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vekllock – :
This was a rollercoaster ride that in the end I decided I didn’t want to get on in the first place. There were moments where I’d start to come around but in the end it wasn’t a smell I find very pleasant. The narcissus/oakmoss combo made it very musty to me and my chemistry definitely pulled a lot of the jasmine forward which played out dare I say fecal on my skin. It was interesting I’ll admit I left it on because I was too intrigued to scrub it off, but this is not something I’d ever want someone else to smell on me and therefore I do not want this in my collection. I probably won’t even bother to use up the rest of my sample, will save it for a giveaway or swap perhaps.
Jasmine perfumes are really a hit or miss for me, rarely can I wear one without my chemistry or nose perceiving it as fecal or just strange, but every once in a while magic happens. This was not one of those times.
shilz – :
A floral that is catapulted from mundane prettiness to great beauty by an inoculation of opoponax. A shade of green chypre I haven’t smelled before. Anyone else think this would good for a guy too?
elagin26 – :
Le Temps d’une Fête is a beautiful spring floral, green, lush, rich floral perfume, with a lovely earthy/woody/patchouli/spice undertone, that really smells to me like a beautiful lush garden with spring flowers in full bloom, where there’s an abundance of jonquils, which I absolutely adore, and where all the smells waft around in a lovely fresh warm lilting breeze, and the bees are humming and the earth is singing with the delight of life and love awakening. It’s incredibly natural smelling, and realistic. It’s beautiful.
MoLoY – :
Many of my most worn perfumes are larger than life, dramatic, strong in personality — I wear them partly to enhance various aspects of my own personality. But this is “just me”: a neutral, true to life portrait that describes, rather than shapes, me. A portable olfactory landscape rather than a persona. It suits my naturally unruly hair, impish green-brown eyes, and deliberately grown-out eyebrows to a T.
nursdark – :
Gah. I’ve wanted this for two years now. It’s very yellow and green and reminds me of Easter. I love how real it smells — it has a texture that I perceive as scratchy, due to the images it conjures of pollen-encrusted flowers. It’s perfect for me and what I flatter myself to be my youthful naïveté and whimsical independence. A scent unsullied by clichéd sweetness. Love, love, love.
LarVdo – :
Gorgeous warm green floral opening! Its wood and slight incense dry-down gives depth and complexity to the scent. It is perfect for spring without being delicate or overly sweet. Lasts 4 hours on my skin with moderate projection.
32felix – :
I feel like a honeybee wearing this! Not airy and pretty like a butterfly, but golden and warm. I feel like I’m nestled inside the cavity of a daffodil on a warm sunny day.
Dries down to something a little more mysterious, like the sun is retreating, the flowers are closing, and an earthiness comes through.
doganland – :
This is certainly an amazing classic structure, but exactly the narcissus of my dreams. Instead of being the central part on this party, it shares the stage with the other notes, at a kind of one of those classic balls that everyone seems to dance at the right pace together. It starts with a generous dose of bitter, green and inky galbanum freshness. Then, very quickly you notice a gorgeous floral aroma. It has fruity traces, honey aspects and a kind of subtle animalic suggestion, something more naughty that seems to project close to the skin. Altough it doesn’t have gardenia, i smell a kind of fruitiness that is typical of gardenia accords on fragrances. The narcissus is tricky here because it seems balanced to push, at one end, its jasmine nuances and, at the base end, the powdery opoponax aura the absolute has once it dries down on skin. The base is mossy, woody, what you would expect on a very well composed classic chypre, a comfort dose of oakmoss, patchouli, with sandalwood giving it usual woody creamy aroma and opoponax providing a nice slightly sweet and fruity resinous end. Lovely stuff, why things like this are always discontinued?
omixmix – :
If, like me, you find yellow florals tricky but wish you could wear them, this is one that’s good to try.
This opens as fiercely green, then becomes somewhat spicy. It moves on to become a lush floral (exceptionally lush) and mostly stays that way save for a lovely patchouli appearance making it all a little woody for a while.
So you can see that just calling it a green floral really doesn’t do it justice!
The aldehydes are mostly limited to the opening and I feel they are a nice match with the greenness. However, they’re likely to be love it or hate it the way they’re done here because they’re so unapologetic, so be aware of that if aldehydes aren’t your thing.
