Pavlova

Being Australian, I consider myself a Pavlova connoisseur and I’ve made Pavlova many times. This doesn’t smell like any pavlova I’ve ever made... What I do get is pineapple and sparkling sugar - in the best way. I do get meringue, but this more the French meringue cookie with a lot of vanilla extract. Imagine this is whizzed in the food processor and then sprinkled all over a really juicy pineapple cocktail. It smelt ahmazinggggg. Found it on good discount (less than 50% retail RRP) and a 30ml FB is on its way to me as we speak. For the price I am paying and the quality of this fragrance, I am very pleased. I spent a good 3 hours catching wafts of this from where I sprayed my arm. For those that don’t get the opportunity to sample before deciding - this perfume really is like a pineapple daiquiri with sprinkled meringue. It is SWEET, but not cloying. There is an airiness in the sweetness. Due to the sweetness I feel this is a more feminine fragrance. I would caution anyone that is expecting the actual smell of pavlova. Yes it has meringue, but there is usually a lot of cream and berries on an actual pav. There is no creamy or milky note in this fragrance at all meaning it doesn’t smell like a pina colada either. I would never put pineapple on pav. This really should have been called something else. As a non gourmand lover and someone who doesn’t own many tropical fragrances, this really grabbed me as something unique and special. Love it! Worth considering if you find it at the right price...

The 2024 releases are so different from the collections before that seemed a bit outdated for modern taste. Finally something that can please younger generation. A classical Pavlova is a dessert with raspberries. But Madame de Nicolai decided to make a fruity version of Pavlova. With the accord of Rum, the perfume feels more like a tropical cocktail, a Pina Colada, rather than a dessert with cream. Nonetheless, it feels very airy and not sweet in a gourmand sense. Pineapple dominates throughout. Coconut shows up here and there. I certainly recommend it to all lovers of tropical scents. I am not a fan of modern Amber-Musks that usually come with Cedarwood and are supposed to add "animalistic touch". But I assume, they help to make it more long lasting. In September in Paris I could feel the fragrance on myself for good 5-6 hours. Dina_France (perfume reviews on YouTube)

Of the three new gourmands from Nicolai this is my absolute favorite, with St. Honore being a close second and Macaron Bourbon also being enjoyable to me but the least gourmand of the trio. Pavlova is very pineapple forward, so if you're not a pineapple lover, best to steer clear. I love a good pineapple and this is blended sooo beautifully with the vanilla and passionfruit shining brightly alongside the vibrant, juicy pineapple. Thankfully, the coconut is subtly rendered, so this doesn't turn into some air-heady--tropical--fruity--teenagery--body spray concoction whatsoever, and why?? Because Patricia de Nicolai is a genius! I'm far from being a teenager and while this one may appeal to a younger audience I don't find it remotely immature but a fun, gorgeous and impressively long lasting, beautifully blended gourmand for any human who loves this genre!

I am absolutely shocked with how much I adore this! It arrived today and was a scary blind buy! Growing up in Australia pavlova was always topped with passion fruit and mango/pineapple. It’s an extremely light and airy, toasted, spun-sugar, meringue base. This smells exact like that and will be my summer scent. The opening is a hedonistic delight- a stunning blast of tropical notes with a good splash of rum. As this evolves a slightly tart note joins it which lifts it from being cloying to divine. The sweet sugar slowly comes through and it smells light as air. There’s a nice warm, toasty base that really only shines after an hour or two. Longevity is good on my skin, at about 5-6 hours there’s still scent on me. This is a 9/10 for me. It would be a 10 but I could only afford 30ml and already know I need the 100ml

On my skin it opens fresh syrupy pineapple forefront. Coconut follows quickly behind. Then it evolves into a creamy almost meringue like quality which is when I start to smell more of berry/peach. This is no blast of musk, more like it supports a lightness, airy freshness with the cedar and sandalwood. This is definitely an evolving fragrance. I enjoy the strong opening and the development and softer stages. It is very well blended--smooth. Not sure yet on the longevity. I am thoroughly pleased with my purchase. Blind Buy success for me which is often not the case. I do not get the La Capitale comparison, no oud, no leather. No Mango either

This is Tree Hut Pineapple Sugar scrub in a bottle - to my nose it opens JUST LIKE my scrub/shower gel and I can't wait to layer it with the body cream together I think it'll be HEAVEN. I was looking for an exact copy of that in a bottle and here we go!! Very sweet though so if that's not your vibe you probably won't love this fragrance. I've put unisex because the dry down is more unisex but the opening is where its at!!! On me it stayed with the opening fruit bomb for a good hour and then it got more subtle and a bit more woodie (cedar mostly).

