Vol de Nuit Guerlain for women

Vol de Nuit. I'm glad this isn't discontinued because even the present version is lovely! I'm testing two different samples, one begins softer, with more iris, & sandalwood right away. The other opens with more narcissus, & jasmine the earthy orris root is evident, and what could be a too assertive perfume is masterfully balanced & blended. Not for the idler, this creation has a mind & a mood of its own. Ten minutes in the balance is just gorgeous, the colors of the original bottle suit it well. Sombre, reflective, it's a brilliant perfume, that creates a deep haze that I want to just swim in. Sweet for a minute, radiant with galabdanum, deep, woodsy, soft, & billowy, as delicious as a freshly done bed after a long day. How both comforting & sensual fit I don't quite know, but Vol de Nuit is quite moving. This scent is the essence of being content in moments of solitude. Twilight with a novel, tv off. I'm fine with that. I like crickets.

aaaah...mmmm... sorry for this cheesy and uneloquent prelude but thats my instinctive reaction when i spray vol de nuit on my wrist. the lights dim, the atmosphere becomes light and i fly... surrounded by a cloud of sublime, divine, gorgeous oily powderiness.. i dont know why but if the purple-navy color had a scent, it would be vol de nuit.
my faavorite part of vol de nuit it's middle/drydown. the guerlinade is at its peak, the iris, vanilla, orris, spices and powder litteraly lift me off the ground. never ever smelled anything so refined.
interestingly vol de nuit(the edt) is one of those perfumes that show different facets everytime. sometimes the initial citrus and galbanum is so sharp i wonder how is it gonna ever get to the oriental warm base, but it does.
it's a pity that im now experiencing whats referred to as a much paler copy of the original vol de nuit. sure the sillage is very soft, the longevity not so much. but im still happy to be able to get to the heart of vol de nuit and bask in it's wonderful presence, even in a diluted reformulated form:)
5- stars(for reformulation, im sure original is a 5+)

1933. A scent of dry grass and crisp night air hits me with a blast as I exit the hangar where I keep my plane, amongst the lemon grove. It's late now and I cannot see yet as my eyes are not accustomed to this darkness, but I can smell the remnants of the setting sun on the tall grass. I can hear crickets and a few stars are shining in the sky. The silent lady who accompanies me must be wearing an expensive perfume, but I dare not ask her about it, as I do not know her. I'm only suppose to fly her to destination and I do not even know her name. Very mysterious mission indeed! We both settle in our seats, the comforting, familiar scent of the cockpit enveloping us as we prepare for takeoff into the dark skies.

I'm totally playing this little movie in my head where I am Antoine de Saint-Exupery and I am flying this little old plane, at night. Can you hear the helix and the engine cracking and spitting and hissing?

I'm sorry for my bad syntax and poor vocabulary, it's in moments like this that I wished I had read way, way more English literature. Oh, well.

I found this perfume so astonishing, I became a little weak in the knees and a little knot started to form in my throat. It's so, so beautiful. It's shades of ochre (like the bottle), it's smart, tender and lonely, not like L'Heure Bleue, which is a (beautiful) sad scent. No, Vol de nuit is a lonely perfume but not a loner. It is not sad. It has decided to live a life of solitude, but is very well adapted to the presence of others. Not often has a name be more accurately chosen for a perfume. Chapeau!

Soft dry grass, warm breeze of a Summer night, like the moment before a midnight thunderstorm... with heaviness in the air, big, grey clouds gathering quickly in the distance. Then a panoply of beautiful flowers, releasing their aroma in the night. All amidst a stunning powdery iris. This is aldehyde heaven.

As I fly away after my mission, you can hear the sound of the engine fading in the night.. tuut tuuuttt tuut....... slowly fading away until all that remains is the stillness of the night. And the Guerlinade.

Masterpiece. Thank you so much Confer lover for the giveaway. Without you I might have never experienced the joy that is vintage Vol de nuit. I was going to watch a movie tonight, but now TV seems abrasive, modern, violent and obnoxious. Instead I'll be spraying Vol de nuit on again and reading "Terre des Hommes" by the window, in silence.

I wore this back in the 80s, and indeed, still have a spray hidden away that I sniff to remind me. A classic Guerlain!

This fragrance is Guerlain at its best: Perfectly blended citrus, floral, wood, and spice notes that almost can't be separated from each other. The crisp opening dries down into a slightly powdery heaven of sandalwood and oakmoss that makes it a perfect evening to late-night fragrance. The perfect cousin to Shalimar.

This is a special kind of heaven. I love galbanum and combining it with Indonesian Carnation and an orris root base was pure genius as it softens this without changing it. The sandalwood, oakmoss, and spices carry this nicely and all the other notes are fleeting shadows in the background just waiting to be noticed.

