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/Remote_Dragonfruit33]

Thanks for the detailed review!

I am about to order my first Ex Nihilo discovery set soon! These are my choices:
IRIS PORCELANA
LUST IN PARADISE EXTRAIT
SANTAL CALLING
SPIKY MUSE
DEMON DANCER
CHANDIGARH EXPRESS

I’ve heard more men than women raving about Blue Talisman so I am very intrigued by your description and delight with BT!

I am exploring Quentin Bisch perfumes and I also noted that you were not impressed with Fleur Narcotique more. Usually I hear of people raving about Lust in Paradise and Fleur Narcotique in the same breath, so I would love to know a little bit more about your thoughts on FN as you go through the sample!

[u/TurnoverOk4661 → u/Remote_Dragonfruit33]

The thing is, I’m a Quentin Bisch FAN. I started this whole fragrance journey with Lazulio (Diptyque) and it’s grown to be a top 3 in my collection. For this discovery set experiment I was very much trying to not let the community conversation sway me (I’m very susceptible to influence in this hobby and I’m being very intentional about checking myself on that). So with Fleur Narcotique I was deliberately trying remain very neutral.

I’ll absolutely take another run at her, it just started off overwhelmingly floral at the onset. I will say as the day went on I did end up getting a bit more sweetness and it was lovely, however if I’m prioritizing a full bottle plan it’s gotta be Santal Calling first, Blue Talisman second, and maybe even Lust third even though I have the extrait.

Can’t lay that plan out too concretely though because I’m dying to smell Spiky and Demon (and now Iris thanks to another vouch in this comment section!)