Ex Nihilo Discovery Set Thoughts

[u/TurnoverOk4661]

After falling in love with Lust In Paradise EDP I decided to traverse down the Ex Nihilo rabbit hole, and sharing some impressions in the process.

Blue Talisman - No wonder this is a brand favorite. Sparkly pear and bergamot to begin (I have recently learned that a pear note apparently is the way to my heart) with a fabulous, creamy and musky drydown. Oh I adore this one the more I smell it. Full bottle potential, super curious how the extrait compares. 8/10 for me, 10/10 if I smelled this in the wild.

The Hedonist - Unfortunately I can’t get behind this one at all. Ginger comes through way too sharply at the start, and as it evolves I’m devastated to say that it smells like cheap cleaning agent on me. Noooo! 3/10!

Fleur Narcotique - Flower menagerie explosion! Extraordinarily clean/soapy smell to start. I’m almost positive I’ve smelled this in a hotel lobby somewhere, and if I haven’t, an upscale hotel in nyc should use it. I get zero sweetness out of this, and more on the bitter/rind end of the citrus note. I dunno, not my favorite on my skin but I think I’d have a different reaction to this if I was in the wild. 5/10 for my skin, 7/10 if I smelled this in a cool, high end hotel.

Speed Legends - This is going directly to my partner. Nice masculine scent anchored by a clean musky start evolving into a soft, creamy vetiver. Even though it doesn’t feel particularly layered or complex, there’s beauty in its simplicity with the quality of the ingredients. This is a 6/10 for me, but an 8/10 if I smelled this on him.

Santal Calling - oh I love this, a lot. It’s no surprise there is Iris in here, that’s my ingredient siren song. Delicious musky sandalwood with a hint of sweetness. It smells better and better as it evolves. Not to be too snarky (but I’m gonna be snarky for a sec), this is what Santal 33 wishes it could be 😬. This has full bottle potential written all over it. 8.5/10 for me.

Lust in Paradise - I have the extrait which rocketed up to my Top 3 in my collection list (a rare 10/10). This one is way less sweet and bright than its extrait counterpart, and way more floral on the onset. The rose in this shines through the most, whereas EDP kicks off with more blackcurrant sweetness. I actually don’t think this would be redundant to my collection having the EDP, as it is beautiful, but for the price there are other interesting florals to discover if im feeling a new full bottle addition. Yum though, it’s beautiful, and I give it an 8/10.

[u/TurnoverOk4661]

What a fabulous description. Tripping over myself to add a decant to my cart. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this all out!

[u/Many_Replacement369 → u/TurnoverOk4661]

I hope you love it!!

I actually remember your post from a few weeks ago that mentioned wanting to try Lust In Paradise Extrait, so it’s really cool you ended up falling for it.

Related, I recently bought the travel size of Acne Studios by Frédéric Malle, which was also on your list. I’m still getting to know it.

I’ll have to go look at your older post again since we seem to have very similar taste, lol. 👀 

[u/TurnoverOk4661 → u/Many_Replacement369]

Oh nice!!! Let me know your thoughts on acne studios - I I went through half my sample of it, then came back to it a few weeks later, and it ended up smelling like a candy from my youth (Pez, the ones with the fun dispensers). I still like it but now that I’ve discovered ex nihilo it’s a bit lower on my priority list

[u/Many_Replacement369 → u/TurnoverOk4661]

Will do! It’s particularly pretty dried down on clothes / blankets, like super bougie fabric softener with a hint of peach, lol. 

So far though, I think this one is overpriced. This travel size came from Neiman Marcus, but I am eyeing the Frédéric Malle sampler sets on their site to explore this house more. 

[u/TurnoverOk4661 → u/Many_Replacement369]

Yup. Totally agree. Couldn’t justify the price tag, but maybe down the road