Les Nuits D'Hadrien by Annick Goutal, 2003

This begins life as an unusual floral lemon--unusual in that the lemon is relegated to the back seat even during the top notes. I also detect what might be a very heady spice component if it were stronger, but again restrained to blend with the lemon and florals. It has a bit of mapley, anisy thickness that makes me suspect some immortelle, though not nearly as much as in their Sables, which nearly drowned me in pancake syrup. I don't find it particularly masculine, though the only feminine scents it actually reminds me of might be a few very old, very heavy ones. While the best comparison I can think of is to Boucheron, a very heavy lemon from my distant past, then I'd say Les Nuits would be a feminine analog to that; they share the same stodgy, dated stuffiness. Like Eau d'Hadrien, the lemon here hangs on for a remarkably long time, and with remarkably true lemoniness, but if I want that I would just reach for Eau. Overall it's not bad, but I'm not sure what niche of scent space it's trying to carve out for itself, and coupled with the gender neutrality it paints a very ambiguous picture. Lots of frankincense and sandalwood at the end brings us over to oriental territory. It's not for me, but still worth a sniff. Quite a chameleon.

I first smelt this fragrance almost two years ago, and I vividly remember cringing as I found the citrus too acidic and strange. These days my nose is much better trained and I have learnt to appreciate such scents. Le Nuits d'Hadrien is not all citrus, in fact the citrus notes are shadowed by the herbaceous qualities. I own Eau d'Hadrien which I find too lemony, however this version is much more rounded. The lemon, although present, doesn't play a huge part in this composition. The mandarin orange stands out the most, especially with the aromatic herbs surrounding it. Because of the green herbs, which are at times a tad too spicy, Le Nuits d'Hadrien has a dark aura of citrusy warmth and exotic cooking spices. I made a pork roast once which I seasoned with bay leaves, orange pulp and rosemary. This fragrance reminds me of that beautiful Winter dish. Over the course of this fragrance's drydown, Le Nuits d'Hadrien does take on a rather soapy quality, however the earthy patchouli, citrus and herbs can still be recognised. Unfortunately the lasting power of this fragrance is not great, nor is the sillage which is pretty weak. I hate when some Annick Goutal fragrances fade quickly because it gives people the impression that all her scents do this, which is not true. I have only tested the EDT version, however with my experience with this fragrance house, the EDP's usually last a lot longer. Either way, this fragrance is still worth checking out, especially if citrus aromatics are your thing.