Nuits Indiennes Indian Nights Jean-Louis Scherrer

The aldehydes arrive like a flash photograph—bright, slightly sharp, almost detergent-clean—before citrus notes (lemon and bergamot particularly) spring forward with zesty vigour. Peach adds a juicy counterpoint, and for these opening moments, the fragrance feels luminous and almost intoxicating, suggesting something far more extroverted than it will prove to be.

By the first hour, the transformation is palpable; the powdery lilac and heliotrope emerge from beneath the citrus, whilst jasmine's darker, almost meaty facets reveal themselves. The rose settles in with surprising quietness, never dominating, whilst ylang-ylang introduces a creamy, almost narcotic sweetness. This is where the fragrance's true character reveals itself—intensely floral yet somehow restrained, wrapped in that distinctive powdery haze that prevents it from blooming into full florality.

The base's warm amber and sandalwood create a softly animalic foundation upon which the tonka bean and vanilla settle, though never heavily. The civet adds an unsettling sensuality, slightly raw and decidedly skin-like. By the fourth hour, projection has become almost imperceptible; what remains is purely personal, a skin scent that smells of incense, warm musk, and the ghost of powdered florals—intimate, slightly mysterious, and utterly uninterested in seeking approval beyond your own circle of intimate distance.