Laura Mercier Minuit Enchanté

Laura Mercier Minuit EnchanteeDeputy dawgs!!!  Lo, behold, I, your lovely Sheriff, bring you… a threaded comment upgrade with the return of the emoticons!!!! As we say on the Posse, squeeeeeeeeee!!! So leave a comment even if you think my review is crap, just so you can say hi to Mr. Clown or Miss Pig etc. again!  Also there are gravatars (temporarily, anyway) and maybe I’ll even figure out how to use them!  Also, the loading time should be significantly improved, please comment if you notice a difference.

Nobody has ever accused me of being a neutral, dispassionate reviewer of perfumes.  So it amused me when poking around that I can find almost no blog reviews anywhere of Laura Mercier’s fragrances – because I figure that must mean lots of folks hate her gourmand scents as much as I do.   Those massively sweet things appeared on the scene (or at least on my radar) at about the time I was at my maximum gourmand-hatin’ self, before I came around a little to the idea.  I like vanilla, but I still don’t want to smell like a bakery item.  I admit I find them extra irritating because I consider Laura Mercier to be an adult-woman brand in terms of its often very nice makeup, so I would expect something more interesting and sophisticated from Mercier perfumes than Tarte au Citron and Almond Coconut … and kill.me.now, frankly.  These are the liquid handsoaps they stock the Bergdorf bathroom with, which I avoid like the plague, because you will never, ever wash away that smell.

But I remember liking last year’s Mercier limited edition Nuits Enchantées, which I sniffed once or twice in Nordstrom and then poof—it was gone.  The notes for that one, which was classified as an oriental, were mandarin, orange, cardamom, tuberose, ginger, guaiacwood, pimento, cedar, rose, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, musk, coffee, vanilla, vetiver and cedar.

Today’s review is their newest LE, Minuit Enchanté, which sounded good in Angela’s review on Now Smell This.  Cribbed from Nordstrom: “Laura Mercier Minuit Enchanté parfum, developed as a flanker to the original Nuit Enchantées EdP, evokes the deepest moment of night with deep incense and rare wood accords. Minuit Enchanté is a deeper, darker, more mysterious and more concentrated fragrance than the original Nuit Enchantées.”  The notes are somewhat similar to Nuits, here they are: juniper, mace, ginger, clove, pimento berry, rose, jasmine, tuberose, peach, vanilla, musk, labdanum, benzoin, amber, myrrh, guaiacwood, cedarwood, sandalwood, agarwood.  Please note that’s not a typo, it’s a 50ml bottle of parfum for $90.  When I sprayed it on, it left a sheen on my skin.

It’s lovely.  It starts off with a lot of vanilla and tuberose, and skated in the direction of Too Much for maybe five minutes, but pulled back pretty quickly with all the woods and spices.  Then there’s an interlude of about half an hour when it made me think of something like Shalimar, only a Shalimar I could get behind (actual Shalimar hates me.)  It had this dry thing going on top with the big, non-edible vanilla base that reminded me very much of the Shalimar Dichotomy.  Then we move on to eight or twelve (!) hours of my favorite part, the drydown, which is some excellent but not overpowering vanilla grounded by the last eight ingredients on that list of notes.   I know absolutely nothing about perfume quality in terms of material, but man, this thing!!!  The vanilla/woods/incense angle is spectacular.  Raspy in a great way, that raspy thing you get with sandalwood, cedar and oud, with some incense notes thrown in for good measure.  It reminded me a bit of both Annayake Miyako (which I find a hair too raspy on the wrong day) and Annayake Tsukimi, only Tsukimi is sweeter – I compared them.

I know of at least one person who tried this and loathed it, so I wouldn’t be buying it unsniffed.  But if you like Miyako, and/or the concept of vanilla/woods appeals, you might want to check it out.  Having gone back twice to sniff, I bought it.  I don’t know how truly “limited” this is, but Nuits is relatively hard to come by, and my Nordstrom was down to two bottles.

