Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï
Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï
262 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The lavender and orange absolute burst forth with aromatic vitality, a clean, almost soapy freshness that catches light and air. This brightness lasts mere minutes before the cinnamon edges in, warming the composition and signalling what's to come, as the geranium adds a peppery green insistence beneath the citrus.
The spiced floral accord settles into its role as intermediary, with cinnamon and geranium creating a warm, slightly peppery landscape that feels both herbaceous and subtly creamy. The patchouli begins its emergence from the base, initially tempered by the heart notes but growing increasingly evident as the floral elements fade, whilst the frankincense adds a resinous, almost ceremonial quality.
Patchouli assumes complete dominance, its earthy richness married to cistus for an almost dusty, leather-like texture, whilst the sandalwood provides woody ballast and the musk-amber-vanilla combination creates a soft, skin-like finish. What remains is deeply rooted and introspective, more a second skin than a fragrance note, with subtle warmth and an intimate projection that rewards closeness rather than announcing itself.
Patchouli Intense is a fragrance that wears its name without irony—this is no tentative flirtation with the note, but rather an unflinching commitment to it. Patricia de Nicolaï has constructed a composition where patchouli isn't merely present; it's the gravitational centre around which everything else orbits. The opening gesture of lavender and orange absolute provides a momentary brightness, a false promise of freshness that quickly dissolves into the spiced heart, where geranium and cinnamon create a warm, almost medicinal interlude before the base asserts itself with authoritative earthiness.
What makes this fragrance compelling is the textural density of its base—patchouli interlocks with cistus and frankincense to create something simultaneously creamy and dusty, like handling old leather-bound books in an incense-filled library. The musk and amber add a subtle animalic undertow, whilst sandalwood provides woody scaffolding that prevents the composition from becoming one-dimensional. There's a whisper of vanilla that softens rather than sweetens, rounding the sharper edges without compromising the earthy character.
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3.4/5 (134)