Midnight Fleur

This has been my absolute favorite perfume for so many years. I kept putting off writing a review because I know I just have SO MUCH to say, and I'd probably emotionally exhaust myself trying to put it all into words... So here we go. I started out as a gourmand / vanilla girl. This started with 'Warm Vanilla Sugar' from Bath and Body Works when I was a kid. (Fun side note: I learned that the nose behind a lot of those iconic B&BW scents is actually the husband of the woman behind Nest!!! How ironic, B&BW was my gateway to being an olfactory junkie, and Nest was my gateway to perfume.) At the time, I really didn't know much about perfume, other than the spritzes of Pink Sugar I would steal from my college roommate. I thought that was the pinnacle of vanilla back then... I got a small sample of this from a Sephora order, just as like "ho hum, might as well try this vanilla. the bottle looks pretty. I'm interested in how these blue flowers will translate into vanilla." and OH MY GOD when I got that first whiff... I was sucked right into the bottle. Into a dark, mysterious forest. Haunting, ethereal, untouchable, other-worldly. You just explored your way through the dark woods at night, only guided by the moon and some fireflies until you stumble upon a tiny clearing with night-blooming flowers to find a powerful, confident, but stoic woman. If a tree of a thousand lifetimes took the form of a beautiful young wood nymph. This is how I imagine a dark forest fairy or dark elf witch would smell. This is not a fluffy, cute vanilla. This is a sensual, warm, seductive vanilla. I don't even want to call it 'sexy' because it's not necessarily youthful or flirty. It's like a magical, psychological magnet that pulls you in. Every time I wear this, EVERY PERSON that gets close enough to me goes "OMG YOU SMELL AMAZING!" I inadvertently command the room whenever I wear this. There are other gourmand fragrances that smell 'good' but the notes are kind of working separately. Or alternatively, they all sort of blur together and read as flat and one-dimensional. But Midnight Fleur is wrapped up into the perfect, tidy package and topped with a bow. It is so deliberate and so complete. Nothing is missing, nothing is overdone. It is so deep with complex layers, yet it is so expertly and harmoniously blended. I would believe that there is a single, magical, fantastical flower out there that smells exactly like this. So... all that being said... While I love it enough to wear 24/7, 365 days a year... it is a SPECIAL perfume, and I feel it should be reserved for special moments. Wear this perfume wherever you want to bring magic. This juice is too precious to throw away on a trip to the grocery store (although, if I had more money... I would definitely be wearing this so the grocery store lol) And if you want this same magic to work in hotter / daytime weather, Nest also makes Midnight Fleur SOLEIL- which I cannot recommend enough. It is EXACTLY the 'daytime' version of this magical bottle. This perfume really was my gateway to fragrance. I learn so much just from researching Nest and Jerome Epinette's creations. This is art and magic and witchcraft in a bottle. And I'm determined to take fragrance training courses so that one day I can create / harness magic in a bottle as well. Midnight Fleur has to last forever! The day they discontinue this, I will organize protests in the street!

Well now I understand what the phrase "slept-on" means. I "slept on" this beautiful fragrance and now it's discontinued. I ordered a Nest discovery set a few years ago, and as so often happens in life, I was immediately distracted by Indigo, the one who wears her uniqueness on her sleeve. Dazzled by her bold combination of aromatic tea and fruit and spices, I bought a full bottle and made her my signature. Yes, I thought, sweet and tangy but still earthy and creative, a little bit undefinable, Indigo captures me and how I want to present myself to the world. Meanwhile my little mini rollerball of Midnight Fleur got pushed around in my drawer, opened periodically but not used, as I’ve stayed under Indigo’s spell. But last week, traveling for Thanksgiving to visit extended family with a couple of very nice dinners out planned, I brought along the little Midnight Fleur, feeling subtlety might be more fitting for the dynamics of this visit. At first “roll” Midnight Fleur was pleasant as I knew it would be. Softly floral and subtle and a little perfumey and totally appropriate. But ten minutes in... the warmth set in. The amber and spice. A dark little quiet mystery unfolded on my wrists and I was addicted. It’s absolutely elegant yet just enough sexy. I reapplied, and reapplied. I wore it to bed and fell asleep with my nose against my wrist. I adore Midnight Fleur and her layers and mystery. When I was in college, my good friend and roommate was petite, beautiful and hilarious. She was extroverted, unique, a little offbeat and unexpected, and a great dancer. She dazzled the guys at parties with her presence and humor and physicality. While I loved her and she was incredibly fun, I knew my quiet nature couldn’t compete with Michelle in that setting, and it was OK - she was in her element. She was Susannah Hoffs, and I was one of the other Bangles. She was Indigo. The cute party guys often didn’t see me, as they were captivated by Michelle’s outward sparkle. And now I realize I fell under a similar spell with Indigo's obvious charms. I’ll always love Indigo, don’t get me wrong - but something tells me Midnight Fleur just might be the one that got away.

