Nacre

Nacre refers to the coating oysters apply to irritants. Once enough layers of nacre build up, you have a pearl. And Nacre is truly a pearl. It is glowingly beautiful, elegant in its simplicity, and delicate only in the impression it creates. The spring blossoms really shine in this scent. While clearly marketed towards women, I think that this would be phenomenal on a man. There is nothing "masculine" about it, the notes are just so fresh that this will complement anyone. The opening accord of Nacre is utterly lovely. This is the truest lime blossom I have found in a scent, supported by waxy, bitter orange blossom, and crisp, juicy ginger. The ginger note is almost gourmand. It's not sweet candied ginger, but the ginger you get when you slice into a fresh root, spicy, crunchy, making your nose tingle in excitement. As Nacre develops, the subtle, beautifully rounded pear appears. Normally I don't get fruit from scents, an oddity of my skin chemistry but here I clearly find the fresh crisp scent of a japanese pear- the round, yellow kind, that drip juice down your chin and crunch when you bite them. Vanilla and ambrette play a supporting role, filling out the white flowers and the fruit. The addition of warm ambery vanilla here is beautifully done, and the earthy herbaceousness of the ambrette is an unexpectedly lovely counterpoint. From time to time I get a whiff of pungent rose, which makes an intriguingly peekaboo appearance throughout the extended life of Nacre. With the exception of the rose note, Nacre so realistically presents its notes that it is almost a gourmand- not the sweet gooey gourmands currently popular, but an adult, elegant gourmand, a scent comprised of the flowers and spices you actually encounter in spring, when the breeze freshens and you want to bite life, swallow it down, and savor its juices. Nacre is gorgeous- it remains crisp and clean throughout, and is the perfect springtime scent. In point of fact, I think that this would be perfect anywhere, at any time. It is completely stunning. Moderate sillage, but a lovely long scent trail- Nacre hovers behind you. It is unfortunate that this scent is so difficult to find! I would wear this constantly if I had been able to obtain anything larger than a 1.7oz. This is an amazing scent, and I encourage anyone who has the chance to try it to do so!

Now that Patou has gone out of business, I've been revisiting some of the fragrances I love from this house. Nacre tops the list for me. A beautiful combination of fruit, florals, a little spiciness, with a mild powder dry down due to the lovely orris note, accented with a touch of vanilla. The combination of ripe pear and ginger is downright delectable; and the ambrette is adding an animalic muskiness to the scent from the moment you spray it on until it leaves your skin many hours later. Floral notes of rose, lemon blossom, orange blossom, and jasmine are beautifully showcased in the heart. As far as being too sweet, I don't think this is particularly sweet. It has the sweetness of that naturally found in fruit, which I found just perfect. I'm honestly don't know much about the perfumer, as there are not many scents that he made that I tried. But of those I have tried to date, this is his crowning achievement. There is one very big problem though. Out of all the Patou's, this is the hardest to find. From what I understand, this had a really short run before being discontinued and is in very limited supply. Fortunately, there are still plenty of minis available if you'd like to try it. I happened to luck out on a reasonable (though still expensive) 1.7oz after a year of searching, so obtaining a fb can be done. You just need patience. To me it was well worth the wait because I absolutely love this gorgeous perfume. It really is a gem!

I wanted something warm, cheerful and uplifting on this cold winter day, so I reached for Nacre. I don't wear Nacre very often ( saving it as it is not widely available anymore), but every time i put it on it has a wow effect on me. The pear-ginger combination is really wonderful: very rich, zesty, sunny and juicy. Jasmine and rose add a lot of sophisitcation to the perfume. Usually floral fruity and sopisticated or complex don't go well together, but Patou made it possible and he did it extremely well. Great sillage and longevity goes without saying. Top notch quality. I will definitely miss Nacre when I run out of it.

This is one of the 3 Patous that are quite different from the rest and not so grand and formal, but just as complex and beautiful. Hip is a spicy Patou, Patou Forever is bold chypre, and Nacre is fruity. I love the combination of pear and ginger with a floral bouquet! Just like all Patou fragrances, Nacre is beautiful and unforgettable. And of course the same top quality....noticeable and long lasting. I am so glad I have the pleasure of enjoying it before it vanishes completely from Ebay and online stores.

