Midnight in Paris Van Cleef & Arpels 2010 Eau de Toilette

Midnight in Paris (Eau de Toilette) by Van Cleef & Arpels

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7.6 / 10 727 Ratings

A popular perfume by Van Cleef & Arpels for men, released in 2010. The scent is powdery-sweet. It was last marketed by Interparfums.
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Main accords

Powdery

Sweet

Spicy

Leathery

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Lemon

Rosemary

Heart Notes

Leather

Maté tea

Lily of the valley

Base Notes

Tonka bean Amber

Amber

Frankincense

Perfumers

Olivier Polge, Domitille Michalon-Bertier

Ratings

Scent

7.6727 Ratings

Longevity

7.3551 Ratings

Sillage

6.6555 Ratings

Bottle

9.1582 Ratings

Value for money

7.499 Ratings

Submitted by VERIT, last update on 06/30/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Midnight in Paris Eau de Parfum

Bvlgari Black

Luna Rossa Black

Armani Code (2004) / Black Code (Eau de Toilette) by Giorgio Armani

Armani Code (2004) Eau de Toilette

Crème de Cuir Eau de Parfum

Armani Code Ultimate pour Homme

Reviews

23 in-depth fragrance descriptions

03/24/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

Top Review 11

Easy to underrate

Midnight in Paris falls within that category of scents which start just wrong, but then become more than remarkable. I mean, most of the times it’s rather the contrary – scents which are good and rich at first, then easily lose the magic soon. The first minutes here are a blast of almost nauseating sweet and kind of “bread-ish” Oriental notes comprising powdery resins, almond, something like hay, a generic “clean-smoky” synthetic wood (I guess the “incense” note) and something musky-floral, with rubbery suede lying underneath. I also get the “tea” especially on the drydown, which is quite similar to the tea in Gucci pour Homme II or Tea for Two by L’Artisan. Also if you know Equistrius by Parfum d’Empire, Midnight reminded me that a bit (I guess because of hay, suede and powdery notes). But at the beginning, all of that is quite loud, quite more on the sweeter-edible side, and overall not exactly the most elegant smell around. Still, as minutes pass Midnight in Paris tames down and “tilts back” to a more pleasant balance, becoming more and more enjoyable and finally reaching a truly remarkable drydown. At this final stage – which luckily arrives quite soon – the blend focuses on a really sophisticated sort of velvety, rubbery suede-woody base with a sprinkle of Oriental powdery-gourmand notes – just a sprinkle, now. A couple of key nuances make this quite distinctive and really pleasant: suede, hay and powder (I call it “powder” but actually think more of almond and tonka; it just smells really dusty, slightly floral and kind of “feminine” as if there was some orris - precisely like powder, shortly). Classy, really “velvety”, warm and cozy, basically a sort of hybrid between Bulgari Black and Dior Homme; sweeter and brighter than Black, but darker, drier and more “grey” than the Dior’s. Give it a chance!

8/10

08/29/2012

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

Top Review 4

Super sweet masculine

Midnight in Paris, in my humble opinion, is quite an androgynous perfume. It is neither one gender nor the other. Oh what the hell, just share the bottle with your loved one. Problem solved!

This fragrance is truly unique and captivating. The scent is sweet and a little bit gourmand, sort of in the same style as Lolita Lempicka. Midnight in Paris is also a little powdery, particularly in the drydown.

I can see where the comparisons to Bvlgari Black come from, but I don't entirely agree that they're alike. This fragrance is definitely sweeter and less rubbery, and dare I say, less masculine.

At certain points in the composition, Midnight in Paris smells a tad medicinal, like the scent of powdered gloves and ointments. As strange as it may sound, I quite enjoy this odd little olfactory experience.

Tonka bean, benzoin, almond, vanilla and incense are the most dominant notes to my nose and feature strongly all the way through. Funnily enough, Midnight in Paris is reminding me of Guerlain's new Shalimar Parfum Initial, with all these foody accords.

Personally I think Midnight in Paris is an acquired taste. This fragrance was suggested to me as a purchase for my sweet scent loving boyfriend, but somehow this fragrance over-stepped the sweet-o-meter for him, verging into female territory, or so he said. Do test before you buy.

09/04/2014

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Longevity 7
Scent

Karinoula
82 Reviews

Karinoula

Top Review 5

Leather & smoke

Bought this perfume totally unsniffed taking under consideration the notes and reviews of previous owners. I am a woman and though this perfume is considered to be a manly one, I like very much, is unusual, aromatic, smoky, leathery and all mixed together in one. The bottle is very nice, high class glass and not plastic a real gem to my collection. I would wear it all year round, especially on scarves, with leather jackets and T-shirts. It reminds a lot of Bvlgari black but this has a smoky note kind of Agent Provocateur "L'agent" type. It is long lasting for an edt. I very happy with my choise and I consider checking also other male scents to add to my collection.

03/11/2013

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Miaw2
339 Reviews

Miaw2

Very helpful Review 7

Great fragrance

Midnight In Paris actually remembers me of Bvlgari Black and Armani Code layered. But it doesnt have the rubber note of Bvlgari Black.

Smells great, thought not very unique.

Both EDP and EDT have a great lasting power and average sillage and projection. It's more a skin scent. Solid and good.

Sweet leather in an amber base with a bit of incense.

Updated January 2014

05/02/2012

10
Bottle 10
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 7
Scent

Aqvatic
2 Reviews

Aqvatic

Very helpful Review 5

Balmy, powdery, sexy - Dior Homme Night

While searching for a fragrance for the winter time, I came across this very interesting gem.

The bottle just looks great! There is this color gradient from dark blue to light blue to orange, just like the sky during the sunset. The design of the bottle is inspired by the watch model of the Van Cleef & Arpels house also called Midnight in Paris.
The cap looks like the small wheel to adjust the time and the whole bottle is surrounded by a metal frame in which they engraved "Midnight in Paris". Wonderful!

Upon the first spritz, the scent starts very balmy, heavy and intensively. After some time, it tones down a little and gets quite powdery. Today, I compared this to Dior Homme - as the original perfumer of DH is also Olivier Polge - and I can see some similarities.
This powdery and balmy quality of Dior Homme has even been intensified in Midnight in Paris. Additionally, Midnight in Paris contains the same synthetic note that combines lilies and tar as the JPGs and Bvlgari Black. Using that, Polge managed to intensify the scent of rough leather and real strong black tea and to create a perfume that fulfills the promising name. Even though Midnight in Paris seems more intense and heavier than Dior Homme, it somehow has a fresher attitude, thanks to bergamot.
As if you'd play the same musical piece some accords higher. All in all, Midnight in Paris is quite a linear scent and changes slightly but noticeably.

Somehow, Midnight in Paris gets quite watery and mellow on my skin during late drydown stage. On clothing, this doesn't happen quite soon and the projection is still good. So mostly, I prefer to wear it on clothes rather than on skin.

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Statements

7 short views on the fragrance

Sukkahiki 7 months ago

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 9
Scent

Midnight in Paris: a scent as dreamy as its starry bottle. Smells like romance, costs like rent - but hey, art was never cheap :-)

3

Manzoor 2 years ago

Beautiful scent.
Poor sillage.
you get the powdery sweet whiffs for a long long time.
Beautiful bottle poorly manufactured,
Always has sprayer issues.

3