Thursday, 21 August 2025

CAP NÉROLI by Nicolaï parfumeur-créateur


Brand: Nicolaï parfumeur-créateur pronounce in French 
Perfume: Cap néroli pronounce in French 
Concentration: edt
Notes:* top - bitter orange petitgrain, orange essential oil, mandarin essential oil, rosemary essential oil, peppermint essential oil
             middle - néroli, ylang-ylang essential oil, jasmine absolute, orange blossom absolute, eau de brouts
             base - oakmoss, musk, amber
Ingredients: Alcohol Denat., Parfum (Fragrance), Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Linalool, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Citral, Benzyl Benzoate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Isoeugenol, Geraniol, Farnesol, Coumarin
Information on the packaging: ©Nicolaï Parfumeur-Créateur, 69, avenue Raymond Poincaré, 75116 Paris, France
Brand owner (now): JLM Expansion S.A.R.L., France - www.pnicolai.com 
Made in France.

 Citrussy, vegetal and bitter, Cap néroli seems like a blend of lemon juice and zest, leaves and a green, floral element. It smells alive, full of energy, vertical and uplifting. At this stage, it has a little harshness and a certain freshness both of which I like and they impart a laundry powder detergent feeling.

Rather fast, in 15 minutes let's say, the fragrance starts to get dark. I perceive something smoky. It is not a woody smokiness but of cloves. An ash-like facet appears simultaneously, mostly when I wear the perfume on skin; if I put it on clothes, the citrussy note prevails. This duo is joined by a metallic element which does not disturb and actually fits quite fine here.

Besides a small sensation of particles in the air, Cap néroli reveals one last component: chilli flakes. And I like that. A major player until the end, I have noticed it in another Nicolaï parfumeur-créateur perfume, Incense Oud more precisely. 

I know that someone said at some point that Cap néroli reminded him of a bathroom air freshner. I guess that that person spent only a few minutes with it or maybe tested it solely on a paper strip. That is not sufficient. The fragrance shows body. Furthermore, it works even in the colder season as well when the cloves and the chilli flakes come to the fore.

I imagine Cap néroli as a good balance between a citrussy-fresh-luminous part and one ashy-dark-serious.
Unisex and having a good persistence, it can almost qualify as an addiction.

My verdict: 9 out of 10.
__________
* The notes were taken from the leaflet inserted in the perfume box, the ones in boldface letters being mentioned on the website www.pnicolai.com in the year 2020.

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