Number One Parfums de Nicolaï for women

Mixed white florals are often either a fusion of the flowery elements (eg. Amouage Gold) or an imagined flower (eg Patou’s Joy, Lauder’s Beyond Paradise.) Clearly the above perfumes tell you that either of theses approaches can be successful. Number One’s trick, though, is to give a bouquet where the individual flowers keep their own identities. There’s a citrusy opening and a nuanced musky vanilla at the base, but 90% of Number One is flowers: jasmine, narcissus, tuberose and orange blossom. Each of them and all of them. The standard, antiseptic blending of white-to-white is expected, but what distinguishes Number One is the line connecting the unwashed. Narcissus to jasmine; a wet greenness. Jasmine to orange blossom; indoles. Orange blossom to tuberose, flesh. Pretty is fine, but Number One shows that pretty with a hint of malice is much more interesting.

I can smell the origins of both Odalisque and Le Temps d’une Fete in Number One, yet each of the three perfumes is distinct from the others. They aren’t just serial issues, flankers. Artistry involves the ongoing creative exploration of ideas, and though a family resemblance is an outcome, it is just a starting point for the different directions Patricia de Nicolai’s perfumes take. I have room for all three in my life. In fact, I’m waiting for more.

Classy floral scent. On me it is almost like two perfumes. At the start I get a very dominant tuberose note which brings to mind scents like Giorgio (though nowhere near as overpowering).

But as it wears on it changes and becomes a soft floral chypre and quite soapy, reminiscent of Cartier's So Pretty which I like. Long lasting too. This one gets a thumbs up from me.

I finally had a chance to smell this one at Excence and I was highly impressed!
White flowers as if it was raining, but very stable, never morphing to strange effects and powerful, very powerful! I agree it is slightly soapy and supported by oriental notes, but above all Number One is an ode to feminity, both romantic and intense.
The staying is great, even if the scent fades very gradually and it becomes a soft swift of a white rich garden on my skin, not so invading after a couple of hours but still there in its magnificence. It reminds me of Jardins de Bagatelle, but less cloying and more intense. Parfums de Nicolai has really beautiful scents!

Orange blossom with faint oriental supporting notes. It's okay, a bit more watery floral than I go for, but with sweet lush flower notes. Since I'm not a huge orange blossom fan, I'll pass on this one, but I recommend it to those who are as a light summer scent.

I have given Number One several tries and it's always the same result. Too soapy! Its very floral, which is fine, but they are not working well together. Something in the mix is playing the role of the naughty child and bringing down the others. I cannot reproach the rose or the jasmine as they are calmly placing themselves in the outskirts. I don't want to cast blame but if I had to I would guess either iris or black current are stirring up the trouble. In the end, all I can smell is a fancy bar of soap not worthy of a floral perfume by a respected name such as this.

elegant yet warm, high quality, approachable tuberose & white flowers. . .lasts forever, more like a perfume, and still smells good the morning after.

I'm beginning to think that me and black currant just can't get along...

Very strange animalic urine tones on me- yikes! what happened to my beloved white flowers? Someone peed on them...

Fantastic! A pure breeze of delicacy and strident scents at the same time. At first testing, I thought the opening
bizarre, sour, and almost painful, at second stroke I find all the flowers here in harmony. White flowers, petals, nothing more mixed in but pure essence of flowers. It has no green notes, but, it feels so natural that I can only think of the blossoms and their stems, and leaves- waxy, fleshy, or thin. So extremely fine, distinct, I wonder if it can be truly classified as a perfume...if not...botany in a bottle. The perfume itself lasted 2.5 to 3 hours. The base lasts another 2 to 3 hours. As it dries down, it becomes sweet, with a hint of "powder" After this phase, it changes. It changes twice. The sugar coating fades, the flowers return..then..it becomes..the most ultimate Mysore Sandal I have ever experienced.

This is one of the few PdN feminines that didn't scream "BUY ME!" in my ear. That is probably because it is, in my opinion, very close to being a chypre floral, and I like very few chypres. Although it is not listed as such here, it does have a distinctively chypre quality to my nose, and the PdN website lists oakmoss as a component.

Very pleasant, nonetheless. The fragrance starts with subtle galbanum and some tart blackcurrant, and then there is a hint of marigold, which is a difficult note for me to wear, but it is not oppressive here. The other florals (orange blossom, jasmine, rose, and carnation) are well-blended and lovely but seem to hide behind the mossy, woody base - just as shy children will hide in their mothers' skirts, peeking out occasionally. The base is, as I mentioned, emphatically chypre in my opinion, strengthened by sandalwood and amber.

Beautifully done, and if I were more attracted by this type of fragrance, I'd find it full-bottle-worthy. It is less strident than many a chypre floral I've tried, and has a warmth and softness that entices me.

White flowers well done. Reminds me much of Guerlains Jardin de Bagatelle, only lighter and not so easily overpowering that lovely can be JdB. Must have for me.