Mercier has a standing line of three other fragrances I’ve ignored – a Neroli that I find uninteresting and That Other One (Lune?)  But while I was there I sniffed the third, L’heure Magique, because it seemed related thematically to the LEs by name, if nothing else, and a sniff of the cap seemed reassuring.  I’d have guessed floriental.  It’s classified as a woody floral musk, released in 2001, notes are: spices, sandalwood, amber, musk, bergamot, rose and geranium.  No, no – don’t wander away bored!  Because I kept sniffing and sniffing and sniffing, trying to think of what L’heure Magique reminded me of, and call me crazy, but I don’t care what the notes say – it’s TEA.  Glorious, glorious tea!  Now, it’s not just tea – it’s more a floral tea.  But the more I sniffed it, the more taken with it I was, because a great tea can be so impossible.  They tend to skedaddle way before I want them to.  Give this scent ten or fifteen minutes for the citrusy top notes to blow off and I’m getting a strong, dark, not overly sweet tea with a little floral-musky filigree to keep it from being Bettie-one-note boring.

So now I want a bottle of L’heure Magique, and I’m tempted to buy one of those Nuits unsniffed on eBay.  And if I buy three bottles of stupid old Laura Mercier the week before I go to Sniffa I’m going to throw myself under a bus.   I know, I know – break out your tiniest violin.

  • March says:

    Oh, look at your gravatar! One of my favorite paintings. Do you think you’ll buy the Minuit?

  • donanicola says:

    testing testing……….and carrying on in case it works. Bought the Nuits thingy last year when in need of serious gourmand comfort (I liked the coffee note too) but this one is nicer with its woodsy feel. Now, which emoticon shall I play with…….;)

  • Scent Hive says:

    Oh I can’t wait to see if my gravatar shows up!

    Angie from NST and I are getting together next week and she just might share a smidge of her Minuit Enchanté, can’t wait!

    Love that the emoticons are back….ya’ll rule! :)>-

    ~Trish

  • hongkongmom says:

    wooaaah what a post…i have s seriously difficult time with english…now all these cutiemoticons (it’s like a whole nother language) are sending the brain flying in all directions trying to pull it all togthr
    download is fantastic the LMS are not in Hk yet and how its this for keeping my brain in one place:):)
    :(:d:”>:((:d/:x8-|/:):o:-?:-\”:-&#119;;)[-(:)>-(~~)**==*-:):(|):)):-ss< ):)<:-p=:)>:d< @};-[-o<^:)^#-o$-)%%-(%)(*)(:|8-x8-}:-$:-&:*:-:>:-@:-b:-j:-l:p:-s:|:o):@):^o;));;)=((=))=d>=p~>-)>:)>:/>:p@-)b-)|-)l-)o-+o->o=>x([-x~:>~o)
    SHould be something for all of you in the above

  • Sunnyfunny says:

    ;;):”>=))[-x:-b
    I dunno anything about Laura Mercier ‘fumes but dang I missed these things!

  • mals86 says:

    Holy cow! My gravatar disappeared… is it back now?

  • rosarita says:

    Wow, when you’re really late to the party < :-p and you zip thru the commments in a hurry, it's like emoticons on crack 🙂 I really missed this sad little guy:-< and ;)and my fave, ;)) You guys are all so much fun >:d<

  • Tara C says:

    I tried it – it was okay, BF said it smelled “old fashioned” with a bad face, so I assume he didn’t like it. It was kind of flat on me too. I wouldn’t buy any LM before going to Sniffa – you will find lots of other more fantastic stuff there.

  • Louise says:

    Oh, hey. Back to the LM-I’m gonna go emotless on this.

    I had a nice spritz of it today, and it went on pleasantly enough. The top was pleasantly spicy, and that sauciness deepened through the heart. Then, a musky nothing.

    So-nice, wearable, dull on me. Flat-line emo here.

  • Leslie says:

    …just want to try a smiley thingy….
    :-\”

  • Fiordiligi says:

    I am so happy! Gone is the wretched “nesting” which prevented me from replying unless I was suffering from insomnia and replying at 3am UK time. Huzzah! I can now reply to anything and everything.

    Re this perfume: I am devoted to Laura Mercier makeup but her smelly stuff, not so much. When she did her “final personal appearance” in Horrids last year we all complained about the horrible gourmand products and she said that she knew what we meant but “the American market demands it.” Ha! I’ve always avoided her perfume like the plague but perhaps I should have a sniff at this one. Actually I was hovering round the LM counter in Fenwick’s this morning and I’m sure they had it, but I was disdainful.

    Thanks as always for the entertainment!

    • March says:

      I love “Horrids.” You made me laugh.

