La Belle de Russie

This is a beautiful scent that I love tenderly. I found it while searching for a replacement for Dior's Midnight Poison and it is the closest so far - at least, the closest to what I love about Midnight Poison, because judging by suggestions, fans of MP can appreciate polar opposite facets of this complex and contradictory perfume. I love the sweet and dewy rose in MP and appreciate less the evil edge it has with earthiness of patchouli. That evil edge is full-blown in YSL Elle and Perles de Lalique, but it's barely there in LBDR. A bit of earthiness is present, but it merely gives this beauty the ground to stand on, it's only the mud on the soles of her shoes, not the dirty hem of the dew-drenched gown like in Midnight Poison. As for the rose... La Belle de Russie doesn't have it in the pyramid, but I swear I can smell it. Could it be that carnation, apricots, and jasmine conjure up a believable impression of a fragrant, gentle peach-colored rose? And of course, amber and vanilla are there to give it more sweetness and depth. It sounds so similar to that note in the Midnight Poison I fell in love with. La Belle de Russie is very similar to MP, but cleaner, primer, more tender and well-behaved. I must say, I miss the confidence and power of the MP, but I enjoy the rest so much, I can live without the black magic of Midnight Poison and feed of the soft power LBDR gives me. I previously compared Midnight Poison, YSL Elle, and Perles de Lalique (two most popular suggested MP replacements) to various fairy-tale villains. La Belle de Russie isn't a villain. She is the good witch. She is the same enchantress that Midnight Poison is, yet she looks at you with her radiant eyes and smiles lovingly. Maybe she had an evil spell broken by her true love's first kiss, or maybe no one broke her heart just yet. When I smelled it for the first time, it reminded me so much of my late mother, although she never wore this scent, as far as I can tell. At least, I never saw it in her perfume cabinet where she would allow me to play and sniff the bottles. LBDR smells like her powdered rosy cold cheek that I kissed to greet her as she came home in winter, brushing my brow against her mink hat and sweeping away the tiny drops that were snowflakes just moments ago. I treasure my bottle of La Belle de Russie. Instead of consolation and replacement for Midnight Poison, it turned out to be another heartbreak. Novaya Zarya is a Russian brand and I live in Kyiv. I bought this bottle from the small Ukrainian seller located in one of the towns that's being shelled right now. I'm sure they needed my support more than my patriotic attitude to their old stock. Yet now LBDR is impossible to get, and even if it were, it wouldn't be ethical for me to repurchase from the new stock.

Every winter I remember that dark Cinderella fairytale ad featuring 'Midnight Poison'. Never had it, but always regret not having it, so I searched for something similar and this is supposed to be it. I got this from Russia and it's so so beautiful, it's all what I imagined Midnight Poison to be, of course I don't know for sure, but if I ever get a sample there will be an update to this. However, at this point I don't even care, because it's just as dark and fairytale-like. The scent is citrusy floral with a lot of warm wood underneath, but it has mystery and makes me feel very feminine, the name is perfection, because this is a real midnight Beauty. 💙✨💙✨💙✨💙✨💙✨💙✨ side by side test ✨💙✨💙✨💙✨💙✨💙✨💙 update 8. Mai 2021: after a long long journey I finally got a tester of Dior Midnight Poison Eau de Parfum ✨ I can't tell if it has aged well or if it slightly changed over time, it's still darn beautiful on my skin, so I think it hasn't turned. La Belle de Russie has been my signature scent all winter, so I know it well and I would say it's not an exact dupe of Midnight Poison for about half an hour after application, but close enough and it smells very much like it later on. Midnight Poison starts somehow colder and more citrusy, almost medical in the opening, stonecold poison as the name suggests (but that might be the age of the tester), it's also fruitier, the mandarin is much more noticable. While La Belle de Russie is slightly warmer, more rosy, less fruity (or just more tangy black currant than citrus fruits) and rounder, the Patchouli in La Belle de Russie is so much more intensive and it's sillage can fill the whole room if you are not lighthanded with the application. Someone mentioned an 'unpleasant dirty note', I guess that's the black currant/patchouli, it's supposed to smell a bit earthy and ammoniac, which might not work well on everyones skin, but it does on mine luckily. Longevity of La Belle de Russie is also better. However, both scents are almost identical after the dry down, so this IS the perfect potion for those who miss Midnight Poison.. it becomes the dupe after a while. And people around you won't notice any differences anyhow, since the different nuances are so minimal. ;) I prefer La Belle de Russie to Midnight Poison, because it starts bolder and performs better - who would have thought. :) And I hope they never change this amazing scent (I heard they already changed it 3 times over the decades and the black on midnight-blue packaging of the current version clearly shows that they are aware of the Midnight Poison resemblance and I applaud them for that) :)

