La Nuit Tombée

Many people are saying this was very linear, but I found it unexpectedly complex. During dry down it was very spicy. Clove forward, but hints of other spice as well. Then the incense came. It never felt smoky to me, like a fireplace. Rather it was incense with undertones of vanilla and aged wood maybe a hint of amber. There was a moment when I got Coca-Cola which seemed odd, but it was very fleeting and I rather liked it. I would have sworn there were soft botanicals and tonka bean in the base notes. It never yelled patchouli at me, but instead had a gentle rounded base note. Patchouli was there, but it wasn't alone. For the first 3-4 hours the sillage was moderate, but at about 4 it became more intimate. At 6 hours I can barely smell it. I love the scent, but I wish it lasted a bit longer on me.

What a beauty! Finally a perfume worth buying from Lutens! (since the release of Fils de Joie) A dark chypre, but soft, smoky and with traces of rose and fruit syrup. The incense is slightly salty, the smokiness is so smooth that I would wear this perfume even in warmer weather. It is not faint, but wears delightfully soft, yet present, the kind of perfume you catch from time to time. Sophisticated, surprisingly wearable, despite the smokiness. I can understand those who compare La Nuit Tombée to La couche du diable, but this one is more sensual, less gothic and wintery. It reminded me a bit of Encens Japonais by Ædes de Venustas, in terms of diffusiveness and in terms of "springtime incense perfume". Heartbrealingly beautiful.

I like it very much. This is basically L'Incendiaire (which I also own), so Lutens fans can rejoice, that one having been discontinued for quite some time and, while it wasn't, commanded ridiculous prices. La Nuit tombée could also be approached as a crossover between Serge Noire (without the challenging spices) and La Couche du Diable (without the booziness). So all in all nothing groundbreaking for the house, heavily lutensian, and a winner for me.

Honestly not much to say about this one. Simply a straight forward, warm church-y incense with a woody base. Its not a very heavy incense. It feels subtle but still very present. It opens up strong , smokey, almost as a incense stick that is still burning. As its a pretty warm day today i almost regretted wearing this. But it dries down pretty quick into this very warm incense that sits close to my skin. Beautifull as i really am an incense lover.

Aptly named La Nuit Tombee or Nightfall it’s a nocturnal fragrance the spices some white florals initially felt like jasmine later like tuberose and some heavy patchouli accented by some cedar. It’s beastly, slightly feral, fatal evokes the image of Kate Beckinsale as Selene from Underworld. It is unisex IMO just dress to impress. An impressive release. Mysterious, seductive androgyny.

I tried this one in Harrods. I love Serge Lutens and I do like this one. I just have a question and I'm serious about it. Does anyone smell a bit of Coca Cola in it? I swear I don't think I'm crazy.

Serge Lutens - the man and the brand - are at their stylistic best when a perfume is telling us a story. The Filles et Fils perfumes told us stories of people in fantastical scenarios, from a girl in an enchanted forest, to a girl in Berlin, to a rentboy in a seedy French bar, to a girl partying in the Eiffel Tower. L'Orpheline told us the story of an identity crisis. De Profundis a story of how sorrow can be beautiful. Sarrasins of the medieval, romantic, slinky and brutal Arabian tribes. Sometimes Lutens doesn't tell us a story, and rather drops something onto the table in front of us with a thud - snidely "here you go! Enjoy!" Lutens perfumes are quite linear, generally not evolving or "drying down" much, and this structure paired with the absence of a story is, again, sometimes like someone thudding an object onto the table in front of you, a look of silence conveying that you should know what to do with it without being told anything. These perfumes of Lutens can be enjoyable too, with Ecrin de Fumee and Le Participe Passe as such examples. EdF and LPP are also examples of Lutens recycling his "greatest hits notes" into a "new perfume". Both of these creative mandates are becoming more and more common to the brand's perfume releases since being fully consumed by Shiseido a decade ago. A recycled perfume thudding onto a table with a silent look of expected approval aimed at the consumer is an approach that can work for a time, but it's very short of ideas by nature. Cue La Nuit Tombee. You only have to read the straining prose of the description to know that not much went into it, likely nor did a vision from Serge Lutens himself. Some very brief and crystalline aldehydes in the opening immediately sublimate into a powdered sugar aroma permeating the entirety of the perfume. Olibanum resin looms large, you can almost feel the hardened once-sticky boswellia secretion touching your nasal cavity, it's the muscle surrounding the hard bones of an inflexible and aromatic cedar, and a wet, black, clay-like soil note of patchouli. There is a lot of overlap between Nuit Tombee with Section d'Or - specifically, L'Incendiaire, Cannibale, and the dastardly Bourreau; EdF and LPP (again); and maybe a touch of La Couche du Diable with LCdD's lovely cistus labdanum that is sweetly earthy resinous and gently, quietly, pink rosey, as there is small hint of the latter in Tombee. This makes Tombee very, very familiar, deja vu even - thud! - but it is quite pretty. The olibanum resin smells well rounded and complete, the cedar smells naturalistic and smooth, the patchouli smells alive, and all three are greatly detailed. It’s sweet in an earthy and naturalistic way, not cloying and syrupy, and it wears quite easily for what should otherwise be pretty weighty and thick. La Nuit Tombee doesn't quite thud, but it does plop. There isn't a peevish look of expected approval on its face, but it is waiting. It is trying very hard to be simplistically pretty, too hard maybe, “don’t I smell like the old Lutens you know and love?! Tell me I’m pretty - please!” It’s good. I like it. But it is a bit redundant and certainly late. It lacks a story, both stylistically and aromatically; not much in the way of thoughts in its head, and not much breadth or depth to the timbre of its voice save for the sound of the thud it makes. Comparatively to other perfumes of this profile, again, it’s good, but it’s not special, and certainly not special in the way Lutens is uniquely capable.