      Oh yeah it’s all OUR FAULT, nasty yanks. Not hers for making that dreck and selling it. /:)

    • london says:

      Glad to know I was suckered in by the “exclusive” in the States and I could have got it here after all. Though I don’t regret it for a second but I think hubbie could live without it! I have never paid much attention to the other fragrances after trying Nuits and hating its sweetness. I used to love Laura Mercier’s Lavender Basil body cream with a passion though. That stuff was amazing. Soft lavender with no aromatherapy connotations whatsoever. Sadly discontinued in favour of Creme Brulee and the like. As if the world needs another lemonpievanillacookiedoughchocolatesundae scent.

  • Aparatchick says:

    Testing … testing

    :-\”

  • CynthiaW says:

    :(( No, no, no – No LM Minuit Enchante lemmings. I have banished them and they will not reignite. I will NOT drive to Nordies and drop $90 – even if it is a parfum. [-(

    I am holding out for a couple of DelRaes and some Bois des Iles – I’m not going to be seduced by an LM away from those. Aaaaaaaaaargh.>:p

    Lovely review though. 😉

    • March says:

      You know you want it. 8-| Oh, he just stuck his tongue out at me! I lurve him!

      • CynthiaW says:

        [-(
        Since I signed in to comment, the blog even emails me when someone replies to my comment. Cool. 😡

        Hmm… we need an emoticon that will banish lemmings. 8-x

    • Christine says:

      Which DelRae’s are you saving up for? I have a serious love for Amoreouse and Bois de Paradis. I can’t decide which of them I love more! They both smell AMAZING on me!:x

      • carter says:

        Surrender and get both. Hock something if you must. I know I did $-)

        • CynthiaW says:

          Ooh… definitely get both. It’s only money, right? :-\”

          I’m in love with Amoureuse and Debut – I’ll probably get Debut first. I like Bois de Paradis, but it hasn’t knocked my socks off yet – although I did make a surprising discovery about it the morning after I sampled it. There was still some of the incense drydown hanging around, so I decided to wear Kenzo Amour, figuring that it at least wouldn’t clash with BdP. Well, in the opening, it was all about the Amour – but the drydown… 😡 Yummy – it was fantabulous. I might buy the BdP just to layer it with Kenzo Amour – except now I’m trying to figure out if I have something else already that might work just as well.

          • Christine says:

            You’ve made me want to revisit my sample of Debut…..I missed the incense in that one.
            I have both A and BdP in bottles…now to decide which I’d like in the body cream. ( An Anniversary is just around the corner….this’ll make it easier for dh!!!)
            I receive compliments every time I wear BdP. Even my non-perfumey-friends will say something when I wear it. It’s my holy grail at the moment!:x

          • CynthiaW says:

            I shouldn’t comment so late at night – it gets jumbles. 🙂 I don’t get incense from Debut, I get it from BdP – I get a clear lily-of-the-valley from Debut. I haven’t tried layering that with Kenzo – I’m not sure that it would work.

  • mocards says:

    Really love the faster loading time!! Ummm…I read daily, but never comment, but since I’m on here I will admit to loving the Laura Mercier body creams. When using the body cream no perfume is needed. Very comforting stuff!:-)

  • mals86 says:

    LOAD TIME IS FANTASTIC. So impressive. (Wonder if my gravatar will work like it does on NST…no matter, though.)

    L’Heure Magique is floral tea? 😮 I must try it!

  • Elizabeth says:

    Oh how I love the new look! But I worry that your regular commenters will rein in their well-crafted drollery in favor of the eye candy–let’s hope not. Laura Mercier, hmmm. I am not ready. [Brings out tiny copy of a Stradivari…]

    • March says:

      Well, the new look is the quasi-old look before we upgraded WordPress and blew up the format and the emoticons… I didn’t ask for gravatars (how hilarious is the one they assigned you?) but don’t have the energy to try to get rid of them… 🙂 thanks for the violin music. ^:)^

    • Lee says:

      Oh Elizabeth in gravatar form! It’s not so bad, honest. I know things can be disappointing, but chin up young pink hexagon. Turn that frwon upside down. Etc.:-b

      • Elizabeth says:

        I’m baaack… with my new gravatar (hope this works). I didn’t mind the pink hexagon, though, it was kind of funny, especially since I had used the word “worry” in that post. ;))

  • Lee says:

    :-\”

  • Louise says:

    Whoa…watch out whatcha wish for…I’m on happy Gravi-emo overload =d>

    I did a quick sniff of the LM at Nordies the other day, but was wearing 7 or 8 other perfumes, so…I’ll let you know later what I think :-$

  • Melissa says:

    Out of sheer sniffing boredom, I put on a big schpritz of Minuit Enchante before heading over to my parents’ house. Realizing my error, I headed to a bathroom to scrub before my father could get near me. Despite my best efforts, his second utterance to me was a very irritated comment about that “awful perfume”. :-l

    In keeping with one of the cardinal rules of fragrance, (any perfume that smells terrible lasts longer than skunk spray) I could still smell M.E. the next day. I must emphasize that this NEVER happens to me. Wonder what will happen when I try Daphne? An overdose? Banishment from my father’s home? 😮

    • March says:

      Daphne!!! I am SO excited. It’s achieved this Fear Factor status for me, like drinking curdled milk. Or eating the mescal worm. Have you tried it yet? Is it still sitting there mocking you? :-ss

  • Barbara says:

    Loading speed is fantastic!

    I absolutely LOVE Nuits Enchantées 😡 Exactly what I am looking for in a Fall/Winter scent. I need to get myself a sample of Minuit Enchanté…I am almost tempted to buy a fb unsniffed 😕

    • March says:

      Well, knock yourself out, but you can’t yell at me if you hate it. It’s definitely less gourmand and more woods.

  • Silviafunkly says:

    MUCH improved, thanks !!!
    Changed the name to match the Gravatar registration but have the feeling it won’t work, never mind.
    None of the LM did anything for me so far, but will check this out.

  • Francesca says:

    If Minuit Enchanté is like Miyako, I should at least give it a sniff–but I’ve already got so much AM, I don’t think I’d buy it.

    I rather liked the Tarte au Citron shower gel-the consistency and smell made me feel like I really was showering with lemon pie filling, without the stickiness.

    I see Carter and I are not scent twins with UBV. I had it on yesterday and enjoyed the wafts all day. Guess I won’t be wearing that in your presence any time soon :)>-

    Hmmm, I forget how to get the emoticons to work. Let’s see if typing in the characters works.

    :)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-:)>-

    • Francesca says:

      OK, that was overkill.

      • Francesca says:

        OH, geez, I definitely have to get my own gravatar, too.That looks like an angry tropical fish.

        • March says:

          Yeah, go sign up for something! It’s fun!

          Your gravatar reminds me of an annoying joke the girls tell about a horny starfish, which I will spare you. /:)

    • March says:

      OH MY GOD. I can EDIT YOUR COMMENTS NOW right here on the screen. So I could change every single comment to some laudatory bs about me— like, “MARCH, ONCE AGAIN YOU STUN ME WITH YOUR INSIGHT.”

      Eh, no such thing as overkill on here, unless you’re talking Angel.

      PS Can you edit your own comment onscreen? Is there an “edit” link to the right of the date?

    • carter says:

      I wonder if we had it on the same day? We may not be scent twins on this one, but that would have counted for something(%)

  • Christine says:

    :(( Broker than Broke! Bluer than Blue! Sadder than Sad!:((
    I better list more auctions on Ebay today if I ever hope to sniff and buy again!

  • aubrey says:

    And wow! Load time really has improved!

    • March says:

      Glad to hear… they had to scrape the barnacles off the hull. Or something. Honestly, I think whoever gets the short straw at eWebscapes that day has to work with me. ;))

  • aubrey says:

    Whoa! Love the emoticons!

    Unfortunately (ducks) I am not a fan of LM. 😕

  • Do not buy Laura Mercier liquid before Sniffa. They will still all be on Ebay when you return. Still. A bit older, but how would we tell?
    Sniff something extravagant. Lather, rinse, repeat, report. The LMs are not bad enough to be funny, not good enough to wear seriously.

    Now if I can get out of here without an emoticon, my work will be done for the night.

    • March says:

      I cannot believe you resisted the SIREN CALL OF THE EMOTICONS.

      >:) or perhaps …. (~~)

      • I am a word person. I [-( emoticons, thinking them similar to “bless your heart” sentiments. Say what you will, follow it up by an opposite emoticon and you are off the hook. 😕 8-x See? I’m not even sure they are sticking in here. x( But by the looks of things, they sure are popular! >:p

        • Shelley says:

          Hey, whatchu mean you’re off the hook? You trying to say I can vent and sound like an idiot and raise your dander like a bull running through the Osmotheque, then do an emotional “undo” with one yellow dude????
          🙂
          Heh. o:-)

          • Southern Ladies have been doing that for years by adding “Bless Your Heart!” to the most scurrilous accusations. This was prior to the invention of the emoticon.
            To flog March’s response bitterly on: “See– wee twee. Squee? Eee. Pee. Flee.”

