Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris

...it urgently wants to sit in your lap.

Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight in Paris is an appealing blend of chai tea and leather. Its truckload of sweet milky amber and lightly spiced and smoked tea brings to mind a bulk buy of Bulgari Black and L'Artisan Parfumeur Tea for Two. The eau de toilette is a tad fresher than the eau de parfum, but both are powerful in range and persistence. Midnight in Paris comes on like an easy-going Labrador dog of a fragrance. It's furry, friendly, and urgently wants to sit in your lap even though it's way too big.
Can I lick your eyeball?
Young guns who want to trade up from their flashy, trashy, club scents (I've got Paco Rabanne One Million in my crosshairs as I speak) should give Midnight in Paris a scratch and sniff. It's voluminous enough to make a statement in a crowd, but “mmmm” enough to bear closer analysis when it's time to “get cozy”, as my dad used to coyly put it. But apply with restraint, unless you're going for the perfume equivalent of happy doggy drool. Because Midnight in Paris will get everywhere -- if you let it.
Midnight in Paris is available from VanCleef-Arpels.com, Amazon.com and FragranceNet.com, starting at $46 for 30ml
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14 comments:

  1. KateMarch 10, 2011 5:42 AM

    You know what? I've really been liking sweeter type fragrances for men lately. Ever since my boyfriend bought a body wash that smelled masculine, but had a hint of sweetness to it. I need to sniff this.

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  2. Katie PuckrikMarch 10, 2011 5:43 AM

    Kate,

    This could be a goodie for you....

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  3. OlfactaMarch 10, 2011 12:49 PM

    I love this, although the DH didn't. No prob -- more for me.

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  4. StefushMarch 10, 2011 12:53 PM

    KP Duty -

    Man, I may have to pass on this one. I think Bulgari Black is such a cool scent, so singular, that anything that reminds me of it will pale by comparison.

    Plus, I'm not in a "Labrador Pup O' Noodles" kind of headspace with what I'm wearing currently. I think doing fragrance retail has ruined me for a good long time for any scent that "wants to lick my eyeball and go play fetch."

    But in keeping with the theme, please let me know what you consider to be the following:
    - The Irish Wolfhound of fragrance
    - The Portuguese Water Dog of fragrance
    - The Bull Mastiff of fragrance.

    Stefush

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  5. Katie PuckrikMarch 10, 2011 6:29 PM

    Olfacta,

    As long as DH isn't making nose-pinching P.U. faces every time he's lassoed in MiP's sillage...


    Stefush,

    BB kind of ruined me for MiP, too. And as for your hound-as-scent metaphors, you've certainly selected 3 giant, powerful dogs, there. Off the top of my head, Profumum Thundra is the Bull Mastiff of perfume, Knize 10 is the Irish Wolfhound of perfume, and Tom Ford Neroli Portofino is the Portuguese Water Dog of perfume.

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  6. StefushMarch 10, 2011 7:12 PM

    Katie Puckritude -

    You NAILED IT with the Knize Ten, and I'll extend this exercise by saying that Yatagan is the Doberman Pinscher of perfume. And I LOVE YATAGAN.

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  7. ScentScelfMarch 14, 2011 3:45 PM

    "Get cozy" was "cozy up" in my neck of the woods...but I think the necking was the same...

    Shoot, you know you have me searching this out, right? IRL, as the kids say, I ended up adopting a husky/rott/shepherd/whatever mutt. But I still loves me a golden retriever.

    And a cozy milky spice tea leather scent. :)

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  8. Katie PuckrikMarch 14, 2011 5:21 PM

    ScentScelf,

    I predict you'll be cozying up with Midnight in Paris very sooooooon.....

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownMarch 16, 2011 10:04 AM

    I was wandering why this fragrance is marketed towards men only...it seems pretty unisex to me . Any woman ca pull this out , the leathery-sweet- powdery quality makes it perfect for anyone. I didn't smelled Bvlgari Black, but I really enjoy this one!

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  10. Katie PuckrikMarch 16, 2011 11:02 PM

    Anamaria - It's like VC&A flipped a coin to decide which side of the perfume aisle to offer Midnight in Paris.

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  11. AnonymousJune 09, 2012 5:54 PM

    Your mentions of "chai tea" and "sweet milky amber" combined with keywords like "truckloads" and "Labrador dog" make me wonder if this might be a brighter star in the same corner of the galaxy as another easygoing, likable Bulgari scent, Omnia... I love Omnia for the five minutes I can smell it, but five minutes isn't cutting it for me.

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    Replies
    1. Katie PuckrikJune 12, 2012 9:47 AM

      If only Midnight in Paris could donate some of its staying power to Omnia! M in P is really like a bigger, powderier, guffier version of Bulgari Black, but I suppose if we're talking galaxy sizes, it's also in the Omnia corner, too.

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  12. UnknownJuly 12, 2013 10:33 PM

    mmm mmm mmm. I like Midnight in Paris. Besides the Bulgari Black resemblance, it also has a distinct resemblance to another of Olivier Polge's creations, the original Dior Homme. So, it is likably likable. good stuff. I can't wait to see what he does at Chanel!

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  13. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2013 1:23 PM

    Thank you for another great review, Ms Puckrik.
    I have no idea what BB smells like - and I adore MiP EDP totally. I love its special, powdery and flowery touches in particular, for they remind me of Polge's excellent Dior Homme. Those accords really bloom in warmer weather. On my skin, that is. :-)
    Best to you, Ms Puckrick!
    P

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