Hmmm....no one has rated this one and it is already dicontinued. I guess I will be the first one sometimes next week.

Nacre is a very well done fruity floral perfume. A grown up version of a mostly teenage genre of fragrances. Nacre opens up w/ soft ambette musk followed by a just ripened pear. The ginger shows up and adds a subtle fresh spicy effect but doesn't overpower. In the heart of the fragrance lemon blossom shines and is followed by orange blossom and jasmine and becomes a sunny citrus floral perfume. In the dry down a toned down vanilla adds a slight balsamic quality to the citrus floral bouquet. This a pretty, yet fun and flirty musky, fruity floral that is very wearable and it is a shame it is no longer in production since it is far superior to almost all of the fragrances in this genre currently on the market now. Edit: 5/1/22 I can't believe I forgot to mention in my review the beautiful orris note in this perfume. Gosh I really love this one and I have only an ounce left. What I wouldn't give for a full bottle, preferably a large 3.4 ounce. This is just gorgeous and I should've rated it a love in my review. Edit: 6/24/25 I miss this perfume much. I wish I could get more. I used my ounce quickly because I didn't want it to go bad. I really enjoyed wearing it. On the same level as great fruity florals like Chanel Allure. What a loss.

This is a nice floral perfume. It's sweet but not to sweet. I can pick up on the jasmin and amber and it smells very elegant. I was lucky to get a mini for $7 since FB are going for a couple hundred. It lasts a long time too. It would be a scent you could wear on a date or for work for day or for night. Very nice!

This is a BIG perfume - HUGE in fact. Like a jasmine punch in the face with orange and lemon blossoms ganging up with a rich rose and vanilla to overwhelm me. Very lovely in a huge way but just too much billowing jasmine for my taste. I have marked sillage as enormous.. longevity, I have a feeling, will be days.

Patou Nacre is another fragrance on my ever-growing list of discontinued loves. I can see why it didn't fare well with its release in the 2000's. Fresh scents from the 90's still had a definite place in popular fragrance culture and the trend of super-sweet and fruity was on the ascent and ready to reign. Poor Nacre didn't have a chance with the masses at that time - it was too refined for all that superficial bulls**t! LOL ;) Nacre smells "pearly", rounded and fuzzy-soft. I feel like this scent would fit the name of Cashmere Mist better than what is in the actual Cashmere Mist bottle! The citrus blossoms are the heart of this fragrance - sweet with a floral freshness, all the while feeling tender and billowy. The pear note is detectable but it isn't juicy-fruity or watery at all; it's like the skin of the pear is being warmed by the sun and releasing its light sweetness. I don't detect any ginger on my skin (which is good - I don't like ginger) and the rose appears and disappears throughout the time Nacre is on my skin, making the composition all the more intriguing. Orris offers an element of cool sophistication to Nacre but it is still ultimately a comforting fragrance. I feel like the lucky people that able to wear blush, beige and taupe colored clothing well will find a friend in Nacre; I "see" those colors when I smell this fragrance (along with fuzzy textures and soft illuminating orbs light.) People love or hate Nacre. I covet this unique, soft, refined scent. <3

This is a very sweet lovely perfume does anyone know where you can buy the spray 2.5 ounce or the solid perfume?...I love sweet fragrances and would really like to get this fragrance again...so far now I can only find the mini perfume and may have to just stick with the mini perfume until I can find the spray and also would just love to find the solid perfume...does anyone else here also like solid perfumes?...especially by Jean Patou?...I think they are great and are easy for packing....or just touch-ups, without having to carry around a big bottle...one trick I have found about solid perfumes...in a hot summer they tend to melt so at night time keep themin the frig

I traded an antique sample of Colony for this. It's really an unusual recipe for House of Patou. While I'm decidedly not one for sweet perfumes, the ginger tames the sweet to a satisfactory degree. And unlike most sweeter scents, this one doesn't seem to play Frankenstein with my skin chemistry. It's still a little sweeter than I'd prefer to wear but it's suitable for certain kinds of situations. It was a new, unopened bottle until today and I'd be willing to talk trade if somebody is desperate to find a bottle.