This one is my favorite of the three dessert perfumes. Don't let the pineapple opening fool you - it's not Kirke though the first seconds could remind of it. On skin it quickly turns into very delicate, pleasant creamy vanilla fragrance. It smells like very expensive body lotion in the best possible way. It's quiet but noticeable, the sweetness is subtle and perfect for the fall. The poorer longevity is a drawback but overall it's quite a good frag.

Pavlova is certainly fun but not in any way frivolous! It's fruity and fresh for sure (the pineapple note reminds of the cube shaped boiled sweets coated in sugar granules which I loved when I was a kid) but a dash of rum and subtle vanillic / woody notes in the base bring a gentle nudge of seriousness to the party. This is quite a departure for Maison Nicolai and I love it!

Beautiful, delicious pineapple scent. A bit like the most delicious pineapple candy. Or some actual pineapple (or canned pineapple) coated in vanilla powdered sugar. Light, airy, but still noticeable and gourmand. It is an easy to wear, light scent simply bringing joy. It is not extremely long lasting, but for such profile I would say lasting power is excellent. And delicious pineapple stays throughout the entire wear. This is best pineapple scent I have discovered so far (not that I was particularly searching for one). Musk is just the right type and amount to give it nice freshness, but if is not off putting, unlike many other fruity musks on the market. If you read to this point, you definitely need to sample this one! ❤️

This is quite nice. I don't typically gravitate to summery tropical fragrances so I don't know that I will rush out to buy a full bottle but it seems like it could be an easy grab. I feel like it's very balanced for a gourmand and is not too sweet. I do feel like while I still do get the pineapple its a little overshadowed by the coconut. The drybdown is a little woody and while it's not listed in the notes I definitely smell ambroxan. Adding to my maybe someday list

This to me smells like bubble gum, the ones that taste tropical. It’s flirty and girly. I can see colors of popping yellow and hot pink. I don’t know how a pavlova is suppose to taste like, but this smells like the candy I used to eat as a kid.

This smells VERY similar to Alien Iced Star. Lots of pineapple, smells like a tropical drink.

In this fragrance the pineapple jumps at you in an instant, before the passion fruit is sure to follow. The sticky sweet fruit is juicy and bursting with flavours that are sure to remind you of lazy summer days. There is also something creamy that embraces them, probably the coconut, and when the fragrance settles down on the skin it is almost shampoo fresh and fruity. I get tropical juice, or sweet canned fruits. It is very sweet, and a tad synthetic, which almost makes it a bit juvenile. But don’t quote me on that, I tend to think that sweet fruity scents get a bit juvenile because of trend perfumes from the last decade. In some ways this reminds me of ‘Carioca Heart’ by Jusbox, but ‘Pavlova’ is a bit sourer, probably from the passionfruit and raspberry. And ‘Pavlova’ feels more synthetic. ‘Carioca Heart’ feels way creamier and more laid back in a way. But comparisons aside, ‘Pavlova’ is a great alternative, and I really want the pineapple and passion fruit to stay longer, but they are traditionally not the notes that stay... In summary, I feel like it falls between the cracks when it turns into more of a musky peach in the drydown. For me, that makes the perfume end up as something mediocre at best.

Pavlova initially smells... like a pavlova. Tart tropical fruit and sugary, light meringue. And it's delightful. This is one of the kinds of gourmand that work for me. It's light, fresh, and fluffy, without a trace of cloying heaviness. There is kind of a lot of Iso E Super, though, buzzing around and adding a "woody" note a few minutes in, and threatening to smell cheap. Then, it's rescued; there's a note that smells exactly like coconut water, somehow "aquatic" without harshness. We've transformed from a pavlova to a piña colada, and it's not half bad. A little tinny, but nothing terrible. Do I want to smell like a piña colada? Not especially, but this is a fine instance of class. Pavlova is a little bit of a bait-and-switch, with that glorious, unique passionfruit-and-meringue opening lasting only a few minutes and being replaced by a much more mundane pineapple scent, but it *is* cheerful and solid, so I can't complain too much.

This opens legitimately like someone tipped a whole ramekin of berry coulis straight onto my nose. Not “fruity”, F R U I T. Bright, wet, exploding. That moment where you taste the first spoon of dessert and your brain goes wait... this is kinda insane. And then, then it thickens! Oh dear. Not in an artificial gummy-bear way and more akin to fruit cooked down past its youth. Pectin. Heat. Sugar pulling the juices into something chewy, glossy, almost sticky on the air. It turns from fresh berries to fruit gel, and the saccharine creep is real. Not cheap, not plasticky, just... too much of a good thing. What’s impressive (and lowkey why it annoys me) is how natural it stays. You can smell the realism: the cooked skins, the darker tang under the sweetness, the way the fruit’s acidity tries—tries—to keep the sugar in check. Think a sugar coma with excellent ingredients. Lovely, yes. But also... please get me water.