Dreams of incense. This is, as HoraceVonB below mentioned, similar to the discontinued L'Incendiaire from the Section d'Or line, but comparing La Nuit Tombee with my memory, I think this new version is actually much improved and has a more focused, steady execution. On my skin La Nuit Tombee opens immediately with a strong, coca-cola-like incense, not discernably frankincense or myrrh and so likely a blend. Unlike Encens et Lavande, however, La Nuit Tombee is not cold at all. It's warmed from below by soft spices and woods, and so overall smells very much like "lit" incense, burning and smouldering albeit in a very soothing, placid way. It's really well composed, and reminds me strongly of the scent and mood of Heeley's incenses (Cardinal and Eau Sacree). La Nuit Tombee has a little more body than Cardinal and is less citric, but overall if you know those "straight incense, no chaser" perfumes this is very much one of them. I find La Nuit Tombee lasts a good 6 hours on me, and mercifully the patchouli note is essentially undetectable to my nose. There's a vague suggestion of earthiness, but nothing so true as to ever become wet or muddy. Really lovely and dries down into that softly spicy cedar. The patchouli, as if awakening after taking a nap over the nearby hill, comes sauntering up at this stage and plops itself down in a rather unconvincing attempt to lure the drydown into a "chypre" territory. Alas, the incense continues to dominate on me, and this fades out into a woody-patchouli-tinged incense puff of smoke, probably closer to an austere oriental than a chypre per se. There's more "soil" about at this stage, but it's still not enough to take this into that cocooning sensation a chypre ought to give.

First Impressions: I have smelled this before; not in a perfume, but a memory. It is a blur of an outdoor campfire and cigarette smoke, on a breezy summer’s night in Ireland. Also has the scent of old mahogany wardrobes and yellow lamp light. Has a vibe of embracing an older family member who smokes cigars, the remnant fumes clinging to their jumper. Interesting, and unlike the serge Lutens I have tried so far; including fille en aiguilles and ecrin de fumee, Fumerie Turque, chergui, bapteme du feu, borneo, and L’Orpheline. In my opinion this is an original creation and is not redundant for serge Lutens. Will update if I catch anything different Update: actually has that scratchy woodsmoke tone that Bogart One Man Show Oud edition has in the drydown, just of higher quality and less harsh.

I received my sample from The Perfumed Court and applied after a shower. I tend to use none scented products so that I can really evaluate the scents. My first impression is that it’s STRONG on the incense opening. A 1 spray for me. 2 would be heavily overpowering. After a half hour or so the strength settles and starts to really open up to more smokiness, wood burning or a hint of By The Fireside. As the day progresses it mellows out to a creamy kind of scent mixed with the original incense that’s now calmed down. It’s a very immediate head turner. It oozes off a type of mysterious layer that only a person can decipher upon close inspection. It’s a very lovely scent and so far my girlfriend loves it in comparison to some of the collection I’ve shown her.