Nose-wrinkling within the first hour after initial spray. Very strong unlikeable animalic scent. It has been more than four hours now and it has softened. It has settled into woods with a peak of narcissus (didn't like) at the end of every sniff. Bdj blogs that the reformulation (which is likely what I tested) is a shadow of the original; the original must have been a powerhouse. If it takes four hours to appreciate it in the dry down, this wouldn't be a good buy. Would only buy such a watered classic if I have all other good classics.

One spray on me:
Sillage: one foot or more
Longevity: four or more hours
Rating: 2/5

Oh my stars! I have waited YEARS to try this and now I am cursing that I haven't had it around for the last 40 years or so. It is so, so beautiful. I have had Jicky since the 1970's and thought nothing could beat it, but this sure comes pretty damn close. I do have to disagree with others who have said it is similar to Jicky - I find it completely different. It is extremely powdery, and so well blended I cannot pick out any single note except perhaps iris. This is perfume at its finest. Thank goodness for the little windfall that made it possible for me to buy this, and I will never be without it for the rest of my life. I can't write any more about it...I am just overwhelmed and almost in tears!

One of my favorite perfume bottles of all time: golden, bold, and eyecatching. I love the sunburst design with "Vol de Nuit" in a font that brings to mind skyscrapers and Art Deco. It reminds me of something a woman in a Tamara de Lempicka painting would wear.

Vintage EDT: Theatrical but not overstated. Vol de Nuit definitely makes a grand entrance and leaves an impression. It is not very floral to my nose.

It has that distinctive "vintage" rooty iris and animalic base. When it dries down, it is salty, ambery, and smells like the classic Guerlainade evident in Mitsy, Shalimar, and L'Heure Bleue.

Vol de Nuit is one of my favorite Guerlains, A green chypre that has a green bitter and animalic oppening that evolves to a powdery floral with lots of iris and sandalwood and then to the classic guerlain base just Glorious! It evokes to me lost hollywood glamour from the 30´s and 40´s, rich women wearing furs and diamonds to go to dinner parties and al sort of stravagant luxury.

My favorite bottle is a vintage edt (late 80´s) that i got on ebay. You can smell the difference right away. Its much more animalic (i guess because of animal muscs), greener and mossier and I also think it used to have real sandalwood cause the scent blends with my skin. The new edt is much more soft and plush, I get more aldehydes its cleaner, but its still wonderful.

If you cant find a vintage edt go with the new parfum. As for me, I wear some drops of the new parfum and a couple of sprays of the viintage edt. It cant get better than this! (actualy it could if I find a good vintage parfum bottle!)

Contrarily to other old Guerlain scents, this fragrance starts to me extremely but extremely synthetical to end up much more floral, natural, soft and pleasant. It reminds me of the scent of an old box where old beauty products, old pieces of fabric etc have been stored for ages. Not impressive to me.

Vol de Nuit sits next to L'Heure Bleue and Jicky like three sisters who share many characteristics but have different personalities. Jicky is casual, outdoorsy, L'Heure introspective and beautiful, Vol de Nuit is remote and quiet and gives feeling of suspension, perhaps suggesting darkness, it reminds me a bit of walking in woods at night. It is quite like Jicky without its breezy lavender note and has the typical guerlinade base with a strong animalic note and lovely muted vanilla. Definately another one on my growing Guerlain wish list!

A very modern fragrance that was way ahead of the competition in terms of raw materials, vision and rendering.
It is one of Guerlains' best and also one of their least publicized offerings for which I am puzzled(and also relieved, as I'm loath to share)
The classification is difficult as it straddles both the oriental and chypre genre and yet exists on it's own terms.
A study of reflection,the life lived in between moments and the longing for what my come.It is more the experience from the mind of a voyager.
It has had many who have tried, yet failed to improve upon the beautiful marriage of notes, perfectly harmonized and full of endless variations.
This is an experience, you must try it.

Darkness, mystery, sensuality, like making love with a Lady married to a tragically ill and obsessed, jealous, impotent husband, in the cold yet strongly whispered, powdery and carnal notes of a purple twilight, either in a windy Californian desert, or in a dark red ruby red velvety alcove! That is what Voil de Nuit is to me, and, believe me i do have plenty of occasions to wear it, along with its intense, scandalous, pleasurables, amoral notes..

An absolutely beautiful fragrance with so much play on my skin. This is for me a unisex fragrance for men who appreciate complexity, sophistication, tenderness yet with some giving and touch of warm bitter sweet notes plus very hidden animalic and sexy musk scent. One of my new loves from Guerlain.

This scent is wonderful and subtle in the perfume and harse in the other formulations. I usually purchase eau de perfume in Guerlain. I wear Mitousko, Shalimar and LHeure Bleu in the eau de perfume.

