Nuit d'Oranger smells like burying your nose in the heart of a flower and sniffing hard, pollen flying in your face and all.
It's a very warm scent that brings to mind a sweltering summer afternoon or a hot summer evening following an even hotter day. The floral notes are heavy and heady, accompanied by honeyed sweetness and odd powderiness that to me creates the impression of flower pollen flying around. The warmth and sweetness are highlighted by a hint of hard to describe spiciness that I can't find in the listed notes. It's absolutely *not* fresh, clean or airy as many others in this line are (say Cedrus or Magnolia Alba). Mate and patchouli are not clearly discernable, instead they serve to add structure to the fragrance, creating a very discreet, unsweetened, dry and woody backdrop for the floral-powdery-vanillic main act.
I find that it performs well in 24-25 degrees Celsius but starts choking me once we hit 30. It's definitely not meant for extreme heat nor extreme humidity and could easily bother people around the wearer. It opens with a huge, startling burst of projection that recedes over time. In about 3 hours what remains is only a little stronger than a skin scent, although it projects slightly better from fabric (pairs well with flowing fabrics if you enjoy having your scent noticed by those around you). As the bottle and the name seem to suggest it works best for summer evening outings, whether casual or elegant.
Personally I find Nuit d'Oranger interesting but not really worth the price. However I don't care for most floral-forward fragrances so don't let my bias stop you from at least trying it out. I wouldn't call it blind-buy safe or a safe gift material, since some folks might find it cloying. My patner for example (coincidentally a person allergic to pollen) was very much not impressed by my high heat wear test.
