Hello, favorite lusty floral of the moment! That’s me talking to Grandiflora Queen of the Night. (Hey, some people talk to plants. I talk to perfume, all right?) Another floral fragrance might come along to take its place, but for me, right now, the rich floral, black fruit, and pollen-powder notes of Queen of the Night are what I crave.
Perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour developed Queen of the Night. Its notes include citrus, berries, clove, orange blossom, jasmine sambac, ylang ylang, tuberose, gardenia, pittosporum, wisteria, mimosa, vanilla and musk. No, Queen of the Night isn’t named after the aria in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, although I would like to smell that perfume (but probably not wear it). This one is named after a flower. For information, Grandiflora’s website is practically useless. It’s just a rotating tableau of images of the fragrances. But if the top pick on Wikipedia for “Queen of the Night Flower” is true, it’s a cactus that only flowers at night.
There’s nothing prickly about Queen of the Night, though. For a handful of seconds upon first spraying it, the fragrance is fresh and slightly herbal, with an almost lime-zest feel. Then, pronto, it slides into a slushy, powdery, potent melange of flower and fruit notes. Let’s tackle the fruit first, since they can be controversial.
Queen of the Night’s fruit isn’t like popsicles or jam. In my mind’s eye, it’s dark purple bordering on black, and tart. Maybe birds pluck it from shrubs and grow drunk. A fluff of musk and vanilla keeps the fruit from puckering up your nose, sort of like soft wine does to cassis.
Now for Queen of the Night’s floral notes. To me, they smell yellow and white. Jasmine tingles along top, and powdery mimosa adds a silk velvet foundation. In the middle, weaving the whole thing together, is a friendly combination of flowers that is neither haughty not innocent nor overly elegant. To me, lily of the valley can smell girlish; gardenia can be matronly; and tuberose showy. This floral fabric doesn’t give any of that attitude. It’s not mysterious or dowdy or overtly sexy. It’s simply rich and deep and welcoming.
Queen of the Night starts out big on my skin, then quiets down within an hour to a woody-floral-powdery scent with a hint of pepper and vanilla. To me, it’s easy to wear, despite its definite personality. It hums along quietly for about six hours. My budget isn’t up to a full bottle, but I see a decant in my future. If I drain it and my floral craving hasn’t moved on, well, then we’ll see.
Grandiflora Queen of the Night Eau de Parfum is $185 for 100 ml. (It also comes in a candle which appears only to be sold in Australia.) In the United States, it is available at Luckyscent.
Woo! I can’t recall the last time I read such enthusiasm in a review from you! Your response to this one seems more visceral than cerebral. Seems like a good thing in the hot of summer. 🙂
Don’t know when I’d encounter it, but this one sounds worthy of a sniff.
It’s pure luck that I’ve had the chance to try it! My enthusiasm will move on, I’m sure, but in the meantime I’m enjoying it.
I always enjoy a good perfume fling now and again!
It’s a good thing they don’t make us settle down with one for life!
I definitely need to try this again. I was very keen to try a perfume based on such a stunning flower, but I got a plasticky note that was a bit off-putting. But first impressions are not always reliable, as I’ve learnt from experience.
A plasticky note? That sounds awful. How do you get along with mimosa? I wonder if that had anything to do with it?
I was already tempted to order a sample of this but that vanilla scares me … and your review mentions it twice. Would you say that somebody who is not really on friendly terms with vanilla has a chance?
I do. I feel like the vanilla sort of “sands the edges” of the fragrance here rather than makes a big show out of being vanilla. If you’re putting in an order of samples anyway and want to try something offbeat, I’d think this would be a good one to throw in the basket.
Will then try it soon; thanks, Angela!
Please report back and tell me if I’m wrong about the vanilla!
I am going to chime in as the resident expert on this plant since mine is about to bloom. This is not really a true cactus but an epiphyte and succulent. I grow mine in a large orchid pot containing a bonsai soil mix which is turf-ace, granite and haydite. In other words, gravel. The blossom only blooms at night and is pollinated by a bat, which is not present here in North America. We go out with our flash lights to admire the beauty and fragrance of the blossom. It smells like magnolia to my nose, with heavenly creaminess and faint lemon tang. It is not indolic at all. I bring it back in the house for winter where it dominates my dining room, mine is huge though I do know they have hybridized smaller varieties.
The Latin name is Epiphyllum oxypetalum, or Queen of the Night. These have long been confused with Night Blooming Cereus, which are true prickly cacti with a very similar blossom.
I wonder which flower Grandiflora was aiming to honor?
Also, now I’m imagining your home as an oasis of gorgeous and rare blooms.
The one pictured is the one I have and from your description I think it is the scent they were after.
Thank you!
Amazing! I’m so glad that you stopped by comment on this. I’d love to know if you think the perfume smells much like the actual flower. What a great detail, too, that it’s pollinated by bats.
I have a Grandiflora jasmine sample that is out of this world so ordering another sample from this excellent house would be no trouble at all.
I haven’t tried any of the other Grandiflora scents yet.
They are spendy so it is hard to fall in love with a scent and then my parsimonious, Yankee soul pipes up and issues a resounding No!
Oh, I know what you mean! I’m pretty frugal, myself and buy nearly everything secondhand, except bras, shoes, and the occasional bottle of perfume.
2nd to stinker_kit on the Grandiflora Jasmine. As a jasmine freak who pretty much has aimed to try the most well-regarded of the niche, indie, and classic jasmines — I can honestly say without hyperbole that Grandiflora’s Madagascar Jasmine is the most beautiful of them all. I am savoring a decant and need to eventually break down and purchase the bottle.
Angela, do yourself a favor and seek it out.
Kelly, you’re killing me! Uncle! I’ll find this one.
Got to smell this last night and it is lovely. Immediately identifiable as a Duchaufour, who I generally love. This is possibly my favorite of the Grandifloras.
Thanks for chiming in! I’m looking forward to smelling more of this line.