Nuit Caline

What a quiet beauty this is. Nuit Câline is not screaming or shouting in your face, but it isn’t shy either. It knows what it is and doesn’t need any loud tones to attract attention. The opening starts with grapefruit and ambergris before the cloves begin to tickle you, ever so slightly at first but then gently increasing. During this time the geranium releases itself. It grows until it’s clearly detectable but stops at the right level before it becomes too dominant. The patchouli is adding an equal amount of warmth, and personally I’m excited to get Geranium & Patchouli as an undisputed twosome without any musk trying to get in. During the drydown I also noticed a pretty little rose shining through from afar. This is a beautiful fragrance that (IMO) is perfect for any occasion.

Nuit Caline is appealing in a non-obvious way. Definitely niche enough to stand out from the crowd - maybe because it bear almost no resemblance to any other fragrances in this category (at least typical ones), which gives it a nice crown of rarity. The notes describing its content can mislead you. You might think - patchouli in the base, spicy, aromatic and expect a killer with a long tail. Instead we get a steady, cosy and peaceful (yes, this is the word!) scent which will embrace you gently like a warm, powdery scarf during autumn chill. Definitely worth knowing if not having for the amateurs of powdery, spicy scents with large dose of feminity.

Galimard's Nuit Caline is a warm softly-spicy chypre floral with patchouli, geranium and cloves being most prominent to me. When I first tested this without knowing anything about it, I thought for sure that I smelled vanilla, so was surprised to learn that note is not included here. It opens with lemon and grapefruit, which gives it a brighter edge. I don't know much about ambergris but that is here too, and actually the reason I bought this fragrance to begin with as I'm trying to learn more about it. Very good for the change of season that's going on right now from summer to fall. Moderate to long-lasting sillage and length of wear on me.