Parfums de Nicolaï - Musc Monoï

Picture: Musc Monoï
Photo: PR Parfums de Nicolaï (c)

In the current tidewave of new nichehouses with strange or copy-cat fragrances, I'm even more grteful for the old, stable houses in this genre. The 25 years jubilee Parfums de Nicolaï is a true mainstay, creating high quality, elegant and in the same time effortless fragrances which also often are innovative even if the PdN house doesn't make any fuss about it. Such a fragrance is the latest release, Musc Monoï,as usual created by Patricia herself.

Musc Monoï is said to be inspired by summer, beach and the suntan oil Ambre Solarie and as I havn't tried the oil, I can't refer to if Musc Monoï is close to it or not. But when I refer to suntan oils in general, Musc Monoï is not smelling as the regular, coconut, big tiare overdosed ones. Musc Monoï in comparison is restraind and casual chic in the same time it's warm and highlights the sweet ylang-ylang backed up with a deeper jasmine and is brightend of the flowery-lemony qualities of magnolia in a beautiful way. There is also something aldehydic in its style, like a carefree, tropical island Chanel No 5 Eau Premièrè. It could also be a bohemic-chic cousin (draped in a 140x140 Hermès parero) to the classic aldehyde Hermès Calèche personality.Probably it's the warmth, the yellowness and carefree apperance of both fragrances that gives me these assosciations
.

Picture: Hermès "Jungle Love",
cashmere and silk  (140x140)
Photo: PR Hermès (c)

After the flowery beginning, Musc Monoï reach a more musky stage which deepens the apperance of the flowers. I can smell a salty quality as also some stripped down, dry coconut and the same with the, in general almost narcotic, tiareflower. It's like a minimalistic, domesticated accord of the nut/tiare and here I for the first time can smell some light traces of a sunscreen of my childhood, Snik an old austrian classic (mostly worn during the winterholidays in the swedish mountains), sadly I havn't seen in the shops in this millennium. As Musc Monoï dries down further, a slight juicy, but not fruity, quality shows up. Probably this is the dreaded note of calone, handled in the right, cautious way. The musk in Musc Monoï is not dominating as a note, to my nose it's more of a carrier of the floral and light salty notes and the musk is probably the component that lends the good longevity to Musc Monoï, it lasts for almost a day, off beach.

When it comes to the salty notes, such sometimes could be almost intrusive, I'm thinking of Laboratorio Olfattive Salina which I think is a ok smelling fragrance but it has to be handled carefully as it has a grand sillage and longevity for days. Salty notes lightly done like in Musc Monoï or Parfumerie Générales perfect summerfragrance Bois Naufrage doesn't require such considerations when applying and is therefore relaxing and uncomplicated.

Musc Monoï is easy to like but not at all simple. It's definitly a charming campanion for summer and it could easily also be worn in the tiresome summerdays in the office.Musc Monoï is avaible in the (new) Nicolaï standardbottles 30 & 100 ml from the PdN website.

Rating: 4+

Notes: Neroli, lemon, petitgrain,  ylang-ylang, jasmine, coconut, calone, magnolia, ylang-ylang, sandalwood musk

Thanks to Parfums de Nicolï for the sample to test