Fleur Narcotique

Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique smells less watery than Lust in Paradise (LIP), from the same brand, in the opening but it also turns into a floral lotion as well. I mentioned the opening of LIP is like “the smell of light pink petals steeped in cool water, with litchi or some fruit dropped and soaked in the water as well. When infused, the water is used to make a nice floral lotion." This has that vibe, except there is peach and more dewy bright orange blossoms than the pink petals steeped in the water. A musky, floral-infused lotion is what this is for the life of the fragrance until the end. It’s a little past intimate, low moderate, and very feminine. It projects more in the opening. I had it listed as okay for the longest because of the price point, but have moved it to a like because it's still done very well for what it wanted to accomplish. Now love. However, if you need something that is more projecting and punchy especially in the opening, with a woody muskier texture and soft vanilla musk dry-down, PDM Valaya would probably be a better choice. For me, I don't prefer the constant tease of an impending headache, so Fleur Narcotique works better for me. Every time I do wear this back to back, it oddly makes my throat sore? Not itchy like I want to cough, but just soreness. Like it hits the front of the inside of my throat real different, then goes away when I take a break. So I guess I'll just have to space out my wears. It helps spraying something sweet, like Devotion Intense, on another part of my body. The freshness and sweetness mixes beautifully in the air and solves the weird throat issue lol.

Truly a cautionary tale to not be led by reviews and sample fragrances for yourself. I had anticipated this being a generic designer fragrance profile fruity-floral, definitely not warranting of the price tag and, on paper, it is. However, on skin I LOVED this. I had an incredibly helpful SA at Ex Nihilo who insisted I wear this on skin throughout the day to appreciate the fragrance before purchasing and I'm so glad I gave it a proper go. It certainly feels ethereal, like a veil of white florals. I understand the 'clean' aspect but wouldn't pidgeon-hole it as a clean fragrance. I don't get the (off-putting) metallic/screechy/soapy notes of popular 'clean' smelling fragrances on the market. I'm looking at you Blanche, Valaya... This is a great floral fragrance for those who aren't necessarily inclined towards 'developed' or more robust florals. FN's florals are diluted by the sheer musks in the base to be overall a care-free and effortless wear, like a cool breeze through a jasmine field. The opening fruits are lost quickly and I would appreciate better projection and longevity for the price, but that doesn't really guide a fragrance buy for me, as this is extremely wearable and genuinely the sort of 'signature' fragrance I'd like for people to associate me with :D. I do believe it is a masterpiece of it's genre and understand the hype. DON'T be fooled by the Extrait though, the fruits smell RANCID to me.

Does it have flowers medically qualifying as narcotic? No poppy, no datura, no cannabis, even no tobacco, so no. Does it have the usual florals associated with a narcotic heady smell in perfumery? No night blooming jasmine, no tuberose, no narcissus or frangipani, so again no.. Did Quentin Bisch manage to render peonies narcotic in Fleur Narcotique? Oh YES! For what is being offered today this is a Beautiful floral. You keep sniffing your wrists and coming back for more; so yes it’s addictive. Is it worth the price? Questionable. “They used quality synthetics” (Petalia, isoE-super and Evernil are obvious) but how expensive can synthetics be? “They hired Quentin Bisch”. Well he’s so brilliant but Lattafa hired him and Teriaq costs like $50. “It is so unique”. Is it? I love it BUT it is not unique enough. Remember OG Chloe EDP and its flankers. That is another bright clean lychee-peony-rose on a musk wood base, very similar in direction although more about a soapy rose and at a fraction of the price. Will I get a full bottle? Probably not. I have a generous 10 ml decant that will probably last me my lifetime. Given it’s a strong performer (its persistence can be annoying on days you’re prone to a headache), I’m in my fifties and I have a large collection. If and when I run out of my decant I might get another decant. Definitely worth it.

I was introduced to this via a sample sprayed on a card, not having any familiarity with the brand prior to this other than having heard of them. I liked what I smelled of this, but what really got me, was smelling the card the next day...and the next... and the next...and the next... This remained strong and distinct for at least a week - and I fell head over heels for the dazzling peachy-floral-uplifting magic created by the most uber-talented wunderkind, Quentin Bisch! I ordered a sample so I could test this properly on skin and was happy to discover how beautifully it wears, and indeed lasts a significant amount of time! This is one at the top of my wish list, for sure, but I sincerely wish it wasn't SO damn expensive!! The price is what holds me back, because while I love this unquestionably, I'm debating whether it projects enough. For this kind of price I want serious beast-mode performance ;-) But all that aside, Fleur Narcotique is everything I look for in a 'fruity floral' (God help me - I just LOVE this genre!): the peach and litchi are prominent and the notes all dance so beautifully together. Like Tilia, this one is mood-lifting, bright and happy! Now, If only they'd knock a few $$$ of the price :-)

An absolutely lovely, bright, clean peachy-fruity floral. Well-rounded and nothing offensive in the composition to me--not soapy, not bitter, not tacky. It's an unmistakably fine fragrance. At over $300 CDN for a little 50 ml bottle (1.7 oz), and bearing similarity to other fruity florals on the market now (albeit inferior ones), I'm not sure it's an expense I can justify. It does make me quite happy, though, and such impressive longevity! I'm surprised to find myself considering it. UPDATE: After about 6 hours wearing it (with high body temperature), I did find the fruity sweetness distracting. My husband also commented several times that he hoped it would get more subtle very soon. It may have been my high body temperature that cooked the fruity-sweet notes--I'll try again on a cooler day. UPDATE 2: Still mulling this over. Tried it on again. Still love it, but still the occasional sense of something not sitting well--strangely, I get the slightest nausea in waves. My husband (not knowing what I'm testing) once again grumbled it was s smell he couldn't ignore. I'm wondering if it's something in the compounds. And the longevity is certainly epic on this one! UPDATE 3: Bought it!