Nuits Indiennes (Indian Nights) Jean-Louis Scherrer for women

Maria Callas ( medea ) in medea 1969

I wrote a review but it dissapeard. In a few words : warm cozy fall winter heaven. Smokey and spicy to my nose, but always balanced and round with vanilla and amber. I also even get honey and cinnamon. And a tiny bit of incense ( just in the background every now and then, but in a beautiful orientatial / gourmand way )

Thank you fellow Frenchie Alice for recommending this to us!

Obsessed with it!

this starts with aldehydes and soft florals along with benzoin, then it gets pretty musky on me. the musk calms some and then i get quite a bit of heliotrope. dries down to mostly benzoin and heliotrope with some tonka. i can finally smell a tiny hint of peach and it really adds something lovely to round it out. this is warm, cozy and inviting.

You may very well call this a floral amber, but It is an oriental in its own right and a gorgeous one at that. Love it, though I can think of very few occasions where I’d actually be able to wear it. It’s beastmode.

What can i say about this perfume....Heaven in a bottle. Very alluring in the most beautiful way!!!

Suprisingly heavy on the dirty Civet. The opening is animalic, almost bitter and biting....it quickly gets smothered in a blanket of caramel benzoin sweetness, ambery warmth and a soothing almondy heliotrope to a powdery, violet drydown.
It's similar to Prada Candy but an animalic, mature version. It's really not my vibe, to be completely transparent.
I also don't understand how this pertains to indian nights.....it's more like a risotto in terms of flavour and complexity.

All the elements come together in Nuit Indiennes EDT in a manner that soothes and seduces. A stunning spiced, floral amber that prominently features benzoin, an overdose even, the only sign of it being a 90s release is the fruity opening, which is actually so well done, nothing plastic-like or cloying, because no sooner than this and the mandarin greets the nose that the benzoin, heliotrope (!) and floral bouquet tide comes in and the seduction truly begins.

Ahhh, benzoin, what is it really? We speak as enthusiasts of it in abstract- but what makes benzoin different from, say, vanilla? This resin can originate from a few species in the styrax family (not to be confused with styrax resin, which actually comes from the liquidambar family of trees colloquially known as "styrax", perfumery can be so confusing). Various benzoin resins are used in everything from medicine, cosmetics, and flavorings, but the benzoin commonly used in fragrance is from the species Styrax Benzoin. This tree has an exudate that is rich (but not necessarily heavy) and of course vanillic. However, what sets it apart from vanilla/vanillin is there is that balsamic quality: animalic, medicinal, unctuous, maybe a bit leathery, balmy, and certainly warm. It also has formidable fixative value. Here, with just a pinch of civet exalting it and the composition in general, makes the composition radiant and opulent.

Keep in mind, with benzoin as the centerpiece of this composition, there isn't an overwhelming density, there is oxygen and atmosphere, which could be refreshing to those who may be a tad bit stifled by traditional ambers. The bottle I have is apparently 'vintage', but newer formulations are rumored to be just as stunning.

Indian Nights is a BEAST. Massive silage. One tiny squirt to my wrist filled the entire room. Upon first spray I get a touch of old school aldehydes and a BIG whiff of cardamom which is odd because it’s not listed in the notes. If I had to describe her in only a few words it would be benzoin-baby powder. Indian Nights is all heliotrope powder, vanilla and sticky benzoin resin. If you love benzoin, you must try this one! I don’t get much civet, can’t pick out any other florals and really don’t get all those fruit notes at all. If you love the powdery sweetness in Shalimar you will probably love this one too. Indian Nights is sweeter with less citrus and no leather but definitely in the same vein. Actually reminds me quite a bit of Balmain Ambre Gris. Incredible longevity too!

Once I heard a fraghead talk about MDCI, a niche brand only cooperates with selected perfumers, about a designated perfumer belonging to the very few students of a great master. It's better to have a chance to confirm the name, but I spend some time on learning the names in connection with MDCI ever since... Now maybe the day the fraghead was talking about is Nathalie Feisthauer.