The latest from the granddad house of niche perfumery still rocking after almost four decades is a simple linear woody incense scent. The central lovely frankincense note is first surrounded by cedar and patchouli and as the perfume dries reveals a soft vegetal musk. The slight masculine leaning scent has moderate projection and good longevity. The perfume is a bit foreboding but very elegant as usual. Serge Lutens is still teaching us how minimalist high quality perfumery needs to be done right. Enjoy!

Dark incense. It’s mysterious and intriguing. You just can’t stop sniffing it. But it reminds me of my grandma when she was coming back from the church services with a formal black dress. If someone is looking for a “catholic church, dark, mysterious, beautiful but a little traumatic” vibes, look no further, this is your scent. But you might need an extra session with your therapist...

This one smells like the mall in the 90s (PNW). It's probably the type of incense used. I love the scent profile but I wish it projected a bit more. I have to lean in to smell it, even on myself. 8/10

La Nuit Tombée starts with a bite from smokey and balsamic incense. The scent is linear, but smoothes out and becomes warmer and lovelier. for me, this would be a perfect late fall or winter scent.

Church incense, slightly wood-fired with an old-fashioned base note, reminiscent of musk from yesteryear, no doubt due to the patchouli. The main note is still incense, however.

The florals are not very prominent here. I mostly get animalic leather, incense and woody notes that, even though the notes say cedar, are not too distant from what goes as an oud accord these days. Rather linear, basenotes heavy and contemporary smelling, but enjoyable nevertheless. Almost as if Carbonnel or Rasquinet did a gig for SL. Also, I really don't understand the comparison to La Couche du Diable because that one is a completely different scent profile revolving around labdanum and dried fruits while lacking the animalic components of LNT.

Encore une deception , la 3eme :( je ne sais pas pourquoi mais les dernieres créations lutens ne sont pas a la hauteur de la reputation de la marque, 3eme achat aveugle et je suis totalement décu, poivre , nuit tombée et fils de joie des produits deja sentie sans reel personnalité , je regrette tellement les creations anterieurs qui etaient magnifiques et uniques. dommage je ne racheterai plus les nouvelles creations de lutens.

Serge Lutens #27 – Familiar Obscurity I blindbought La Nuit Tombee because, well, its a Serge Lutens! In all seriousness, it popped up at a discounter for a price too good to pass up and not being able to test it yet, i bit the bullet. It hooked me because it was heralded as a Serge Lutens done in the dark and mysterious ways as all the most well known and appreciated ones from their portofolio. Those who got to test it spoke of picking up common threads that reminded them of previous perfumes from the house and to a degree this raised a concern in me. I’ve mentioned before that Serge Lutens built a universe where all his creations exist and although its generally an awesome thing, it can lead to a degree of redundancy and at times even i could sense commonly used building blocks amongst the creations. The name itself, “La Nuit Tombee” or “The Night falls”, announces a mysterious perfume belonging to the after hours. The night itself sits close to Serge Lutens as a source of inspiration and atmosphere and that reflects in many of his creations. The concept of night or darkness can have many ramifications and Serge Lutens usually favors the romantic and mysterious path instead of the frightening and violent one. It is why many enthusiasts find comfort in the brand and its why it creeped into my heart aswell. My bottle arrived earlier this week and as usual, i let it sit for a couple of days so it settles after shipment. Tonight its Saturday and i arrived home from my afternoon shift. The evening air was still and quiet, cooled down by an intense and shortlasting early summer rainstorm. Its one of those evenings when you are tempted to take a detour and have a stroll instead of rushing home because the atmosphere is magical. Tomorrow is Sunday, my day off, yet the reward for the week isn’t a day of rest but my first experience with La Nuit Tombee. Indeed, the night fell upon the world. La Nuit Tombee is a perfume that emmanates a crepuscular, weighty warmth. It has cherried syrupy-boozy touches, a page borrowed directly from La Couche du Diable to which is the most similar. At times it feels claustrophobic, a sensation inherited from Chene. Its smokey like i hoped Ecrin de Fumee to be but wasn’t. Slowly, a shy resinous side emerges and mingles with all these nouances. The resinous aspect sits in a context that reminds of Orthodox incense. Austere and solemn in a funerary way yet my only wish is that the incense resin was more present but it is what it is. All these accords are shrouded under a nocturnal and opaque blanket. Its like walking in complete darkness, when even the moon is hidden amongst the clouds. As you carefully walk, you only catch glimpses of everything around, and it all dissapears behind you as you step further into the night. La Nuit Tombee is a perfume that deprives the senses and paints the night in a primal way. It evokes a feeling of defenselessness and danger. Its one of those scents you don’t get hyped or excited about but instead it leaves you silent and contemplative. Its as tenebrous as it gets and not just within the Lutens Universe. It would seem like, for once, Serge Lutens showed the raw and visceral side of the night and not the romantic one. P.S: Oh no! Dimitri De Sade above is right, it can remind of a spiced and sour, dark cherry cola hahaha.