The narcissus is aloof and sultry, making this just as suitable for autumn as for spring, which is nice at these prices! The hyacinth is all fiercely green. For the life of me, I can’t figure out where the spiciness comes from, but it is there.
Thinking about it, another green floral I love is CB I Hate Perfume – To See A Flower. Now, this is a much more abstract, vintage-esque perfume, whereas To See A Flower is a much more down and dirty literal one, but they both have the same spiciness carried in the background throughout. The only note I’m certain they share is daffodil, and I’m fairly sure it can’t be that doing it, but the similarity is definitely there between the two.
This has moderate sillage and around 8 hours staying power on me. I very much enjoy it even though I’d normally find this combination of notes unwearable, so make of that what you will!
prizrak2288 – :
This is how it feels to be rolling in pollen!
Le Temps d’une Fete is indeed a beauty, in a very lady-like, grown up sort of way.
However, to my nose, it is not green or sunny at all. Instead it has a velvet, golden, melancholy aura. That’s why it would be perfect for autumn.
As the previous reviewer pointed out, it is spicy and it does remind me of perfume from the eighties, probably because of the narcissus.
Longevity and sillage are average on me.
vyatdima – :
I love this perfume more and more as I get older. It has a classic smell of oriental, spicy perfumes from the eighties but it is elegant and complex not brash.
Penka – :
To my nose this is more woody-floral then green-floral. This feels very sophisticated but easy, elegant fragrance. It has classical perfume quality to it.
Starts with a blast of narcissus and incense and dries down to oakmoss-sandalwood-patchouli. Very beautiful!
S.M.T.H. – :
I agree with varykino’s review, in as much as I don’t read this as green at all nor do I detect large amounts if moss in this. It is a yellow floral, a narcissus, pollen like and hay like as varykino says. I detect a heliotropin type note too, a cosy warmth like the last rays of sun after a hot day in some garden abundant with early summer flowers. I definitely see comparisons with Chamade though this is nowhere near as complex it shares in some of Chamade’s warm pollen-like velvet quality. It’s sweet too, the pollen associations suggest honey of course but that’s not what it is, it’s more like sweet sap or flower nectar. Delicious and lasting and masterfully composed. Highly recommended.
bublik – :
I try not to ‘hoard’, but I bought backup bottles on sale years ago –
And I’m glad I did.
My first bottle was an Xmas Secret Santa gift from a Basenoter years ago.
(Smart cookie, she was !)
If you want an ultimately beautiful green floral experience, try Providence Perfume Co.’s Wild Lime Leaf body oil underneath this.
Oh my.
bit-news – :
I thought I’d love this perfume, but I’m not sure. Confusingly, my brain doesn’t interpret this as green at all. It smells golden: pollen, hay, nectar, daffodils. It’s all veering towards suffocatingly dense to me, in fact like breathing in a noseful of pollen, and I’m wistful reading the descriptions of light and fresh green-ness. I adore No 19 and Chamade and see the kinship especially with the latter, but those were a love at first sniff, unlike Le Temps d’Une Fete. When I see oakmoss as the second most prominent note in popular opinion, I’m even questioning the quality of my sample, because I can’t detect even a whiff of it. And yet I do feel there is a loveliness about this fragrance, and I’m drawn to it. I’ve been coming back to my decant for months, unable to quite let go of the desire to love it. It has a unique character, and daffodils are my favourite spring flowers, and it IS undeniably sunny and joyful in its plush golden haze. I usually shrug and move on quite easily, but… I still long to befriend this one.
rassol88 – :
This is my new spring favorite. I absolutely adore it. It’s perfect for warming temperatures and can go easily from day to night.
If you’re stuck with a bottle and you want to get it off your hands, let me know.
diesiel – :
Le Temps d’une Fête by Parfums de Nicolaï is considered as a green floral, but one could also think of it as an aldehydic floral. This review is a little difficult for me because I have a tough time with most fragrances in the aldehydic floral family and this one is no exception. The other issue is my love for No. 19, and unfortunately, I will be forever comparing other “green” florals to this landmark fragrance.
So, here is my best effort to temper my prejudice.