I found on the perfumer Nathalie Feisthauer page here M. is actually the word Mr., for M. Jean Martin is Mr. Jean Martin and M. Jean Amic is Mr. Jean Amic, the latter is one of the creators of Opium. On the internet there is a page: Where to study for a perfumer in France and how to create fragrances for people(weproject.media), it's an interview with Ms. Feisthauer with more of the informations.

A creator of Eau des Merveilles, Putain des Palaces, Honour Man and my dearest Elysium... I was surprised to find Nuits Indiennes is a work of Nathalie Feisthauer. I have to find a chance to experience these nights of India since now, and I consider the story to learn more from MDCI's cooperated perfumers is likely to go on with no certainty;)

Nuits Indiennes is the most sophisticated and elegant oriental perfume I ever try. I am usually not a fan of oriental perfumes. I find them too obvious, too provocative, too sweet. I don't like Poison or Shalimar for example. Nuits Indiennes is really THE PERFECT ORIENTAL. It is balanced, exquisite, elegant. You can wear this perfume day or night, even it is a night perfume.

10/10

for more about vintage perfumes: myfrenchlifestyleblog.com

Reminds me of Be21 by Orlane and Oppaponax by Les Nereides (original version). Shares benzoin & amber note with Oppaponax and heliotrope and vanilla with Be21.

Nuits Indiennes is one of my numerous almost-loves.
I mostly notice the benzoins, the amber and the vanilla/tonka bean - these two are hard to tell apart for me. Later the heliotrope gets dominant.
Together they make for a luxurious smell experience. Nuits Indiennes is like a warm and soft cashmere blanket around me. An enveloping smell with a heavy sillage (that does does not last long on my skin though).

The scent is more unusual than you might guess from my description. Like others have written, it is softer on the spices and stronger on the flowers than many other orientals.

However - here comes the rub - there is one disturbing element in it. It might be the civet, it might be the cedar. Or both. Something that does not work on me and keeps me from using Nuits Indiennes more often.

But let this not keep you from trying it. My skin is very likely more of a diva than yours is.
Nuits Indiennes is a big recommendation for lovers of orientals.

I bought a miniature Parfum (the one with the green prism stopper) back when it came out in the 90'. I found it way too heavy back then and I gave it to my friend who collected miniature perfume bottles. I liked the watery scents back then but I have grown into the aldehydic strong scents in the past few years so I have bought a new miniature and now I really like it.

Shalimar popped into my head right after spraying. Also getting a little Chantilly citrus and vanilla vibe in this too. I can also smell the similarity to Krazy Krizia, though that's a little green to me and I'm not getting any green here at all.

This is a strange one for me. As others have said, I also thought it would be spicy concoction with a name like that, but it's not in the typical Opium, Obsession, or even Shalimar way. The spices in them are more overt. The spices here are very subtle and mild - more just a pinch used as a hint - an accent, blended beautifully with vanilla and a resinous, yet fluffy benzoin note. Very pretty and also very familiar. I know I've smelled this scent in the past. I wonder how popular it was in its heyday.

On me this seems to be one of those scents that keeps developing and getting stronger the longer I wear it before it starts to peter out. This is not a heavy scent though. The projection and silage are low, but I can smell it. It also has a sheer quality about it that I really like, and think will work well in transitional seasons where heavier Orientals don't. I also really love the elegant, fluted bottle with its gem stone colored band around the cap. It's practical too, and easy to hold.

I have the edt which was relatively easy to find but would love to get an edp. That seems to be hard to find in anything other than a mini though. I might have to settle for one just to see how different it is from the edt. My curiosity is piqued about the differences some here cite between the two strengths, so it might be worth pursuing.

Got this yesterday as a gift from a dear friend. It’s a vintage Edp sample that has lost almost all the top notes, on my skin initially just a faint fruity whiff and soon replaced by some flowery middle notes of lilacs and ylangylang, along with heavy powdery, sweet vanilla notes and bensoin, which gives connotations to Chanel, and soon a pretty strong underlying cedar note, together with sandalwood. I can well imagine its glory days of aldehydes and civet, and oriental flower notes, it must have been a beauty!

