Belle de Nuit
by Fragonard

My best friend gave me a bottle of Belle de Nuit as a present from Eze. At first smell, I thought "This is a scent I know but which..." then an hour later I got it: J'Adore. It smells a lot like J'Adore but I like Belle de Nuit better. In Fragonard's site, headline for this fragrance says :"Belle de Nuit is an original, deep rich harmony of flowers and fruit on a warm velvety bottom note of musk. A precious fragrance, as magical as an Arabian night!" Well, they got it right because Belle de Nuit is a strong floral musk which reminds you of that hot, sand-coloured and sun-washed places and the oriental air of their women. %76 volume edp is -of course- quite durable, it basically lives with you. It feels very feminine; it's not like overly trying to be sexy but knowing yourself and your charm and appreciating it. Confident, warm and rich. In short, beautiful :)

13rd October, 2010.

subtle scent for "dress-code" evening events, such as corporate meetings

8th August, 2010.

Belle de Nuit is indeed a beauty - exquisitely composed of night blooms, fruits and a sultry musky amber base. Although the official florals are mirabilis, rose, geranium, violets accompanied by plum, I pick up indolic white flowers, jasmine and tuberose in addition to the rose-geranium.

Belle de Nuit is a strong, sexy and heavier floral, and very classic and traditional in that it is formulated like perfumes of the past, not the recent "fresh", sugary concoctions. It comes across as a very light floriental, and it reminds me very much of a airier, whiter Tresor with its floral top notes and subtle Musk-Amber basenotes, without Tresor's compelling sillage.

The top notes are very bright, white florals, and the opening is a heady, pretty bouquet that is fresh yet indolic and not too sweet or cloying. This quickly (too quickly, imo,...) makes way for the opulent, softly powdered oriental heart which slowly curls around the body and warms the night air. There is no overwhelming intoxication, la Belle de Nuit is a sultry, feminine, maddeningly seductive but elusive presence, not a femme fatale who demands urgent passions. It is a bold but classically sophisticated temptress.

I am pleased to give this exquisite creature its first review, even as I wonder why it has been neglected since its debut in 2001?

5th May, 2010.