• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Anna Sui La Nuit de Boheme ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 23 January 2015 17 Comments

Anna Sui La Nuit de Boheme advert

When Anna Sui launched La Vie De Bohème in 2013, I tried it as soon as I could, and then I promptly forgot all about it. I think it smelled a lot like 2010's Forbidden Affair, but you could also have also shelved it with all the Secret Wish flankers. The thing is: yes, Anna Sui does design girlish frocks in sheer fabrics and pastel florals, the sartorial equivalent of airy, grapefruit-y scents in pink bottles. But the designer also offers a more sophisticated aesthetic in her clothing: beaded flapper dresses, cut-velvet tunics, tall boots, fringed scarves in vintage-inspired textiles, lots of black and purple and red.

I'm a longtime Anna Sui customer when it comes to items in the latter category (at least, when they're on the sale rack!), so I was curious about La Nuit De Bohème Eau de Toilette. It's meant to be a "more dramatic and elegant version" of La Vie, with notes of champagne citrus and blackberry; lotus flower, rose and oud; cedar, vanilla orchid, patchouli and amber. It was developed by perfumers Jérome Epinette and Michel Almairac, and it's packaged in a very shiny golden iteration of the La Vie rose-and-butterfly bottle (see above).

La Nuit De Bohème Eau de Toilette opens with a noticeably tart blackberry and a sweeter orange note. The blackberry lasts into the fragrance's development, as a sheer, slightly sharp amber accord floats out from below the fruit top notes and some sweet, synthetic patchouli and light woods finish off the base. For a fragrance with "Nuit" in its name, this one remains fairly bright throughout. It's a "fruitchouli," and not necessarily as "elegant" as it's supposed to be, but it's glam and fun in its own right.

I didn't even realize that an Eau de Parfum version of La Nuit De Bohème had been released until I came across it at the Anna Sui flagship boutique in New York. It was reportedly created as a Middle East exclusive but was later given limited distribution elsewhere. The Eau de Parfum was developed by perfumer Philippe Romano and includes notes of bergamot, mandarin, apple and dark berries; jasmine, orange blossom and black plum; patchouli, sandalwood, amber and musk. This time around, the bottle's roses are black (see below).

Anna Sui La Nuit de Boheme Eau de Parfum

I'm glad La Nuit De Bohème Eau de Parfum's reach has been expanded a bit, because (to me, at least) it's more representative of Sui's Gothic romanticism than any of the brand's perfumes since the original Anna Sui fragrance (a powdery tea rose scent now known as "Anna Sui Classic"). It may not be intense or "dramatic" enough for hard-core perfumistas, but it's deeper and richer anything else in the current collection, and I'm finding it to be a solidly made, comforting-chic floriental.

The Eau de Parfum's plummy fruit notes are a touch darker and juicier than the Eau de Toilette's berries, and the sandalwood makes a much earlier appearance. The florals in the heart have a rose-y element in addition to the white flowers, and I even think I can smell something oud-like that tickles my nose with an almost minty camphoraceous note. The base notes here are warmer and more vanillic than in the Eau de Toilette, with a touch of resin; they cling nicely to a collar or cuffs even after the fragrance has faded away from the skin. 

While the Eau de Toilette is nice enough, it's really the Eau de Parfum that I'm craving on these chilly days; it works so well with a little fur scarf or any of my dark print Anna Sui dresses. I've been hoping for the brand to conjure up a fragrance like this one for a while, and I hope it won't be the last one of its kind.

Anna Sui La Nuit De Bohème is available in 30 ($46), 50 ($65) and 75 ml ($78) Eau de Toilette and in 30 ml, 50 ml and 75 ml Eau de Parfum (prices same as Eau de Toilette). 

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: anna sui, flanker, fruitchouli, jerome epinette, michel almairac, philippe romano

Advertisement


17 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Jonas says:
    23 January 2015 at 2:36 pm

    That bottle is just too much but somehow it works.

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      23 January 2015 at 2:44 pm

      The gold version is reaaaaalllly shiny! I like the black version very much, though. Black roses are one of AS’s signature motifs, and since all the packaging is Art Nouveau-inspired (the boxes are lovely!), it’s ok to be a bit extravagant!

      Log in to Reply
      • Jonas says:
        23 January 2015 at 3:11 pm

        It’s definitely okay to be extravagant especially when some thought had gone into the design as was done here.