Absolutely beautiful fragrance. Sweet fruits are warming up in the sunshine in the basket made of aromatic wood, I don't know, sandalwood maybe. Unusual, at the same time very very classy, natural, comforting and happy perfume. One spray is more than enough. You will not smell it on every corner of every town as it's in the case of horribly over-used and over-priced chemical Coco Mademoiselle. On Russian forum there are too many blind comparisons with Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, or Poison Midnight which doesn't make any sense to me at all. "La Belle De Russie" stands firmly in its own stunning beauty. Besides, it was created in 1980, long before Coco Mademoiselle and Poison Midnight came out. Attractive minimalistic package and very little price for divine smell. So what's not to like? I fell totally in love with Novaya Zarya classic fragrances, forever: "Or Des Scythes", "Kuznetsky Most", "Mystere" to name just a few are simply to die for, of course only if you appreciate classy, old school perfumes for mature people (I don't mean age) with evolved taste. I don't care for NZ modern fragrances though. Since I've discovered classic Novaya Zarya my Chanel and Rochas staples are heaving long break, maybe even retirement... OK, maybe not for Chanel 19 just yet :-)

I found this while reading through the reviews of Midnight Poison- which I have never had nor tried- and saw that this was a pretty accurate "dupe" I looked at the notes and loved it and its price. I went on the secondhand app mercarci and scored a full bottle of this for $18 dollars. I just received it today and after the first spitz it stayed on for about three hours...amazing for the price. On the opening you definitely pick up the patchouli, which I love. As it dried down it gets more powdery and "clean" almost with the soft sandalwood peaking behind along with more fruity notes. Obviously I am no perfume god but I love this so much. It is so mystically mature, I feel like a Russian femme fatale.

Wonderful fragrance. I've finally stopped mourning for Midnight Poison. I've now discovered a new love. And the price, wow! I haven't experienced the negatives that others on this review board have written about. I don't know if this is a niche product or not, and I don't care. It smells great and I've had several compliments on wearing it. It is a close MP replacement, close enough anyway. I place a call out on one of the forums for an MP replacement and this was one that was recommended. They were right. Thank you all so much. I love it.

Wow - Midnight poison is my signature fragrance and I still have a bottle. I bought this not expecting much to be honest because of scents people have likened to MP which have fallen short for me. Not this. To me this is almost identical. I can finally relax, having found my new signature when I run out of MP. I bought it on ebay for £14 for 16ml including delivery and I will definitely be ordering more. If you are missing MP, try this, I think you'll love it.

An unexpectedely beautiful gem for extremely cheap price! I suppose, Novaya Zarya did not aim to make La Belle de Russie a clone of Midnight Poison, but they have a lot in common. Patchouli here have a noble and soft sounding, they interplay with other ingredients rather exquisitely. I recommend it to those who miss Midnight Poison, as these two are really if not twins, but at least cousins! Lovely scent.

This is the first perfume i bought from this house,I agree it has great similarities to Dior, Midnight poison. I like the quality and the price too. I recommend this perfume house because I tried a few more perfumes and I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality.

Wow, this is so similar to Dior Midnight Poison. Absolutely love it. Beautiful woody chypre fragrance with a delicate fruity notes. It lasts a good 8 hours on me and I received so many compliments. A must try one!

Элегантные абрикосы. Духи вечерние, солидные, женственные, немного ретро (что и понятно - аромат был создан в конце 70-х годов), но в то же время актуальны и для наших дней!

I love perfume with apricot, one big love of mine. It is a good layering perfume. I love to wear it any time of the day.

I finally got to try a sample of La Belle de Russie by Novaya Zarya ("new dawn.") This fragrance was created in 1980. That was during the Soviet Union's disastrous invasion of Afghanistan, and also while Moscow was hosting the Olympics, which the USA was boycotting. It was a challenging time in Moscow where the nose and the workers that made this perfume lived. The slightly harsh, medicinal, almost barbershoppy opening hints at an attempt at feeling strong rather than lighthearted and feminine. The belle of Russia was scrubbed in harsh herbal tonics, washed in soaps that smelled urinous and bracing rather than clean, to withstand what was happening in her country. Or perhaps none of that was intended and the fragrance would smell completely different in the cold of a Russian winter. I sampled it on a warm May afternoon in Las Vegas where the weather is very different. I am going to set this sample aside until winter and try it again when it's cold outside and see if it I get any flowery or ambery feminity then.

This is the closest dupe to Dior Midnight Poison. It is closer than Lalique Perles and closer than YSL Elle. I had MNP spilled in my living room sometimes ago and I know the smell too well. So dont spend crazy money on the discontinued MNP, buy this one. It is cheap and quality made. It had lower longevity and projection than MNP, but composition wise, it is crazy close. I think it might be even better as you can safer use it in the day time.

