Minuit et Demi

If it weren’t for Fragrantica, I would never have heard of the influencer involved with this fragrance, as I do not follow youtubers. From what I’ve gleaned by reading through the multitudes of angry comments that inevitably pop up whenever she is mentioned, she’s involved with several brands, namely PdM and Initio. I’m not particularly informed on the topic, but I always found the explosive, seemingly overnight, behemoth popularity (of Delina, specifically) mystifying enough to raise my hackles a little bit, and I find this influencer’s ties to those brands much more ethically troubling than her collaboration with this one. Then again, I don’t know a thing about Fragrance du Bois, but this seems no different than collaborating with any other celebrity as the “face” of a perfume... And it’s particularly savvy business choice to include one crowd pleasing scent like this amongst their line of what seems to be comprised of mainly more polarizing Middle Eastern style fragrances. Would this get the SpongeBob Gary, Fairybloop emoji, UFO Anal treatment if it were advertised by say, a Hadid sister or something? The world will never know. Anyway, this is very pretty and feminine. It starts out with sweet vanilla and fresh bergamot, then I detect delicate and green cardamom in the heart, which leans vaguely figgy? Weird, but nice.I get whiffs of this sweet greenness throughout, as it dries down to a salty caramel delight, with a hint of peppery spice. It’s light and not cloying, I don’t get any tobacco, coffee, or anything “boozy” whatsoever, and find nothing in common with By the Fire Place nor Lune Feline, as some have mentioned. MeD’s longevity is well above average, but the projection is quiet. It’s much more modest and charming than I expected! Dry down is indeed similar to Changing Constance, which I like a lot but Constance is less green, much saltier, has a cigaretty tobacco note, and unfortunately does perform like an eau de cologne at best, so I’ve been looking for something else along this line, and for every comment suggesting this is boring and not unique, I’d love to see one suggest something similar, because other than Changing Constance, I’ve never smelled anything quite like it. This does seem more like a designer fragrance than niche, but to be frank I’m not overly appalled by the price, simply because I buy very few full bottles anymore, and I’d rather have this for what I’d pay for 2 or 3 current designer frags. Of course, I could not name 3 designer frags I’d want a bottle of for free at the moment. Whether this is full bottle worthy will just depend on what you value in a product, and always remember that perfume is very much a product, even the artsy ones. ;) This is easily one of the best gourmand-leaning scents in recent years. It’s absolutely worth sampling, and I think it would be a great “dumb grab” in any woman’s wardrobe, year round. I really can’t imagine the man who could pull this off, though I certainly cannot imagine anyone finding it offensive either. I actually wonder if the controversial influencer’s attachment is hampering the sales from people who would otherwise admit to loving this without hesitation. Edited 4/17/23 Finished my decant and pulled the trigger on a FB, from a favorite grey market discounter, (payed about $100 usd below retail) and I’m happy with the purchase. The presentation and flacon are extremely opulent, very Middle Eastern style, and beautiful. This is a bottle is for collectors, and that is definitely attributing to the price point. Still, this is just exceedingly pleasant, and I like this more every time I wear it.

Ok but lots of haters on Fragrantica. I would rate this perfume 4.1 or 4.2. It smells like YSL Black Opium, but bougie. After all, Demi's favourite things used to be Black Opium and Glasshouse Tahaa candles. I know y'all wanted a comparison. I don't have Black Opium next to me to compare, but I'll edit this when I do a proper comparison. Opening: sweet, but include a fleeting tanginess of pepper, the fieriness of pimento and a bit of smokiness. Maybe this fleeting quality is a good thing as too much spice in your life might be too hot to handle. After all, ppl complain about the extended pimento note in The Harmonist's hypnotising fire. But for me, such fleeting notes don't really add much to the overall composition. Middle: Luckily, the fragrance evolves to a caramel cardamom toffee... Sticky with just a pinch of salt... Intensely sweet... You never become anosmic to this smell... It just persists. The cardamom in this is one of the stronger and more realistic cardamom notes in perfume releases. It's more prominent as a top note, but it does persist. It's still quite nuanced. Cardamom lover that I am, I tend to think more is more!! Base: On my clothes, more nuanced woody and tobacco notes come out, perhaps even a bit musty. I would rather not have these notes and just have a pure gourmand, so I'm glad my skin gets rid of these quickly. However, it does add some complexity to the fragrance. Final thoughts: Its generic, sickly sweet caramel vanilla notes will appeal to the masses. To the more discerning, there's enough of a difference in the notes to warrant a purchase: These are the opening pimento note, the persistent and realistic cardamom note, the background base notes of woodsy tobacco. The strength, projection and longevity really sets it apart as a niche fragrance. Should I buy?: You will have to decide for yourself if it's different enough to warrant a full bottle. The presentation is definitely luxe. A peculiarity is that despite the fragrance being presented in plushy box of satin, the font on the bottle is large and babyish. Same with the designs on the bottle cap. Don't be fooled by the top notes. Versatility is somewhat lacking. It's definitely more date than office. You might get bored of this in your collection, especially if your perfume journey has been preceded by other gourmands. I was lucky enough to purchase 1/3 of perfume, in full presentation. This was perfect for me. Edit: YSL Black Opium smells better and sweeter, as it doesn't have tobacco. As a non smoker, I'm not a big fan of tobacco. However, the fragrance DNA of BO next to MED smells soapy and second grade. Would I known the difference if I didn't have them simultaneously on 2 different arms? No. I've already gotten multiple compliments from this perfume, even by a guy I had a crush on.