        BTW, did you ever make it to lush? I was thinking of going tomorrow but I’m not sure that prince charming shower gel will be worth the trip. Reading reviews, I have seen no mention of the sandalwood and it sounds a lot sweeter than I had hoped.

        Log in to Reply
        • Jessica says:
          23 January 2015 at 5:45 pm

          I went to Lush but they didn’t have all the Valentine items in stock yet! I’m glad they brought back The Kiss tinted balm, and I liked the new coffee massage bar and the new “Grey” massage bar, even though I dislike the latter’s “literary” reference!

          Log in to Reply
          • Jonas says:
            23 January 2015 at 5:52 pm

            “Literary” indeed. At least the massage bars lack packaging so you can leave the cheesy names behind at the shop.

            They have a coffee one? Now that’s got me interested.

          • mals86 says:
            24 January 2015 at 9:05 am

            This is the Percup one? Ari has a short review on it up at Scents of Self.

        • 50_Roses says:
          23 January 2015 at 7:20 pm

          I haven’t tried this years edition of Prince Charming, so I can’t swear they haven’t changed it, but I bought a small bottle of it last year, and was very underwhelmed. It smelled nice enough in the store, but when I actually used it in the shower, all I got was a brief whiff of the grapefruit, then something sweet (the marshmallow and vanilla, I assume), then nothing. I finally repurposed it as a liquid hand soap just to use it up.

          Log in to Reply
          • Jonas says:
            23 January 2015 at 8:15 pm

            Thanks. I don’t think I’ll bother seeking it out then. I was imagining that the sandalwood would be more prominent.

  2. caffeinequeen says:
    23 January 2015 at 2:56 pm

    Anna Sui always has the best packaging. And I really like the print ad for this one, too…reminds me of an Aubrey Beardsley sketch.

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      23 January 2015 at 3:43 pm

      The Anna Sui boutique in NYC has a collection of Beardsley illustrations hanging on the walls!!

      I always enjoy the packaging of these fragrances — they’re fun and romantic, and they don’t look like anything else out there.

      Log in to Reply
  3. poodle says:
    23 January 2015 at 5:28 pm

    I’m not usually a bottle junkie but I really like those bottles.

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      23 January 2015 at 5:44 pm

      I have a hard time resisting black roses in any format! I also love the bottle from the “original” fragrance, and the purple peacock bottle for Night of Fancy was fun. I even like the “dolly” heads.

      Log in to Reply
    • Nightingale says:
      24 January 2015 at 1:55 pm

      Although a different color, the bottle design totally reminds me of Si Lolita Lempicka.

      Log in to Reply
  4. mals86 says:
    24 January 2015 at 9:09 am

    I have a friend who was telling me she really liked a scent she smelled in a store recently, “Anna Sui Boheme something.” She couldn’t tell me anything else about it, except that the bottle was black, so perhaps it was this one. She’s not a perfumista, though I’m trying to reel her in – she loves white florals, but she also enjoys some things I find horribly synthetic.

    I have hope, though: she really liked the sample of Joy I sent her.

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      24 January 2015 at 5:59 pm

      Oh, how interesting! Where was she shopping (city-wise)?

      If she can recognize the beauty of Joy, then you and she are on the right track, obviously!

      Log in to Reply
  5. mutzi says:
    24 January 2015 at 3:59 pm

    Jessica, thank you so much for reviewing these. I loved her original fragrance and am still searching for more. The one with black roses sounds worth a sniff (or two).

    Log in to Reply
    • Jessica says:
      24 January 2015 at 5:59 pm

      Thanks, Mutzi! I own a bottle of the original fragrance (maybe I’ll wear some tonight, for a quiet night in!) and this one is definitely my favorite one since then.

      Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement


Luckyscent

Search

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

From NST at Twitter

  • Headline of the day: "Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina-scented candle almost burns down home of woman who won it in a quiz" https://t.co/F6bvZtoSXl,
  • "Jo Loves adopts refillable technology for Fragrance Paintbrush" (cosmeticsbusiness) https://t.co/sn2tZ1cguT,
  • @robini71 And my favorite honeysuckle is also limited edition -- Goutal Le Chevrefeuille. They do bring it back eve… https://t.co/MFGwHJK0Ji,

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

TBA April ~ freebiemeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2021 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.