I remember trying it once it was released and thought it was interesting but not good enough to buy When I got it now I think my primary idea was spot on It’s ok but nothing special Sadly a lot of fruit themed scents seem to overlap which makes it hard to pinpoint or to differentiate between them I gotta admit I did feel the pineapple at initial sprays but then it turns to the tropical mixture which a lot of fragrances have such as Kirke and xerjoffs fruity scent which I can’t recall right now I should’ve trusted my first instincts and left it on the shelf If you already have a tropical scent that you like most probably this won’t add anything extra to your collection

Seriously, guys, just get one of Britney’s tropical style Fantasies. There is absolutely no difference. Edit: So ok, I have worn it properly now. It’s deeper and higher quality than I thought. More like a less screechy Kirke. That’s all. Edit: I now really like it. It is, however, similar to Kirke, but I actuall6 like it a lot more. Kirke, I used tolove, but it’s too crazy for me now, to chaotic. This Pavlova is sexy, mysterious fruity. Glad I got it, but won’t wear it often.

Sad face. On my skin, I get pineapple at opening, with pineapple and cream at the dry down. That’s it. Points must be given for the photorealistic pineapple; I almost expect my body to be sticky when wearing this. While it’s linear on my skin, give it a go if you love gourmand scents that aren’t too sweet.

In the initial opening, you are hit with a blast of passionfruit and pineapple, and it’s very distinct. Peach and coconut come later. This is not a creamy fluffy pavlova at all. It’s a pineapple BBW scent at best. Definitely not worth a price tag. I own Nicolais Fig tea and it’s perfect but I’m disappointed with this one. It really smells like something I got in the summer from Bath and body Works. 6.5/10

Pineapple and passionfruit. These are not typically the types of fruits one serves on a pavlova. As the top wears on, it becomes increasingly unpleasant and nowhere do I sense a meringue. I read that the perfumer really doesn't care for desserts and didn't intend these to be realistic impressions, and in my experience I can confirm they are not. 30 ml up for swap

This is Pavlova by a person who has never had Pavlova in their life and is banned from every confectionery in their town for putting pineapple slices on cakes and brownies while waiting in line to buy milk chocolate with sea salt — an absolutely psychotic chocolate choice. I struggled giving away a full bottle because everyone agreed with the description.

The opening is great! Juicy pineapple and passionfruit! I immdiately detected pineapple without looking at the notes. It's like sweet pineapple juice, super realistic! However, what's left on my skin eventually is the sour screechy musk...Also, to me, the name Pavlova is a bit reluctant...

I'm a huge fan of Aunty Pat and her sublime legacy, but this is hideous. It's not quite as obnoxiously horrific as Kirke, but it's not far off. Lovers of gas warfare such as Montale and Mancera, as well as the aforementioned ghaslty T Terrenzi perfume will probably love this. I shudder to imagine sharing an office, or a post code, with anyone who "rocks* this type of perfume.

I am a kiwi so very familiar with Pavlova - this is a pretty good interpretation! The difficulty is that pavlova the dessert doesn't really smell like anything except whatever toppings it has, so this is more conceptual than realistic. Passionfruit is at the forefront here, which is not a common pavlova topping but not unheard of either. You also definitely get peach and pineapple (also not really pavlova toppings, but it works). I don't really get any coconut but I guess it contributes to the overall creamy meringue feel, which is in the background but definitely present throughout. In the deep dry down it has a slightly toasted smell, which is close enough to the smell of pav fresh out of the oven. It smells very nice regardless. It's very tropical, fruity, creamy and smooth, but not a syrupy sugar bomb (even though, let's be real, pavlova is very explicitly a sugar bomb). It's not a terrible performer, but not a great one either. I sprayed it at lunch time and 6 hours later I can only get the vaguest hint of it while sniffing my arm directly, but I could smell it decently well for the first 4 hours.

So far, I have only worn this fragrance in late winter and my experience seems to differ from other reviews. I believe it’s probably the rum right off the top, but I initially get a chocolatey vibe mixed with pineapple! The cake effect & coconut doesn’t last, and this fragrance dries down to pineapple-vanilla scent on me. Truly lovely and long lasting. I am not sure I see myself wearing this during the high heat of summer? But yes, I will surely experiment with the high heat wear in the future as I do appreciate this fragrance!! Full disclosure, I am not really a gourmand fanatic...but I am running low on my EL Bronze Goddess (which I do wear on high heat summer nights) and saw this as an interesting alternative with a twist!!

The first slap of pineapple would have you thinking this is in the realm of juvenile sweet body sprays, but that quickly dissipates. There is a subtle pine note that saves this for me. We don't tend to put pineapple on pavlova in the antipodes. Some would certainly put passionfruit but the majority of us would put strawberry and/or kiwi. The pine and cedar underlying the creaminess and fruits, does evoke a Christmas vibe for me, and I enjoy it. Not a daily wear but I have purchased a 30ml and will enjoy this immensely over the sunny southern hemisphere Christmas. Give this a chance on the skin for a few hours, the obnoxious opening settles into something uplifting and enjoyable.

