Vol de Nuit

Ohh Jacques Guerlain. How did you compose this masterpiece symphony of the sky and resignation? I wonder... Because that is what I feel and smell wearing it. I have a fear of flying. The first time I entered the plane I said to myself "Either I do it or I die." I beat the fear with resignation. Giving up, because there is no other way...and flying, through the night and clouds. Till you feel sadistic muscles relaxation... That's what this perfume is. Someone said "To understand this perfume you must sleep with it..." Truth. It is a scent that puts you to sleep. Flying you through other places. It's a masterpiece in every single perfumery art aspect. The resignation begins like this! Just look at that! Amazing. Top notes: orange, orange blossom, basil, mandarin orange, rosemary, mint, lemon, bergamot, galbanum, sage and petitgrain Let's just say that this itself can be a nice, fresh and aldehydes flash perfume. I can't describe how much I love Rosemary and Bergamot together. You can literally smell it. Inhaling. So beautiful. Fresh. Like air is. After you beat the fear of entering the plane. Because I am (was) scared of flying. To beat fear you need resignation. No, that is not "giving up." It is accepting the challenge and responsibilities. It's totally surrendering. Middle notes: lavender, wild thyme, dittany, rose, carnation, violet, aldehydes, narcissus, jasmine, bay leaf and nutmeg... I love herbal elixirs. I love it when herbs show their power. Love how they cooperate with flowers! Love how Guerlain put Narcissus and Jasmine under control. Like magician. Putting the spell on them. To follow him and herbs. Again. Flying you to muscle pain relaxation. Sniff some lavender, and let me massage your skin with thyme tonic... The magic of storytelling of the master perfumer. Lost. Long-lasting lost. You won't even notice base... You can't... Do you see anything? No. Night flight. Sharp, cold air. Till you leave your body. Opening your eyes flying into warm sun and clouds. Your nose is penetrated by Base notes: myrrh, spikenard, civet, cascarilla, castoreum, musk, orris, oakmoss, iris, vanilla, ambergris and Sandalwood... Waking you... Have you ever seen an English patient film? I hate Hollywood. It's one of the rare films I have seen. From Hollywood. Ohh the soundtrack is nice. Remember? Ralph is so...resignant. Carnal enough as Germans are. Ralph plays that German spy. This is not Exupery romanticism. It's not. This is real love flying you to death... German flying you. (Ladies knowing German men will understand this.)) "The bottle, which I find quite masculine, was created by Raymond Guerlain in collaboration with Baccarat. The square bottle is made of smoked glass with eight chamfered corners. On both sides, the decoration in relief represents the motif of an aircraft propeller in motion. The name in gilded metal, die-cut, forms the belt of the propeller on a surface. Between the wars, the sky was considered a place of mystery and excitement, evoking exoticism and distant destinations. The square, golden metal cap is a symbol of modernity, as it evokes a famous piece of machinery, the triumph of machinismo and the conquest of the air. This bottle, like many others by Guerlain, is avant-garde as it is the first time it combines metal and glass: it is very much in keeping with its Art Deco period. Its box is lined with an imitation zebra skin. The original bottle is only available in the 60 ml size. For smaller sizes, the fragrance comes in the Jicky bottle. " (Sylvaine Delacourte) The bottle is one of my favourite ones. Robust elegance. So beautiful... P. S: this is not a perfume for girls. Or guys. This is feminine submissiveness. Perfume for females, that adore their pilots... inhaling night flights between their breasts... Because you know. Perfumes should be worn where your natural smell is the strongest. Fly with me, Josephine... Fly

