Vol de Nuit Evasion c2007

Vol de Nuit Évasion by Guerlain was launched in 2007 as an exclusive collaboration with Aelia, a French airport duty-free chain, making it available only at Aelia locations in France and Great Britain, as well as in Guerlain’s own boutiques. Its very conception as a travel-exclusive edition speaks to the romantic spirit of movement, escape, and discovery that the house of Guerlain has long celebrated. The name, Vol de Nuit Évasion — pronounced "vol duh nwee ay-vah-zyohn" — is French for “Night Flight Escape.” It draws directly from Guerlain’s legendary 1933 perfume Vol de Nuit, itself inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel of the same name, but Évasion adds a new layer of meaning — suggesting not just a flight through the night sky, but an emotional or sensory escape.

The words Vol de Nuit Évasion conjure poetic imagery: the hum of an aircraft cutting through a dark, starlit sky, the glow of cabin lights reflected on glass, the quiet anticipation of a journey beginning. “Évasion” — meaning escape or getaway — evokes both physical travel and a deeper, more introspective freedom: slipping away from the ordinary into something dreamlike and luminous. Guerlain used this concept to craft a fragrance that bridges imagination and reality — “a few hours of an internal adventure,” as their description poetically phrased it. It captures the beauty of solitude, the thrill of movement, and the serenity of distance — a perfume for the woman who finds herself most alive when she’s in motion.

The year 2007 belonged to an era of understated sophistication in perfumery. The loud, fruity florals of the late 1990s had given way to softer, more refined compositions, often blending classical materials with modern transparency. Travel exclusives had become a growing market segment, catering to cosmopolitan consumers seeking something rare, elegant, and unavailable to the general public. Fashion at the time reflected similar values — a blend of minimalism and quiet luxury, with designers emphasizing tailored silhouettes, soft femininity, and global chic. For women of this period, Vol de Nuit Évasion would have embodied the glamour of travel and the allure of private moments — a perfume that whispered rather than shouted, carrying with it an air of quiet mystery and refinement.

Created by Mathilde Laurent, Vol de Nuit Évasion is classified as an ambery floral fragrance for women. Though it bears the name of a house classic, it is not a reinterpretation of the original Vol de Nuit, but rather the eau de toilette version of Attrape-Cœur (1999) — one of Guerlain’s most beloved modern creations. It opens with a sweet, luminous accord of rose and peach, immediately evoking warmth and intimacy. The heart unfolds with waves of jasmine and iris, soft and powdery, capturing the sensation of moonlight filtering through clouds. As it settles, the fragrance drifts into a glowing oriental base of amber, woods, and vanilla, where sensual warmth meets smooth elegance.

In scent, the idea of “night flight escape” translates beautifully — a perfume that feels like silk and air, rich yet weightless, luminous yet enveloping. It carries the sweetness of memory and the serenity of distance — a scent for the traveler who seeks both beauty and introspection. Compared to other perfumes of its time, Vol de Nuit Évasion fit within the broader trend of romantic, modern orientals (alongside creations like Dior’s Midnight Poison and Armani’s Code for Women), yet it maintained Guerlain’s signature refinement: more poetic, more emotional, less commercial.

In essence, Vol de Nuit Évasion is a fragrance about freedom — not the noisy kind, but the kind found in quiet departures, unspoken longings, and the warm light that follows you into the night sky. It is Guerlain’s ode to the timeless desire to escape — with elegance, with memory, and with scent.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? Vol de Nuit Evasion is classified as an ambery floral fragrance for women. It does not smell anything like the original Vol de Nuit, but instead smells a lot like a sophisticated, yet lighter version of Attrape Coeur, because it is the eau de toilette version of Attrape Coeur.

• Top notes: peach, raspberry, bergamot
• Middle notes: violet, iris, rose, jasmine, and tuberose, cinnamon
• Base notes: amber, vanilla, orris, tonka bean, sandalwood, oakmoss, leather, patchouli

Scent Profile:

The first impression of Vol de Nuit Évasion is like stepping into a dimly lit cabin moments before takeoff — the hum of anticipation in the air, a warmth building beneath the quiet. The fragrance opens with a fruity shimmer, led by juicy peach and luscious raspberry. The peach, likely of Mediterranean origin, brings a sunlit roundness — soft, velvety, and nectar-sweet — rich in lactones such as γ-decalactone that give it that creamy, skin-like quality. Raspberry, meanwhile, lends a subtle tart sparkle; its aroma chemicals, like raspberry ketone and ionones, add brightness and a touch of delicate woodiness, keeping the opening from becoming too syrupy. Together, they are lifted by bergamot, the elegant citrus note from Calabria, Italy — prized for its balance of green, floral, and spicy tones. Its natural linalyl acetate and limonene molecules lend the composition a radiant freshness, while a touch of synthetic bergamot essence ensures longevity and consistency, making the opening gleam like early dawn light on a plane’s wing.

