Midnight in Paris

Today marks the end of my trip through 14 doses of immunochemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma. This moment feels monumental, and I felt it deserved nothing less than the heaviest artillery in my collection — the fragrance I reserve only for the rarest, most meaningful occasions, sometimes many years apart: Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris. Spraying it today was way more than a daily act of wearing a scent; it was a quiet celebration of making it through a journey I never expected to face. I won't bore anyone with a total breakdown of the scent, like I usually do with extremely rare, weird Middle Eastern fragrances to assist others with blind-buys. People have done that a hundred times before me, and no description can convince anyone to consider a discontinued nostalgic masterpiece. Midnight in Paris is a multifaceted experience, transitioning from citrusy freshness to smoky suede. There's an elusive, fleeting hint of burning tires or asphalt that appears at random, a theme I've come to appreciate in other perfumes as well — thanks in large part to this and Bvlgari Black. The bottle, with its constellation design, is absolute perfection — an ideal match for the fragrance itself. This is the most amazing, breathtaking fragrance I have ever tried, period. It brings back memories from high school when I stumbled upon it for mere pennies, and from that day forward, it became my signature scent forever. It opens a nostalgic portal to the past — and let's just say, the ladies couldn't resist it. When I was younger, I went through countless bottles of this and the EdP version over the years, but the last one feels special. I remember getting my final bottle from a reseller who unknowingly gave me a cheap gift; he didn't seem to realize what kind of liquid riches he was selling. I'm praying for Middle Eastern clone houses to re-release this as a 1:1 copy, as the other similar ones I know of are decent reprints but don't fill the void. Check my reviews (Ctrl+F 'midnight') in case you want to find something 60-70% similar. Yet, they always tend to miss the fresh green-citrusy note. Bottles of Midnight in Paris from resellers are now up to 10-20 times more expensive than their original price. I'll stick with my remaining bottle from 2014. At my current pace of use, it will likely remain my treasure for life. I probably wouldn't have started my perfume collection if it hadn't been for Midnight in Paris. As I wear it today, it feels like the perfect companion for this new chapter. It reminds me to savor life's fleeting and irreplaceable moments, much like the fragrance itself. Its rarity makes it all the more fitting for celebrating milestones that can never be repeated. Adorning myself with it today wasn't just about indulging in nostalgia — it was about honoring the strength it took to get here. EDIT: The first line of care didn't work out. At least it gave me another reason to reach for this glorious thing — I sprayed it again after leaving the hospital following a three-week stay for ASCT. Even through setbacks, small moments still count. A few months later, I'm still in remission. Shoutout to the pioneers of PD-1 and nivolumab. Opening note: 10 Sillage/Projection: 8+ Drydown: 10 Longevity: 10 Blend/Composition: 10+ Versatility: 9 Uniqueness: 10 Value for money: I wish Bottle design/Aesthetics: 10 Overall experience: 10 Blind-buy rating: not anymore

Stardust Over Place Vendome (Domitille Michalon Bertier & Olivier Polge, 2010) Scentrack: Grace Jones – La Vie En Rose Although Midnight in Paris was not novel nor the best fragrance ever, it still created a strong cult following. In fact, it was very familiar, but somehow pushed all the right buttons. Clean and warm at the same time. Romantic like Paris. Fragile like love. Packed in a beautiful bottle with the star constellation above Place Vendome. The composition starts with very shy bergamot combined with a strong herbal aspect resulting in an Earl Grey accord combined with a touch of rosemary. Immediately, rubber and amber accords surround the tea and propel the fragrance toward powdery and oriental territories. A very nice soft suede accord warms up the composition. The monotony of oriental and powdery notes is successfully disrupted by the pink floral touch of lily of the valley – a trick earlier deployed by Olivier Polge in Kenzo Power (2008). In my opinion, it is hard to distinct heart notes from the base ones. Suede, almonds, sweet benzoin, soft incense, resins, Tonka bean and amber are amalgamated in a big, oriental saga that lasts on my skin for ages. Midnight in Paris shares many similarities with several Annick Menardo’s successful releases like Bvlgari Black, Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin or Yves Saint Laurent Body Kouros. While Bvlgari Black, a nominally unisex creation, is a contemporary ascetic creation, Midnight in Paris, marketed for men, is lavishly expanded toward both genders. Unfortunately, both fragrances are discontinued, but the idea lives on in Daniela Andrier’s Prada Luna Rossa Black. Still, it will be nice to see these late legends on the marker again to satisfy my fondness for romantic leathery, powdery orientals. Rating 8.5/10 Scentimentalwords