Very pretty scent quite similar to my beloved Arpege by Lanvin. From its name I expected something different, maybe a lot of Indian spices, but NI is fine as it is.
Sillage and lasting power are medium. NI should be work safe unless it's applied heavily. The scent is quite unisex and would be nice on a man.
The miniature bottle of the edp is beautiful, fluted and frosted, with a tourmaline colored stopper. Classy presentation, classy scent.

I think the nuts and bolts of this fragrance has been covered so Ill just add ... If this crosses your path..pick it up. This would be a big niche buy in 2019. Arranged uniquely and a great wear . Check out Chanel 95 collection. This is it in a bottle

citrus, balsamic, very sweet,unique like a very sweet shalimar with powder and benzoin; fruity with aldehydes, florals mainly heliotrope and ylang with hint of lilac, sandalwood, little cedar, some vanilla and tonka; hours later in the final drydown, it was a lovely, soft, powdery floral with that oddness to it. Very comforting.

Do you love floral orientals, but are getting tired of middle eastern markets in your perfume bottles? Do you feel that sometimes cumin, tarragon and bay leaf should just be left in the spice rack? If so, then I highly recommend Nuits Indienne. It is not challenging. Nor will you have to pull a sweater over yourself when you enter an elevator. NI is simply one of the most stunning floral-orientals made.
Initial aldehyde blast is brief.
The fruity notes are not bright and fresh. They are stewed.
The citrice twang flirts only momentarily, and then departs.
Ylang-ylang, sandalwood, and vanilla each vie for attention - but not like a girl wearing a low-cut top and daisy-dukes; like a woman in a gown, seducing you with her eyes.
Heady floral notes seduce with dripping lilac and heliotrope in full bloom, and offer a warm and enveloping backdrop to the resinous amber, sandalwood, subtle civet, and vanilla.
Nuits Indienne is a beautiful example in fragrance that sometimes, restraint has its own rewards.

The way that I discovered Nuits Indiennes (or rather, the way that it discovered me) is someone gifted me a few eau de parfum samples of this magical stuff years ago. I was blown away. It was like, "Where have you been all my life?". Eventually I went and treated myself to a fairly pricey full sized EDP.

How shall I describe Nuits Indiennes? It's like someone took a wealthy snobbish Madison Avenue doyenne in a Chanel suit and pearls, mushed her together with a drunk bikini clad twenty-two year old with loose morals on vacation at Daytona Beach for Spring Break, kneaded them together in a ball, let the ball ferment in a wine cellar, then inserted the ball into a special steam distillation apparatus which extracted the perfume essence. What resulted was a fruity peachy powdery delight set against a gentle aldehydic curtain, with just enough civet to give it a slight animalistic kick, but not enough to make you want to hurl (i.e. Chanel No. 5).

It continues to amaze me that Nuits Indiennes hasn't garnered more popularity. For anyone who loves Flowerbomb but is tired of smelling it all over the place and wants to try something different yet in the same vein, please check out Nuits Indiennes.

This is a new thing in my collection, I bought it after reading reviews here, and I couldn´t get a sample. There were the last three bottles in the only shop where I could find it. So it made me to buy it without testing it. And I must say that I am really happy to do it. Sometimes the reviews are really true. It is so beautiful, that it is difficult to describe. Ican use the words of one of the reviewers: Deep and sensual, oriental, floral masterpiece. I can´t define the individual notes, but it is beautifully blended. I don´t think it is too heavy, so I enjoy wearing it.

Gosh, what a cracking fragrance. How have I missed this all this time? Having literally just read a review of it in Yesterday's Perfume, a miniature of it came up on French Ebay. One sniff and I logged on and bought a full vintage EDP. This is a heady, heavy, swoon-worthy powerhouse of a fragrance. Very aldehydic peachy start that reminds me of Spellbound but sharper, ending in a great amber/sandal drydown with some tropical florals in between, and skanky throughout. Like Byzance and Ysatis in character, projection and strength - on me, lasts a good seven hours. To be honest, I'm surprised to find it's by Feisthauer, as I don't normally care for her compositions.

