Shocked and stunned how beautiful this is. Comes back to perfume being about feeling and emotion which doesn't sit right with my scientist, Vulcan, got to dissect and understand everything brain. Sometimes you just gotta accept something for what it is. And this is a resplendent cologne type scent. The top notes of citrus permeate and last right through I get a twist of lime more than anything else, oh of course bergamot. Not surprised at the mention of galbanum and herbs, there's subtle greenery. Then it's a gentle breezy heart of nondescript muguet. Sounds a bit neggy but I mean it in a... switch off spock brain and stop relentlessly trying to 'KNOW' everything & just let it happen...kinda way. Clearly jasmine in here but perfectly low key. (Edit: just spritzed it again and the opening actually has a banana/cheese smell of florals and real civet almost, but tropical exotic ylang/jasmine which dies back) The Pat finishes you off with a little clump of moss, and her signature off-ness, bitter effect making it superior to most other citrus fragrances that don't seem to understand you need that element to make it even remotely interesting. So it's not really strong or hugely long lived but who cares? the citrus does bleed downwards and remain (somewhat) so it's great in that respect too. I LOVED weekend in Normandy. I sampled it twice and couldn't stop thinking about it over many other Nicolai's I love. It's just one of those lovely things I had to have.

Citrus cologne, little clump of moss. It's very Nicolai, very French but I think it's not the neroli form the name. People have different expectations of what a neroli (named) perfume is and I think people might tend toward thinking of soapy, waxy, white florals, (Tom Ford or Mugler cologne) or a edc type deal, I mean clearly this leans towards the latter and it is nice to see a departure from the former but neroli is a strange and wonderful material. Not least because it varies quite a bit but because it's usually combined with more orange, petitgrain, orange flower materials, all of which themselves are changeable and all from the same place ultimately, an orange tree. This is lovely and all that but it's just not very exciting and I say that as a lover of the brand and a fan of some of the other lighter weight citrus offerings in the line. Doesn't quite do it for me but Cap Neroli is fine. It's a fine perfume.

Okay, so I'm a musk guy, especially the cozy, the dainty, the powdery. All of which this is. The pear note in the opening is Soooo pronounced it kinda throws me a little coupled with the 'whiteness' and clean nature of the musk and ethereal whisp of rose. However, as soon as it starts warming up an regressing into it's powder state it's a gorgeous, snuggley, apricot powder puff and very subtly spiced carnation, with warm tones underneath, it's basically a million classic perfumes but with the musky, pillowiness turned up to eleven, with very creamy, sandalwood development too. There's a few modern takes on these soft, musk themes out there but this is not one of them, (well apart from the fruity melon/pear top I suppose) it's classic, classic, classic as you'd expect from PdN. I mean I like it, I like it a lot, it feels like a real bedrock of perfumery, but does it stimulate me on a deeper level? does it compel me to buy? I have to be picky and say no, the opening doesn't appeal to me, which is nickpicking at this point because a good 90% of the wearing does. The truth of the matter is it's almost a given that these perfumes are going to well made and smell good, but how many from this brand do you really need in your collection? I would answer only the ones which speak to/and/or/Spellbind you.

Very interesting fougere, kinda on the darker side but not the sweet, annoying, tobacco cliche the name might suggest and of course it wasn't going to be from Nicolai. It's got lavender in it, and a kind of chunky, licorice smell, with a tobacco character and heaviness no doubt but a definite cleaner, Barbershop, urinal cake sort of vibe. I sort of like it, but I'm kinda passing on it. Unless wearing this perfume properly (instead of on my wrist a couple of times) yields any different results I will be sure to update this review below, but I can see my mind changing from ....meh...next! Update: 01/12/23 Undoubtedly there's stuff I like about this fragrance, the 'soft spicy' being the top of the accords on this fragrantica page being one element of that, and it's clearly continuing Patricia's traditional yet also unique approach to fragrance, I get an impression of way more complexity to her formulas than the end result conveys on first sniff. The bit I can't get away from with this fragrance is the smell of baby wipe factory. Yes, specific I know, but also not because I work in this area and the wipes and various surfactants, detergents, compounds and fragrances used in these places are pretty varied but when amassed they have this ubiquitous hyper soapy smell, which at first not unpleasant, starts to knock you sick shy of the hour mark, then you become somewhat accustomed to after a few hours (if you can stand it) That's the bad bit though, close to the skin you do get this less diffuse, blonde, TABAC smell, I like it, it sort of flips for me and that be kinda intresting but also a bit demanding of the wearer and I find some Nicolai's to be hard work and I don't always want that.

Okay so I got an eighties sample of this recently and I remember this perfume being around and obviously it’s cool because it’s Patrick Bateman’s choice of man pong. I like it. It’s a good masculine aromatic, Chypre whatever... clearly quality, they don’t make um like that anymore etc... but it’s not one I would hold up as one of the better old skool masculines. I think it’s the combination of a very sugary, citrus, a kind of lemony lift a la Eau Sauvage or Chanel pour Monsieur and a creamy odd sandalwood. It manifests in the heart possibly with some florals and feels a bit...well... wrong. Then it subsides and becomes a really beautiful, manly, complex thing of beauty. I guess my point is I have other masculines from the 80’s and such and I find them a bit more satisfying, because they don’t have a ‘weird’ phase in the middle somewhere.

