, so warm and so uplifting all at the same time, it smelled just like my own skin! It's no surprise that this is a beautiful fragrance that appeals to so many people. It contains one of the most classic of French combinations: orange and amber! This is a common combination found in many distinctly French fragrances and toiletries, that I use on myself and my children almost daily. I know this combination very intimately from childhood until present. I will eventually purchase a full bottle of Les Nuits EDP mainly for its depth and lasting power once I return to the workforce, but until then, I will enjoy its more affordable, fleeting, and common blood relative, Mont St Michel Cologne Ambrée.

Oh how I love this fragrance. What makes it even better is the fact that I won a 3.4 oz bottle off of ebay for about $40! Worth every penny, it comes the closest to poetically capturing the desert sky at night. I don't know how, but trust me on this.

There is something of the ancient in this fragrance, something that seems to go back to cultures from long ago, and that makes it fascinating to me. It's very herbal - even verging on the medicinal during the opening phase but in a way that really works. With a blend of bergamot, lemon, cypress, basil, cumin and juniper, the character of this tends toward aromatic spices and herbs, the kinds of things people in ancient Rome or India may have scented themselves with or burned in urns as incense (which is also a note here - beautiful, not at all woodsmoky.) Of course, too much of a good thing is too much, so there are vanilla, amber and white musk to sweeten, smooth, balance out the other half of the composition. This is not a feminine fragrance in the way we think of them nowadays, but that could have been worn by an elegant woman - or man - of centuries ago. Splendid work from the house of Annick Goutal.

Everything started with it... When I bought this perfume as the first one of a higher price level, I soon found out, that the smell did not last very long. So a lady in the perfume shop gave me the advice, that because due to the conditions of the male skin men should always use a moisturizing creme before using a perfume, just to make it last longer. I took the advice and use skin care since then, but les nuits d'Hadrien did not develop much better and until now I am a little bored of the all in all quite overrepresented citrus notes of this smell. But you never forget a first love.

A nice citrus - very long lasting compared to its borhter.

Quite unknown and unfortunately terribly underrated. This nightime version of the original Hadrien has some brilliantly executed semi-dirty musk notes accompanying the regular lemon blasts. It all ends in a pleasantly spicy drydown and my only conplaint would be it's somewhat short duration.

Starts out citrusy with Sicilian lemons that give away for the warmer notes of bergamot, basil, the Egyptian cumin and tangerine. It is surprisingly short-lived (somehow I was expecting something more potent from a niche fragrance) and the dry down isÖsomewhatÖîold-fashionedî. My girlfriend also made the remark that I smelled like her 60-year old fatherÖ..not exactly what I was looking for. Better fragrances are out thereÖ.