The opening is piecing and complex with a leathal combination of aldehydes, sharp green notes, high pitched narcissus and jasmine, and an animalic note in the form of baby vomit. The baby vomit disappears, the florals fade slightly, and this cold incense that reminds me of stale cigarettes shows up. I’m detecting very little oakmoss and there’s definitely no patchouli. The screaming flowers and old ashtray just keep fading and a generic sweet woody base takes over; the interesting part is over within 15 minutes. Perhaps this rapid transition is appropriate for a fragrance called Le Temps d’une Fête, and the transformation has an undeniable nonlinear aspect. There is nothing wrong with nonlinear fragrances (the “storytellers”), but the development should keep one interested no matter where the clock hands are pointing. This is why I am slightly disappointed with LTdF, however the kickass juxtaposition of the warm, green spring morning with the cold ethereal elegance saves the day.
3.5/5
It’s time to mail it to my mother…
Excalibur – :
A helpful SA at Nordstrom’s introduced me to Hermes Eau de Narcisse Bleu which is a little too cool and masculine for me, but it has a beautiful drydown that started me on a hunt for a brighter, more feminine narcissus. The notes of Le Temps d’une Fete, and the name, sounded tempting even though I’m not usually overfond of green scents.
This starts off strong, almost masculine. It feels classic and traditional. The beautiful “bright” narcissus I was looking for does show up in the drydown, but it’s enveloped with a headiness that doesn’t suit me. It’s beautiful and lush, but too heavy. I couldn’t get away with this at work. I guess the hunt’s still on.
I wish I could pull off such a sophisticated fragrance, but I’m not there yet. Hopefully though, more people will buy it based on these reviews and I can smell it on others.
soul70 – :
This fragrance really speaks to me. I found out about it through The Guide. I ordered a sample and not long after a small bottle. I have not seen any advertising for this and the bottle is very plain. However the scent is amazing. Opens a little sharp so apply carefully. Soon you get all this golden pollen like flower skankiness which i find extremely captivating an alluring. Awesome fragrance. Happy and sunny. The composition is close to Chamade but Le Temps last on me longer and is a little stronger.
gareaidessy – :
There must be a reformulation going on here for anyone to compare this to Eau de Givenchy, which is a beautiful scent but completely dissimilar to this.
While Eau de Givenchy is a beautiful cut-grass and white floral marvel, this is a dusty rolling-in-the-hay affair of sunny daffodils and warm grass. It’s distinctly vintage in its style – and I mean very vintage.
My bottle has a heavenly opening similar to that of Mouchoir de Monsieur or Jicky with daffodil instead of lavender. This plush, sweet, incensey bergamot opening leads to a fresh galbanum-jasmine for just a short while. The heart then starts to come in – a touch of ionones add texture to the most breathtaking daffodil I’ve ever encountered in perfumery. This is like Vol de Nuit: day version. Hours later, the drydown is a warm, sweet, woody affair of incense, moss, methyl-ionones, and pollen.
atlant-73 – :
I love this scent, and when I read that it might be phased out I bought a big bottle of what must be a reformulation…to my nose it’s pretty, but it’s lost the huge roll-in-the-hay opening that made it smell like summer itself. Wasn’t it more unisex? It seems more feminine now, softer, prettier–the moss sits politely behind the green florals, the narcissus has lost its acrid sharp slant and I miss that sumptuous hay…
stella014 – :
A mysterious and melancholic green.
My other floral greens will become redundant, I’m afraid (or should I say: pleased…?!)
A product like Le Temps d’une Fête, to me, is a classic, probably invented far before World War II, properly stored for many decades, to be released -at last- in 2007 to please the noses of many vintage perfume seekers.
Kterhark already described perfectly what happenes when this liquid is applied. And since I’m only a mild admirer of Chamade, where she in her comparison to this beauty prefers it, the case is obvious for me.
Unequivocal quality chic, thank you very much.
Taisia – :
coup de foudre, seriously.
from the first tender, flowery green sniff, the most beautiful narcissus you can imagine to the resinous drydown. never bought a perfume as fast as this one. it’s moving and even poetic. sniffing it, feels like finding something that you’ve lost a long time ago.
edit: though it appears to be a strong scent, tenacity is weak. the lush green narcissus disappears much too quick- and as for my taste, the drydown is not as interesting or complex as the middle part of it…
and btw, tell me I’m crazy, but the first thing that appears, is a strong frangipani note that softens the narcissus…(only realized because of the new frangipani absolue in my collection)
pbm378Unlogrere – :
Lovely spring florals with a faintly synthetic musk undernote at first, this morphed into a nasty wood/fake vanilla on me as it dried down. At the end it was a terribly, invasive woody vanilla musk that actually stung my nose and then it was too late to get it off my skin. Try before commmiting to a full bottle.