All the hate and hype aside. The fragrance Is good, it really is. A gourmand with a slight boozy undertone. I get mostly coffee, caramel, sugar, vanilla, and booze. I also get a chocolaty note. There are some spices, but nothing that jumps out for me. opens 75% unisex, but leaning slightly feminine due to a prominent sugary note. I'd still call it a unisex enough for a man if you don't mind that sugar note as a man. I can't for the life of me pick out any cedar or vetiver notes. If their in there, they're hidden well. The worst mistake is the lack of originality. When given a chance to make something unique and interesting, what Demi and Fragrance Du Bois gave us was a somewhat basic gourmand. Still a good fragrance, but a lost opportunity nonetheless. I would have loved to see the use of oud (something Fragrance Du Bois is kind of known for). It doesn't have to be animatic or dirty. But something to make it more then what it is. An expensive designer fragrance in a niche branded bottle. I do also have to note that i go completely noseblind to it quite quickly if I'm indoors where the air doesn't move, and i get the scent around me without a break. That goes away after a minute or two away from the scent/not too close to the scent. If i leave the room for a few minutes i can smell it in the air coming back, a couple of hours in. It doesn't project much though, and feels a bit lacking in performance. It's in the name, but this is a Sexy, "after dark" type of fragrance. mostly for the cold season, but i can see it working for spring and even summer nights, in places of the world where it doesn't get very hot in spring/summer (like where i live). Personal score: 7.5/10. Two points comes off for the price alone, for something as simple as a decent gourmand. And the rest because i don't like smelling like booze. This is a great scent. If it was a Lot cheaper, and it wasn't attached to a certain person of questionable behavior, it would easily get a much better score from fragcom. Unfortunately that's not the case. I'm happy to have a decant. But, there are other cheaper and better alternatives in this category for me.

Update: Let’s just cut to the chase; this fragrance has aged beautifully. I bought it about three years ago, and now I can’t stop using it. It layers with virtually anything, which means it's rescuing a bunch of my bad blind buys. So, yeah, ignore everything below if you want. Just know: this one’s a love. __________________________ Original Thoughts: I really [really] liked this scent from the start. It’s soft, sweet, warm, and incredibly sensual. There’s a quiet elegance to it—a subtle, enigmatic pull that might be due to its surprisingly soft projection. Speaking of projection... it’s virtually nonexistent. And oddly enough, that works. This is meant to be intimate. It doesn’t want to fill a room—it wants to draw someone in. There's something seductive about how it stays close to the skin. Almost like it's a privilege to experience it. Like admiring something beautiful through a silhouette. But as much as I appreciate that restraint, it also limits how often—or how fully—I can wear it. Even if I want to go heavy, it doesn’t quite deliver. Which brings me to the question: Is it worth it? Rather than asking if it's worth the price, I’d ask: Is it comparable? And honestly, no—and here’s why. Let’s compare it to another Fragrance du Bois scent: Oud Orange Intense. It has a similar sweet warmth in the opening—almost a cousin to Minuit et Demi. Oud Orange: $455 for 50ml → ~$9.10/ml Minuit et Demi: $350 for 100ml → ~$3.50/ml Sounds like MeD is the better deal... until you factor in performance. To get the same presence, you need 10–12 sprays of Minuit et Demi for every 4–5 sprays of Oud Orange. At that point, the price-per-wear becomes nearly identical—or even higher for MeD when compared to the 100ml Oud Orange bottle. So here’s the thing: if I have to triple the sprays to get the same effect, it’s not really comparable. If I were FdB, I’d cut the price of MeD in half—or reformulate it with more staying power. That said? I still love it. It may not project, but it lingers where it matters. You decide what value means to you.

I read many reviews saying that this fragrance is just like Changing Constance by Penhaligon's so I tried that one out. And, hum... Minuit et Demi is way better. CC lasts 3 hours on my skin, of which only 1 projects within arm's length, the other 2 hours it's just a skin scent. MED lasts 8-9 hours on my skin, projecting within arm's length for about 3-4 hours, the rest is a skin scent. Performance on this one is way better and great lasting power. But the most important difference between Changing Constance and Minuit et Demi is that the first one is not addictive or intoxicating, it's just a grown-up gourmand scent that smells good. It's just salted caramel with a hint of pimento. Minuit et Demi is a boozy, caramelized coffee with cardamom cinnamony addictive GOODNESS! You keep getting whiffs of this fragrance throughout the evening, it makes you feel sexy and hot. Changing Constance in the other hand, it's just a good gourmand frag with bad performance and a steep price tag. I rather save to buy Minuit et Demi, it's the better of the two in my opinion. Also, I can get this fragrance cheaper here in Mexico since many venues sell it, rather than Changing Constance, which is only available at Palacio de Hierro costing about 30% more than Minuit et Demi.