Description
Nicole Farhi Femme and Homme are two signature scents by the famous British designer Nicole Farhi. Both fragrance were launched in 2005.
“With these new fragrances, I set out simply to
capture the essence of the most precious
moments from my life.
I wanted to create something special, mysterious;
complex and, above all, not immediately
obvious…”
The fresh citrus opening of neroli and petitgrain leads to the tender and vibrant floral heart of rock rose, ylang and tuberose bud. The final notes are warm and gourmand, composed of dark chocolate, pink pepper and hot amber oils.
The fragrance is available in EDP of 30, 50 and 100ml, with the bath&body line products.
E_Dos – :
I love this perfume! It is smokey, dark chocolate is prominent but not overbearing. Very feminine and warm, perfect for colder seasons. I like to layer it with a strong patchouli scent, like ‘Diane’ by Diane Von Furstenberg. It’s definitely different to most ‘wintery’ scents, and it’s quite mature, I don’t smell it on a teenage woman. It smells gorgeous on my mother (a retired lady) but she doesn’t like it that much; she prefers classic 80’s florals. Still, it’s a beautiful fragrance, unique and comforting.
zegzav – :
Definitely spiced, young boozy rock rose, dipped in bright petitgrain. Mind you, petitgrain is not necesssarily smells like citrus, as its derived from leaves or bark, so it has more like woodier-herbaceous smell. Nothing reminds me of Diors here. It has slight suedy, animalic-balsamic undertone, I would say it can be unisex, as I know similar fragrance – Cuir Sensuel Daniel Hechter
Drydown getting warmer and melts into gourmand almost base from chocolate and pepper.
So overall is fresh eastern smell, suitable for all age and gender groups.
499597088 – :
I can appreciate the quality of this perfume ,even though it doesn’t combine well with my chemistry .
Instead I use it on my cloth and it stays with me for long, fresh and elegant . Guess it would be nice sprayed in my hair also.
mozai01 – :
Oh I love this perfume! For me, it opens with a sherberty lemon scent and powder in the background, which I think is the pettigrain – I am however inexperienced in descriptive versions of perfume…gah! It becomes the most delightful, lightly spiced, sweet lemon, and then morphs into a more rounded sweet and lightly spicy floral. I love it, and will have to spend the day with my nose stuck to my wrist. 😀
лёха 86199186 – :
I had it once and want to get it now again!
I just remember that is was an unusual perfume. Pretty spicy floral top notes, developing into warmer ones, with lots of character, never boring and an oriental type of scent. I could smell it on my skin throughout the day, so very good lasting power.
Its ‘orientalism’ must have been due mostly to the hot oils I guess. And yes, you can detect some chocolate in it, too.
After a few years now, I definitely see myself wearing it anew, with even more confidence this time.
vik1642 – :
This blows the men’s version out of the water. The men’s is quite sharp and icy but this is decadently warm and has spectacular sillage and lasting power.
I’m not sure what’s happening in the tops notes – jelly like sweetness, slightly aldehydic with ylang, rose and violet. Then it swoops into the rock rose (labdanum) and amber. I get a bitter chocolate feel but primarily a lot of warm golden amber and heavy musk.
It is a retro scent but a perfectly updated. I wouldn’t hesitate to try this if you can pick up a small bottle for a good price.
KrosavaVa – :
One of my top fragrances for everyday wear. So grown up – but so am I (45). As I get older my perfume tastes have changed accordingly. Does anyone else get a (not unpleasant) whiff of tarmac with this?! It’s a very urban scent to me.
Kama – I think you mean Diorella – my first great perfume love, having tested it in a cross-channel ferry duty free shop in the 1970s, aged about 10. WHAT a glorious perfume. I don’t think it is quite the same now,though.
bkmz – :
Great review from Kama, I couldn’t agree more. This was definitley being aimed at probably the same demographic profile that would purchase NF clothing i.e not teenagers (in my opinion). I quite liked this and thought the chocolate amber combination interesting. However whilst conducting a ‘smelling test’ I didn’t really get many positive responses. It’s not anything that stands out on me, but my skin literally ‘eats’ perfume. Saying that it certainly wouldn’t offend anyone either. I like many of Nicole Farhi’s design concepts which she puts through in her clothes and home wear and thats what prompted me to try this. I will wear it but Interestingly enough, reading an old article when this was launched, Nicole Farhi actually says that she has worn the same fragance for the past 25 years, Bel Ami for men by Hermes and she wore the Nicole Farhi for men!
fqe653InsuffBooni – :
I bought this perfume unsniffed online, as 1. I like Nicole Farhi as designer and 2. they were cheap. In the beginning I was not pleasantly surprised….when I 1st smelled them I though they are mature kind of perfume… old lady like..after 2 weeks time I came back to them to give them one more chance. And then I started to like them….I still think they are not for girl, or very young woman.. they are more for a woman, in her 30’s, 40’s or more.
They smell quit differently… the 1st few minutes of applying it is like perfume from 70’s…. like Rive Gauche of YSL, but in a bit warmer (more honey and not so strong) version or like Dioressence opening… so it is quit sharp, almost like chypre flower way..but not dark way. Then after awhile they start to change into warmer, floriental version…you can almost smell flowers mixed with hot amber oils… The all sharpness is gone, just nice warm amber oil is the main scent… with hit of flowers. I do not get the chocolate notes…
Nicole Farhi is about 55-60 years old so I assume she created perfume that she used to use when she was in Paris in 70’s – good Parisian memory mixed some holiday memory of sunny hot weather, sun oils, flowers – it is Mediterranean part of the perfume, kid of Big CITY/Mediterranean – just with a hint of orient… the rest is light…
It is complexed scent as Parisian site is the first base, then the sharpness is changing into some exotic but warm flowers mixed with exotic oils..and then it is last base Mediterranean one…summery flowers mixed with warm weather, sun… just like her fashion story, beginning in Paris, then promoting Mediterranean accent in her clothes in London.
I find that this is not a particularly memorable scent, but I very long lasting….i put it in the evening and it was still there in the morning…
The perfume is like mixture of Rive Gauche of YSL/ Dioressence Dior with Hillary Duff With Love and the ylang ylang body oil/or sun …
I recommend to anyone, who is over 30s or is not afraid or chypre beginning…
Just want to edit something… I am not sure if it was Diorella or Dioressence that I am thinking about…for sure the one that start with edgy sharp note in the beginning, just like RV…
Although when I look at the notes of Dioressence – ylang-ylang, rose, tuberose, and read about the spiceness. I am almost sure it was Dioressence not Diorella that reminds me of them when I smell Farhi femme, but just in the beginning.