йцувыф – :
One of the best from this House. Perfect green spring scent, for those of us who are too cold and can’t wait to wear spring!
I like and appreciate “Y” YSL, and find this a good alternative as it is softer and less “edgy”. If you love NO 19, you will also enjoy this one. Like finding a 4-leaf clover in a weed patch.
solignik – :
Le Temps d’une Fete has all the makings of a classic, traditional French perfume. I expected it to be fresh like grass in spring, but it has too much of a “perfumy” and complex vibe about it, again, like a traditional French perfume. While it’s green and a bit oakmossy, I would wear this perfume for an evening out when I want to wear something that isn’t intense and heavy. It has a vintage feel without being powdery.
Also, I smell something spicy. Not a culinary spice, but a flower that is known to have a spicy quality. Sometimes hyacinth can do this, and according to LuckyScent, this perfume does contain hyacinth.
I think Le Temps d’une Fete is really special. Definitely a green worth owning.
wwwua – :
Soft but intense. Subtle but suggestive. On me, in top to middle note, oakmoss stands out & gives this almost powdery scent and also smell ylang-ylang, (and sandalwood, vanilla-y)
A great staying power. A confident-yet-modest mature woman with little mischievousness. She finds strength in understanding her weaknesses. She knows when/how to stand strong and when to play (have much fun).
raven_8 – :
Le Temps d’une Fete is like a secret party happening on a warm night in May. Green and fragrant with flowers until the seductive oakmoss and sandalwood sneek in to give it that animalic dusty romp in the hay kind of feel. I think this is a bit more mysterious than sunny if I had to describe how it makes me feel. It is classic perfection in a bottle- that’s what it is.
oym071Diobtetty – :
Not for me of course! but I’d be happy to be the slave to love of the woman who takes this wonder around with her….no matter if she is 90 years old! (well, just to express my admiration…)
Patricia, I love you!
ligh123t – :
I love this, it reminds me of an old Aveda pure-fume called Iyatiku. Disc’d at least 12 years ago. This def has that vintage Aveda smell.
nelirton – :
I find this initially a very pretty, soft floral. I don’t experience the strong “green” note others mention. It’s very close to the body, not much sillage, very polite. Unfortunately, after a few hours it dries down to a classic perfume “death by vintage face powder” (reminding me of Tabac Blond, Habanita, etc – although the opening hours of these fragrances are totally different)
kalach – :
It seems that we all agree on the notes in LeTemps d’une Fête, but we characterize the fragrance differently. Galbanum, hyacinth, narcissus, incense. But I don’t get dark, animalic or mossy. The florals are utterly spring-crisp, fresh and dewy. The water-like green florals combine with an equally green resinous aspect (galbanum, mastic) to give LTdF its cool snap and smartness. All the bits come together to give the feel of spring: moist, sappy new growth wood; young grass; newly sprouted bulb flowers.
I understand the comparison of LTdF to Guerlains’s Chamade. They share a number of notes. But in tone, they feel nowhere near each other. Chamade’s languid, oily green/yellow October is miles from the April of LTdF’s new growth. Compared to LTdF’s just-sprouted-this-morning freshness, Chamade doesn’t feel so much ripe as aged. LTdF’s real point of camparison in the Guerlain line is Habit Rouge. In both fragrances, opopanax and florals combine to strike a similar timber (sound, not wood.) Both share a high pitched harmonious range, but one with great richness. Opopanax together with either orange blossom (HR) or narcissus (LTdF) gives both fragrances that gorgeous 9/10ths harmony – 1/10th dissonance that keeps me listening closely.
yastrebzav – :
If you’re pining for the original version of Cristalle by Chanel, THIS. IS. IT! I have had a 20ml of Chanel Cristalle which I have been using ever so stingily to make it last. It has been one of my all-time favorites and so very hard to find. Thank goodness for receiving this sample from a fello Fragrantican! I don’t remember who but thanks a million.
This is an herbal-woody-green-floral that should lift the spirits of anyone who is fond of these notes. The topnotes middle and drydown seem to stay the same throughout. It is classy, sophisticated and wafts deliciously around me. I prefer this in the day and would most likely use this in the spring summer but today it is overcast and I’m wanting some sunshine.
