Veilleur de Nuit

Lutens' Nightwatchman is a restless seducer. He teases you by drawing you in with intimate projection leaving behind a trail of deep and dark powdery bitter chocolate, both animalic and oily, infused with a rooty-green vegetal flavour. Is this really fleshy tuberose (or maybe rather jasmine?) emanating from the subclavian skin exposed from the black satin dress? And just before he strikes our Veilleur becomes surrounded and eventually engulfed by musk - first sensual then increasingly nebulous. I like the abstract arty patterns of the Section d'Or range and that they invite one to use senses and imagination - sometimes telling aristocratic tales of bygone eras - cooly detached as in Renard Constrictor, opulent and extravagant as in Cracheuse de Flammes, or close up, intimate and mania-driven short stories such as VdN here. I do not think that the intent was to present a finished product that would render itself easily to typical analysis. Equally I can understand the severe criticism Lutens/Sheldrake have received for this range in terms of concept, realisation and, of course, price point. I would not advise anyone to go and spend €600 for 50ml of Veilleur de Nuit but testing it most should - and if it does something to your head or heart in spite of its "imperfections" (in a sense akin to what listening to Chet Baker does) then it's a totally different story.

I was completely expecting this to be a seductive borderline raunchy fragrance due to all of the animalic notes. but I could not have been more wrong. this is a very regal classy fragrance. like something a graceful woman would wear when going to broadway to see a show while dressed in expensive furs and jewelry. my very first impression was not this though. at first it smelt beyond average. had the cheap floral/sweet scent of a dior perfume. but the dry down is where it gets amazing. it seems to start coming off more strong and some intoxicating almost dreamy notes starts to come through. this is definitely a transforming fragrance. on me though, I cant seem to notice much cacao. its a floral clean musk that has a something special added that isn't found in other perfumes. I love this but the price is wicked. im not a woman for names, im a woman for quality. if I could buy this for 1/4 of the price because the name has been taken off, and put in a generic looking bottle, i would. if i owned more of this besides a sample, it would be my daily fragrance.

One of my most complimented fragrances. It starts out with a dry, and to me slightly spicy/smoky chocolate. The vetiver and tuberose create interesting contrasts, I associate vetiver as more masculine, tuberose more feminine, and dark chocolate contrasts with a white, ethereal tuberose. This is before the animal notes start to wrap themselves around you. Regarding Veilleur de Nuit as a fragrance of contrasts, sometimes it can appear almost carnal in its sensuousness, at other times it seems quite cool and aloof. If we ignore the price, the longevity is good, as long as you don't suffer from dry skin. Sillage and potency seems good too, people have smelled this from 6 feet or more. Unfortunately it seems to be either discontinued or unavailable at this time, which makes me wonder if we will see a less expensive reformulation in the future.

i have owned a bottle of this for 2 years now, these are the impressions i recorded the first time i smelled VdN, which to this day stay true: "I smelled this at Saks yesterday, and it instantly reminded me of my favourite tea "stash - christmas in paris". Before checking out the notes, I got a strong chocolate, milky white chocolate and cacao + a strong minty touch in thd opening that did NOT last for the entire wear. The dry down was a bit sweeter, if u have smelled fumerie turque, i get the same honey that's there + tuberose BUT not a bubblegummy tuberose, more a unisex tuberose more like orange blossom. Also for some reason it smells like it has tobacco, but i didn't see it on Fragrantica. I was rather surprised to discover so many animalic notes featured, it's very well-blended don't be afraid."

One of the most erotic Florientals ever made, The Night Walker is an expertly constructed scent from the venerable house of niche scents is an exercise in sheer sophistication. The perfume opens with lactonic gourmandish notes of cocoa and dark chocolate with a slight hint of civet before transitioning to heart of beautiful tuberose. The perfume settles on a bed of vetiver and musk with a slight castoreum in the background. In spite of many animalic notes this is so delicately blended that they never overpower. Feminine leaning scent with moderate projection and good longevity. The type of scent a beautiful aristocratic and sensual woman would wear to a night at the opera. Enjoy!