Patricia de Nicolai Celebrates 25 Years in Business & new fragrance Musc Monoi

To celebrate 25 years in business, niche fragrance brand Parfums de Nicolaï is launching Musc Monoï, inspired by the scent of Ambre Solaire sun products. “For many years I have been in love with Ambre Solaire oil,” said Patricia de Nicolaï, the firm’s owner, founder and perfumer.

“I always wanted to create a fragrance from which I could use this wonderful smell, synonymous with sunny beaches.” Created, like all the firm’s fragrances, by de Nicolaï herself, it focuses on the benzyl salicylate note found in ylang ylang and features head notes of neroli, lemon and Paraguayan petitgrain; heart notes of ylang ylang essence, magnolia, jasmine, coconut (lactone) and Calone; and base notes of ylang ylang absolute, sandalwood and musk.

The amber-coloured juice comes in the firm’s usual tall, elegant bottle with a gold cylindrical cap, and costs £108 for 100ml or £36 for 30ml from de Nicolaï boutiques worldwide and the firm’s website. De Nicolaï, who is president of the Osmothèque perfume museum in Paris, is a descendant of the Guerlain family. She trained at ISIPCA and helped to develop Lancôme’s Trèsor while at Quest before founding her own firm in 1989. Parfums de Nicolaï has since produced 48 fragrances.

quote & press via Patricia Mansfield-Devine, Rennes

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: 
Beachy Fragrances: Scents to Take You Away, 
Salicylates: Ingredients with Solar or Evergreen Qualities, 
Ylang Ylang: Flower of Passion & Exotica