But I think Vol de Nuit needs to be in the pure perfume to get the subtle notes and to hold off the jarring old grandmother smell that hits you with the sprays. With the perfume it is all wonderful, french mystery. It is not sweet like Shalimar and LHeure Bleu. It is complex and deep and smokey with flowers. The perfume is ageless with no harseness, only depth. I can wear it anytime and I wear it as much as I wear Mitousko, which is much more than Shalimar and LHeure Bleu.

I know this oriental chypre is difficult to classify, guys, but woody? Really? That's the best you can come up with?

I am spellbound by Vol de Nuit. I am astonished that a perfume can offer up each note in turn. First I recognised jasmine, minutes later; early cheer. Within fifteen minutes I was getting galbanum; loud and clear, such a curious aroma. After thirty minutes or so it has now settled down into that delicious warm Guerlinade scent, but I know it may change again.

These fragrances are so complex, variable, mysterious and compelling; I am addicted.

I cannot say Vol de Nuit, or any of the old Guerlains smell of this or that, they are far too complex and enigmatic to be pinned down.


Oh, now I am getting, what is it....jasmine again, but freesia and hmmmm rose too?

It's the perfume equivalent of Willy Wonka's everlasting gobstopper!!

I'd love to try this , because it's Carla Bruni Sarkozy's favorite. And I think she's adorable. But It doesn't seem to be easy to find...............

I have a vintage bottle (can't tell which formulation because the tag is long gone).

This wears close enough to the skin for me to splash on if I'm going out and feel like smelling nice but low-impact (low sillage). The top notes are a little bruised (the galbanum?), but very quickly Vol de Nuit settles, and then seems like endless drydown. This is definitely a bottom-heavy scent, with woody basenotes making an appearance early and strongly. There is a slightly sweet, muted narcissus that bridges the gap between the woodiness and the feminine vanilla. The florals are noticeable, but only really evoke a warm skin smell with the woods. A very pretty scent, but definitely no ingenue. A staple in my wardrobe, neither boring nor too challenging.

You know when you since childhood and you think that nectar of the gods, who enchants everyone and you become the king of everything?
Vol de Nuit gives me this, I think this fragrance is the most elaborate I've ever felt.
Woody, powdery, green, warm spicy all these adjectives together and perfectly balanced performing a set as a concert of the best musicians gathered or the best notes, elementary masterpiece in any collection of perfumes.

What a beautiful green, powdery slightly incensy and woody fragrance. Timeless, elegant. An achievement. This is an Oscar in Guerlain's huge cabinet of recognition and achievements. I am just overwhelmed by the gems this house has given us. Totally unisex btw and a 10/10

Claudette Colberts favorite perfume!

Mysterious. Haunting. Ethereal. Ghostly. Delicate. Refined. Supernal. Sublime. Otherworldly. Fragile.

Magical.

(vintage edt) The first time I tried it, I couldn't figure it out at all. But I tried again and I'm starting to understand it now. It is, indeed, an old school Guerlain perfume. There is something mysterious, addictive and haunting about this one. Very intellectual, very sensuous. A taste worth acquiring.

Ok Alfarom.... I opened my wallet!
To my delight...
My Gent won a vintage extrait on (Haute Perfumerie A La EBAY)!!!! Squeeeeeeal! I am still tickled pink! Or should I say Green???
This Is truly Divine. I tried a sample that was given to me of a new toilette... I fell in live...but the love was short lived as it faded so quickly... I sprayed it on my man...and the same thing occurred. But what a scent!!!!! what is a dame to do???? Dream...and I did! I waited and waited for the write moment...and then my search was over! He found it for me...and what a bargain as compared to today's prices of 235-280 euros that I have seen.

The scent is truly exquisite and definitely without Gender. Not too strong or loud I should say...but for a special person indeed!

If I may quote jellybean,

"Resins, incense, aldehydes and powder. Vintage oldie fume. Strong scent that keeps going on and on.
For matures; I find it too overpowering."

Yes, exactement. It has this funk that makes me think they should have called it "Vole" de Nuit (vole being a little mouse like creature - mice smell kinda funky as you know).

I think the original formulation was fine but the new one is all resins and aldehydes and it doesn't have that wholeness and completeness that vintage Guerlains had.

My fave of the original Guerlains is Vintage L'Heure Bleue. Vintage only- current formulation I would not wear.

One of my favourite in Guerlain's collection fine and well blended. Even better if you're lucky enough to find any old bottle.

Not too worried if it doesn't last too much.

The pure perfume is amazing on the right woman.

