The Hype is Overrated: Ex Nihilo's a Lot of Noise for Nothing

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I\u0027ve got a pretty straightforward approach to perfume reviews: either it\u0027s a hit or it\u0027s a miss. Lately, I\u0027ve been writing about the misses, too - I\u0027m decluttering my perfume collection and sharing why certain scents didn\u0027t work for me. Just because something didn\u0027t click with me doesn\u0027t mean it won\u0027t resonate with others.

", "Today, I\u0027m focusing on Ex Nihilo in a negative light.

", "

", "I\u0027m guessing you can take a wild guess from where Ex Nihilo started for me - and the answer is, of course, the infamous Floral Narcotic. Even if you\u0027re not interested in Ex Nihilo, just hop on the Moscow metro, and it\u0027ll find you, nagging at your nose.

", "As you\u0027ve probably gathered, Narcotic didn\u0027t quite work for me. But being the perfume thief (or, as I like to call myself, a MYSH) that I am, I do have a soft spot for cacti - and that\u0027s how I ended up with three travel-sized Ex Nihilo bottles, each with varying degrees of name restraint.

", "

", "The only thing I liked about Ex Nihilo is Morphin - and that\u0027s it.", "Lust in Paradise - a desire in paradise.

", "This indulgence from Ex Nihilo will set you back 26,000 rubles for 100ml in the Golden Apple. I bought 7.5ml from Beauty Depot for around 2,000 rubles.

", "

", "Interestingly, Ex Nihilo travel sizes come in sets of five identical bottles, but if you\u0027re not shopping at high-end retailers, you can easily get them broken down into individual units.

", "

", ""], "If we take a look at the packaging, the travel sizes are pretty minimalist - transparent sprayers and transparent bottles with a gold cap. In my book, that\u0027s not exactly art. The full-size bottle is transparent, too, with a pinkish liquid and a gold cap. It doesn\u0027t exactly scream \u0027artistic masterpiece\u0027 to me.

", "

", "From the manufacturer:", "An olfactory journey to the Azure Coast, embodied in the scent of Lust In Paradise, begins with the sharp, spicy notes of pink pepper, mixed with the fresh, floral sound of garden roses and the slightly bitter undertone of lychee. The longest-lasting note, however, is the woody-musky chord of golden amber, which the brand associates with the feeling of warm, sun-kissed skin.

", "

", "", "Paradise is Ex Nihilo\u0027s 2019 release, probably intended as a replacement for the slightly overdone Floral Narcotic, but it\u0027s still far from matching its predecessor\u0027s popularity.

", "It belongs to the group of floral woody musks. Created by perfumer Louise Turner.

"}}I've always tried to talk about other scents from a particular perfume house, because I think many of them have a commitment to a specific concept. Louis Vuitton is well-known for Lost Cherry and Good Girl for Carolina Herrera. To be honest, both of these fragrances are loud and attention-seeking for women who want to be noticed. Lust in Paradise is in a similar vein.

What's in Lust in Paradise?

Top note: Pink pepper;

Middle notes: Pion and Lychee;

Base notes: White cedar extract, Musk and Amber.

Since my skin is hot, the top notes usually burn out before they even get a chance to open up. By the way, the scent of Paradise is heavily dependent on the skin type of the wearer. On hot skin, it's just a bunch of annoying pion notes with roses (yes, roses aren't even listed in the pyramid, but my olfactory perception tells me that they've planted not only pion bushes but also rose bushes in the paradise - and they've overdone it with the roses).

At the base, the pion notes are mixed with a harsh, loud, and not very wearable musk. And overall, it's a primitive luxury scent that adds a musky fixative to a standard floral scent - the kind that smells like urine. It's like someone peed on the bushes.

Well, in my understanding, lust in paradise should smell like something more...

It lasts for around 8 hours on the skin, which is decent, but the longevity of Floral Narcotic is way better. There's also a noticeable trail - like you're carrying a bouquet of pions. Overall, it could have been a decent scent, but the musk ruined it for me.

And you know what really gets my goat? It's not even a high-end brand like Avon, Faberlic, or Versace, or even a more affordable luxury brand like Kilian or Byredo. It's ExNihilo, which positions itself as a super-niche brand, and it's not even cheap. It's priced similarly to or even higher than some of the more affordable luxury brands. But they're not even in the same league.

For me, this is luxury. But it's primitive luxury that caters to the masses. It's like the Empress of Dolce & Gabbana. The Pink Crystal of Versace. I have nothing against these scents, but they're not even in the same price range - they're under 20k for a bottle.

Who would it suit? That's a good question. Maybe people who love pions. Maybe people with skin that can get along with the not-so-pleasant musk. Maybe people who don't expect much from a perfume and are willing to settle for a one-trick pony like 'I'll give you 20k, and you'll give me a floral one-note wonder'.

I couldn't help but recommend scents (even those I no longer wear), because it's all very individual. But from me, it gets 3 stars

1. The real deal. I've gotta give it to them, they nailed the 2019 scent trend - and yeah, it's a winner;

2. Marketing magic. You've got to be some kind of genius to sell this stuff to people and charge them an arm and a leg for scents that are only marginally better.

3. Staying power and sillage. I've tried a bunch of their fragrances, and Nihilo's got this one down pat - their scents last all day.