[1275] Midnight in Paris is a much-lauded, much-missed scent that I have wanted to try for a long time, given its reputation as a unique and clever leather composition. I obtained a small decant (I would love to own the beautiful bottle, but the juice is usually the most important thing for me). It is a leather scent, surprisingly sweet and balsamic. I sprayed Bvlgari Black, to which this is often compared, on my other wrist for comparison. Black is my preference - its smoky, burnt rubber accord sets it apart, but MIP is a great leather scent in its own right. It more closely resembles Prada Luna Rossa Black in my opinion, another decent modern scent, but MIP came first. Van Cleef & Arpels is underrated as a fragrance house in my opinion, and this is a case in point. MIP is leathery from initial spray, smooth and balsamic. There is no birch tar here, or similar woody dryness. There is a light herbal undertone, adding freshness up top and complementing the leather accord nicely. The tonka bean follows, adding soft sweetness to the leather accord, amping up the balsamic quality of this scent. The almond note follows, its sweet nuttiness melding nicely with the tonka while adding interest to the leather. MIP becomes a balsamic amber scent as it progresses, the leather becoming a whisper in the background. It is a seamless progression, smooth and satisfying. It becomes a sweetly musky skin scent as it fades. Sillage and longevity are moderate. Despite its marketing, it is perfectly unisex, and despite its name, it is daytime appropriate, best worn in autumn/winter. A smooth, balsamic scent with a leather backbone, MIP is deeply satisfying throughout. A well-composed, creative scent that manages to be wearable, it is another discontinued gem. Subtle brilliance. 4.5/5.

I stepped off the plane at de Gualle, picked up my leather duffel, glanced through the windows grimy with international dust and I saw a rail thin man in an ill fitting suit jacket, smoking intently, watching me from the taxi stand. I went to get in what I thought was a taxi. Suddenly the thin man pushed in behind me, slamming the door before I could speak. The driver gunned it onto the motorway and the smell of airplane fuel whistled through the windows. With the cigarette dangling from his mouth, the thin man produced a butcher paper package, weighty, wrapped in twine. He then put it in my hands, motioning for me to open it. As I pulled at the twine I began to notice a humming sound that seemed to be coming from everywhere, the voices on the radio turned into chiming drones and I looked up, trying to focus. I looked back at the package, which had come open and saw a irregular stone with a slice on it that looked surgical. As I lifted it to look at it, it came to me that I was looking not a flat surface, but an opening into a space. Like looking out of a window at night, just deep, inky black, filled with glittering lights. I put my face into the stone and was pulled through, or maybe I fell... birthed into a cosmic dance floor full of jazz and clinking glasses. I sat up, realized that I had forgotten my duffel and wondered if there was a lost and found.

I wore this a lot when it was released. I stopped wearing it when I realised I only had 1-2 wearings remaining in my bottle. For some reason I never got a new bottle. Anyway, I've just dug out my bottle after about 5 years; over time I built this up in my head as one of the best fragrances that I'd ever smelt....after all, it's the first fragrance I'd worn that received a completely unsolicited compliment from a total stranger that I was sat next to on a train. Smelling it again today, I have to say, nostalgia played a huge part in why I thought it was so great. To be totally honest, it's a lovely scent, but it's not as great as I remember it to be. I'd happily own a full bottle of this at the price I paid at the time which was around £20 but given that the prices have tripled, this is absolutely not worth it anymore - not even close. And that brings me on to my next point: I'm currently wearing MiP on one arm and Prada Luna Rossa Black on the other; of course they aren't the same, but smelling them side-by-side, it's like Prada took the MiP DNA and added a touch of amber and pepper to it to give it more depth. Give Prada LR Black a go - you might find that it satisfies your MiP craving. I'm glad that I didn't shell out ridiculous money for a bottle of MiP based on my memories, because it wouldn't have delivered.