I have some of the vintage EdT (the clear, ribbed bottle that is like two cones joined at the bases, and you can unscrew it, so it's not a sealed spray bottle). This is highly blended and very dense. It's may have a touch of sweetness but it's basically a powdery, resinous vanilla. I don't get much "green" here. At first it is a bit of a dour fragrance but over time I have found myself enjoying it. Vintage Toujours Moi is somewhat similar but a bit sweeter and not as bitter or resinous (though with a strong, rubbery rock rose note). It lasts well but the projection ("sillage") seems to come and go, which is not uncommon with older or niche fragrances. There is no animalic quality but there is a bit of an "off" quality at first, which may be due to the effects of age. Clearly, this is for the aficionado or "perfumista;" I'm certainly glad to have a little !

Every woman on this planet must own a Guerlain scent !
IT'S A MUST !
Make up your mind...
Vol de Nuit
Jicky
Mitsouko
Jardin de Bagatelle
Après l'Ondée
Shalimar
L'Heure Bleue

Etc....

My favorite one is Shalimar... Maybe the most beautiful oriental scent for me...

Resins, incense, aldehydes and powder. Vintage oldie fume. Strong scent that keeps going on and on.
For matures; I find it too overpowering.

Vol de Nuit es uno de los perfumes mas enigmáticos de Guerlain, pero a la vez es un perfume con el sello Guerlain siempre presente. Es enigmático por la poca afinidad de muchas de sus notas entre sí y porque a la vez estas estan en perfecta armonía, también es enigmático porque no está del todo resuelto a que familia olfativa pertenece, y por último y más importante, es enigmático por las sensaciones que produce de estar ante una paleta de colores grisáceos y es un perfume con el sello Guerlain, porque hay una guerlinade como fondo de telón de sándalo, vainilla y lirio, esto es evidente, pero voy a ir desglosando lo anterior a continuación. Vol de Nuit, sorprende a la primera olida por la complejidad y aterciopelada textura, esto se debe a la mezcla de aldehídos, a la naturaleza maderosa y a las especias que le dan una sálida cálida y verde a la vez, siguiendo su evolución afloran sus notas florales y por último y como nos tiene acostumbrados Guerlain, la guerlinade, que en este caso es de lirio, sándalo y vainilla. Lo anterior comentado, me hizo pensar en que estaba ante una de las obras perfumiles mas complejas de Guerlain no sólo por lo que he comentado de la mezcla de sus notas sino también porque a raiz de esta característica tampoco como no podría ser de otra manera, no se aprecia definidamente a que familia olfativa podría pertenecer, en mi humilde opinión la sensación que me dio como conjunto fue la de ser un perfume Chypre-Amaderado con sutiles tintes verdes y por último y mas llamativa sensación, vol de nuit me produzco una sensación que no he experimentado con ningún otro perfume de Guerlain ni de otra firma, y es que vol de nuit me causa una sensación de estar oliendo y avistando un bosque con aromas muy marcados a tierra y a eucalipto, de ahí quizas a la sensación grisácea y verdosa a la que me he referido. Resumiendo, como veran vol de nuit es un perfume que a mi me resultó muy complejo en las sensaciones que me produjo, aunque vean esta descripción acercándose a terrenos mas poéticos no lo he hecho por vanagloriarme sino porque sinceramente me produzco estas sensaciones. Para acabar, por las sensaciones maderosas que me dio, vol de nuit lo recomendaría para el Otoño. Sin duda Vol de nuit es uno de los cien mejores perfumes femeninos que se han creado, en mi humilde opinión es incluso superior al best seller de Guerlain, Shalimar ya que Shalimar no lo veo tan complejo en sus facetas y si de Vol de nuit se puede decir algo a primeras olidas es ''complejidad''. Una obra maestra a la que le doy cinco estrellas pese a mis veintiún años de edad.

Whether you like Guerlain's style or not, this brand had, have and will unquestionably always have an incredible relevance in perfume history. Guerlain is, no more and no less, french perfumery personified and Vol De Nuit is one of the highest examples of all this.

I could go through the usual notes explaination but, in front of such a beauty, it would be an oversimplification. Seriously. Everything has been already said, analyzied and dissected. Comparisons bewteen different diluitions, batches and reformulations but, as a matter of fact, this is one of the best 100 fragrances of all times. This is perfumery.

