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Paco Rabanne La Nuit

post #1 of 23
3/28/09 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
I originally read somewhere that this perfume is quite something, being one of the most animalic chypre/leathers out there. I was surprised when looking at reviews that only about 5 people have reviewed it.

I ordered a bottle blind a couple of weeks ago and must say that I was pleasantly surprised by it. It reminds me a lot of Bandit, with perhaps a bit more leather to my nose and possibly not as green. However, one basenoter mentioned in his review that he got a strong crotch smell, which I found interesting, and as I like a bit of skank, was hoping for the same! However, I can't say I got this note at all.

I must say though, that it is dirt cheap ( I bought mine for £10, which is approx $15) and about a sixth to an eighth cheaper than Bandit, which in my opinion is very similar.

The point of my thread though is to gauge how many of you have tried it, and whether you thought it was good? I think it is extremely good and extremely good value for money. I was also surprised that it was marketed to women in the eighties, as I think a man can easily wear it.
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post #2 of 23
3/28/09 at 1:13pm
I liked it and thought it was much more floral than I expected and much less 'dirty/skanky' than I expected.

I think it is a lot like Bandit. I like Bandit better though.
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post #3 of 23
3/28/09 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, I thought the opening was quite floral, but then it became mostly leather and green/vegetal on my skin.

I compared it the other day with Bandit (on each wrist) and one thing I really like about Bandit (which I don't get with La Nuit) is a slight hint of rotting vegetation in the heart notes, which to my nose is quite pleasant and gives the scent a bit of edge. Of course, I also like the history behind Bandit and how long its been in production, whereas I think La Nuit is now discontinued.
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post #4 of 23
3/28/09 at 3:48pm
Isn't this Paco a woman's fragrance?
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post #5 of 23
3/28/09 at 5:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

Isn't this Paco a woman's fragrance?

Yes
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post #6 of 23
3/30/09 at 1:24am
I have it in my collection and found it as more flowery-musky-animalic than leathery scent.
It has feminine warmth, roundness and silkiness, it is very soft and smooth as a great fur.
I`d say that for man it should be with some edge and/or accent on tobacco, birchtar or moss.
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post #7 of 23
3/30/09 at 7:25am
La Nuit smells like a street walker's cracked, old, leather jacket that's been softened up with a stick of butter; redolent of cheap make-up. Wear this one and fantasize that you have some fascinating, old john stories to tell.
The amber-butter note comes from a dose of aldehydes, no doubt.
Crazy stuff!
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post #8 of 23
3/30/09 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

Isn't this Paco a woman's fragrance?

Yes, it was marketed as a woman's fragrance, but like a lot of Chypres, I would think that a man can wear it without feeling too uncomfortable.
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post #9 of 23
9/15/09 at 10:30am
I was given a bottle of this in 1987 by a gorgeous boyfriend but, being in my mid-twenties I found the scent too strong, dirty and scary. I wore it a bit and binned it when we split up. Well twenty plus years have elapsed and this damned scent has haunted me ever since. Finding it to be discontinued I was amazed to find it available at perfumewarehouse. It arrived this morning. Wow! Absolutely how I remember it but now I have the nerve to wear it! Its first outing will be to a Moulin Rouge party - it should suit the burlesque mood. The great thing is that it lasts so long on the skin, unlike the gorgeous Parfum de Therese (Malle) which i indulged in the other day and lasts minutes.
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post #10 of 23
3/3/10 at 12:21pm
I see what you mean about the butter accord, Ruggles. I am wearing a sample you sent me eons ago, this afternoon, and those aldehyes (sort of like the ones in Cinnabar by Estee Lauder) give a slightly fatty aldehydic hissiness. It is this particular facet, which is making it uncomfortable for me to enjoy, much more so than the florals or skank.
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post #11 of 23
3/3/10 at 12:28pm
This is a scent I'm strongly interested in, but the comparisons to bandit put me off a little. I find Bandit clean, green, soapy, and a little sour. So many "dirty" fragrances just smell of soap to me - Nuit Noire, I'm eyeing you, especially - that I'm wary in this category. Dirty animalic is a joy to roll in; soapy animalic? Bored now.
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post #12 of 23
3/3/10 at 1:40pm
I don't think it shares much of anything with Bandit. La Nuit is a greasy-sweet floral-aldehydic-leather-night-at-the-disco scent.
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post #13 of 23
3/3/10 at 3:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I don't think it shares much of anything with Bandit. La Nuit is a greasy-sweet floral-aldehydic-leather-night-at-the-disco scent.


Okay, you've sold me. Blind buy ahoy!

Oh, and I'll be blaming you personally if it doesn't smell like buttered whores.
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post #14 of 23
3/3/10 at 3:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galamb_Borong View Post

Oh, and I'll be blaming you personally if it doesn't smell like buttered whores.

