The Merchant of Venice — Queen of The Night
Essence
Queen of The Night is The Merchant of Venice’s opulent amber-incense “kyphi recreation” - a 2023 Harrods-exclusive launch (perfumer Gael Montero) built around a reconstruction of the ancient Egyptian temple incense kyphi. In plain terms it’s a smooth, buttery, slightly smoky, sweet-resinous amber: saffron and cinnamon up top, a resin-and-incense heart, myrrh-tonka-sandalwood base. Despite the feminine framing and Egyptian-queen packaging, wearers is unanimous that it wears squarely unisex.
Scent Profile
Opens spicy and “golden” - saffron and cinnamon-bark generating an immediate warmth, with a subtle aquatic-floral blue-lotus note keeping the spices from going heavy or powdery (the blue lotus is a fantasy/marketing note evoking Egyptian iconography rather than a literal smell). The heart is the most aggressive phase: dense kyphi/incense, frankincense, amber - several wearers hit a brief “rubbery” or animalic stretch here and advise pushing past it. It settles into the signature: a smooth, buttery, slightly incense-y deep vanilla-amber over myrrh, tonka and sandalwood, with powdery-cacao, suede and “speculoos/Biscoff cookie” facets reported. A sharp wearers notes the “amber” accord is doing the heavy lifting - “chock full of vanillin and ethyl vanillin” (amber being historically vanillin + benzoin + labdanum), with vanilla effectively replacing the honey of a traditional kyphi formula.
Performance
Strong and long-lasting - wearers classifies longevity “above-average”; wearers report 14 hours with whiffs still coming off the arm, and the brand-adjacent listings claim 8-10 hours. It is, however, an intimate-projecting scent rather than a roomfiller: “if you like big projection and an in-your-face kind of perfumery you will be disappointed… long-lasting with an intimate cloud only for yourself.” A “smooth buttery, slightly incensy deep rich vanilla profile” that sits close and rich.
Wearing Context
Fall and winter, evening - “one of my top 3 winter fall fragrances.” Cool-weather, cozy-indoor, special-occasion territory; the resinous-cookie warmth suits cold nights. Fully unisex in practice - a male wearer notes “the majority of the time guys ask me what I’m wearing and I’m a man also.”
Comparisons & DNA
The dominant comparison is to the Xerjoff “Babycat” / Casamorati Vanagloria sweet-amber-saffron axis - wearers repeatedly say it’s “similar to Vanagloria or Babycat, but more well-rounded, more myrrh + soft vanilla and less peppery/spicy,” and “less sweet than Vanagloria.” One thoughtful wearers pushes back: it does NOT really share the Babycat/Rosendo No. 5/Vanagloria DNA because it lacks their prominent vanilla - “maybe they’re in the same galaxy because of the saffron,” but Queen of The Night is “all about luxurious amber, myrrh, tonka and incense.” Idiosyncratic comparisons include Celine Nightclubbing and “leaving a boozy cigar bar.” Within the house it’s contrasted with the rest of the line as a more resinous, less floral statement.
Reception
Very well received among those who’ve tried it, with the strong caveat that it’s expensive and hard to access. wearers/wearers call it “a true work of art,” “fit for a queen,” and praise the bottle/packaging as among the most beautiful in perfumery. Recurring negatives: (1) a polarizing rubbery/animalic mid-phase (“do not blind buy”), (2) the price - one wearer launch commenter griped “for $375 just say it’s KYPHI!!” and a UK wearer said it’s “truly not worth £350 - there are better alternatives with this profile” - and (3) for vanilla-amber-fatigued noses, “basic vanilla.” The Egyptian theming also drew mild “appropriation vs. appreciation” debate in comments. wearer Sandra published an interview with perfumer Gael Montero, who (per the brand) “recreated the Kyphi accord with botanicals and resins” to lend “a deep, mystical ambiance.”
Versions & Reformulation
New (2023), no reformulation history. The catalog’s sub-line question resolves: it’s part of The Merchant of Venice’s “Special Projects” (Progetti Speciali) collection - sometimes loosely called the “Exclusive Collection” in retail copy - issued as an Eau de Parfum Concentree. There is a meaningful notes discrepancy across sources worth flagging: most list the heart as Frankincense/Amber/Kyphi over a Myrrh/Tonka/Sandalwood base (matching the catalog), but at least one retailer circulates an entirely different, incorrect “floral oriental” pyramid (blackcurrant/lily-of-the-valley top; tuberose/jasmine/orange-blossom heart) - that is a wrong listing for a different scent profile and should be disregarded. The authoritative composition is the saffron-cinnamon-lotus / incense-amber-kyphi / myrrh-tonka-sandalwood structure.
Acquisition Notes
World-premiered at Harrods on Friday 14 July 2023 (per the house’s own blog: “On Friday 14th July, The Merchant of Venice was the special guest of Harrods for the world premiere presentation of Queen of the Night”), as a 100ml EDP Concentree, later rolled out to “the best perfumery stores worldwide” per owner Marco Vidal. Pricey - wearers references cluster around $375 / £350 retail. Bottle is a collector’s object: gold Egyptian motifs drawn from Queen Amanishakheto’s jewelry, a pendant on the neck, the sky-goddess Nut on the flacon. Given the polarizing mid-phase and the price, sample before buying. Marketed/distributed by Mavive (the Vidal family company behind the house).
Notable Facts & Lore
- The name and theming sit at a fascinating crossroads.
- The brand’s stated inspiration is Ancient Egypt and the kyphi incense burned in temples - the bottle iconography references Queen Amanishakheto (a Nubian/Kushite queen) and the sky-goddess Nut.
- But a sharp wearers makes the case that the deeper reference is Mozart’s The Magic Flute - whose villain is literally the “Queen of the Night,” an opera usually staged in Egypt (pyramids, Isis, Osiris) - pointing out the house’s tight links to Venice’s La Fenice opera house (their flagship store sits beside it; they’ve released La Fenice pour Homme/Femme).
- The “duality/duplicitousness” of that operatic character, the reviewer argues, mirrors the fragrance’s sweet-yet-smoky structure.
- Kyphi itself is a genuine ancient recipe; here vanilla stands in for the honey of the historical formula.