Mirages Midnight Train

This fragrance is high, high.., very high quality perfumery. It opens with a bright citrus- it's a slap of freshness and sunshine. You can sense the depth of the entire pyramid behind it, so well mixed is it. The "Welcome to the Layercake" opening radiates like a miniature summer's morning dawn upon application...don't spray more than 3 spritzes from the atomizer unless you really intend to shake the room. Behind the refined citrus (rich, ripe oranges) comes the Mr. Olympia size patchouli..it's sweet, it's rich (see a pattern here folks), it's deep and it's bold. The word "Patchouli" is etched into the gold metal label below the "Prada Midnight Train" and within 10 minutes of spraying, it becomes crystal clear why the word "Patchouli" is spelled out on that gold label plate. This is the REAL DEAL, ladies and gentlemen. What I mean by this is if this potent perfume was housed inside a Federic Malle bottle, I'm confident it would be going for north of $500 to $600 or higher. The blending here is fantastic. As the patchouli begins to open up, the cacao and the (Virginia) cedar enters the mix, and the fun really starts. At this point, the scent is still bright, green, warm, going darker and it's lush. I can see why some below mention there are hints of clove here. The combination of sweet patchouli and cedar gives that effect. The cacao, which I definitely smell here, is what is syncing up with a very smooth hint of vanilla and that juggernaut sized patchouli that makes for a very silky amber as the clock ticks past the 90 minute mark into the wear. The balance of its wear is like spending a sensuous late afternoon in a massive, buttery soft velvet club chair in your favorite rich uncle's mansion somewhere on the south of France. Have you ever wondered what third generation billionaire playboys who dive off of luxury yachts in St.Tropez smell like when they hit the casino floors in Monte Carlo? This is IT. If you are new on your scent journey or an intermediate collector, then this bottle may be a bit too complex for your nose... because Invictus this is NOT. This bottle blows the doors off of something like Nobile 1942 or even Patchouli Imperial ..and I would go further to say that it surpasses Coromandel- for male wearers. Where Coromandel has a heart that is lined with rose and soft jasmine, here Midnight Train skips those pleasantries. It delivers a serious "This is Sparta!" 300 style drop kick of benzoin in the heart and then proceeds to full drydown. That no no-nonsense strut to the drydown is matador like and it's what gives the fragrance a very photorealistic dusty, hot sands in the arena feel throughout the duration of the middle and the full drydown. The hot sands feel combined with the lush, dark patchouli led amber with its hints of cacao and your olfactory recall to the bright, sunny opening is what makes this fragrance a very masculine and much improved 5th cousin once removed (the Merovingian line) of Coromandel. If you are man over the age of 30 (35 to be safe) and you know the difference between single and blended scotch by taste, then you will be VERY HAPPY with this bottle on your shelf and this fragrance leaving its sillage in your wake. bon chance

I received my bottle yesterday morning, just in time for the evening. Happily, I sprayed just once aiming in between neck and centre of my chest, as tales of potency written here by other reviewers warned me about unleashing way too much drama.... Woah! This mixture is of nuclear potency! Immediately the whole room, a very large lounge, was filled by the fumes. I got dizzy, into the bear hug of the most delicious, medicinal green patchouli I could dream of! All I could do was mumbling to myself "wow" for about 5 minutes. Then this atomic potion started to chug fast to middle notes: I met with the most endearing chocolate ever, slightly dark, rich, decadent. Cherry undertones made it so delicious that mouth went watering. I was transported to paradise, the nuclear patchouli singing alike a soprano all high pitch notes known to human being. Ah! What a drama, romance, idyllic story it has to say! One word to define it: luxury. Unfortunately, as fast as it went to middle notes it also reached the bottom one: tobacco. That's all it ended up as. Honeyed, smooth, superb tobacco. From soprano to baritone in 10 minutes! I was flabbergasted, as I love tobacco and this, let me state it, is THE best one I've ever encountered in the many scents I've tested and owned in life. Sadly, as a single bottom note, glorious as it is, it just didn't do it for me. Too masculine - and I wear masculine scents. Definitely more for the boys than the girls in my honest opinion. Definitely winter and evening number. If you look for a full 100ml bottle, message me. It'd be a true pity if the one I own couldn't find a soul mate to love her, as bottles of this are rare findings. Still a 10/10 for the most incredible patchouli EVER!!! Bravo, this is genius! I'm in awe. PS: the lounge STILL smells of it, big time! PPS: 100% agree with the reviews below mine. These guys nailed it better than myself!

Typically when I hear “strong patchouli” - I envision a Phish concert. Not my cup of tea. But, seeing as how there are so many reviewers gushing over this, I turned my head and opened my wallet. Boy am I glad I did. Immediately upon smelling this - it took me back to the very early stages of my fragrance journey. Maybe around 2009 or so. I had just made a trip to Chicago and tested the Tom ford private blend collection and couldn’t stop thinking of these new smells that simply blew my mind. This gives me that feeling. The feeling of awe and surprise. It’s one of those scents that just does something to your brain. It’s deep - lingering - mysterious and seductive. It’s an experience in a bottle. It’s a memory. I won’t water this down by breaking down any perceived individual notes - because at the end of the day, it’s the composition that matters and not the individual pieces. What I will say is this: if you’ve reached a point of redundancy in your journey - and you feel like everything is intertwined and repetitive, buy this. Before you spray it - dim the lights, pour a glass of your favorite spirit and calm your mind. Give it a spray and go on that journey.

Prada's midnight train is a really really gorgeous scent, and in my opinion a star in the olfactory line, which is interesting but does not shine usually, due to lack of presence in stores etc. which is also very Prada to do so. It has nothing to do with the comparisons marked above, nothing. it is a unique smelling patchouli which is sweet, but not fruity sweet, or cloying sweet like the common disgusting sugar bombs you can find today on the market which all smell the same. It is a cloudy syrupy sweetness which is elegant and evasive, but very present, smelling it from the bottle you can detect somewhat of a fruitiness which will be similar to Ambre Narguile from Hermes, though they have nothing in common in terms of smell. Is it the closest to the original Prada Amber, just amplified in its core and body, like a deep red wine. they took the odd chalky musty, Clove like experience of the original Prada Amber, and exchanged it with a more amber patchouly dry fruit body. they are very similar, one is just darker and far more alluring and sexy. In any case both are highly elegant. Stays and last forever, projection is elegantly present.

SWEET, FIERCE & VERY LOUD ______________________________________________________ By chance I was given today the opportunity to try Midnight Train from the Mirages Collection. The fragrance stars with a very powerful splash of patchouli. The clerk at the counter called it 'powerful drama' - and this description nailed it for me, because it was exactly what I was feeling at that moment. Just like a great dramatic performance in an Oscar-winning-movie, Midnight Train hits you right in the guts. It is incredibly loud and sweet - and you either love it or you don't The fragrance turns very sweet very fast and has a huge sillage. It reminded me of 'Vanille Fatale' by Tom Ford, but a lot stronger. Longevity: - 8/10 (i could still smell it on my skin after taking a shower) Sillage: - 8/10 All in all: 10 out of 10 subjective points -> because it's an incredibly well crafted fragrance. It is fucking fierce and I like loud perfumes. When you enter the room wearing it, everybody will notice you