Open you wallets. A masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10

Vol de Nuit is not a new one, we know. I could test it again in a rare shop that still carries some older Guerlains, even if in re-formulation.
I can partially understand these re-formulation. Raw ingredients that were available then are not anymore and on the other hand many noses would wrinkle up at certain notes.
Vol de Nuit still holds some of that nose-wrinkling feature. The reason is animalic. As soon as the perfume hit my thin pale wrist skin I regretted spraying: what a stink! A glorious stink, still a stink. I have only two wrists, you know, so I gave up one "space" for Vol de Nuit. While it was still wet I put my wrist under my bf's nose. The poor one... my perfect victim! He likes fresh citrusy teenage boopy scents and I tease him any time with old Guerlains! Well, he knows I will never go for his likes anyway. Vol de Nuit not a perfume that I planned to buy for mysefl in any case and he was much reliefed for that!
His immediate verdict was: "piss". Sorry to say, but he was right in the exact moment. So I just kept VdN and went away. After 2 hour or so, after drying from that typical humidity that can give a "catpiss" edge... Vol de Nuit became a voluptous, vintage, powdery-spicy enveloping but close to the skin cloud of sensuality.
He agreed. At this point I could understand its charme and once again I could confirm that there is no bad Guerlain (among the oldies) only the right or wrong Guerlain for you. They need time to be appreciated. As we need fragrances that are immediately "nice" no matter if they are weaker in the basenotes, the sign of time back then was different: a lady needs her own time to prepare for public appearance or for more private encounters. Time was not an issue for rich aristocratic ladies. Rush was probably a rare feature and only belonging to the common people, the vast majority that never ever encountered a bottle of Guerlain in their life.
Not that I regret those times when olfactive beauty was not so easily available. Beauty should be free of any charge. I only regret the slow motion of enjoying luxury and pleasures.
I heard that Vol de Nuit is a favourite of Carla Bruni. To be honest, I don't like her, but she's quite a good example of high life, whenever these "vips" can periodically complain about their "busy" lives, they probably don't know what a really busy, hectic, shopping bags carrying, packed public transport, traffic jam, dirty pavements life is.
Vol de Nuit like other perfumes of its kind makes me think of a high life.
And I could understand the Saint-Exupèry relation: a man flying alone over the sea. Total aloneness and seclution where senses arise and memory triggers whifs of Vol de Nuit worn by a beloved woman. Dommage pour le crash.

Can you really be addicted to a fragrance? I think so, and this one is my addiction. When I run out of it, it's an unhappy time for me. This lovely "juice" says Guerlain and you can add stronger scents later in the day. Vol de Nuit, then Shalimar at night - heaven. The world is a more beautiful place because of Guerlain.

Distressingly, I have bought the extrait, albeit at a slightly reduced price, only to discover the elusive quality is just that! After delighted application, it was gone.
So I came here and draw comfort from those who are in accord...perhaps, I need to try this in warmer weather, as suggested by citronella.

Edit:
Worn from May onwards, it worked with my skin chemistry.
Now we're back in Autumn/Winter and the relationship, just beginning to develop, is back on ice...

This feels like a silky, soft' sweet wood with a hint of citrus, and slight powdery vanilla. VDN has an expensive feel to it. Very, very nice!

Elusive, cold-warm and dreamy.

Galbanum, vanilla and aldehydes on milky iris base.
Icy stars shining on midnight sky, observed lying in a warm, white bed. Poetic and mild, childlike and astonishing. Guerlainesque signature and age are recognizable, perfectly blended into this lovely illusion.

Sillage - poor, the magic lasts too short (EDT), still it's precious.
Prefect for dreaming, a "goodnight fragrance".

Moans Guerlain in the 1930's but is still unique in a field of gians.

This is a definite woody one, with sandalwood and earthy orris root taking off as soon as you spray it. Also present are the aldehydes and oakmoss. This makes me think or the Wright brothers flights, when everything was so exhilarating, in the outdoors with the earth around them and oil from working on the gliders here and there. I like it more once this all dries down to a fainter version of the original and it is very powdery.

This is a beautiful perfume, I only have the EdT, my budget won't allow the perfume. But still, I spray it on and keep going back for another sniff. It's gorgeous, so classy, otherworldly. I wish I could have been there in the thirties, living it up, partying all day, being chic and wearing Vol de Nuit. One can always dream, can't we?