        • March says:

          I am entranced by their idiocy. The simplicity of their innate worthlessness. I 😡 their twee.

          • Lee says:

            Totally with you on this March. I’m a word person too, but I adore the banal joy of the emoticon…:)>-

      • carter says:

        I heart Mr. Jack O’Lantern — I have a thing for Irish guys:x

  • Lee says:

    Squiddle-dee-dee! Whoop-dee-dah! So excited to see 8-x and ~:> and <:-p and <):) back again. That is all. I suppose I should sort out a gravatar...?

    • March says:

      Good luck with that, you’re a bright boy. It only took me four hours and multiple attempts, and I was already registered with Gravatar for Now Smell This. :d :”>

      • Louise says:

        Gravatar hates me >:p It’s rejecting my attempts to log in with my usual WordPress info…bah >:p

        • Louise says:

          :-l

        • March says:

          I had to reset my password, and then it still didn’t work, because the email address I had listed is different than the one I use as admin. for the Posse, so I had to link another email address to my account. And then it took some time (an hour or two?) for my gravatar to appear on here. I had a blockhead. Which seems so appropriate.

      • Lee says:

        Bright but lazy. Not sure I can be arsed with the faffing about.

        aka – too many freaking deadlines to sort when all I want to do is gardening…@};-%%-:-b

      • Musette says:

        I feel your pain. I just tried it and frankly, I would rather pull my tongue out through my nose than go through that – at least right now.

        We tie-in today (it’s SHUTDOWN DAY! whoo-hoo! they shut down a $120MM+ plant at midnight (ON THE DOT) last night – goes back up midnight tomorrow. Our part will be done today. Better be.

        Now here’s a question for the Posse: I ain’t mayad at nobody today, fiddle-dee-dee (< :-p but I am |-) AND I have to go to a plant where they might be actually killing :@) today (I love the hell out of bacon but I prefer to not be around it when they are starting the process, if you catch my drift....b-( and I have to be charming - and get through this day. 😕 Mitsouko (default) Charmes y Feuillettes L'Aimant (vint) J. Madame (no - wore her yesterday) Emeraude (vint) A :- >-) wants to know!

        xo

    • HemlockSillage says:

      You guys motivated me to *finally* try to create a Gravatar. I’m still not sure how this thing works, but here’s hoping. [-o< You've all made me laugh on a really rough day at work. Who knows what'll be next? I might even tweet. Be well.

  • carter says:

    I just doused myself with SL Un Bois Vanille the other day and honestly, I thought I was going to hurl :-& ten minutes it. I was running through the house screaming AAAUUUGGHH GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, OR I WILL DIE RIGHT THIS MINUTE b-( so I’m thinking I’m probably not the right candidate for Minuit Enchante [-x.

    I broke out the Muscs Kublai Khan tonight and, as challenging as that can be, I would rather have a sample vial of it shoved directly up each one of my nostrils than wear a single drop of UBV :*

    • March says:

      Mmm. BV scares me a bit too. And yeah, good luck getting rid of it. My advice for trying the Mercier is 8 or 10 large squirts right in your hair, etc.

      But I can’t use whistling guy because he fails. I am a l-)

  • violetnoir says:

    Ooh! I’m emoting! :d

    Thanks for the review. I am a bit behind on my sniffing, so I need to try this one. I don’t like Nuits or the Magic thingy (in fact, I think I bought it once and returned it to Nordys!), but who knows? 😮 If you found something in the line to love, maybe I will, too. 😉

    Please don’t throw yourself under a bus, dear March.

    Hugs and love!

  • Shelley says:

    :d/ Woo-hoo! 😡 the 😕 I do when selecting an emoticon , though sometimes more like :-w when I am waiting for my brain to kick in. :-\”;;)

    Be back later, because now I am (:| or maybe 8-} because I need sleep then ~o).

  • Musette says:

    I got the goofiest gravatar on the last post! Fun!

    Okay – I have 3 minutes before I faint from exhaustion (shutdown starts @ midnight – my peeps just left the building, bless their toenails – back @ dawn).

    Anyhoo! DO NOT BUY THE LMs! Wait a bit. It’ll pass. Go to Sniffa. Sniff fun stuff. Buy funner stuff!

    xoxoxo your >-) :(|)Mom in

    3:-o land (wheeee! on the emoticons!)