Shanghai After Dark - First Wear Review of Cherigan Paris Shanghai le Soir by Maxime Exler

I sprayed Cherigan Paris Shanghai le Soir on a rainy Tuesday and the light changed. Suddenly, I was in a lacquered theater aisle where silk whispers and neon hum. If you’ve been craving a fragrance that channels old-world Shanghai without costume drama, this is the one that winks rather than pouts.

Perfumer Maxime Exler builds the opening like a curtain rise. There’s a sparkling lift that reads like aldehydic citrus and a touch of pink-pepper static, bright but slightly shadowed, as if an orange peel had been dipped in ink. The heart tilts quickly into texture: I get a luminous floral glow that feels like jasmine brushed with tea steam, then a plush, apricot-sueded nuance that nods to osmanthus. Think rouge on velvet, not syrup on sponge cake.

As it settles, the base pulls you into the auditorium seats. Polished woods, a resinous hum, maybe a benzoin-amber tonality that warms the skin without sticky sweetness. There’s a soft tobacco-vanilla murmur and a powdered cosmetics effect that reads more silver screen than grandma’s compact. It’s sensual, but it knows how to leave space. The promised sensual scent trail isn’t hype here - the sillage is poised and elegant, present without shouting, and it moves like silk in a cross-breeze.

Wearability surprised me. Despite the name, Shanghai le Soir isn’t only for night. It thrives in dim rooms and dress codes, yes, but it’s polished enough for day if you lean into classic tailoring. Longevity is solid at 8 to 10 hours on skin, with a generous first act of projection before it kisses closer.

Is it perfect? If you want a bone-dry, minimalist skin scent, look elsewhere. This flirts. It smolders. It refuses to fade into a beige blur. And that’s exactly why it works. Cherigan Paris has a reputation for threading heritage through a modern needle, and this feels like an archive photograph brought crisply into focus.

Final verdict: Maxime Exler gives Shanghai le Soir a cinematic pulse. Vintage glamour meets a clean-lined contemporary cut, and the result is dangerously easy to wear. I’ll be keeping this one for nights when I want my perfume to do the talking before I say a word.