Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï
Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï
118 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The mandarin strikes first, bright and crisp, but the red fruits immediately soften its edges with jammy sweetness. Within moments, the cinnamon arrives like a sharp intake of breath, lacing the citrus-fruit combination with peppery warmth that crackles across the skin.
The floral heart emerges slowly, with carnation providing a clove-like spiciness that prevents tuberose and jasmine from drooping into indolence. The peru balsam and tonka begin their ascent, sweetening the composition into something almost gourmand, whilst the florals maintain their architectural structure against this sugared backdrop.
Frankincense and patchouli take control, drying everything down into a woody, resinous embrace that retains only whispers of the original sweetness. The sandalwood provides creamy texture rather than projection, leaving a skin scent of warm incense and earth—delicate, barely-there, but unmistakably present for those close enough to notice.
Sacrebleu is a fragrance that wears its contradictions with theatrical flair. Patricia de Nicolaï has engineered a collision between the candied warmth of spiced florals and the austere earthiness of frankincense and patchouli—a duality that refuses easy categorisation. The mandarin and red fruits arrive as bright messengers, cutting through what could easily become a cloying affair, whilst the cinnamon and carnation form a peppery collar around the tuberose and jasmine at its heart, preventing these blooms from softening into mere feminine sweetness.
This is a scent for those who reject binary gender conventions in fragrance, even as the name itself—a French exclamation of exasperation—seems to shrug at pretension. The tonka bean and peru balsam add a honeyed, almost boozy undertone reminiscent of warm amber liqueur, yet the frankincense refuses to be bullied into mere sweetness; it lends an almost liturgical gravitas to proceedings. The sandalwood base is creamy without being soft, providing a barely-there foundation upon which everything else pirouettes.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.8/5 (193)