Nina Ricci L'Extase Eau de Parfum Spray 80 ml

Product Information

So far as I know, there are no plans to distribute L'Extase in the US. When distribution plans were detailed in Women's Wear Daily earlier this year, the US was not mentioned. The rest of the world should either have it already, or will have it by the end of the summer.

Nina Ricci's perfume distribution in the US is spotty. You can find the old classic L'Air du Temps at Nordstrom or Macy's, and Macy's also has the youth-oriented Nina. That's about it. Bloomingdales, Saks and Neiman Marcus don't have anything (although Neiman Marcus has some lovely items from the fashion line at the moment), nor does Sephora. I never saw Ricci Ricci or Mademoiselle Ricci here at all, although admittedly I did not look all that hard.

But does this scent really evoke the overt sex appeal that it promises, or does it fall flat on the sheets?! Nina Ricci is a French fashion house founded by Italian-born Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son Robert in 1932. Maria served as the house's designer and was known for her elegant, feminine gowns. Robert managed the business and finance end, and made the initial foray into the perfume world.

Absolue begins directly sweet-spicy. It's very sweet that it almost kills me. Not sugary sweet, adult sweet (stupid word yes) but I would almost say sexy, seductive-sweet. It's got something. I was curious about L’Extase, the latest, which is geared older than Nina but younger than L'Air du Temps. +1: it's a musky floriental from perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. -1: the advertising, with Laetitia Casta, is the usual drearily predictable writhing we've already seen a million times over. A living room table with burning vanilla scented candles on it. In the middle of the table there is a huge bowl with potpourri. Now I feel like I'm at home with my grandma. Sillage seems decent; longevity is good. It takes a while for the perfume to go from top to middle to base, so unfortunately, I was left with the peppery note for a good while.

Date

Nina Ricci was acquired by Puig in 1998 and continues to produce fashions as well as men's and women's fragrances. It is not a horrible fragrance so don’t get me wrong. It’s warm, deep, and inviting. It’s cozy and soft. It’s a decent neutral fruity-floral that is perfect for the upcoming sweater weather and snuggling in front of a fire. But a good snuggle is all that it inspires….NOT your deepest darkest fantasies! Pooh, the smell's really heavy. I feel the need to let him move on, but the beginning drives me crazy. The first minute smells so damn good haha ;) The note also runs through the entire course of the fragrance but unfortunately weakly :( Well, I recently tried the new perfume and had high hopes that it would make me swoon at first whiff, instead it left me feeling a little unsatisfied (wink wink).