I sprayed La nuit tombée an hour and a half ago at the store. My first impression was very positive. This perfume is without a doubt Lutens and Sheldrake's creation. It reminds me others from their line, but I can't quite put my finger on which one exactly. It opens with a beautiful warm, spicy and smoky effect. It smells maybe more gunflint than smoke per se. It becomes a skin scent quite fast, as many have mentioned, but a nice and warm one, nothing overtly sweet, thank God. There is frankincense is there, but a rather subtle one. It does not evoke church at all to me. Dinstantspring below compares La nuit tombée to Heeley's Cardinal : to me, these two perfume have nothing in commun. Cardinal contains an overdose of Aldehyde MNA12, which makes it sharp, metallic, luminous and somehow cold (and nauseating). La nuit tombée is spicy, warm and darker. Labdanum is surely involve here. *update : the frankincense is very present after 4 hours, and it's beautiful. And later, at the very base, I kept thinking "what is that material or accord?!?! I recognize it? I have a perfume that has this same note..." then it hit me, it is the same material/molecule/accord that is present in Fumabat by Couteau de Poche. Nice. I'll consider buying this latest Lutens, but I need a couple of tries to make sure I truly like it, but so far so good! It surely does not revolutionize Lutens' world, but it is very well made.

Everyone, stand up and clap! Finally, after years of Lutens’ “what were they thinking?!” phase, they’ve come back to their senses. This is pure Lutens, through and through. No Frankenstein stitching like before still totally recognizable as the brand, but with a fresh twist. First off, it’s incense-y. If you’re into “Encens Lavande,” “Serge Noir,” or their home fragrance “Maison Japonaise,” you already know what Lutens incense smells like. It also keeps the classic plum + cedar backbone, and I swear I can catch a hint of jasmine dancing in there. But the real magic is in the drydown. Underneath all that incense, plum, cedar, and patchouli lies L’incendiare’s leather-resin base. And no, this isn’t another “let’s just glue A+B+C together” disaster. They’ve taken the classic foundation and steered it in a totally new direction. The result? Something that’s unmistakably Lutens, yet still feels fresh—and you’d never guess it’s a remix of old hits. Only downside: longevity seems meh. Products post-2021 all seem to have this “here-and-gone” problem.

I’m in tears of happiness just from witnessing the image campaign of La Nuit Tombée 🥹💖, i felt my soul is touched by the beautiful imagery 🖤 As a huge fan of Serge Lutens, I can’t wait to try La Nuit Tombée Edit (09/03/26): I haven’t tried this perfume because it’s not available in where i live yet, but believe it or not, i smelled La Nuit Tombée in my dreams, in my dreams La Nuit Tombée was this clear incense with warm powdery earthy patchouli & a powdery cedar wood This was not my first time dreaming of sniffing fragrances, previously i dreamed of Serge Lutens’ Royaume De Lumières line

It belongs to the Lutens dna, without a doubt. The opening is spicy and very addictive (it reminds me a little bit of Chergui and 5’o clock) but it fades very fast. Then the fragrance evolves into something very discrete and quiet; very close to the skin and with an intimate sillage. I like it a lot but 5-6 sprays are recommended.

@Dimitri de Sade I agree with the Coca-Cola note in this one. Kinda reminds me of vintage Coco EdP by Chanel or Youth Dew by Estee Lauder

Can anyone weigh in how close this is to La Couche du Diable? Thanks

I missed my chance to buy on jomashop i wanted it soooo bad 😭😭

@MichelleAntonia I don't find them similar at all actually.