Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï
Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï
158 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The attack is fruit-forward and bright—red berry compote mingles with bergamot's sharp citrus oil, creating an almost jammy top note that feels slightly candied. Within moments, mandarin orange adds a softer citrus presence, but the impression is never light; there's already a sense of denseness building beneath.
By twenty minutes in, the tuberose has fully emerged and claimed centre stage, its creamy, almost soapy character now joined by jasmine's honeyed warmth and carnation's subtle clove-tinged spiciness. The cinnamon becomes more prominent here, creating a warm, almost mulled quality that transforms the florals from purely white-flower extravagance into something with genuine sophistication and grip.
The florals gradually recede, though never disappear entirely, as the tonka bean and vanilla rise, creating a creamy, gourmand sweetness that's tempered by sandalwood's dry woody presence and amber's subtle warmth. What remains is intimate and powdery—a skin scent that smells less like perfume and more like a beautifully scented, slightly spiced cream.
Sacrebleu Intense is a fragrance that refuses restraint. Patricia de Nicolaï has constructed something deliberately baroque here—a floral composition where every white flower has been amplified and spiced into submission. The tuberose doesn't whisper; it announces itself with the confidence of a soprano hitting the back of a cathedral, whilst the jasmine absolute circles beneath it like a second voice, both honeyed and slightly indolic.
What makes this work, rather than tip into oppressive sweetness, is the genuinely clever spice architecture. Cinnamon and coriander don't sit quietly in the margins—they actively cut through the florals' hedonism, creating a peppery friction that keeps your attention. There's something almost savoury about the way these notes jostle with the tuberose's creamy richness. The opening salvo of red fruits and bergamot provides just enough brightness to prevent the composition from becoming entirely nocturnal, though this is unmistakably an evening proposition.
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Boucheron
4.0/5 (252)