Description
Nenufar is a perfume from the Scents of Time collection of recreated ancient fragrances.
“Head spacing the substances found (stealing their aromas through scientific instrumentation) as with Nenúfar, the flower’s perfume was diffused into a polymer filter with the air around it and then reconstructed as the aroma of the Blue Lotus, a bloom sacred to all Pharaohs. The flower’s chemistry contained a hallucinogen, myristicin. Egyptians got high steeping the petals in wine and drinking the wine. (The poem ‘The Land of the Lotos Eaters’ depicts this). The chemistry of the flower’s perfume is kept intact with the humble nutmeg spice, which contains myristicin.” (Scents of Time)
Nenufar, the sacred scent of Cleopatra.
A transparent floral-green blue water lily bouquet, with the pungent aroma of nutmeg rounded by light powdery notes with angelica and almond.
The fragrance is now available in 100ml, but in September it will also available in 50ml bottles and sets of two fragrances of 50ml.
David Pybus was created this perfume together with the Catalan nose Montserrat Moline.
More read in the article Scents of Time by David Pybus Nenufar was launched in 2007.
NightVirus – :
Very hard to describe but absolutely STUNNING and unique! Nothing like other lotus scents out there. Very different. Best one of all the samples I tried. Even got a full bottle. I never got compliments on it so I guess this was a “for me” type of scent. The quality was AMAZING! Really wished they still made perfumes.
Maike33 – :
Oh no, it’s discontinued! I can’t find it anywhere now! Anyone looking for a change?
Admig – :
Absolutely beautiful for the 24 seconds I could smell it.
I suspect a hot summer day in Australia was a poor choice of time for testing this. The inital blast was quite lovely, tremulous, dewy florals, a dusting of almond/heliotrope and a slight sunscreen edge as the nutmeg and water notes swirled into one another.
The little bit I could glean from it was lovely, but it was soft as a mouse made of felt and marshmallow, and over faster than a 17 year old with a cheerleader.
All that’s left on my wrist is the vague suggestion that I maybe, once, wore a perfume. Probably a few weeks ago.
zlatsergey – :
Beautiful! An elegant floral aquatic! Why discontinued?
This is a gorgeous fragrance! I have been so impressed with all the Scents of Time perfumes… first Maya, then Pyxis and now this: Nenúfar – The Sacred Scent of Cleopatra.
A real beauty this one is! I am surprised by the host of unique notes! It has water and lotus, but also a unique combination of nutmeg, almond, heliotrope, angelica, orris root, sandalwood & lilly-of-the-valley. So really, it’s not so much an aquatic as it is a very delicate borderline gourmand. Very high quality stuff in my opinion. If this is what Cleopatra smelled like, then I’m in love! Such a shame this one was discontinued… along with the rest of the Scents of Time series. I really miss it. R.I.P.
kranbzaksa – :
Divine! I’m so sad I only heard of Scents of Time after they shut down shop, but I was lucky enough to find some of this on ebay.
This is aquatic done perfectly. It’s watery and light, it never shies away from being a true aquatic like some scents do for fear of getting the Marmite response aquatics can get. But nor does it ever go over the top or become in the slightest synthetic in its scent.
It’s pretty linear, although there is a hint of something almost minty in the opening that eases off within about an hour. It’s just so fresh and invigorating, it’s perfect for a warm summer day.
It’s also pretty sexy. I think the nutmeg may have something to do with that. It’s not an in-your-face, full on spice type of sexy, more a subtle, womanly, graceful kind of sexy. You could definitely imagine Cleopatra wearing this to lure Marc Anthony in!
Sillage is moderate/soft, longevity is about 5-6 hours on me.
If you can hunt some of this down, I’d definitely recommend it. If you love aquatics, you’ll fall head over heels for this one. And if you hate aquatics, this could very well change your mind.
AleksTG – :
Cleopatra washed off her hand and her servant sold her hand water.
eldar2222 – :
If you have never smelled Nenufar, let me tell you, this perfume is the most divine aquatic I’ve ever encountered–and I do mean divine in a Pharaoh kind of way.
Because of Anne Baxter’s portrayal of Neferteri in The Ten Commandments, I always thought that ancient Egyptian nobility scented themselves with sandalwood and myrrh. If I had to guess floral notes, I would imagine they would use rose, iris, jasmine. But if Cleopatra were to choose an aquatic perfume when frolicking in the water among the lily pads on a scorching hot day, I have no doubt it would be Nenufar.
Nenufar takes “aquatic” to a whole different level (and by the way, I am grateful for the total lack of citrus fruits, which seem to have become synonymous with “aquatics” in this modern era). Upon first spritz I immediately smell a surprising yet welcomed dose of nutmeg, which lends an incense-like smokiness to an otherwise clear and watery fragrance. It’s as though someone drew a bucket of fresh water from the Nile and infused it with nutmeg, then blended it with a fine attar of lotus blossoms. The almondine base does a nice job of rounding out the entire composition, providing substance.
Nenufar is a sweet and warm aquatic, which seems strange, but IT WORKS. I am not much of an aquatic fan, but I’ll make an exception for Nenufar.
Sadly, Nenufar is rather fleeting, but while I might feel annoyed having to spray another perfume on every 3-4 hours, I would take pleasure in re-applying this one.
388 – :
I’ve never met a Scents of Time fragrance I didn’t like and Nenufar is no exception. It reminds me of a fruity-floral-aquatic with a powdery flair keeping it just above the gourmand radar. Aquolina Pink Sugar would probably love to grow up and be like this one. It has a timelessness to it suitable for fragrance lovers of all ages, I could see Cleopatra or any number of “regal” women falling under it’s spell. Makes me feel like dressing up real special like when I wear it. A real spirit lifter. Blue lotus . . .
absolutely amazing.
deikan – :
Either both my husband and myself are anosmic to Nenufar or, frankly, its so barely there as to be non-existent.
When it did develop a tiny bit – Julius and Anthony must have been frantically pressing their noses to Cleo’s wrists to be seduced by this perfume – Nenufar was a faint but agreeable sweet floral.
Emphasis on faint, as in “distant echo”, “barely there” and “why bother?”.
No sillage, no longevity = 1 out of 10.
Still, fabulous must have perfumes have come from the Scents of Time line – Pyxis and Maya, for instance, but as one of my favorite reviewers at Fragrantica would say, “Desolee” about Nenufar.
Great name (water lily in Spanish), great concept (Cleopatra’s perfume), but in execution? Not so much.
oba945bedyWelty – :
Nenufar is such an amazing perfume. Extremly feminine and sensual, the scent of the Goddess!
SuAttatsShefe – :
A transparent floral-green blue water lily bouquet, with the pungent aroma of nutmeg rounded by light powdery notes with angelica and almond – I finally found the perfume which smell intensely personal, it’s like it was made for me! “Nenufar” ohhh so gorgeous.. yes, love at first smell! I am very pleased by this sacred scent: so clean, pure, innocent!
Jeka0130 – :
Watery and cool , perfect on a hot day .
verconosync – :
Ooooh, this smells so pretty to me! A floral “aquatic” in the loosest sense of the word. Aquatic because it’s light and soft, yes. The water lily and blue lotus are very prominent in this lovely linear perfume, but rounded out nicely with almond and nutmeg. If pastel blue had a color, it would certainly be this!
Extremely feminine, soft, subtle, sweet, refreshing, and just a touch of gourmand. What a composition this is! My only complaint is that it didn’t last longer than three hours on my skin.
And for the record, my significant other was significantly impressed, too! 🙂
I can’t wait to try Pyxis…