Oooh, what a breathtakingly beauty!!! Launched in 1933 by the legendary Jacques Guerlain for known pilot and story teller Antoine de Saint Exupèrey, this fragrance bewitches and haunts you. It transposts you back to the roaring twenties, the crazy years before everything fell apart. First in Wall street, then in Europe and then in the rest of the world. A beautiful epilogue after some years of unbridled fun and on the verge of more years of pain and suffering. It is like a beautful flower growing on top of a heap of garbage.
Topnotes are orange, orange blossom, galbanum, mandarin, narciscuss, bergamot, lemon; middle:orris, aldehydes, narcissus, vanilla; base: spices, sandalwood, musk,orris root, oakmoss.
Where most post 2005 frags let one or more of the top or middle blaze everything else away, this creation is a delicate balancing act wher every note is the star and is being allowed to ,keep its dignity and personality. You have the very green opening where the galbanum, bergamot and lemon balance out the sweeter orange, orange blossom, mandarin and narcissus and create a fresh but rounded and amazingly effervecent and orignal opening. The middle doesn't take over but adds to the class with the aldehydes that perfectly guide the green opening into a more full bodied and slightly flowery direction wxith the narcissus and the base adds to this with sandalwood, orris, musk and oakmoss. The result is a complex 'green-y' extremely cohesive fragrance with a strong, unique personality. No possible flankers would have been made here.
Exeptional is that the strong aldehydes are in the middle so they don't blast everything to smitherens from the start. The aldehydes are joined in the middle by the vanilla, which is in mostl other fragrances in the bottom. The combo aldehydes-vanilla plus the galbanum in the top and the oakmoss in the base make this creation a spectacular masterpiece. No sugar crystal and a raspberry in sight. And yet this is class in a bottle. It is sweet because of the mandarins and the orange blossoms, fresh because of the galbanum and the bergamot and the lemon, spicy becasue of the spices in the base plus the real deep and spicy vanilla, dry because of the sandalwood, full bodied because of the aldhydes. The notes form an exceptionally well balanced creation and the airplane of de Saint Exupery is symbolised by the development and trip the scent makes on your skin during the hours after apllication. By the way, there is absolutely no peach and almond in it. There is a faint musk. But the fragrance stays fresh and never turns powdery.
It is at once green and refreshing, earthy and woody, warm and cold, delicate and with an irrepressable personality, flying above the world and het with roots firmy in the Parisian soil. It is that kind of complex creation where you constanty are amazed at the development. You cause calusses on your wrist by constantly sniffing at it. You immedatly pick somebody out of a large crowd who wears 'Vol de Nuit'. This is in the pantheon of legendary fragrances like 'Mitsouko', 'Joy', 'Jicky'... and deservedly so. It is as typicaly Guerlinesque as 'Coco' is Chanel and 'Joy' is Patou and 'Le Dix' is Balenciaga.
For me 'Vol de Nuit' conjures up great images of the mysterious smile of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, the grandeur of the Saré Coeur cathedral in Paris and paraglyding in the Pyrenées. It feels like the sight of a beautiful classy woman riding on a horse, a Parisienne with a Gauloise and a strong espresso in the morning sun seemingly oblivious to the rest of the word paging through a newspaper... The feeling of freedom and the possiblity of dreams that can come true, one day... Elegant, sophisticated, intellectual, BCBGn timeless, powerful in conjuring up emotions and images and memories. A masterpiece, pure and simple.

Vol de Nuit feels like another time, place, or state of mind. Born of a vision, an inspiration, the mood of an era gone by - and it manages to remain relevant and intimate to admirers born decades after its creation. It is a very atmospheric fragrance, and in me it evokes a sense of peace, introspection, and sometimes a vast, airy loneliness. It is a mystery to me how a scent can elicit that but somehow, mysteriously, Jacques Guerlain was able to create an olfactory experience that actually does invoke a sense of exhilarating solitude amidst the cool, open night sky, I think, in part, due to its timeless and otherwordly qualities. A perfumeur he was, of course, but also an artist.

Vol de Nuit doesn't smell formulated. It transports you past analysis and graciously allows you to experience its nostalgic beauty. All of the notes are there but they combine to create something on a completely different level. There is something deeply personal about it, transmitted through the years from the perfumer to the wearer. Truly a timeless classic and simply put, perfume mastery exemplified.

I love perfume but sometimes I simply can’t analyze a scent and identify its constituent parts. This seems to happen in two particular instances. I can’t deconstruct the fragrances that I wore when I was young. Each exists as a whole, like an object. I would have trouble analyzing Antaeus or No 5 beyond saying that one is huge and the other is aldehydic. The other instance is the early Guerlains. I love Vol de Nuit, and I recognize it the instant I smell it, but other than saying it is a powdery oriental, I’m adrift.

But I do love it. It is clearly complex, and the complexity reads as a richness that even I get. Although I can’t break VdN down in my head and look at its bit parts, I can describe it. It feels lush and unhurried. It is soft in feel. Not weak and vague, but deliberately diaphanous, ethereal. This softness gives VdN an atmosphere rather than an edge. VdN doesn’t cut or strike, it haunts.

Billy Joel's bitter sweet lyrics come to my mind for this one - "Only the good ones die young"

Hauntingly beautiful scent. Sadly vanishes into thin air within 10 minutes.

the bottle alone is a piece of art people these days are in 2 much a hurry 2 care about every little detail & put heart &soul into whatever it is they may do it shows up in the quality of EVERYTHING from the way house's are built & cars to the quality of clothes down to the material to perfume& perfume bottles to movies etc....i could go on & on but you get the point IM waiting for this one in the mail so i will come back 2 do the juice the bottle alone & reviews made me want 2 sample this....so thank you everyone who takes the time to put what you think from the simple to the elaborate it helps us get an idea with out flying COMPLETELY blind:)

Its 1933. Air France has taken to the skies and Vol De Nuit is launched. The bottle is a brilliant art deco tribute to a propeller. It take Guerlain to dizzying hights.