This first one is for Vintage VdN (See edit 1 for perfume): Got my nice sample from STC of "Vintage VdN" and it simply is of a certain time. My first thoughts were: Oakmoss!!! OMG Oakmoss! Then it was the resins, the spices, the citrus-bergamot, all wafting through with the bitter galbanum and oakmoss. Pungent. Within minutes though, what I was smelling on my wrists was a bit different from the wafts coming up from my decolletage, which was "peachy-citrus" sweetness (a tiny bit Coco on me). Then my second thought was "Tabu"! (Don't hate me out there), but this smells like the "old" vintage Tabu--not Walmart--the "good stuff"). So it reminds me of a time when many of these scents had the oakmoss, citrus (orange/flower and bergamot). This took a while to settle down, and when it did it became a gorgeous primarily amber and civet (to my nose) dry down, some of that famous "Gourlinade" vanilla-esque warmth and skin scent which I suspect is actually the superior sandalwood I'm picking up. This is an absolutely lovely perfume. Now, I do not think it is necessarily "one of a kind"--but it is definitely one for its time; other scents do remind me of this one, and I agree with Rasputin 96 who said that a lot of Guerlain fragrances have a similarity to them. This is not L'heure Bleue, but there is "familial scent tree" on which this is a branch--a very lovely branch on which to perch a while. This an absolute "try"--an "anchor" perfume, and it really reminded me again of the power that is "oakmoss" (yes, it tickled the nose). Silage is moderate after two hours (more than a skin scent) but lasting longevity. I have a 3 ml sample, so I'm half-way through that with one try! If one had "the bottle" I suspect a few spritzes would knock 'em over for an hour or two, and then it would linger more closely. PS - I smelled this the next day on my wrist--longevity quite good. Edit 1: Perfume (new version): While the Vintage is AMAZING...the new PERFUME formulation from 2010? is "good" I'm wearing that today, a sample (large sprays) from STC. The difference between vintage and reform is really evident. No oakmoss but a "leather" smelling sub? Really no galbanum. Nothing too sharp and astringent save for the citrus--more "orange and mandarin"; it goes on warmly spicy ambered, a whisper of its former self and disappears. The myriad notes, the complexity, not there. It's very nice, very warm, still reminiscent of Tabu with leather, and much easier to wear. It disappears in hours and is a skin scent within 20 minutes. Honestly, if I didn't look at the bottle, I wouldn't necessarily think they were related or "the same"--and they are not. If you already like the perfume or the new edt, it would be worth your while to get a sample of the vintage--or take a chance on Ebay even. What there is to like about this one, is going to be considerably more complex, richer, deeper, nuanced, longer lasting in VINTAGE. I was all set to buy a bottle of whatever Vol de Nuit I could find. Now, I'm not. I'm holding out for vintage only....unless, the EDT proves better (that's tomorrow's sample! I'll be re-posting...

Just bought a new bottle of the EDT from NEIMAN-MARCUS online, apparently the only place in the USA that still sells it new. The last time I'd smelled it was in 2006, from a bottle of 1970's vintage. I'm happy to say that it is still very much the scent I remember. Takes off on a brisk cool cloud of bergamot, petitgrain, sharp green galbanum, nose-prickling aldehydes, and lemon; neroli and sweet orange prevent the attack from being too astringent. A heart of iris, jasmin, possibly some ylang, and indefinable whispers of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. At the base, a decidedly oldschool accord of leather and "Guerlinade", that sweetish, vanillic-leaning, slightly Play-Doh like quality we know from L'HEURE BLEUE, with its characteristic notes of iris, almond, heliotrope, sandalwood, vanilla, benzoin, civet and tonka. As plenty have noticed, VOL DE NUIT is a comparatively straightforward, understated and evanescent smell. Not the dense, cascading symphony of L'HEURE BLEUE or SHALIMAR. What pleases me most now is that the indolic qualities of the leather (that slight mothball smell) have not been compromised... it still has that Art Deco, suede-y, leather purse-y quality that I prize. What I notice now that I didn't years ago, is how the almond note in the Guerlinade, with its slight "cherry" hint, is prominent. The spicy iris heart is indeed "carrot-y" as some have described. I also observe how aniseed, in far dilution, unifies the entire perfume. Yet it's so diluted that it merely confers a subtle herbal, "Sen-Sen" quality to the mix, harmonizing with the opening sharp green galbanum. I'm pretty sure the jasmin note has been updated slightly... it seems less "violet-y/winsome" now than it used to. In short, a marvelous oldschool leather, with dry citrus, herbal/aromatic qualities, and a graham-cracker-cozy, almost-sweet-but-not-quite, quasi-Oriental base. To this day, I cannot decide whether the fragrance is a Green, a Floral, a Chypre or an Oriental. It actually partakes of ALL of these qualities, and that is part of VdN's magic. It is probably the grandmother of later green/floral/chypre scents from the 1960's and 70's, such as YSL "Y", Chanel No.19, CREPE-DE-CHINE, DIORELLA and CRISTALLE. Highly recommended. Easily unisex. A tous-les-jours, "feelgood" fragrance. And a perfumery masterpiece. The EDT formula is light enough to wear in the warm months. It has been said that all the classic oldschool Guerlains-- JICKY, MITSOUKO, SHALIMAR, L'HEURE BLEUE, VOL DE NUIT-- are basically variations upon each other, riffs on a common theme, and that's true.

