Rose de Nuit
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Gone astray a lot recently, I am coming back to my Lutens for a visit... and I have to say Rose de Nuit is my favorite of all. It is highly original, daring and oh so dark in its mood. My association with this has always been more 'lacquer and leather' than 'leather' alone... so, if this is your idea of 'sexy' you are spot-on here. :)
There are two that come to mind that - apart from the juicy winey rose note - try to transport the same idea and feel. I think Kurkdjian's Lumiere Noire pour Femme is fairly close, but not as interesting, though fairly 'mean'. Guerlain's Rose Barbare (by Kurkdjian) is like a sweeter, lighter, more polite and correct flanker to me. I bet Kurkdjian likes Rose de Nuit. Having said that, none of these reaches the heights of mystery and spell that Rose de Nuit does. For perfect enjoyment I definitely prefer to dab it. It is a skin scent that lingers on for 12+ hours, although very close to skin in the deep base. Definitely in my top ten and a masterpiece in its category!

10th June, 2011.

I think this is fantastic, start to finish. It's dark, moody, and leathery to start. At this stage, it might be a little challenging for many men, but if you can wear Iquitos or Lyric Man, then you should have no trouble with this. As it dries down, it gets crisper and greener, while retaining a leathery quality. It is much less opulent and less sweet than most other Serge Lutens fragrances. I agree with the reviewer who mentioned there are some similarities between this and Une Rose. They are both dark, both have an earthy quality, and of course, both are also rose-heavy fragrances. On top of that, I'd add that both are really good, really wearable rose fragrances for men. If you like rose, you need to try this.

2nd May, 2011.

I find this slightly similar to Frederic Malle Une Rose- maybe a bit softer but something about it reminds me of that. I often do not enjoy Rose scents but the Frederic Malle version enticed me to give rose another try. I think I enjoy this one more. Even after about 3 hours the rose scent is still so prominent on my skin but there is a soft, woody, possibly a slight scent of amber-ish something there. This is one I would be careful to not over spray as it seems to be sticking to my skin very well.

25th September, 2010.

I tend to like juicy/jammy and earthy/woody rose fragrances and dislike soapy/powdery and dry/spicy ones. Rose de nuit doesn't quite fit into either of these categories, and I appreciate its originality. It has the green acidity of the rose scents I tend to like, but it's not fresh and natural like a newly plucked rose, or sweet-and-sour in a gourmandy way. Instead it's intensely dark and leathery and dryly (not muskily) animalic, in the vein perhaps of Montale's Dark Aoud, though with a much stronger sour, musty, murky aspect. That might sound like a negative judgment, but I don't mean it like that. Rose de nuit may not be pleasant, exactly, but it's certainly intriguing. It smells ancient, like some antique leather or fur accessory once belonging to a long dead lady and still smelling of her attar of roses and patchouli and mothballs. Apart from Dark Aoud, it might be somewhat reminiscent of Voleur de roses and Diorling. I'm not a rose fan in general and I don't fall madly in love with Rose de nuit, but I applaud it.

5th May, 2010.

I don't quite vibe with all the "darkness" and "danger" comments. To me this goes on as a warm and fuzzy rose with lots of honey and maybe some red fruits. Nice enough, although it doesn't hit me anywhere special. The middle phase is nice -- I do get soft apricot/skin notes and there's an interesting sour/off note. It does have a bit of a chypre character, and I'd believe that there's leather here, though it doesn't come out strongly. The dry down is a sour, rather thin, and long-lasting accord of glue/wine/underpants. Entertaining to sniff, but not something I can imagine wearing. I can see why other people like it, but at the end of the day it left me completely cold.

14th December, 2009.

A carnivorous black rose. For the first minute all I got was nauseating, overpowering soap and the smell of something rotten, even when lightly dabbed on. Well-worn, sweat-stained leather emerges soon after and I cannot stop sniffing my wrists as the rose continues to decay.
A tricky fragrance to wear outside for sure. A few people simply can't stand the smell, while others especially older gentlemen seem to enjoy it too much...

6th October, 2009. (Last Edited: 28th March, 2010.)