What is a cologne?
A cologne, or eau de Cologne, is the historic form of fresh perfumery, born in the early 18th century and a classic ever since. Its light concentration places citrus and aromatic notes at the forefront, for an immediate brightness that reveals itself from the very first spray. It is a frank, luminous freshness, with nothing superfluous: the purest reading of perfumery. At Nicolaï, this great classic is reinvented with personality. Where a traditional cologne readily settles for a fleeting freshness, the Maison gives it relief, rarer materials, and woody or musky bases that extend the brightness of the opening hours, for a cologne faithful to the spirit of the genre yet with a character all its own.
The three Nicolaï colognes
The collection brings together three citrus and aromatic compositions. Cologne Cédrat, a luminous ode to Mediterranean citrus, blends citron and lemon with a peppery touch and a woody base that gives it its character. Cologne Haute Provence captures the soul of lavender fields under the sun, in a soothing, pure freshness. Sologne, faithful to the classic structure of the eau de Cologne, unfolds a chic and noble orange blossom carried by neroli and rosemary: the perfect cologne. Three variations on a single art, that of freshness raised to the level of haute parfumery.
Unisex colognes, for women and men
At Nicolaï, a fragrance is not chosen by gender, but by affinity. All our colognes are unisex, worn just as easily by women as by men, composed to come alive on the skin rather than to follow a convention. The freshness of a cologne lends itself naturally to sharing, in the city or on a journey. This is how the Maison signs creations that belong to the people who wear them, in the purest tradition of exceptional perfumery.
From cologne to Intense Eau de Parfum
A cologne is only one of the house's concentrations. For a denser, deeper trail, our Intense Eau de Parfum reveal the finest raw materials in all their richness, while our Eau de toilette strikes a more airy balance, between freshness and presence. For a freshness made to last, our Eau Fraîche are built on woody bases that hold the most volatile notes, while our Perfume Extract distill the most precious expression of our art. For every moment and every mood, there is a matching intensity, and a trail that is yours alone.
The luxury of substance in a cologne
What sets a Nicolaï cologne apart comes down to a rare standard, shared by all our creations. Every formula is created entirely in-house by Patricia de Nicolaï, the first woman perfumer to found her own house, in our laboratory at the Palais-Royal, in Paris. The raw materials rank among the finest in the world of perfumery, often used in overdose for the sheer pleasure of beauty, then assembled by hand in France, in the heart of the Cosmetic Valley, in the patient gesture of the artisan. It is this consistency, from creation to production, that makes a simple cologne a truly exceptional object, carried by the heritage of seven generations of perfumers and the freedom of an independent niche perfume house.
Novelty
