patricia de nicolai – This Side of Perfume

Fig Tea by Parfums de Nicolai

June 25, 2015

Notes: fig, osmanthus, artemisia, mate, coriander, jasmine, guaiac wood, and amber.

I’m always happy to try a new (new to me, at least) scent from Patricia de Nicolai and Parfums de Nicolai. Fig Tea stood out to me, since I am still making an effort to try fig-centric fragrances to get a better feel for this theme in perfumery. Fig Tea is listed as an Eau Fraiche concentration, so I thought it would be a good refreshing scent to sample during this spring/summer season.

Fig Tea is indeed quite refreshing. It opens on a sweet fruity note. It’s a jammy fig, but doesn’t come across as too sticky-sweet. In fact, there’s a slight fizziness that keeps the opening lightweight. I detect apricot as well, most likely from the osmanthus. This opening is markedly different from the other fig scents I’ve sampled, which have focused on green fig leaves. The fruit opening here makes for a softer, more gentle impression.

Unlike a fig scent such as Diptyque’s Philosykos, Fig Tea never turns into a green fragrance, but it does develop to take on a noticeably herbaceous feel. After around twenty minutes of wear time, I notice something like mint coming through, only not as sharp. I’ve come to realize that it’s the mate or yerba mate note. I’ve never encountered this note before, but it’s very refreshing and pleasant. It’s green and herbal, but not sharp the way a mint note can sometimes be. This lovely herbaceous note serves to lift the overall composition so that the fruit and florals never turn too sweet or heavy.

As the fragrance develops, the fig note becomes much less pronounced, to the point where I probably wouldn’t identify this as a fig-centric fragrance if I were doing a blind testing of it. The tea aspect comes through much more strongly for me from the middle all the way into the dry down. This is not a smokey or cozy tea scent. It’s more like iced black tea and, because of the fruit notes, it makes me think of raspberry flavored iced tea.

I wasn’t expecting much staying power from this fragrance (considering the Eau Fraiche concentration) but I get just over 4 hours of wear time here, which is decent. The fragrance has a lightweight feel to it, so it can easily be reapplied without fear of being too heavy-handed. Even the dry down wears lightly for me. I really don’t sense any amber, but I do get hints of woodiness, like a dusted-over tea note, but in a nice way if that makes sense.

I really enjoy the herbaceous and refreshing tea notes here. I love cozy black tea perfumes for winter, but it’s nice to have a tea perfume that’s great for spring/summer wear. I have to admit that I’m personally a bit disappointed that the fig note isn’t more prominent here. Is this what I want from a fig fragrance? I’m not sure. But it’s good to sample a fig scent that isn’t just about green fig leaves. And the other notes here are so appealing, it’s hard to complain. Now, I have to see what fig scents I come across next.

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Fig Tea is available from the Parfums de Nicolai website. Full bottles and samples are also available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

*Updated image is courtesy of Parfums de NicolaÏ and the info on notes is from Fragrantica.

Odalisque by Parfums de Nicolai

April 2, 2015

Notes: bergamot, tangerine, citruses, lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, orris root, oak moss, musk.

Let’s address this bit of business right away: Odalisque is a floral chypre fragrance that has been reformulated from its original version due to IFRA restrictions on oakmoss. My sample is quite recent, so I’ve sadly never had the opportunity to smell the original Odalisque. However, I can still sense an earthy, almost inky aspect that I would attribute to oakmoss. And this version of Odalisque has retained a retro character — a kind of rich powdery feel — that makes it stand out.

Odalisque opens with bergamot and other assorted citrus notes to lend a lightness to what will soon be a bouquet of blooming white flowers. The bergamot is quite aromatic and seems to play off of the moss, which means this opening can come off as a little harsh. I personally don’t find it overbearing since it only lasts for about ten minutes on me.

The jasmine takes over soon after the initial opening. As the jasmine develops it becomes extremely rich in texture, almost like soft butter. The floral heart is anchored by orris root, which adds a powdery touch to the composition. Odalisque quiets down after a couple of hours of wear time. Though, I would posit that this is another stage of the heart, not necessarily the dry down yet. This is the point at which I really get a sense of the lily-of-the-valley note. It lends a gentleness to the white floral/oakmoss accord, which can otherwise read a bit dark or melancholic.

As for the dry down itself, the musk mostly comes across as salty to me. I don’t find Odalisque overly animalic or dirty/sexy. I’d characterize Odalisque as more sensual than outright sexy. The orris root and oakmoss ensure that the composition is rich and earthy even as it dries down to a skin scent. It fades away around the six hour mark on me.

Let me reiterate, Odalisque has a melancholy undercurrent running throughout the composition. From the inky oakmoss, to the buttery jasmine, to the powdery orris, this is a fragrance alive with texture. All of these sensations take Odalisque from a pretty, dreamy fragrance to a haunting one. It’s a Romantic fragrance, capital R intended. Odalisque is Coleridge’s Christabel or Keats’ La Belle Dame sans Merci. Not because it’s a major femme fatale fragrance, but the element of darkness here has to be acknowledged. Moreover, I think the vintage character of the fragrance lends a serious-minded feel, ultimately making Odalisque both elegant and intelligent.

The official Parfums de Nicolai website can be a bit confusing to figure out but they do ship worldwide. Parfums de Nicolai fragrances are also available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample.

Both the image and info on notes* are from Fragrantica.

*as a note: Luckyscent lists lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, and iris root as the only notes in Odalisque. However, the notes listed over at Fragrantica reflect the pyramid found on the Parfums de Nicolai website. It seems more accurate to my nose as well, so that’s what I went with.