Creation de Minuit by Ted Lapidus

I absolutely adore this perfume for its night-blooming cereus note. I know the scent of the flower intimately, along with the plum, and the creaminess and sweetness it brings were irresistible. Seeing it in-store at such a low price, I bought it on the spot. Initially, the alcohol dominates, but as it evaporates, those fresh, juicy fruits emerge, with blackberry taking the lead for a few seconds. Then the floral notes open up, giving a sensation of clean, musky shampoo, featuring a young, fresh bud rose, night-blooming cereus, and gradually heliotrope appears with its powdery, sweet scent. It’s not a current aroma; you can feel the spirit of past decades in that powdery, floral touch. Created in 2015, yet I sense a clean floral style that was trendy in the 80s or before, like Cacharel’s Anais Anais or Elizabeth Arden’s Beauty. Yes, it resembles J’adore, but the performance is obviously different. The main drawback of Creation de Minuit is its weak longevity; it lasts about an hour on me, after which it seems I’ve washed it off, leaving a faint trail. This is to be expected given its low price, although there are cheaper EDTs that behave like proper perfumes with less common scents. It lasts a bit longer on clothes. I’d recommend it for moderate temperatures, as it might get lost in the cold or become overwhelming in intense heat. To be honest, Arab perfumes have accustomed us to beautiful packaging for twenty-dollar bottles that last and smell superb; I can’t help but compare. In the case of Creation de Minuit, it’s much simpler and not bad, though the cap looks like a toy and is truly ugly. I think there’s a confusion of concepts between scent and design; ‘de Minuit’ refers to the night-blooming cereus note, not because it’s a night perfume. In that sense, I believe its design would be more appropriate with a white colour, like the flower itself, which could inspire a better design and better represent the creamy, clean, and floral sensation it imparts.

I bought it blindly because of the black bottle and was totally surprised: it’s exactly the opposite of what I imagined, but I loved it! It’s super fresh and floral. The only notes I detect are the citrus and green apple (very present), and the night-blooming cereus, which transports me back to my childhood: those extreme heat summers when we went to my aunt’s house that had a swimming pool. Sometimes we’d stay past midnight there, the adults would have a drink, and we’d wait for her giant white flowers to open on the creeper in the garden. That’s what it smells like: a summer night next to a blooming night-blooming cereus, drinking lemonade. To me, it’s precious. It’s one of those fresh, sparkling, even slightly sharp fragrances for summer, in the style of Coty’s Prêt à Porter Paris New York, or the classic Molinex Quartz, or J’adore Eau… Watch out, I say ‘in that style’, they’re not copies! Verdict: for me, it’s a ‘yes, please’ 😂

I picked up a small bottle on offer at a vintage shop. Although the little black bottle looks a bit too flashy for the club, it’s purely a daytime scent. The house signature is brilliant, and the longevity is another matter entirely—it simply cannot be. Ideal for blind buying.

If you like J’adore, buy it. It’s identical. Obviously it lasts less, but it’s very well crafted. An excellent option for having a quality perfume at a better price.

It’s a lovely perfume to keep in the handbag; it follows the trail of J’Adore but with a more intense touch. It goes well day or night, in cold or heat. I bought it for the good price and will repeat it without doubt, plus it lasts 4-5 hours without needing reapplication and has received compliments; for me, a great find.

I was looking for something that would remind me of my beloved CK Forbidden Euphoria. Seeing that some people said Minuit Creation was similar, I decided to try it. Watch out, though: they have not a shred of similarity, but the fragrance is super interesting and mysterious. It starts with an opening like a fresh, rich cocktail of sweet and sour fruits. Within minutes, the flowers suddenly emerge, highlighting the rose. On my skin, it smells like a very creamy rose bathed in those purple fruits that give it a certain darkness and mystery. The vanilla accompanies the transition from creaminess to something more powdery, tying everything together, but it doesn’t make it smell overly vanilla. The longevity is about 5 hours and the sillage is very weak, ideal for personal use or intimate situations. I have no regrets about the purchase because I really liked it. *I tested it against J’adore on my wrists and confess that only for the first minute are they incredibly similar; afterwards, J’adore evolves into a white floral with a fruity touch, while Minuit Creation keeps the fruitiness by adding flowers, especially roses.

I was surprised by this small, little-known scent I ordered blind. It’s a fruity-heart EDT with floral touches. It opens with alcohol that lasts only seconds, then the red fruits, plum, and the freshness of green apple emerge, wrapped in creamy vanilla that keeps everything fresh like a body cream. Then heliotrope enters, reinforcing the vanilla, followed by a musky rose base and a breeze of night-blooming jasmine over light musk. It lasts 4 hours on hydrated skin with a medium sillage that fades but is noticeable when moving. It resembles J’Adore in its fruity soul (they share raspberry and plum, though here there is less peach/melon). Both have rose and white flowers creating a similar effect. For me, J’Adore is a classy fruity floral, while this is its sweeter cousin, less sophisticated, but still pleasing.

The scent of the fragrance has nothing to do with the bottle design, and I think that’s the first major flaw. Nothing to do with midnight. It’s a perfume without persistence, without character, and without saying anything interesting.