On my flight back from Chicago this week, I was seated next to someone wearing Mugler Alien. It was one of those excellent already delayed flights where they seated us and made us stay on the plane for another hour and half. This inconvenience reminded me that Alien has always been a fragrance that I love – a solar jasmine. But, like many of the Mugler fragrances, I find it too much for daily wear. It’s one of those perfumes that I like on other people more than I do myself.
When I got home, I went through my samples looking for orange blossoms which I’m now craving. I came across this Chabaud Nectars de Fleurs perfume that is exclusive to the perfume boutique, Osswald. It’s a radiant white floral softened by a creamy musk.
Nectar de Fleurs opens with cool spices with waxy, honeyed petals. It’s the sort of opening that reminds me of the scent of jasmine blossoms dried out by Southern Californian sun. It’s a radiant jasmine and orange blossom with the sort of projection that makes it feel like it’s traveling on a cool ocean breeze. The heart is like an orange blossom cream pop. It’s a syrupy orange blossom with a sweet vanilla. At this stage, it manages to come across as silky and luminous while in the summer heat, it feels like a creamy, beach-y scent. The dry-down is a creamy, coconut-like vanilla musk that on a hot day reminds me of like a “tanning oil amber”. But of instead of wearing like a bathing suit, it’s more like a “designer resort wear” scent because it’s more tailored and has finer details than that of more casual orange blossom/amber perfumes.
Nectar de Fleurs is exactly the sort of perfume I’m craving right now. It’s a luminous floral over a creamy amber. It’s sweeter than the usual eau de colognes that I wear this time of year, but I like how it wears in the heat without being overwhelming. It smells like silk draped over warm skin.
Notes listed include freesia, neroli, violet, rose, ylang-ylang, orange blossom, bourbon vanilla and white musk. Launched in 2015. PERFUMER – Sophie Chabaud
Give Nectars de Fleurs a try if you like white florals or creamy florals. Or perfumes like Mugler Alien, Mugler Alien Eau Extraordinaire, Gucci Rush, Mugler Alien, Chantecaille Frangipani and/or Lancôme Poême.
Projection and longevity are average (to above average).
The 3.4 oz bottle retails for $135 at Osswald.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Radiant white florals over a creamy amber. If I can wear a white floral on a 90° day and not be overwhelmed, it’s a keeper.
Want more reviews? Try…
Fragrantica – Sergey’s review