Nuit de Chine
Les Parfums de Rosine (1913)

Vintage EDC: stunning skanky fougere. The opening was the most glorious fougere. Then came the shocking hit of civet. Almost too much but somehow at home in the clean rosewood, florals and herbs. A luscious peach enters the symphony, before it all dies down into comforting furry woods.
Note: Fraterworks has an excellent demo formula of Nuit de Chine. Being a novice, I thought perhaps I had not diluted the skatole enough before adding, but no it is quite accurate! I recommend using Fraterworks ingredients where you can as the quality really makes this perfume.

If you like Vintage Tabarome, you will love Nuit de Chine. A superlative fragrance.

This is a fougere similar to (but significantly better than) Mouchoir de Monsieur. Nuit de Chine was inspired by Fougere Royale and, in turn, was the perfume that inspired Guerlain to create Mitsouko.

Nuit de Chine is a fougere built with the key accord being sandalwood and peach (persicol). The main floral note is rose d'orient.

Other important notes are labdanum, a high dose of animalics (civet, etc), musk, patchouli, vetiver, lavender, bergamot, geranium, ylang ylang, orange blossom, and a touch of jasmine and spices.

In my opinion this is the best of the classical fougere fragrances and the most novel (due to some clever trickery with animal chemicals in the base).

I am reviewing a vintage edc.

Persicol, a peach lactone, used six years later to more acclaim in Guerlain's Mitsouko, takes center stage here.

The Persicol, lavender and coumarin give one that fougere blast upon first application. The florals are few - jasmine and rose. There are spices - cinnamon and clove. The concentration of ingredients is in the base: amber, musk, civet, sandalwood, which give it a leather-like undertone.

The result is an excellent fougere, resembling more the simple Fougere Royale but without the anise-like ingredients that made such classics as Royal Fern, Wild Fern and Canoe reference fougeres.

Upon first smell, I noticed much of the top is no longer with us, but that was to be expected from an 80+ year old perfume. At first blush, I would categorize Nuit de Chine as an oriental fougere and its similarity to Mouchoir de Monsieur is uncanny though not unusual as they were released within eight years of each other and probably of popular style at the time.

The opening is dull and unexciting, but the coumarin/tonka accord so cherished from MdM comes to the fore except that Nuit de Chine uses real–yes, that's right–real civet and deer musk in the composition. I have smelled these tinctures before and can say with much certainty that this is so. The longer it sits on my skin the fecal yet floral nutty aspect of the civet becomes greater.

Nuit de Chine is also known for its resplendent sandalwood note–natural Mysore, of course. It is restrained and adds a light buttery texture and slight hints of Chinese incense.

I am not sure why Rosine chose to name their fragrance “Chinese Night”–perhaps it was to inspire visions of the Orient. Nuit de Chine was also a popular French song in the 1920s, though it was released after the perfume. Poiret had originally named his fragrance Nuit d'Orient as he favored Oriental perfumes.

It is difficult to give a note construction for such a long lost perfume that is so disconnected from what we know as fragrance today. I would guess that it contains an opening lavender-coumarin accord for the basic fougere effect inherited from Parquet's not so distant Fougere Royale in addition to some florals and spices perhaps jasmine, tuberose, cinnamon, orris, and rose. The base is a coumarin haze augmented by civet, musk, sandalwood, and vanilla. There may also be traces of vetiver and cedar here.

Overall, if one has smelled Mouchoir de Monsieur, especially a vintage formulation, one is not missing much in Nuit de Chine. However, if artistry and the best ingredients available are important, Nuit de Chine is not to be missed (also note that Turn of the Century perfumers likely had easy access to the best perfume ingredients ever available). Unfortunately, Nuit de Chine and Poiret's other masterpiece, Le Fruit Defendu, are probably the things of which perfume dreams are made–far outside our grasp.

Vintage Oriental FougereAt first blush, I would categorize Nuit de Chine as an oriental fougere and its similarity to Mouchoir de Monsieur is uncanny though not unusual as they were released within eight years of each other and probably of popular style at the time. The opening is dull and unexciting, but the coumarin/tonka accord so cherished from MdM comes to the fore except that Nuit de Chine uses real–yes, that's right–real civet and deer musk in the composition. I have smelled these tinctures before and can say with much certainty that this is so. The longer it sits on my skin the fecal yet floral nutty aspect of the civet becomes greater. Nuit de Chine is also known for its resplendent sandalwood note–natural Mysore, of course. It is restrained and adds a light buttery texture and slight hints of Chinese incense. I am not sure why Rosine chose to name their fragrance "Chinese Night"–perhaps it was to inspire visions of the Orient. Nuit de Chine was also a popular French song in the 1920s, though it was released after the perfume. Poiret had originally named his fragrance Nuit d'Orient as he favored Oriental perfumes. It is difficult to give a note construction for such a long lost perfume that is so disconnected from what we know as fragrance today. I would guess that it contains an opening lavender-coumarin accord for the basic fougere effect inherited from Parquet's not so distant Fougere Royale in addition to some florals and spices perhaps jasmine, tuberose, cinnamon, orris, and rose. The base is a coumarin haze augmented by civet, musk, sandalwood, and vanilla. There may also be traces of vetiver and cedar here. Overall, if one has smelled Mouchoir de Monsieur, especially a vintage formulation, one is not missing much in Nuit de Chine. However, if artistry and the best ingredients available are important, Nuit de Chine is not to be missed (also note that Turn of the Century perfumers likely had easy access to the best perfume ingredients ever available). Unfortunately, Nuit de Chine and Poiret's other masterpiece, Le Fruit Defendu, are probably the things of which perfume dreams are made–far outside our grasp.