Nuit de Longchamp Lubin 2008 Eau de Parfum

Lubin was once one of the largest French perfume houses and is among the oldest. It was founded in 1798 by Pierre Francois Lubin and remained in the possession of the Lubin family for a long time. By 1830, the American market was being supplied, and until 1940, the business flourished and thrived worldwide. Royal houses were among the customers, including the Russian one. Approximately 465 fragrances were created by Lubin. Numerous scents were filled in bottles handcrafted by Baccarat, Lalique, Viard, and other crystal manufacturers, and these now fetch auction prices in some cases reaching five figures. Some can be seen in the perfume museum in Grasse, many are in private ownership. In the 1980s, the company closed, but since 2004, Lubin fragrances have been offered again, some of which have successfully established themselves back on the market. Among the great successes were:
Enigma 1898, 1921 (was offered in a pyramid-shaped bottle with a relief of the Sphinx by Viard)
Au Soleil 1909 (in an amphora-like bottle with a plastic lizard climbing the bottle to catch a fly that serves as a stopper, by Depinoix)
Kismet 1921 (enamelled Baccarat bottle in red or blue, in the shape of an elephant)
L'Ocean bleu 1925 (Baccarat bottle, still in use today, featuring two kissing dolphins)
Nuit de Longchamp 1935, 1956, and today.
The fragrance available today is not identical to the earlier version but is said to be a modernized version of it; unfortunately, I do not know the old one.
However, today's NdL is good enough to do justice to the name Lubin.
It is a magnificent, feminine, creamy-spicy perfume of the old school in a new guise.
The presentation is extraordinarily elegant and fits perfectly with the scent.
In an amphora-like bottle with a marbled, high-quality, heavy cap, there is a reminder of the great days of the Longchamp racetrack in Paris.
When ladies, just like today in Ascot (only more tasteful!), strolled in grand style with hats and evening gowns, when an evening at Longchamp was still synonymous with money, glamour, and beautiful horses.
The packaging is a box, whose casket-like inner carton is covered with coffee-brown silk fabric, in which the bottle lies like in a nest.
The top note is spicy-promise and very present from the very beginning, no delicate, fruity entrances for NdL.
The scent itself is floral-sweet, but not heavy, more restrained than one might think: rose and jasmine are accompanied by a green, fresher note; I would describe it as a powdery chypre.
The base is promisingly green-dark, creamy, and balsamic.
I currently know of no scent on the market that matches it in fullness and projection; I can't think of a clear scent twin.
It has a depth that other classic women's fragrances, e.g., L'air du temps, lack. A pleasantness that the old Guerlains miss. A powderiness that is more subtle and balanced than Soir de Paris vintage.
The only one that somewhat resembles it is Un Air de Paris, but with reservations. Un Air is less spicy, less filling, less glamorous.
Anyone who is a fan of the old women's classics will immediately embrace Nuit de Longchamp.