This is a review of the INTENSE VERSION. I received a sample of the intense version and wow, it is the most delicious pina colada scent. It’s quite cloying if sprayed a lot but you need to spray a lot otherwise it disappears into a faint body lotion scent within 20 mins. What a gorgeous scent. Too bad it’s super expensive for what it is. I have smelt many pineapple coconut perfumes in my life at various price points so sadly, despite being delicious, this will not turn into a full bottle. Oh and, it apparently is available for pre order. For an extremely tropical scent, they missed the summer boat. Though this will be horribly cloying in the summer so that’s a paradox.

Oh...no. I get the fruity opening that comes to my nose feeling as harsh as a cold knife. I expected a tender, delicious gourmand scent, have you ever eaten a pavlova? have you at least seen a picture of it? this scent has nothing to do with it. There is no tender delicious airy fluffy meringue notes with vanilla and fruits...no. You get a harsh, synthetic, high pitched sour pineapple/coconut/kool-aid air freshener! this is HARSH. My heart ...my poor heart...I feel so disappointed. I was planning to buy this scent. Good thing I only got a sample. There is a special place in hell and in my trash can for this sample.

In Australia we don’t usually put pineapple on a Pav but it’s a nice touch in this fragrance. It smells like when you open a can of tinned pineapples. You get the passion fruit, raspberry and a nice touch of a subtle yet perceivable rum. There’s maybe a slight bit of coconut to back it all up but it’s not the sun tan lotion type. As it dries you get more vanilla, musk and woodiness. A real nice blended fragrance that’s perfectly unisex. I got the 15ml travel spray but don’t think I’ll purchase a bigger bottle when I’m done. It will have some fans though, for sure.

When I was 11, I bought a pack of pineapple coconut gum (I think the brand was Extra) one summer in Paris. This transported me to that exact moment. It's not a light, fluffy pavlova - it's a dense, sweet, tropical bubblegum. I wish I liked it, but it's just a bit too much for me. The lasting power is pretty good though. I sprayed it on my wrist at a perfume shop the other day. Then I got rained on (like, harsh Florida rain) for about 20 minutes, and I could still smell it pretty clearly after.

My friend once hosted a supper club where she made a pineapple baked alaska in a coupe. It had a spongey cake at the base and and an absolutely incredible caramelised pineapple coulis along with the cream and meringue. It was tart, fragrant, creamy, airy, dense, syrupy sweet but also smooth and fluffy like an expensive a cashmere sweater. This perfume is an exact translation of that dessert.

I was curious and tried it in store on my skin without knowing the notes, but I don’t like pineapple as a note, and 4 hours later it was still there going strong... I can appreciate that it’s nicely blended and pretty, but just really not my thing. If you like pineapple scents this is probably something you should try though!

To me, this is very similar to THOO Keep Glazed in the opening but in the dry down it's similar to Jusbox Carioca Heart. Almost like you get a two-for-one. I prefer the opening of this to KG but the dry down cannot compete with CH. For that reason, this won't make it to the FB list.

Blind smelling this on a blotter, it was hard not to smile. It's fruity in a playful way, like an orange and mango salad with banana candy. Is this the fruity candy scent I've been looking for? Maybe, but it's probably a bit too feminine for me. Didn't change much as it dried down.

Definitely feminine although is could be unisex with fem lean. Smells tropical with a passionfruit superdose, very nice. I can see this on a woman dressed casually sipping on fruity mixed drink overlooking a beach sunset, with not a care in the world, living in the present.

Starts very natural smelling, creedish pineapple. In couple of minutes transforms to coconut touched with peach-passion fruit accord. Then it settled to carefree pina colada. It should be called Pina Colada not Pavlova

Does anyone know when will this be released? I can’t seem to find it anywhere in Europe. Edit: Thank you Astrina for your reply. I will wait patiently until September to tame my curiosity

This is called a pina colada in a bottle. Sweet and tropical fruity. Playful and summery. This fragrance will suit those who are not the biggest fans of gourmand fragrances.

I hope these gourmands will be included in their travel spray box, would love to try all three! Update: yes you can buy all three new releases with their box 3x15ml €95

A yummy light tropical creamy delight. First fruits are very tropical, but with development they start transforming more and more into raspberry.

Absolutely marvelous sweet fruity scent, has a beautiful hint of pina colada. Vibrant passion fruit and smooth vanilla. 9/10

@AK2, All three Nicolai gourmands - Pavlova, Saint Honoré and Macaron Bourbon, are being launched in september

I wished they would have made the boxes prettier with the fruit pictures on them.

Sinnlig pineapple-passionfruit scented candle by Ikea. Pass.