Th composition is surprisingly masculine, with the aldeydes taking center stage. This is the first Guerlain to use them that I am aware of. Controversial and electrifying, they let Vol De Nuit take flight. Its entire presentation has always seemed so modern, yet it is nearly 80 years old!

My vintage seems off somehow. Perhaps the original extrait captures the real experience. Nonetheless VDN is flawless in every way. I can imagine bell hats, smarts suites worn on a plane. The cabins must have smelled plesantly of VDN. How times have changed!

If the world of perfume is a jungle, then Vol de nuit is a beautiful Mediterranean garden. To me is like orange and lemon trees, jasmine and daffodil bushes. Here is where a little pet hided and sleeps now, in the shadow of the yellow flowers, after lapping up some vanilla goodie that the owner has given him. This blend of flowers, citrus, spices and something animalistic, like warm fur, is strange, wonderful and unique, and I love it.

I have the EdT version of Vol de Nuit and it's one of my most precious summer scents. During the cold season the base notes don't really develop on my skin. This time of year, however, it's absolutely stunning. Soft spices, impeccably elegant.

This review is of the vintage Vol de Nuit Eau de Toilette.

Vol de Nuit is a gorgeous, gorgeous green-floral with a distinct "brown" or "autumnal" quality to it, as described by some other reviewers. It is never too strong or overbearing; simply smooth and comforting, like a sunset, or.... a night flight. :)

Like Mitsouko, I find Vol de Nuit to be beyond time and gender, but still smelling damn good.

I double checked the guerlain website and you are right.

The extrait would be the best choice if one if looking for more intensity. The price tag is a little steep though.

full_of_colours, I am not sure that there is an EDP of Vol de Nuit. Only EDT and pure perfume, as far as I know. I have them both and I think that they both are amazing. VdN is my signature fragrance and such a perfection, that there is for me no other perfume in the world which can come even close to this one. The sense of space and darkness, the air in it, the memories that evokes, this is magic. For me VdN is a total calmness and clear mind, and I think that the name of this perfume couldn't be chosen better. The bottle of the PP is also perfectly complimenting the fragrance. A true masterpiece.

EDT: the softest woody ever encountered by me; lightest silage and sadly lasting power too; on a positive note: lovely, delicate, very "guerlinesque". Extremely wearable, powdery, woody, antiquated and very very classy. I love it more than Shalimar, although it has 1/10 of its strength. It smells intellectual to me and it reminds me of walking though the Louvre museum in Paris: the same majestic quietness dominates everything!

Vintage Parfum

I have tried my precious sample three times. In the vial I get a wave of the purest sharpest green galbanum, green as Vent Vert. On my skin something smokey and woody appears; bitter, almost tarry (is it petit grain?). It is not unpleasant, just cold and dark. Within minutes the smoke gives way to vanilla powder with just a curl of smoke wafting through it. Maybe a bit of leather. Then nothing. It is gone.

So brief, so quick and fleeting. I can not believe it is meant to be like this.

( Vintage Edt Review )

I don't see similiarities between Shalimar/Mitsouko and this fragance. Vol de Nuit is actually really boring compared to them.

I think this fragrance smell like a soft woody version of Parure. It also lacks complexity and fades too fast. Not for me.

for me it was because of My favourite writer Antoine de saint exsupery I tried this. i like first notes, but it somehow dies on my after that - almost nothing to smell. However, the story of this perfume is on of the most romantic ones - writer ordered it for his wife on their wedding aniversary and also to mark the book Vole de nuit - which is also amazing creation.

Very elegant and intellectual. I read somewhere this is Carla Bruni´s signature scent. It suits her, French, city chic style.Old fashioned in a good way.
Very nice for evenings out.

Vol de Nuit(Parfum) opens with dry sweet woody peach and aldhyde notes. It instantly reminds me of classic perfumes, and it’s somehow like a mixture of 40% Mitsouko,for the peach; 30% Chanel No. 5 Parfum,for the powdery aldehyde; 10% Shalimar for soft vanilla vibe, plus 20% of something golden; velvet, renaissance, artistic and classic.

Soon it gets more powdery and sweeter, softer, and the Mitsouko peachy note is all gone. Somehow I think I smelt leather gloves, a really similar powdery, slightly dirty vibe lies underneath the powder smell, and reminds me of the dry down of Jolie Madam by Pierre Balmain. However personally, I find Vol de Nuit is more leather/warm skin smelling, which isn’t really my taste.

Later on the leather/skin smell goes away, but not completely, and the sweet powdery scent has somehow obtained a little bit non-spicy oriental edge, but in a quite psydo-floral musk way, well without too much floral. It’s powdery in an almond-y smashed with fainted musk way.

Well, not really my typical Oriental, it’s interesting and somehow intriguing, but just not my cup-of-tea, or at least the Parfum version isn't for me.

