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Help to decide: Olene or A la Nuit

post #1 of 13
6/9/11 at 8:02am
Thread Starter 
My dear mother has given me money to buy half a bottle of a mainly jasmin or orange blossom frag (the other half is for me )

I'm pretty bored so i'm going to buy it in a couple of hours and in my city i have access only to this two: Olene and A La Nuit. I have access to Night Scented Jasmine by Floris, but i haven't read many good reviews of it.

Olene and A La Nuit are two frags i already know and meet the requirements. Which one would you choose?
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post #2 of 13
6/9/11 at 9:45am
If you have access to Kilian or Nasomatto, please consider Love & Tears or Nuda, both of which I rate higher than these two while being jasmine soliflores. If orange flower is more important, consider Vero Profumo's Rubj Eau de Parfum.

That being said, if I was buying for someone whose tastes I didn't know and had to choose between those two, A La Nuit is the safer choice. Pretty much straight-up jasmine.

If I was buying for me from those two, Olene. Olene is still the most searingly intense white floral I know.
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post #3 of 13
6/9/11 at 9:57am
Olene out of the two -- A la Nuit I find a bit over-kill and suffocating.
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post #4 of 13
6/9/11 at 10:44am
I find A la Nuit too indolic for my taste. Olene is indeed a potent white floral but may come across as strident, lacking a certain softness about it. Givenchy Organza probably wears better but I doubt if it's still in active circulation.
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post #5 of 13
6/9/11 at 2:00pm
Olene
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post #6 of 13
6/9/11 at 2:17pm
They're both good, and indolic. So I'd say whichever is cheapest.

If you lived in Paris, I'd say choose Sarrasins rather than A la nuit (Sarrasins is smoother and richer, with some leather and fruits as well). But that's not in the opportunity set.

cacio
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post #7 of 13
6/9/11 at 3:02pm
I'd suggest A la Nuit. I have Olene and it's TOO white flowery.
If you REALLY like it I'll give it to you.
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post #8 of 13
6/9/11 at 3:02pm
Thread Starter 
Finally went for Olene as a more realistic (IMO) jasmine soliflore. My mother loves it so far!
Thanks for the comments.
Sadly, I have no access to nasomatto or Kilian, i'd had to sample them first, and they're quite expensive, so i try not to enter into their worlds (as with amouage).

Worst thing i could do was sampling Carnal Flower... now i want it madly.
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post #9 of 13
6/9/11 at 3:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacio View Post

They're both good, and indolic. So I'd say whichever is cheapest.

If you lived in Paris, I'd say choose Sarrasins rather than A la nuit (Sarrasins is smoother and richer, with some leather and fruits as well). But that's not in the opportunity set.
cacio


How does Sarrasins compare to A la nuit?
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post #10 of 13
6/9/11 at 3:33pm
A la nuit vs Sarrasins: they're both jasmine centered. To my nose, A la nuit is almost purely jasmine, and extremely indolic. Sarrasins, after a while, becomes somewhat less indolic and some fruits (typical of Serge Lutens) and light leather come forward (mind you - this is in no way a leather thing, even by SL light leather standards, it's just light background touches). So for this complexity, I prefer it, though if one wants a more straightforward jasmine, A la nuit is more like it.

Also, Sarrasins stains clothes purple, so it can only be worn on skin (or on paper).

cacio
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post #11 of 13
6/9/11 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hedonist222 View Post

How does Sarrasins compare to A la nuit?

Different creatures entirely, in my opinion. It's kind of the way Rose de Nuit ( reserved, dark, complex ) relates to Sa Majeste La Rose ( dewy, fresh, simple ).

A La Nuit is straight-ahead big, simple jasmine. Sarrasins is both quieter and more nuanced, a certain cool vibe in the opening paired with plummy note and civet in the base. I love Sarrasins; I find it special, but I think any number of jasmine soliflores do straight-up jasmine better than A La Nuit.
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post #12 of 13
6/9/11 at 4:35pm
A La Nuit is the far better fragrance IMO.
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post #13 of 13
6/10/11 at 4:48pm
Thanks Cacio & sugandaraja. Insights are very helpful.
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