They're actually HOT buttered whores.
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post #15 of 23
3/3/10 at 5:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I don't think it shares much of anything with Bandit. La Nuit is a greasy-sweet floral-aldehydic-leather-night-at-the-disco scent.

plus one who doesn't find it similar to Bandit, which I dislike and find very aldehydic and harsh.
To me, it smells like an overly-tanned casino-lovin' 'Eurotrash' woman who's on a all-white-clothes trip, esp. white furs, circa. 1989.
I think this was The Mediterranean's answer to Giorgio some time ago.
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post #16 of 23
3/16/10 at 7:30pm
I'm giving this a second wearing today, and still not sure what to think of it.

The top notes are easy to describe: a three way between KL Homme, SMN Peau d'Espagne, and castoreum tincture. SO dirty, yet very fizzy. Crack sweat that's been sweetened and carbonated.

Mother comments: "Smells like doggie did a bad one in a plastic rain coat", for what that's worth.

The heart smells alternately really fiercely dirty, then really sweet and innocent in a floral way. If you shifted it slightly more to the dirty and gave it more floral richness, you'd have Gandhara ( which I highly recommend to La Nuit fans, if they don't mind forgoing some of the leather for jasmine ).

The base is more straight leather, with castoreum still standing at attention and a slight ambery hint.

It lasts forever, but I could wish it projected more after the heart ( Though, I am dealing with a small sample; might be quite different sprayed ).
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post #17 of 23
3/16/10 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galamb_Borong View Post

...Crack sweat that's been sweetened and carbonated...

That made me giggle...
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post #18 of 23
3/17/10 at 9:35am
I never would have thought to compare this to Bandit. To me, Bandit has an upfront dose of dark, pungent greens and the leather has a queasy gasoline-fumes quality. (I LOVE Bandit, for the record.)

La Nuit is very floral and very sweet. I get a strong honey note and lots of woods. As it reaches the drydown, I also think I smell incense, though it could be the dankness of the patchouli rubbing up against something resinous, like cedar. I'm really liking this one. Though, like the OP, I was excited about the "crotch accord" but haven't found it. It's over-the-top sexy, though, for sure.
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post #19 of 23
1/7/12 at 4:57pm
Ive made a blind buy on this.

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to perfume. Im learning so much from this site - wonderful stuff !!

I realised what my small collection is missing is something from the "leather /animalic/skanky" genre. I'm broadening my horizons n all that jazz !

La Nuit is on ebay at the moment for a bargain price , not sure how much stock they have left so i bit the bullet and BOUGHT. Ive seen it for 3 times the price in the past .

I know its discontinued , but it seems there are TWO diff types of packaging . Whether the scent was reformulated or not is a mystery. Does anyone know ?

For the record , this is the version i have ordered. . There is another box i saw online . Has anyone tested and compared the 2?

PS - Ive just noticed that this is in the Mens section
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post #20 of 23
1/7/12 at 5:15pm
FunkyTomo, I'm also curious about this. Package changings are usually a sign of reformulation, but I'm sure you did a great purchase anyway, even if it's a bit watered down. This is potent stuff.

And I can understand why it is in the men's section, although I believe it suits women a bit better (there are some "makeup notes" going on, more blatant than on Dior Homme).
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post #21 of 23
1/8/12 at 5:58pm
Thanks for the reply Smeller !! I spoke to a friend on another perfume forum who told me this

"La nuit" is one really wonderfull fragrance, to me it smells really sexy (not in modern sexy way of fragrances), i can´t explain how or why, but i use it mostly on autumn and spring windy chilly days and i looove it. Very animalistic, with a lot of civet and musk, honey and leather, i don´t know about everyone, but for me this combination works really well. I know that not everyone can appreciate it, since it is a strong perfume, but maybe in EDT it is not that skanky. Actually my both EDPs are the old ones, i can definitly tell since one is splash (i guess they didn´t make splashes in late 90´s anymore) and the other one is also like a vintage one, with seller stating that it has been for a long time in her posession. And they are of dark amber colour, not like the one yellow they show on many pictures. I guess if You have searched for it, then You also have seen the different coloured liquids inside. Just check... I am curious also about the difference in EDT and EDP, i have read on some forums that they smell quite the same with just different level of skankiness, though they have different colours...
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post #22 of 23
1/8/12 at 6:34pm
I really, really love La Nuit EDP. It's a great leather cyphre. Super dark and leathery, with tar and a real dirty leathery aroma.
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post #23 of 23
1/9/12 at 2:24am
I can't stand Bandit in perfume form, but I have a bottle of moisturiser that I really like; the harsh parts of Bandit has been tempered/drowned in something lactonic. This is what I smell in La Nuit (EDP), a creamy Bandit, sweet honey, and a comfortable skanky note. Maybe the EDT is harsher? After the first 10 minutes the EDP (it does come screaming out of the bottle) settles down into a smooth buttery leather ride.
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