As the perfume unfolds, the heart reveals violet, iris, rose, jasmine, and tuberose, forming a deeply textured floral bouquet. The violet, with its powdery sweetness, comes alive through ionones, the very molecules that give this flower its signature violet-candy scent. It merges seamlessly with orris, derived from the aged rhizomes of the Florentine iris — one of perfumery’s most luxurious materials. Orris butter’s natural irones impart a creamy, suede-like aroma that feels both melancholy and romantic. Rose, likely the centifolia or damascena variety, adds a full-bodied floral richness, balancing the coolness of violet and iris with warmth and sensuality; its geraniol and citronellol molecules lend body and freshness, while a hint of synthetic rose absolute extends its radiance.

Jasmine, probably sourced from Grasse or Egypt, brings narcotic sweetness and a whisper of indole — that faint, animalic undertone which gives depth and sensuality to florals. The jasmine’s natural benzyl acetate and linalool are heightened by synthetics like hedione, enhancing its airiness and projection, making it seem like moonlight filtering through sheer fabric. Tuberose, with its creamy, spicy facets, adds a sultry undertone, grounded by its natural methyl salicylate and indoles, both softened here to suggest quiet allure rather than opulence. Threaded through this floral heart is a trace of cinnamon, warm and golden, evoking the faint spice of skin warmed by candlelight. The cinnamon’s cinnamaldehyde brings energy and brightness, harmonizing with the florals like the faint pulse beneath a gentle smile.

As the fragrance deepens, the base unfolds — rich, ambery, and infinitely smooth. Amber provides the golden backbone, a blend of labdanum resin and vanillic warmth that glows softly rather than burns. Vanilla, likely Madagascan, contributes its comforting sweetness; its vanillin and coumarin notes create a sense of tender intimacy, like the warmth of a cashmere shawl draped across bare shoulders. Orris reappears in the drydown, giving a refined, powdery depth that lingers like a memory.

Tonka bean, with its natural coumarin content, imparts a toasted, almond-like richness, blending seamlessly with sandalwood, perhaps from Mysore or Australia. The sandalwood’s creamy lactones and santalols give a soft, milky sensuality that grounds the composition. Oakmoss, the traditional note of chypres, contributes its forested depth — earthy, slightly leathery, and green, its atranol compounds tamed and modernized to ensure both safety and clarity. Leather lends an animalic shadow — smooth, smoky, slightly bitter — while patchouli, dark and resinous, gives the fragrance an earthy vibration. The patchoulol and norpatchoulenol molecules within it anchor the composition, ensuring that the fragrance remains tethered, never too airy, never too sweet.

In its entirety, Vol de Nuit Évasion feels like an olfactory voyage at twilight — a movement from light to shadow, from fruit to flower to ambered wood. The interplay between natural essences and their synthetic enhancements allows the perfume to shimmer and expand, to breathe with the warmth of skin and the coolness of air. It is both grounded and dreamlike — a fragrance that captures the sensation of slipping quietly into the night sky, leaving behind the familiar world for something softer, sweeter, infinitely more mysterious.

Bottle:

The perfume is elegantly presented in a modified Bouchon Coeur flacon, its stopper crafted in the shape of an upside-down heart, a playful yet sophisticated nod to romance and whimsy. The glass itself catches the light, reflecting soft glimmers that hint at the luminous fragrance within. Encased in a rich blue box, the packaging is further adorned with a delicate propeller motif, designed to create an optical illusion that engages the eye and adds a sense of movement and modernity. This presentation conveys both charm and refinement, making it as visually captivating as the scent it contains. The fragrance is available as a 50 ml Eau de Toilette, originally retailing for $65, offering an accessible yet luxurious experience for collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Over the years, this fragrance has evolved through a series of distinct incarnations, each reflecting the creative vision of Guerlain at different points in time. The journey began in 1999 with Guet Apens, an early modern interpretation, followed by No. 68 in 2002, which refined the composition for a more contemporary audience. In 2005, Attrape Cœur introduced a softer, more romantic interpretation, emphasizing floral and gourmand notes that appealed to the sensibilities of the mid-2000s. Two years later, Vol de Nuit Evasion (2007) reimagined the perfume as a travel-exclusive homage, presenting a lighter, ambery-floral Eau de Toilette designed for airport boutiques, with an emphasis on elegance and sophistication. The evolution culminated in Royal Extract (2014), a luxurious and concentrated version that highlighted the richness of the house’s signature accords. Though now discontinued, the lineage of this fragrance demonstrates Guerlain’s ongoing experimentation with reinterpretation, capturing different moods and audiences across more than a decade of creative reinvention.