The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Sultan Pasha and Russian Adam built Civet de Nuit in 2022 as a tribute to the old school. The name says it all: civet by night, the animalic note allowed to speak without apology. The night-blooming jasmine wasn't chosen to soften the civet. It was chosen to sit beside it. Two forces that shouldn't work together, doing exactly that. The contrast is deliberate, raw, almost confrontational yet somehow complementary. Each element holds its own ground, refusing to cede territory, creating a fragrance that commands attention rather than requests it.
The structure is unusual. Most modern fragrances build a wall between the aldehydic opening and the animalic heart. Civet de Nuit removes the wall. The aldehydes don't disappear as the heart develops, they weave through the civet, the jasmine, the ylang-ylang, creating a bridge between the powdery vintage opening and the raw animalic finish. That's the signature. Not the civet alone, but the way it connects to everything around it.
The evolution
The aldehydic heliotrope opens like a cloud of vintage powder. Waxy. Soft. The aldehydes give way as jasmine and ylang-ylang step forward. The civet doesn't wait. It arrives early, adding a warm animalic depth that the florals temper without diminishing. The tobacco-ambergris foundation develops alongside the florals, with Mysore sandalwood and benzoin creating a warm, close-to-skin presence that lingers for hours. The sandalwood adds a creamy texture that blends seamlessly with benzoin's subtle sweetness, while the ambergris brings an addictive, slightly salty depth that stretches the scent across hours. It's intimate, dark, refined, a perfect balance of warmth and elegance.
Cultural impact
Civet de Nuit arrived in 2022 as a bridge between vintage aesthetics and modern sensibilities. The fragrance walks into a room and doesn't need to announce itself. It occupies a specific corner of the animalic-floral space, and for the right moment, it offers something that most mainstream releases won't touch.
The House
Areej Le DoréAreej Le Doré is an artisanal perfume house that concentrates on pure oud and sandalwood essences. Founded by the distiller known as Russian Adam, the brand offers a line of attars that emphasize natural raw materials and meticulous extraction. Its catalogue includes limited‑edition releases such as War and Peace III Attar (2025) and Ottoman Empire III (2021), each presented in a restrained bottle that lets the scent speak for itself. The house operates out of Indonesia but sources ingredients from across Southeast Asia and the Russian taiga, positioning the brand as a bridge between traditional raw‑material craftsmanship and contemporary niche fragrance culture.
The Creator
Sultan PashaSultan favors a laboratory‑like precision, layering accords in a stepwise fashion that mirrors a chemical reaction. He often begins with a bold base—amber, labdanum, or oud—then adds a bright middle such as chrysanthemum, cardamom, or incense.