I just started my perfume journey at 21 years of age and have always been intrigued by the NEST line since sephora started carrying them. Only now have I picked up a discovery set with MF, Indigo, and Citrine. Frankly, I came to love and appreciate Midnight Fleur rather than having a love-at-first-sniff. I initially took it for too unique and unfamiliar but I found myself idley and mildly intriguingly reapplying the rollerball on my wrist every evening as I studied, and by the 4th or 5th day I realized I love it. It is quite linear but within its linearity it possesses an identifiable depth of jasmine, vanilla orchid, and warm yet slightly spicy exotic woods and amber. I normally don't like scents with patchouli (an essential oil my nosebuds simply don't jive with) but in MF it just adds more of a foundation and longevity rather than punching my nose. MF smells almost gourmand to me! (Out of all the new perfumes i picked up the bf likes this the most and calls it the "cheesecake" scent.) It smells like the crust of a cheesecake: slightly spiced (apple pie-like spices), warm and delectably sweet. As the name suggests, it's a little "dark" but not too dark to wear during the day imo. Each note definitely support each other in such a wonderful way. Perfect amount of warmth, spice, floral and sweetness (from the amber and vanilla orchid). Yes, I'm 21 but this is not a youthful scent. Rather it's for any age and person of which wearing this makes them feel warm/cozy, sensual and perhaps slightly sexy. As I can only speak for the 4ml rollerball until I run out of it and buy a bottle, I'd say that longevity is moderate whereas sillage is more personal (softer side of moderate sillage). I wouldnt mind wearing this for all seasons; more so the cooler months and/or evenings... Perhaps not during the spring, and summer days as it just doesn't invoke the feeling of blooming florals, lush greenery, or solar heat. All in all, it's a keeper!

When I first smell the bottle, it’s all exotic woods to my nose: musky, sensuous, captivating. When I sprayed it, I was hit with something that smelled very tropical, almost fruity (maybe the jasmine?). Then it dries down to the amber and patchouli, and quickly. It’s pleasant to me, smells sophisticated, and maybe this is where people get the idea that it’s “old lady perfume” but Midnight Fleur isn’t the stuffy, outdated variety—it’s the accomplished woman who knows what she wants and who she is. The jasmine is still detectable but much more muted. After an hour or two, it simmers down quite a bit and almost becomes a skin scent on me; I started to regret my blind buy. I thought it was gone until about three hours later, I sniffed my wrist... voilà! The vanilla orchid that I had wanted so badly in this perfume came out to play, and sat on my skin until the scent disappeared altogether, around six hours after the first spray. It reminds me of sunset and dusk. The bright, sunny jasmine sinking into warm amber, and then the soft-spoken orchid, trailing into night. I think it works great as a day or night scent, but probably best reserved for the fall and winter. Cooler seasons. *Maybe* early spring, when it’s chilly and rainy... I am using it in the summer and the silage in the amber/patchouli phase is overpowering in the heat. I could see it becoming my signature or something I could wear for many occasions, but I do wish it lasted longer (particularly that orchid note), and that the woodsy note would show up on my skin. It’s a well-orchestrated masterpiece, overall.

The first blast of this is delicious juicy floral woody amber. While that might sound like an overload of scents, the effect is spectacular. The separate accords play with each other so incredibly well. In the beginning it is strong and uncompromising but so so intoxicating. As it settles, the juiciness calms down and it becomes a very warm, sensual floral-woody-amber, no longer as shouty but just as addicting. This has jumped to the top of my "to buy" list because it is just so intoxicating, sexy and delicious. Plus the bottle is absolutely stunning. If you like presence in your perfume, definitely give this one a try. You can get a free sample of it at Sephora, all you have to do is ask. Edit: I ended up getting samples of this and Alien at the same time, and I'm surprised at how similar they feel on my skin. The nuances are different but honestly, they're close enough that I would probably not buy both. Midnight Fleur is a bit more relaxed, more amber, but still has that feeling of addicting discord in the top notes, both almost juicy in its fruitiness yet not edible feeling, with a beautiful floral and amber background. Definitely very sweet and sexy, but a bit mysterious as well, as it's hard to put your finger on what you're smelling.