The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Prunier à Minuit, which means “Plum Tree at Midnight,” was created by Alexander Chesebro and launched in 2017. Its inspiration comes from Li Bai’s poem “Drinking Alone Under the Moon,” a moonlit solitary drinking scene imagined through incense, wood smoke, plum wine, and night-blooming flowers. The house set out to rethink fruit fragrance, moving away from syrupy gourmand conventions toward something darker, stranger, and more literary. That brief gives the composition its shape: a rich plum accord made from tobacco and peach, lifted by spicy flowers and incense, then grounded in woods, tobacco, ambergris, and vanilla.
The unusual part is the fruit accord. Plum doesn’t arrive as a simple juicy sparkle here. Tobacco gives it a darker, almost wine-like depth, while peach brings rounded sweetness and a fleshy softness. Damask rose, tuberose, and jasmine sambac create a lush floral center, and incense, balsam fir, and sandalwood turn the whole thing toward smoke, resin, and polished wood. It’s fruit with its sleeves rolled up.
The evolution
Prunier à Minuit presents a layered combination of fruit, woods, flowers, smoke, and spice. Peach brings rounded, fruity brightness, while plum gives the composition its rich fruit accord. Tobacco introduces dry heat and a darker counterpoint. Balsam fir and incense add resinous depth, and damask rose brings a romantic floral character. White floral notes support the bouquet, while tuberose adds a lush floral presence. Sandalwood contributes a creamy woody quality, ambergris adds a subtle marine and mineral dimension, and vanilla lends a soft sweetness. Together, these notes create a fragrance that balances fruit and floral richness with woods, resin, spice, and smoke.
Cultural impact
Prunier à Minuit draws on the figure of Li Bai to frame its combination of plum wine, smoke, flowers, fruit, woods, and incense. The name evokes Li Bai’s association with wine and poetry, giving the fragrance a cultural reference rooted in Chinese literary tradition. Its name also suggests a meeting between ripe plum and the stillness of midnight, while the varied notes invite exploration through contrasts of sweetness, dryness, floral richness, resinous depth, and smoky warmth.
The House
Fitzgerald and GuislainFitzgerald & Guislain is a small‑batch perfume house that builds its collections around natural ingredients and narrative‑driven concepts. Founded by Ian (last name not publicly disclosed) and Alexander Chesebro after a formative trip to Mendocino, the label released its first scents in 2016 and has since cultivated a modest catalogue that includes Prunier à Minuit, La Fôret de Fontainbleau and Golden Rose. The brand positions itself as a storyteller, letting each bottle evoke a place, a memory or a fleeting emotion. All offerings are crafted in the United States and presented in understated glass vessels that let the fragrance speak for itself.
The Creator
Alexander ChesebroChesebro’s style is expressive, polished, and attentive to atmosphere. His corsetry background gives him a particular sensitivity to line and construction, qualities that carry into compositions built around a strong central image.