OMG.....another one that I let slip by me for years.
Received this as well as Scherrer 2....yesterday.
This one is perfection to my nose. Oriental greatness.
I find the combo of notes well blended, I don't get the bitterness some have talked about. Yes, in the beginning you get that aldehyde blast, but on me, it simmers down quite quickly. I have the vintage EDT version...green box. I really am glad to own this...finally.
It was a blind-buy too. I have been using the original Scherrer sine the 80's....to me it is a masterpiece.
I will be checking out 2 more JLS scents very soon...
Nuits, and the newer on One Love as well.
Awesome house !!! Classic....and sadly....under-rated.

I'm new to perfumery and usually buy minis blind on ebay based on reviews I read here. Have enough minis to probably last me the the rest of my life-but I had to splurge on a full bottle of this when I saw it was long discontinued. It really stands out from the crowd. Others here describe it better than I could. Its classy. Although its a strong perfume to me theres an airiness to it. Love it!

A true 90's treasure I missed when it first came out in 1993. Casmir by Chopard was my signature perfume during that decade. Nuits Indiennes is from the same caliber so no wonder I love it and am glad J-LS brought it back on the shelfs. On my wishlist!

I tell you what.....I had never even heard of Scherrer before 2 months ago - MUCH to my dismay. I absolutely LOVE each and every one of them that I have bought. This is no different. I thought I smelled cinnamon (which has been raging with my chemistry to no enjoyment) but it was gone in 5 seconds. Now it is a smooth, spicy fragrance that I know I will enjoy wearing again and again in winter. YUM!

Got a vintage bottle and although I really enjoy its beautiful sweet honey scent it's just a like and not love for me due to very poor longevity. Isn't this supposed to be a long lasting perfume? On me it completely disappears in an hour at the most. Shame:(

Lovely, soft, silky, vanillic oriental (vintage). Just looking at the five main notes you can tell what this perfume is all about. The rich, golden amber juice color is perfect.

Relaunched and still with civet? <3

Apparently this one is relaunched? I saw it in the 'New fragrances' section at the Douglas site along with Scherrers's newest release One Love.

Believe it or not, this is the only perfume bottle that I lost. I have no idea where my fb could be.
I had bought it during a trip for a discounted price and I loved it. Then once back home I could not find it anywhere and I didn't forget at my friend's house. Mystery.
I used it very little of that bottle, of course.
I loved the sparkling opening with weird aldheids that later make room for a typical spicy oriental with some powdery touch.
Beautiful, intriguing, elegant yet extravagant.
I think I would like it more now than ever.
I had a chance to smell it many times again, but never bought a new fb. Now it's not sold anymore.
It's a good example of modernity and oriental vibe.
Longlasting with a pleasant sillage. Not overwhelming if not oversprayed.

The main notes selected by members above go for the drydown. This weird but gorgeous one, starts out full of aldehydes and sweet lovely fruits and flowers. It transforms after a while into a warm bunch of syrupy flowers laying under a layer of high quality powders. It ends in a very sweet animalic-balsamic oriental scent which isn't loud on my skin.

I find it rich, sparkling, bright and exuberant. It has the boldness and strength of the last century's ending decades perfumes but with an incredible rich sweetness that shadows some of the more recent orientals. This is a complex, and not so common blend of ingredients, that evolves beautifully along the first four hours on me. This combination of originality, deliciousness and complexity in evolution isn't new coming from the nose which created this perfume.

Sillage won't be agressive if you apply properly and I can still feel it after seven hours, so for my demanding skin, it is a long lasting perfume.

I love it and I'm really happy I could find a bottle after having tested it for a while. I suggest all very sweet oriental flower lovers to try it before it becomes absolutely impossible to find a bottle. The bottle by the way is beautiful too.

Strong and spicy but so classy , bold and deep toned.I had it, enjoyed it, now it's done , hard to find and i have 2 more sprays left until it's gone for ever!Better not use it all up..

This is definitely a ladies fragrance. I could not really imagine this on anyone under 40 yo. It is an extremely dry chypre-esque floral/oriental lacking in any real dynamic oriental spiciness to me. I was honestly expecting a bit more power and spices from this one. I will give it another try and update at a later date.

