À la nuit Serge Lutens 2000

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7.3 / 10 274 Ratings

À la nuit is a perfume by Serge Lutens for women and men and was released in 2000. The scent is floral-sweet. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production. Pronunciation

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Main accords

Floral

Sweet

Green

Animal

Spicy

Fragrance Notes

Jasmine

Perfumers

Christopher Sheldrake, Serge Lutens

Ratings

Scent

7.3274 Ratings

Longevity

8.3203 Ratings

Sillage

7.8184 Ratings

Bottle

8.0183 Ratings

Value for money

7.521 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 03.07.2023.

Interesting Facts

In 2001, an additional limited edition of 200 pieces with engraving was released. A bottle collection with card game design followed. This fragrance was attributed to the design of the suit Club.

Reviews

8 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/08/2012

10
Longevity 10
Scent

Njdeb
63 Reviews

Njdeb

Top Review 8

The ultimate jasmine

This. is. The One. An absolutely swoon-worthy jasmine. A La Nuit is a pure, rich, fleshy and REAL jasmine scent. I literally feel like I just put my nose directly into a blooming jasmine flower and took a long deep breath. An incredibly sultry and seductive fragrance.

For jasmine lovers (raising my hand), this is the ultimate. Christopher Sheldrake is my hero.

10/03/2012

6
Scent

Coutureguru
223 Reviews

Coutureguru

Very helpful Review 9

The Diabolical Dark

At Night (à la nuit) is a rendition of Jasmine that immediately transports me to my garden on a summer night, peacefully sipping on a cocktail in the little gazebo there, surrounded by the lush and verdant scent of these tiny white flowers.

'Yasaneem' ('gift from God' via the arabic and latin) has to be one of the most widely used ingredients in perfumery, probably due to its versatility. This note is a firm favorite of mine, of late bringing the desire to experience it less adorned in a fragrance. This Sheldrake creation for Lutens succeeds at that!
With a little investigation into this note, however, its chemical composition reads less like a treatise on beauty than it does an odoriferous trip to the local knacker :).
It's common knowledge that Jasmine contains indoles (present in feces) but I recently discovered that it also contains a chemical called 'skatole' ... also belonging to the indole family and named from the Greek root 'skato' ... meaning dung!! In low concentrations these 'indoles' reportedly have a flowery smell and occur in other flowers like Lilac and Orange Blossom.
These chemicals are apparently very attractive to such insects as orchid bees and gravid mosquitoes ... not a pleasant thought on a summer evening outside :) ... as the latter of these little beasts lunge for me instinctively ... or so it seems!

All of that said I find à la Nuit to be a beautiful Jasmine soliflore. HOLD THE PHONE!!! Did I just say that a Lutens was beautiful ?!?!? I did :) ... and it is. My nose doesn't detect very much of the other listed notes here, but there is a certain 'heat' present, no doubt provided by the Clove. I'm sure the Musk in this fragrance plays a fixative role as I am relatively hyperosmic to it and it doesn't disturb me here.

I think I may have found my very first Lutens acquisition, having procured a generous sample (thanks L!!) and having been able to live with it some. Progress!!!

01/20/2013

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Very helpful Review 7

All that jazzmine

A la Nuit, love it or hate it, is held out as the definitive jasmine soliflor. It conjures jasmine just come into bloom. It's got indolic headiness, but it also has that dewy greenness of a jasmine vine just starting to hit its stride. It smells rich but crisp like jasmine flowers, not like jasmine essential oil.

A floral perfume is like a still life painting. It is a genre, an exercise, and a treatise on the complexities of representation in art. Perfume history holds Diorissimo as the the ultimate soliflor. It's been measured by the same criteria as a still life painting. Representation, demonstrated by proportion, depth of field, light and shadow, is a part. But something more is needed, both in the still life and the soliflor. Enhancement, point of view, surprise, commentary, misdirection---artist's choice. I've never smelled the original Diorissimo, but A la Nuit seems to create a floral perfume just as Diorissimo is said to have. Both start by creating the recognizable scent of a flower, A la Nuit's jasmine and Diorissimo's lily of the valley, and then doing the real work. The flower might be the subject of the work, but it's also just the start of the discussion in a well composed soliflor.

Perfumer Christopher Sheldrake presents his jasmine still life as a lean floriental. Combining floral and oriental categories can lead to large, rich but often bossy perfumes. A la Nuit with its 'young' jasmine and a musky, honeyed benzoin anchor gives a beautiful high/low balance. The opening notes of A la Nuit are manic (and a blast!) but once they settle, this perfume is hardly bossy. It has the fullness, but lacks the smothering hearnotes of some florientals.

09/23/2012

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Helpful Review 5

Clove-tinged Jasmine

Jasmine is a beautiful, seductive, and mysterious flower--let's face it. Jasmine serves as the floral centerpiece of many a perfume because it also blends so well with just about everything else--even purple goo, as in the case of Thierry Mugler ALIEN. In this case, Serge Lutens A LA NUIT is a jasmine soliflore with a bit of a twist, whose name is "clove".

The opening of A LA NUIT evoked immediate memories of a recent wearing of Molinard JASMIN, which I do believe may be my favorite soliflore--of any flower, not just jasmine--of all time. Both are strong, creamy, slightly dark--night-blooming!--and breathtakingly beautiful. Both smell very natural to my nose, and I suspect that both compositions do showcase the real thing, not hedione or some other synthetic substitute.

The difference between the Molinard and Le Grand Serge jasmine soliflore becomes more and more obvious as A LA NUIT dries down. A clove note not initially obvious to my nose begins to make its presence known until the point where I feel that clove has almost taken over the star role of this perfume. However, I am *very* sensitive to clove, so I'd encourage all jasmine lovers to try this perfume on for size, as it may well be your jasmine dream come true. Mine remains the Molinard soliflore.

09/22/2012

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

Helpful Review 3

Polite and feminine jasmine

I am very glad to see honey listed as a note here, because for hours after smelling A La Nuit I was wondering why it reminded me of another Serge Lutens creation, Miel de Bois. Turns out it was the honey accord which made them slightly familiar to my nose.

Despite the honey note, A La Nuit is mostly jasmine. It's a pleasant, somewhat soapy and cuddly type of jasmine, that when applied to the skin, almost becomes a skin scent.

A La Nuit is less fresh than I thought it would be. It settles rather warmly on my skin. The honey and benzoin create a somewhat balanced and smooth blend which in turn prompts a feeling of feminine sensuality.

I realised while smelling A La Nuit that this is a jasmine scent devoid of indoles, that chemical component that makes some jasmine based fragrances smell like cat pee or fecal matter. I can see how this has become a well-loved fragrance since its release. It's simple yet beautiful. A clean and intimate jasmine blend, perfectly inoffensive.

I like A La Nuit, but I much prefer the louder and darker Sarrasins. However that is due to my rather odd tastes. All in all, it is a perfect example of a jasmine fragrance composed with a lot of thought and expertise.

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