Wow!!! Magnificent opening, I mean like it's almost too much for me to bear. It's clearly a cashmere soft effect of fruity notes, sandalwood, musk and warm, fuzzy, creamy, aroma chemicals all swirling around but where will the dust settle? I had my money on a kind of strawberry shortcake, dolls head, with a ambrette musk cosiness and it's sort of that but changes quite significantly again. It settles down after that initial storm of 'stuff' and it actually more citrusy in fact it smells almost EXACTLY like a Twister ice lolly (UK peeps will be down with that description I'm sure) flanked by synthetic orris and ambrettolide type musks, it's pretty fucking gorgeous. Stick these lovely materials in less competent hands and you might have a fairly pedestrian perfume on your hands whereas this is interesting, and really throws a curveball with that opening. I'm still not sure I want a bottle though. This is the thing about Nicolai's work it's so wonderfully crafted that everything chimes on a similar, kind of classical frequency, making it hard for your favourites to stand out. I'm yet to find a Nicolai I find exceptional but they are generally speaking very, very, good.

Such an effortless piece despite it's potential to have scratchy themes. The incense accord in this is perfection, not a cliche in sight the olibanum is present but not blended into a kind of woody, boozy, oud accord. It has a note of whisky steeped casks betwixt, white oud and oakwood with some smoky cypriol greens, and a developing a lightly chocolatey, benzoin character, but it's not ambery, perhaps more earthy, Forresty, rooty, nutty. If there's no real oud in here, this is a really clever representation of it, with more of a vetiver leaning quality but something slightly bordering animal too. It's really good. I remember the last time I tried it I was in Amsterdam, and recall thinking I needed more time with it before making a rash purchase decision. I still feel the same way because it's quite a moody piece, I'm not sure how often I would reach for it? Good stuff though.

When I see a new brand from Paris (allegedly) with OUD so proudly displayed on the label and a certain feel to bottle and packaging...I sigh a massive sigh and jog it on. However, I’m glad I sniffed this, I got a carded sample of this and actually read the perfumers notes and upon first sniff I was enamoured. Truly. I love saffron, Oud (real or a fantasy accord whatever) and Rose of course, but how are they going to be combined here to give us an experience we’ve never had? It’s a tough ask for Emilie Bouge, but she’s only gone and bloody done it! I’ve only tried it briefly but it has that specialty of pleasant, spicy top, deep but still transparent, controlled dirtiness. It’s very good from what I can tell. Safran Oud is a balanced, but quite raw and animalic, castoreum driven, saffron leather, which smells quite animal, and is likely the Oud material, which smells pretty damn real to me. It’s got shades of Leather Oud by Dior, softened saffron Rose perfumes, and legit ouds. UPDATE: Okay so wearing this is definitely an interesting one. It's a woody animalic sensation reminiscent of animalis base, carefully toned down by honied notes, big twang of saffron and spiced sweet almost gourmand resin. So this effect gives the feeling of Antaeus or Kouros for a moment but this is not even in the same league in terms of complexity. It's very, very good though.

Aspects of this are good. The opening conveys the pleasant citrus fruits, it’s got sharp citrus, ya limes, yer bergamots, but quite muted allowing for a nice translucent veil you can see the rest of the fragrance through, as it were. I get a slight facet of like grapes or pear or something, but immediately levied against dry GnT Sparkle, which continues the dehydrated theme into vetiver territory. Then it goes off the reservation for me, souring down on skin to a dry boring, papery, base which to me is predominantly Iso E Super or Timbersilk. Sure I’ll give you that there’s ambroxan and sandalwood molecules too if you insist but it mainly smells of arid, bready, 🥖 wood, with only shades of the top and heart left after a relatively short period. I’ve kinda been tempted by Morillas’ own line because from memory and although in his ‘style’ I found some of them to be just fantastic. However, this is always my worry that they won’t deliver on the full perfume experience and leave me wanting, like this one does. Sorry Albert lad! I mean it’s okay, but it’s top loaded to make you think it might be good and justify buying, but I’d be disappointed if I bought that fancy bottle and this was lurking in the drydown. UPDATE: okay so I was a little hasty and I found it odd that it went so dry, paper woody and boring, now the musks, woody amber, Ambroxan and stuff is chiming and it smells like a high end designer fragrance. Which is what it is. I actually had a shower and washed it off but the remnant is really nice, uninspired but nice and I can’t deny I do like commercial accords like this, it’s a weakness of mine.

On a huge re visitation of Malle at the moment and this was one which I immediately passed on when I smelled it years ago and it's still very much NOT for me. However, like a great piece of art I can appreciate it for what others get from it, and as a perfume it has all the hallmarks of something great. L'eau d'Hiver is very original, it has Ellena's trademark transparency, yet multidimensional complexity. (very hard to achieve both) But as I stare at this piece of art, I'm not compelled to ponder it for long, maybe just saunter off, complimentary champagne in hand, across the gallery to gawp at the next work or scoff some vol au vents? The reviewer below me here says this is a 'winter watercolour' (my rudimentary French got 'Winter water') which is actually a fantastic way to view L'eau d'Hiver. It's a collection of wintery, grey/blue washes on a textured, woody, paper. So yeah it's a watercolour, of frigid, dry tundra, Ice that sublimes into gas, never in a liquid state, which is peculiar because it's literally called water and JCE's aesthetic is pretty watery business. It's a chilly fragrance too, yet it has warm elements like heliotrope, iris, honey, all things I'd say were fairly warm. I'm confused and somewhat alienated by the combo of light almond tinged musk, the dryness and oddity of this composition, it smells like very dehydrated, floral, powder of ionones and driftwood, It's strange because it's barely in the realms of existence, a spectre, but a present one, and what is there, is a bit disturbing to me. Some might think, wow...how did you get so much challenge from such a seemingly simple scent? That's just me though. I get that this is a good fragrance, I can feel it, I know it. I just don't like it (that's always subject to change) and wouldn't buy it. (also subject to change)