Darling Nikki

The folks at Vilhelm Perfumerie are wizards in branding fragrances with out-of-the-box pop culture imagery. It's anyone's guess what the blueberry notes in Poets of Berlin have to do with David Bowie or the basil in Basilico & Fellini with the Italian auteur, but you can't say the marketing is not innovative. Darling Nikki is, of course, a playful homage to the controversial peak-era Prince song and its title character, a sex fiend who pleasures herself with a magazine in a hotel lobby. What would Nikki have smelled like? According to Vilhelm Perfumerie, squeaky clean. The song may have a bit of a dirty vibe but if this fragrance is to be taken on face value, Nikki was a relentless bather. Forget leather and wood - they may linger in the background but before you spray, know that you'll be basking in soap for the whole day. It's a fleshy, nuanced, crisply peppery soap with the slight smoky edge characteristic to the Vilhelm brand, and it keeps you interested for the very long duration of its stay. It lasts the whole day on my skin and projects like a beast. But if smelling like you're fresh off a long bath from morning to night isn't your thing, you might not like Darling Nikki. You might even hate it. Bottom line: don't blind-buy this because the listed notes and the Prince connection are pretty misleading - I can't imagine Prince himself wearing a fragrance this soapy, that's for sure. It's daring and super niche and I’ve learned to love it, but it's definitely not a basic-bitch crowdpleaser. But nor was Prince, or Nikki of his song for that matter, so maybe that's the whole point.

The opening is almost nauseatingly plasticky, and I cannot get enough! Lipstick? On my fading leather smoke-infused handbag? It's more likely than you think... makeup and crumpled-up love notes along with bitter orange peels that have been forgotten. Overspraying this would be an act of clear aggression against the public, yet I want to drown in it. Wearing it makes me feel hot in an off-putting way. If it occasionally gives me a headache, it's 100% worth it. And the drydown... gorgeous. Gently sweet smoke and nostalgia for a place I've never been.

I chose this perfume for fall and winter season and ordered it ultimately by description. Absolutely no regrets as it perfectly matches cold weather, cozy sweaters and expensive restaurants. I love the heavy luxurious vibe it is giving, like a fur or a woolen winter coat. My husband smells incense, his younger brother smells saffron and the main accords for me are probably pepper and smoke. Can't smell mandarin or cassis at all(

Ok, so I love love love this! It’s in my top five for a reason it is like sex in a bottle. Like an ‘80’s era strip club-a classy one though. And it’s discontinued-how unfortunate for me. So if anyone knows of a dupe or hates it yet has a bottle gladly trade or purchase whatever just need in my collection forever and mine broke in a move. Teardrops and that is all!

Darling Nikki smells like my grandma's fur coat: a mixture of cigarette smoke, hard fruity candy and strong perfume that you happen to smell on that coat. Something about this combination made me so nostalgic and took my nose down a memory lane. Vintage-feel scent that is unlike any fragrance I've smelled before - strong, playful and powerful.

This is interesting perfumery that is meant to smell like Moscow in the 80's, and I'm struggling to wrap my head around it and describe it. Opening starts off spicy, floral and fruity green, followed by saffron, wood, fog machine smoke, and as someone said below, a mystery accord/note that reads to me like a chalky vanilla. It's blended well and not easy to pick out many individual notes aside from saffron, leather, and a strange smoke. The the sum of the parts is nostalgic and does remind me of the past (80's) in some way I cannot accurately explain. Maybe there was something in the carpets or an off gassing of a chemical that is no longer used today. Maybe it's the the saffron/lotus/smoke/carrot seed blend that is giving me that 80's leather couch and smoke machine vibe? I have no idea, but it's a cool creation. This one is not so avant garde that it's not wearable, and smells (albeit weird) IMO. It's also not so heavy that you couldn't use it in spring or moderate temperatures. Cool artwork 🎭 Scent 7.8/10 Performance 8.3/10

YSL Opium goes Cottagecore, with a slight edge. Lively, complex and peculiar. It's sweet like the sweetest of oranges, yet oddly vegetal, with a warm, fresh spiciness that's quite dominating. The extremely diverse list of accords is a good indicator of Darling Nikki's complex nature. It's like a strange concoction of citronella, a blazing cottage wood stove, a vegetable garden, baby powder, and resinous chunks of pitch cut from evergreens to serve as fire-starter. It's like going to visit your ambiguously-witchy, cottage-dwelling aunt for Autumn Equinox. Her cottage is on the edge of the woods. Its windows are cluttered with hanging herbs and gemstones; its garden wild and thriving. She stays up late into the night, drinking spiced rum and scribbling in notebooks, listening to old rock music. She leaves scraps out for the foxes.