The Bottle is beautiful the artistry and
craft they painstakingly created with it's
Topaz cut and ruched glass cut with
gold insignia inside a circle with gold
metal Vol de Nuit is the hight of Art Deco
and liquid from the fragrance is pure gold. Channels the playboy aviator & eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes with
his planes and women of course women!
numerous of them well know actresses
you can think of had an affair the most
well know was Katharine Hepburn Jean Harlow
and Ava Gardner.
Squiring jean Harlow on the red carpet
of the Lavish Permire of Hells Angels
beautifully reenacted by the Pop Singer
Gwen Stefani from the Martin Scorsese's
The Aviator.

Or Walking though a Brown Smokey Quarz art deco nightclub
where the smoke stains the mirrors and the women whearing
skin tight Golden Dresses And Men with italian Suits
And the feeling of sex Is every where and the sound of a
single Saxophone Playing though the night.

the scent which i agree with Kastehelmi
it does fly off your skin there is no silage strength and if you compared
to shalimar it is obvious that Vol de nuit is an icy sphinx not letting know
her life nocturne introverted Elegance
compared to shalimar with allmost an
more of a masculine yang presence aggressive and yet like Vol refined.

Eventhough my reviewed VDN is an extrait, it is a light and compliant fragrance.

The opening is a bit aloof with a green and kind of smoky galbanum which slightly reminds me of Must the Cartier perfume. The first metaphorical impression I get is a lonley and cold daffodil in a dark and smokey place, but then clear orange notes supported by spices enters the scene and the sunshine is let in. Very soon a milky veil of vanilla joins the blend, which further softens down the galbanum and daffodil. It goes on with silky powdery notes from iris without beeing too powdery. Woody notes completes its base, creating a woody, nutty sillage with just a touch for flowers and fruit.

Vol de Nuit is a fabulous fragrance in pure perfume and I really love wearing it. Still, I would want to wear it more often, but since it's not in your face about anything, I sometimes forget using it. I don't say it doesn't have any character; this multi-facetted fragrance indeed has a lot of character but it's not a perfume that makes a statement in my opinion.

Anyway, I think the extrait would be a very good signature fragrance, supporting you rather than rivaling you out as many frags do. So, if you are looking for a soft wellcrafted fragrance, give Vol de Nuit a try. VDN is so silky, wellcrafted and beautiful that it may easily become a lifetime compagnion.

Durability good, projection: low, but a lasting and beautiful silky, nutty, woody, vanilla projection.

Vol de nuit does fly from the skin in EDT, and who can find the real parfum for a fair price? It's a reminiscent fragrance for sure-I don't remember anybody who wore this, but somebody must have made an impression on me when I was young, with their endearing Vol de Nuit.

Sweetish warm woody powdery-surprisingly less woody than I was expecting, but has the luxurious and savoury iris of the Guerlainade-The aldehydes and the sweet opening as well as the overall old-school powderiness make this a scent more for sampling in solitude for me-I am not a lover of all scents vintage, just a vintage explorer.

I like it more than Shalimar, and find the edge of the EDT in Samsara has become bothersome, but I don't find any extra edge (of the negative kind) here. it is rich- -sophisticated--and even if less approachable, and not something I want to wear often, it's lovely.

An evident Art Deco style bottle. Love it!

Warm and woody, marvellous and well balanced with orange notes on the top.
Very sensuos and more sophisticated than Shalimar.
One of my favourite fragrance.
I agree with Jalutschka that edt fades away quickly.
Try pure fragrance.

If, like me, you don't like orris root, beware! Test before buying.
It comes through very strongly in this perfume, and ruins it for me, as within a couple of minutes I get this very unpleasant, percing animal note coming through.I am never sure if it smells as bad to other people as it does to me, but I can't stand it

I agree that this is a very archetypal vintage guerlain. I am still contemplating it, but was disappointed in the poor sillage of the EdT-I was sure, given the initial strengthand depth of notes, that it would be with me all day, as Mitsouko and l'Heure Bleu are...but no-it was gone in a few hours!

Very old style, powdery and greenish with galbanum, which is such a difficult scent for me. My sister wears this as a lovely, soft incense, which makes me jealous as on my skin it takes on a medicinal, medicated powder edge that is just hideous.

Absolutely wonderful. Not easy to define how it smells and that's its greatness. Vol de Nuit and Liu stand among the very favourite of mine. Too bad they are not easy to find. Both perfect for all the year, I agree.

For me Vol de Nuit is sheer perfection.
Embarrasingly, I only tried it because of my love for St Exupery and his work, but it was a revelation and a fragrance I have loved for many years.

The scent of narcissus has always contradicted the brightness of the flower and I would call Vol de Nuit a dark evening scent. The iris is understated and does lift the scent to an evening sky without brightening it or making it sharp.

I wear it year round.