I have both Nuits de Scherrer and Nuits Indiennes.
These are entirely different fragrances!
Nuits de Scherrer is a light oriental floral, while Nuits Indiennes is very rich and complex,animalistic oriental with mega sillage (and I am talking about EDT version).

It was a small bottle which comes as a sample and i have been holding on to it for say 20 years. Dared to use it recently..Wow,its amazing,nothing like the once you get now a days. no reformulation just pure aroma of the tropics. i guess it is more precious to me than any jewel. I find myself transported to the beaches of hawai with the mellow sunshine of the dusk...very charming.WONDERFUL

After three years searching for it i finally got it in edt version and i cant say i am so charmed .It is nice definatelly but nothing extraordinary as i expected.I expected something pore spicey (like indian spices in it),something more potent.It is too sweet,very very sweet,but not like candy celebrities scents,in a more light and sophisticated way.Little smokey, balmy,little civet trown in it and lots of sweets.Too bad it doesnt lasts more then an hour on me.Maybe the edt version is not so lasting.Overall it is nice sweet oriental,but not worth waiting and serching so much for it as i did.
But i LOVE buying blind and thats it!:-))))
P.SVery lovely retro bottle

I had this discontinued and awasome perfume aforetime.
Warrm, spicy, soft, long lasting...
Very hard to find in France now...

25. may 2012

Holy Moly!
Finally i have a chance to test a pure parfum version of this fragrance as well. Now i have EDT, EDP and pure parfum. And guess what? They are all different. Very different. I have experienced it also with Scherrer 2 fragrance, that EDT and EDP are not alike, but have quite drastic difference and it seems to be with this one as well. You can read below about my experience with EDT and EDP, but today my praises go for the Parfum concentration.
This is magical stuff! When i opened the box i already could smell the amazing alluring scent. It is strong. It is spicy. It is bold. It is very classy.
Very sharp in the opening, i was even scared that there is not a real perfume inside but just a coloured spirit. So when i have aplied it i was sceptical for a while. Well, after the über-sharpness has gone off in about 15 minutes, that´s when it opens up. Spices and fruits. This one is really strong on a civet, i can feel it, and that´t what i like about it. There is nothing liek the real civet, you can´t not notice it. A LOT of sandalwood. Surprisingly i don´t see any spices amongst the notes, but i swear they are totally present and one of the nicest spices ever. At first they are really strong, but then they are softned by ylang-ylang and heliotrope. Just a hint of heliotrope and that´s good, since it doesn´t become so intoxicating. Though fruits are prominent here they don´t make this fragrance fruity at all. This is oriental in full it´s beauty.
Fragrance full of luxury and super elegant. Definitly for special occasions and is best worn during colder time of the year IMO. But this is Pure perfume. EDP is more creamy and somehow i smell nutmeg there, or at least get the association of it. The EDT is my least favorite, it doesn´t come close to EDP, not to mention the parfum. It has only the sharpness of parfum, but spices here are not pleasant. It is very synthetic.

13. august 2011

I must admit, that my nose must be making some tricks to me (so strange, since i don´t smoke). Lately i have tried once again the EDT version of "Nuits indiennes" and i must admit that while it is still very close to the regular "Nuits de Scherrer", they are still not complelty the same, especailly after opening notes. While being a bit too harsh after applying it, the "Indiennes" version has more of that "milky hazelnut" feeling to me. I guess it is the tonka bean, which in EDT version of this fragrance is not that dominant like in EDP version. In EDP this one is actually more prominent, especially on the drydown, but in EDT i can smell a lot of musk, jasmine and also some bergamot (all combined together which give me an aplle vinegar feeling at the beginning). No rose to my nose in this fragrance, o heliotrope that my nose can detect, BUT a lot of sandalwood and cedar!!! Still the mandarine orange note at the beginning distracts me a bit, i would really prefer it not to be in the composition, since it distracts this beautiful scent a lot in the opening.
To me "Indiennes" developes more than regular "Nuits" and i still must confess that i love it much more. Especially in EDP version of it.

