I may wear rose more often than any other floral note in my fragrances, but I’m also very fond of violet and carnation, and sometimes I really crave an orange blossom perfume. Parfums de Nicolaï recently launched Néroli Intense, Patricia de Nicolaï’s tribute to her own “passion for the orange flower,” and since this house is one I respect, I was looking forward to trying this new scent.

Néroli Intense’s composition includes notes of mandarin, neroli, tarragon, pittosporum flower, petitgrain, beeswax, patchouli and white musk. It does indeed evoke the “different olfactory properties” of the bitter orange tree, while remaining coherent and tightly constructed. Its petitgrain note — evoking the oil distilled from the twigs of the bitter orange tree — is green and raspy, and takes the lead after Néroli Intense is applied to skin…

Read the rest of this article »