Fragrance is very mysterious and very beautiful. The price does not match the smells expensive. Really similar to Midnight Poison Dior. Although there is not to similar to Midnight, contra, all the same production date is set.

This is said to be a dupe of Dior Midnight Poison, but I tried La Belle de Russie first. On it's own merits it's a nice patchouli fragrance that has intense fruit notes, but doesn't smell like a typical fruitchouli. It's not syrupy and neither very sweet, nor very tart and sharp. I find it warm, kind of balsamic and powdery in texture. Apricot is definitely the most intense note besides patch, at least to me. At first I thought this would have a rose note, but when I sniff closely I don't really smell rose and it's not listed either - I think this is an interesting effect because we're so used to smell rose combined with patchouli in similar fragrances. The amber and vanilla in the base are also very apparent. In the drydown the fragrance smells really resinous and cozy. There is one major downside to this, I get a really unpleasant dirty note for the first hour that unfortunately reminds me of urine. I always hate to say that, but it's true, maybe it's just my nose or skin. After that has vanished the fragrance is very pleasant. In my opinion this doesn't smell exactly like Midnight Poison. MP doesn't have any weird notes to my nose, but LBDR is warmer, sweeter and fruitier, which I would prefer if it wasn't for the terrible first hour. Performance-wise it can easily keep up with the more expensive Dior. Some also compare this to Coco Mademoiselle, which I don't see at all as I find CM very sharp, sparkling and citrusy. I wonder if this fragrance was really created in 1980 like the Fragrantica page says, it smells much more contemporary. If it's true, the perfumers of Novaya Zarya were really ahead of their time.

This smells like when I lived with my 2 older brothers and our cats. I would sometimes do random yard work with them like chop wood or make mulch for gardening. Wood....plants... cats.... Disintegration by The Cure.... I really like this. Edit: Okay, this veers straight into cat pee after I wear it for too long. I chalked it up to skin chemistry, and i can't wear it anymore bcs of that. Bummer

I bought a bottle of "Русская Красавица" (Russian Beauty) out of sheer curiosity. It was only $16 for a large bottle, not much to lose. All I remember about the perfumes made by this company during the Soviet times was that they were pungent and quite chemical smelling and were hard to call perfumes, not to mention sophisticated perfumes. So I was wondering if the company was revived and started producing something more wearable, plus a few positive comments from American members convinced me to give it a try. All I can say is what a poor representation of Russian beauty. The beauty of Russian and Eastern European women is very exquisite, a lot of times you see that natural kind beauty, with almost perfect features, that doesn't require much makeup. All I can get from this perfume is a faint smell of dryer sheets or Downy scented detergent. I am looking at the note pyramid and for the life of me I can't smell a single note listed here, other than some faint musk. The only thing I can say in defence of this fragrance is it doesn't smell chemical, but i bet if i wear it, people around me will think it's the smell of my shampoo or my freshly washed clothes,that's only if they can smell anything at all. A shame.

The whole thing of classifying Novaya Zarya as a niche designer sounds bizarre and ridiculous to me. Most people think of niche not just a company that is not very well known, but also something that is of higher quality, unique, exclusive. Looking at the new packaging and the bottle, they seem to be targeting the the Western tourists rather than Russians. I bet 99% of the manufaturing cost went into the bottle as it looks quite nice. As far as the fragrance itself, i am sorry to say that but i smelled better air fresheners before. I bet you will have to pay any Russian to put in on, or you have to be extremely patriotic to wear it.

I agree they aren't Niche perfumers, but some of their scents are fabulous, while others are knock offs. This one worked okay on me. I got a Fruity floral with faintly powdered sandalwood in the base, mellowing down with a powdery vanilla. Overall, it's rather nice, but doesn’t last at all and has no sillage whatsoever. The fruit has a bite and the florals smell fairly true without a lot of chemical taint. Very pretty, but again, formulated thin and with inexpensive materials as others have noted. It's also dirt cheap, and you get what you pay for. I would never expect a $15 bottle of perfume to smell like Serge Lutens. If you find one that does, by all means, let me know.

If Midnight Poison was an EDT/body mist, this would be it. On me this is heavier on the citrus than it is the patchouli, so it wears quite a bit lighter and fresher. A daytime version of MP. I would say this could even be worn in warm weather where MP would be way too heavy and dark. I like it. Longevity is good but it sits close to skin after about 3 hrs. For a closer dupe of MP, I now have Late Night Venom by DUA Fragrances. It's the closest I have smelled thus far. SideNote: This was created LOOOONG before Midnight Poison, in 1980. So if anything, MP copied this beauty, not the other way around.