Benoît Verdier, Olivier Royère, Sylvie Loday photo courtesy Ex Nihilo©
Parisian brand Ex Nihilo, whose name – “out of nothing” – perfectly describes fragrances that seem to spring from the inventive minds of the founders and creators Sylvie Loday, Olivier Royère and Benoît Verdier who established the brand in 2013. The name Ex Nihillo means “out of nothing,” but the perfumes and the Givaudan perfumers who compose them are are out of this world!
Shyamala Maisondieu courtesy of the perfumer© Givaudan
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Shyamala Maisondieu of Givaudan the perfumer for Ex Nihilo Atlas Fever. Mme Maisondieu is one of perfumery’s most inspired and versatile olfactive artists. Her work includes Etat Libre d’Orange Soul of My Soul, Parfums de Marly Oajan, Carner Barcelona Palo Santo as well as fragrances for Tom Ford, Lancome, Aquolina, L’Occitane and many more designer, niche and luxury houses. Shyamalya Maisondieu is the recipient of the prestigious Prix Francois Coty 2019 and was one of three Givaudan Perfumers to co create Lancome L’Idole along with Adriana Medina and Nadege Le Garlantezec. My first introduction to the work of Shyamala Maisondieu was via Etienne de Swardt when I met him in NYC (Etat Libre d’Orange Charogne) in 2008.
photo by Steven©
Michelyn Camen: What was the creative process for Ex Nihilo Atlas Fever?
Shyamala Maisondieu: I worked closely with Sylvie Loday and Benoit Verdier. Sylvie loves Ex Nihilio Atlas Cedar and she wears it even now. It really started with an accord I had built around the idea of a cedar wood forest in the Atlas Mountains.
What was the role that was music played in Ex Nihilo Atlas Fever?
Shyamala Maisondieu: Benoit and Sylvie had also come to me with visuals; they wanted something very rock and roll but also that would be a tribute to their visit to the Atlas Cedar Mountain range in Morocco. In fact, the title of the project was the Clash’s Rock The Casbah (the title of the Clash song), which I love myself and also used it as background music when I was composing Atlas Fever. The idea came from their time in Morocco, and also the beautiful wood used to make guitars.
Please take us through the fragrance’s development and the notes and ingredients.
Shyamala Maisondieu: I wanted something very bass (musically speaking) so I used a lot of woody amber notes as well as natural sandalwood, oakwood and guaiac wood. I love the element of comfort in my fragrances, so I used tonka and vanilla which brings out the creaminess in the woods. Because I wanted Ex Nihilo Atlas Fever to be special and different from the normal woody-tonka vanilla accords, I used Narcisse absolute for its uniqueness as a raw material and how well it blended with the cedar. It brought a real root like and a special floralcy to the fragrance. Something green as well on the top notes, which again reinforces the idea of a forest of Atlas cedar trees. So Ex Nihilo is really many riffs-music, woods, mountains and Morocco.
photo by Steven©
–Steven Gavrielatos, Contributing Video Journalist who received Atlas Cedar for this review, from Indigo Perfumery, his opinions are his own; Michelyn received a sample
photo by Steven©
Thanks to the generosity of Ex Nihilo’s newest stockist in the U.S., Indigo Perfumery we have a 50 ml bottle of Ex Nihilo Atlas Fever NIB for one registered reader in the U.S. ONLY registered click here (you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid) and Redolessence subscriber. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Ex Nihilo Atlas Fever based on this video review AND what you learned from Michelyn’s interview with Shyamala Maisondieu, who graciously shared such insight. Let’s Rock the Casbah!! Draw closes 9/5/2021.
You can buy Ex Nihilo samples and select fragrances at Indigo Perfumery here and Atlas Cedar here
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