Years ago, I was on historical Guerlain trip and this one was the most intriguing and mysterious of them all. Still in production but only die hard guerlanophiles know about it. So when I saw it, I bought it. The perfume lady told me that they receive one or two bottles per year and that she had no idea how it smells, no tester. I had no choice but to open it right then and there. She politely said that it was for an acquired taste and I said that I loved it. I had the impression of finding the long lost friend. You must love your greens and appreciate the developing character of the oldies to be able to enjoy this gem. After few hours, I had this feeling like when you're in the presence of an old married couple that is still crazy in love. You bathe in their deep understanding, acceptance, love. It's not the endorphin, hormonal, fleeting or blind. It's still an acquired taste, it smells classic, or dated, and the complexity is staggering. I always discover new facet when I'm wearing it. Over the years I shared several samples with a note "It might take some time, be patient. It's worth it." And every time, sometimes after months, people understood what I'm talking about. So yes, it's challenging. When you are in owe, it's almost impossible to describe the subject. The words seem inadequate. The opening is galbanum citrus bite. Old fashioned and quite perfumy. It's difficult to distinguish separate notes because they are blended seamlessly. The flower bouquet is very powdery with dominant iris, orris and narcissus. The drydown is plush woody delicately spicy vanilla perfection. All along its development it's woody, green, powdery and delicately spicy from the beginning to the end, but the balance between them is changing constantly. It's also changing depending on seasons, temperature, humidity. I find it quite masculine and barbershop-ish but only in summer. In winter it's so wrapping, it almost purres. It makes me think of fur, silk, diamonds, pearls, opera, champagne. But also of flappers, dancing, jazz, speakeasy. One doesn't exclude the other. I can't wear it every day, it's too special. In one word, exquisite. PS: The bee bottle just came my way. It's perfectly recognisable but it seems diluted. This might be the age, my previous bottle not yet empty, has some age to it. The oriental Guerlains get seriously better with age, and VdN has more or less oriental drydown. So, I will know for certain after 6 months, a year. If it gets more rounded. I know people who wait that time before using every new bottle of l'Heure Bleue or Shalimar.

I think Vol de Nuit is best taken in context of its time. The fact that VdN was one of Jacques Guerlain’s last perfumes. It was made in 1933, when the world was settling into an economic depression. The Great War was over, the hedonist/flamboyant 20s were gone, and JG was almost 60 years old. When I first tried VdN I was underwhelmed, but I wore it several times, and read about it, and every time I appreciated it a little more. I am very happy that Guerlain/LVMH has decided to keep this perfume in their catalogue, and (for now) not charge a fortune for it. VdN is quiet, conservative, restrained, but you get to know it, very moody. It’s a woody perfume, there are hardly any florals present, and all the other notes are background noise to the substantial wall of wood. What I smell is mostly petitgrain, sandalwood, a tiny hint of vetiver and oakmoss, accented with narcissus, edges of galbanum, flints of iris, and powder. For a long while too there is a distinct accord of old fashioned Johnson’s Baby Oil, and I have to say this, but it smells like baby oil that you’ve rubbed over someone you’ve already had an hour of sex with, it has this skin/skanky vibe to it. L’HB is supposed to be the emotional perfume, and while I adore it, I think that VdN is much, much more emotional. It makes me feel kind of sad, and wistful, an unhappy sense of things changing and not going back to the way they were, yet it also has this boundless feeling, of something about to happen, a hint of opportunity. And, and even better it makes me feel grounded, and certain, like I can handle whatever life or the world is going to throw at me. I know this is categorized/marketed as a women’s perfume, but it doesn’t need to be, I don’t see why a man couldn’t wear it, it is not ornate or overly floral at all. The sillage is very soft, it really is a skin scent, and it lasts 6 or more hours, depending on how much I put on. A kind Fragrantican sent me a large decant of vintage EDT, and I do think that it’s a little more green with galbanum, especially after the first hour, but other than that I think that the differences are minimal, and the new bottles on VdN ‘work’ about the same, ie the strength/sillage are similar. Anyway, I am so glad that I have this perfume, it makes me feel my age, in a nice way. (This is for the EDT.)