Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur Poudre De Musc Intense 100ml (digital collage/effects: Despina Veneti©)

As it was first announced on Çafleurebon July 25th, Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur will be releasing a new fragrance in the beginning of September 2021, a prominently musky, fruity/floral scent named Poudre De Musc Intense. This will be the House’s third musk-centered creation after Musc Intense and Musc Monoi (musk is, of course, included in several other Nicolaï fragrances, albeit less dominantly). Even though currently on vacation, the French House’s founder and perfumer, Patricia de Nicolaï, kindly agreed to discuss her new fragrance with me.

Georgia Hamilton by Herbert Matter © Condé Nast Archive, 1949

Senior Editor Despina Veneti: Thank you for taking the time to talk about Poudre De Musc Intense, Madame de Nicolaï. I’d like to know why you chose to add one more musk-centered fragrance in your collection, and how different was your handling of the musk note this time.

Patricia de Nicolaï: It’s a pleasure to discuss the fragrance with you, Despina! Musk is certainly one of the most  widely used notes in perfumery (most fragrances contain it), and one with a vast variety of effects – ranging from animalic to clean. My Musc Intense, in which I combined musk with rose and a pear note, has proved to be one of our best selling fragrances – even so, some of our clients have been urging me to create a scent that would be even more overtly musky. I took inspiration from the original formulation of White Musk by The Body Shop, but my creative aim was to incorporate a similarly intense and clean muskiness in a more sophisticated, delicately floral composition with fruity touches. A scent where the musk would be strongly present throughout each stage of its evolution. I am personally very pleased with the result; I was happy to receive enthusiastic feedback from my team, including my son Axel, who is my closest collaborator.

Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur Poudre De Musc Intense 100ml, Patricia de Nicolaï & Axel Michau de Nicolaï (photos courtesy of Nicolaï Parfumeur-Créateur©)

Despina Veneti: How closely do you work on your fragrances with your son, Axel?

Patricia de Nicolaï: It’s been a blessing having Axel on board for the last seven years. He has contributed his expertise in global markets and sales (he has worked for years in the fragrance industry, for perfume conglomerates like LVMH, L’Oréal and Interparfums), while his managing and organizational skills helped us enormously to develop and expand worldwide. Furthermore, he is a valuable aid to my creative process: not only does he provide artistic inspiration and ideas, and suggests types of fragrances that can be added to our collection, he is also my scent evaluator – and an excellent one at that.

Despina Veneti: Please share with us some details about the composition of Poudre De Musc Intense, especially regarding the titular main note.

Patricia de Nicolaï: I used no less than four different musks for Poudre De Musc Intense, and my greatest challenge was to make the note dynamically present not only at the base, as usual, but also at the top. For that I used Helvetolide®, a relatively light-weight musk that can manifest in the top notes. Additionally, it has a soft, round effect that I wanted for my florals. I added three different aldehydes to emphasise the muskiness, blended with caution and a “light hand”, since they are materials that always need careful handling. Among these synthetic notes rises a natural floral heart, dominated by elegant rose and cosy orange blossom. For the subtly powdery feeling I wanted, I added an aubépine (hawthorn) note; since no natural raw material can be derived from the plant itself, I used Anisaldehyde which helps recreate a satisfactory hawthorn note. I added some fruity touches that compliment the flowers, and finished my composition with the sweet woodiness of sandalwood next to the white musks, ensuring the fragrance’s long trail.

Luna by Ludmila Jiřincová©, date unknown

Despina Veneti: Poudre De Musc Intense is the first Nicolaï release of 2021, and comes at a time when the global pandemic has left us all tired and drained, even physically and/or psychologically affected. Has this health crisis played any role in the creation of this particular fragrance?

Patricia de Nicolaï: I had started working on the idea of Poudre De Musc Intense even before the pandemic broke, but as I was finishing it I realized that it is a scent that can resonate with many people right now: it is a fragrance that is neither difficult nor eccentric, but one that aims to comfort and uplift. I think that lots of perfume lovers currently gravitate towards such fragrances, and I hope that Poudre De Musc Intense will meet their needs and bring them joy…

Model with flowers by Erwin Blumenfeld©, c. 1950s

Fulfilling its creator’s intention, Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur Poudre De Musc Intense radiates its easy-going, cocooning energy from the moment it touches the skin: an enveloping cloud of clean musks, softly-hued and nectarous, generously diffuses notes of jammy rose and sugar-sprinkled orange blossom. Fruity touches embellish the two main floral notes: ripe raspberry highlights the rose’s inherent fruitiness, while an invigorating cocktail of mandarin, bergamot and petitgrain enhances the sunny citrusness of the orange blossom. The almondy, powdery floralcy of hawthorn creates a gauzy effect that mellows out the aldehydes and musks, while unifying the other flowers into a bouquet. The muskiness, ever-present in the fragrance, progressively reveals nuances of ambrette-like skin warmth; when the woods of the base emerge (mainly, creamy Indian sandalwood from Australia) accompanied by ambery undertones, the musks enter their long, vanillic drydown stage. Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur Poudre De Musc Intense evokes all sorts of comforting, soothing images and sensations: crisp bedsheets fragrant with the scent of luxurious fabric softener; pastel skies with cotton candy-like clouds; or a silk scarf caressing one’s face as it dances with the wind, carrying a scent of serene elegance.

Notes: Aldehydes, Orange Blossom, Rose, Hawthorn, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Musk, Sandalwood.

Disclaimer: A 30ml pre-release bottle of Poudre De Musc Intense was provided by Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur – my thanks. The opinions are my own.

– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor

Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur Poudre De Musc Intense 30ml (photo/digital effects: Despina Veneti©)

Thanks to the generosity of Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur, we have a draw for TWO 30ml avant-première bottles of Nicolaï Parfumeur Poudre De Musc Intense, ONE for a registered reader in the USA/Canada and ONE in UK/Europe. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review and discussion with Patricia de Nicolaï, if you have a favorite Nicolaï fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 8/13/21

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