Have you ever been to a crystal/occult shop that has hundreds of different types of incense burning at once along with endless candles and bags of herbs hanging on the walls? I grew up next to one, and this smells EXACTLY like that store. I bought this because my name is Nikki, but I was startled by the nostalgia bomb this gave me. I would spend hours in that shop growing up and leave smelling like this perfume, so it’s nice that I can still have that even though I don’t live near the store anymore. That said, it is VERY strong and not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s very unique and sultry.

This one is....... Different I like it and hate it at the same time I like it at the beginning of application I hated it the next day let me explain ! The beginning is reminiscent of opuim And definitely reminds of some older fragrances which is not necessarily a bad thing And it’s really powerful which is what annoys me I woke up the next day and the scent was still going strong The problem is this scent for me is not something i would love to smell 24/7 Projection was moderate

First blast of cool sweet starchy saffron floral. Not overpowering and dryer sheet-y though, its sweet and soft like a cloudy downy comforter or a very luxurious baby powder. I did get the fleeting sense of sweet smoke but I thought I was imagining it. The drydown turns rather woody, still very sweet though. Quite lovely if you don't mind intensifying sweetness. Feminine and best for cold weather.

This is a sparkling boozy YSL Opium with a hint of leather and added sweetness. In comparison to the mentioned above it's less dramatic, more airy and polished, has a pleasant luxury shampoo drydown, delicious and almost innocent. More party- than office-friendly, it's a joyful and radiant fragrance with some naughtiness in it's core.

the beginning appeared pretty vintage and the dry down kinda reminded me felce azzurra original shower gel (which I love) + leather

I found this to come across as quite floral but old skool floral on first spray I wasn’t a fan but in dry down it became a more grown up heavy fragrance. This is a very elegant and refined scent but it’s one that’s not for me. Glad I’ve had the opportunity to try it and u appreciated the sample poets... is still my fave from this house so far.

It smells both fresh and smoky at the same time. It's like you just took a shower with lotus scented soap, then immediately went to a hookah bar wearing your leather jacket. So if you want to smell like the cleanest person in the hookah bar, this is for you.

Cream Soda Rhubarb and Custard hard sweets Cheap plastic Halloween mask ‘Smoke’ There’s a hint of leather but not really I cannot get my brain through if I like this or if I find it ‘interesting’ or if I hate it. It’s like an experiment in expression

At first it opens with bright notes of leather, but after a while it gets the smell of smoke from aromatic incense sticks and plastic, or perhaps a leather vintage jacket from a second hand shop. I am not sure if this composition is long-lasting.

smells like synthetic cinnamon and vix vapor rub had a baby with patchouli - very rough on the nose to the point where I couldn't wait for it to dry down. Hard pass.

It smells like Avon Skin So Soft. Not a fan.

I don’t understand how some people seem to find this fragrance so offensive. To my nose it smells like walking into a very high end fragrance hall of a luxury department store (think Harrods or Harvey Nichols). It’s a classic, slightly old fashioned, expensive perfume smell, with wafts of new leather floating in from the designer bag section in the next hall. Without looking at the notes I would struggle to pick them out. Initially I get something floral and expensive smelling (probably the lotus and saffron). The only top note I can smell is the black pepper. As it dries down, I can smell leather (to me it’s new, fresh leather, not heavy or dusty) and some smoke. I guess that leathery, smoky dry down could be like stale cigarette smoke for some, but I think it’s a pleasant smell. I don’t think it would offend other people, as the projection is moderate (less than arms length), so I think if you like it you could wear it anywhere. In fact, I would wear it to work on days I want to feel mature, sophisticated and like I’ve got my shit together. I think it’s a sexy, mature woman’s fragrance. I had a 2ml sample which I’ve now pretty much finished. Whilst I’m not sure I would go out of my way to buy this, if I saw a good offer or it was in a fragrance set I would be very happy to get a larger size and would get good use out of it.

Strangely, this reminds me of two fragrances/memories from my childhood. I grew up in the 80s. Out the gate this reminds me of Youth Dew, a perfume that my grandmother used to wear. I was absolutely fascinated with the dark liquid in the bottle on her dresser. I remember it smelling both sweet and funky at the same time. About an hour later, the Youth Dew similarities fade and I am left with the smell of Avon bubble bath in the pink bottle that my grandmother used to pour in the tub before bath time. I don' smell any of the listed notes but this fragrance is instantly familiar to me. It reminds of of bath time and snuggling with my granny to watch an episode of Dynasty before falling asleep on the couch beside her and her carrying me to to my bed. Not sure that I'd want a whole bottle but I do appreciate the walk down memory lane.