08. may 2011

Well, i am a bit confused now. My first rendez-vous with this fragrance started with the mini in EDP concentration and i really liked it. So i bought myself the 50ml bottle but in EDT concentration AND it smells absolutly the same as the regular "Nuits Scherrer"!!!! I have 50ml of regular "Nuits" also in EDT concentration and don´t like it (see my review for it), so i was really dissapointed when i realized that they are completly the same fragrances (at least for my nose). But then i have found a big bottle of EDP concentration and it has everything what i liked it for. The woody factor with spices. The EDT concentration lacks the woody note that makes me go crazy.
So now i am totally confused, could it be that "Nuits" and "Nuits Indiennes" are indeed same fragrances only renamed? I haven´t smelled the EDP version of regular "Nuits" and afraid to purchase it since i might not like it and it will be a waste of money.......
Can anyone help with this quest? Does anyone have regular "Nuits" and "Nuits Indiennes" both in EDT and EDP versions so can compare them all? A help is definitly needed! SOS!!

I have had Nuits Indiennes in my collection for some months and is one now that I would definitely replace once finished.
This is a complex, multi layered rich oriental that twists and turns on the skin, delightful at every stage. The base really takes the drivers seat here with civet at the steering wheel. The flowers and spices swirl in and around the civet until you reach your destination of vanilla heaven.

Do whatever it takes to find this discontinued treasure.

07. february 2011

This is very oriental fragrance and i smell a lot of spices and wood in it. First impression (sniff from the bottle): I do not like it, it is too deep and heavy for me, but then after application and few minutes later it all settles down and you feel a spicy note dominating with some wood note. It becomes very pleasant and intriguing. The drydown is more in opposite is more wood than spice.
I wold say if you wear that fragrance, then wear velvet clothes, they will fit together perfectly! A lot of gold (!)jewerly and heavy make-up with glamourous hair-do is a perfect accessory for this fragrance. Somehow i see a picture of woman from 1920-s wearing that fragrance. I do not think in any way that it is old fragrance, this is a rich fragrnace!!!
The picture above advertising this fragrance is perfect for this one!

And this one smells nothing like "nuits de scherrer". This is not a renamed version of "Nuits", but completly different scent!!!! Do not get cheated by some sellers who say that!!!

Update: as it dry downs, it reminds me of an very pleasnat sweet men´s parfum. I wouldn´t mind if my man would spray it on a little and i could sniff him, this scent drives me crazy!!!

This scent is soooooo yummy , exotic and sexy . It instantly makes you feel like an Indian Princess walking through the gardens of her palace at nigh.
Truly a dream scent with plenty of flowers warmen by burning amber. needless to specify that i love it

Gorgeous, warm and subtile. It stays on the skin forever and tranforms into something so very cozy.

It reminds me in some way of Rochas, but much more oriental and spicy.

Beautiful floriental edp. The top has amazing notes of mandarine, peach, spices and thick sweet vanilla. It's almost edible but in a good way.

Then the flowers joins the composition with their light breeze from the garden, moving transparent curtains in front of the open door that leads to the porch. A bouquet of lilac on the dressing table and a beautiful woman having an afternoon rest on her bed.

It's a hot day and the evening will become even warmer. The house will warm up and you can smell the different wood in it. You can smell the flowers and even the woman resting on her bed.

Deep and sensual oriental floral masterpiece. Soft and powdery with ylang ylang and jasmine notes. Luxurious. For a special occasions and big nights.
Sister for gorgeous Shalimar and L'Heure Bleue. And I guess cousin for Versace's Blonde as it is the same nose, Nathalie Feisthauer, behind this one too.

I have not seen this one in years!

There may be a remake out there, but it is probably not a patch on the original oriental scent. It was a sensuous blend with a subtle civet in the base that raised it above the more modern orientals.

Like other Scherrer scents, Nuits Indiennes was potent and intoxicating, Shalimar to the nth power, but JL always seems to add just a bit of sparkle at the end and in this case it is the cedar.

The heart notes provide a lovely floral and the lilac note is pretty not bitter.

I miss this one and should have stocked up...but then I say this about so many lost miracles of perfumery.

It's very similar to Krazy Krizia.I like both but this one-less.It's just that the combination of aldehydes and rose is too much for me-I got headache.