A few dabs to the wrist and voila! Instant spring-summer if only in my head. The stryax note makes this similar to Molecule 03, by Escentric Molecules.
tema015 – :
Beautiful floral crafted in the classic style from quality materials. Great example of narcissus. It probably didn’t grab my attention as well as other PdN florals like Number One or Odalisque, but still very lovely – my only complaint is that it faded too soon.
geor2k – :
I do not like this. The scent is kind of greeny, but there is an indolic note that really disagrees with me. Im upset because I like Hyacinth and Osmanthus, but all i really smell is the narcissus. I don’t find this feminine or pretty at all. It reminds me of a horse barn.
spiker93 – :
It’s a beautiful scent. I feel it more woody-floral than floral-green. It’s a perfect, real narcissus, lingering for hours, with a woody-earthy-mossy base. I feel it so french, playful and sunny. Amazing.
Foma_ – :
TRUE LOVE this perfume makes me happy and
making me breath and take life in.
Thank Fragrantica ladys for indroducing us. <3
Update:amazing staying power
vitalez77 – :
Springy florals, synthetic musk and nice green leafy notes, all dry down to a cloying nasty cheap fake white musk base that I couldn’t scrub off. Like a bad relationship: Lovely beginning, nasty, ugly ending.
ahamilgton – :
I’m off to my hairdresser — who is majorly sensitive to most fragrances. However, I know I can safely sit in her chair with this on, and she won’t be offended. It is a gentle floral.
My sample came on a promotional card by Nicolai. Its pyramid of notes looks a tad different from what is offered here. If I may — the card says (en français, which I hope I’m translating properly):
Top:
galbanum,
opoponax,
lentiscus/mastic (resin from lentiscus, an evergreen shrub),
tree moss.
Middle:
hyacinth,
daffodil and narcissus,
styrax
Bottom:
sandalwood,
oakmoss
When I first apply this, it is momentarily bracing. I agree with reviewers who have used words like “green” and “sunny” to describe the opening. This lasts only seconds on me before it settles into a quiet, powdery floral. Truth to tell, I have only had it on for a couple of hours and, so, haven’t been able to experience a good part of the day with it on my skin. I imagine I’ll still like it later!
19811981 – :
For me Temps d’una tempe opens very, very gentle with fantastic shy flowers, very feminine and warm, it does feel like spring time, after a very cold winter, when the first sun is up, the first flowers bloom and there is this warm and fresh feeling in the air.
This is my second perfume for Parfums de Nicolai and so far both I’ve found extremely lovely with amazing staying power, it truly is a gem and a must for floral lovers.
Happyness in bottle 🙂
tushak – :
Call me a whinger but having read all these reviews and then applied Temps I felt a little cheated. Surely my sample was corrupted by something from Avon’s finest??
Ahhh, but there it is, a burst of trumpeting yellow narcissus, frolicking recklessly, expending its youth in one single burst. Gorgeous.
To be honest, the famous ‘greenness’ is lost on me, this is the very definititon of YELLOW. No wonder other reviewers have dubbed it an instant anti-depressant!
I do find it incredibly dusty and nose-tickling, though not really detracting from the sheer fun of it all.
And once again, PdN has managed to evoke emotions I was not aware were lurking there. A longing for another time in my life featuring the golden yellow of the warm afternoon and a yellow slippery dip in my backyard, a warm wind tickling my face.
Would I purchase a bottle? Well, if you simpy must *insist*….
tigr1987 – :
This is perfection in a bottle for me. It’s the perfume I go to when I need a pick me up, or when I need something happy. It’s just so unlike anything I’ve smelled and it’s unusual enough that I keep coming back for it. I think others have gotten it correct–this is a very soft, smooth, gentle green floral. The base kind of reminds me of “guerlain-ade” but I guess since Patricia is a descendant of Guerlain, it makes sense. Five starts all around.
petrovitsh – :
Le Temps d’une Fete is compelling, unusual, and satisfying. The green, high, heady top notes create a trance-like state that is not lost during the long dry down. It is without a doubt one of my all time favorite scents. Others have described it as sunny and friendly, but to me it is strange, riveting, and captivating. I can never just put it on and go about my day – this one stops me in my tracks for a few transcendent moments every time. I often wear it to bed, for the shear joy of it. Oh God, I need to put some on right now. Is this addiction?
page rank check – :
So lovely, lovely, lovely. It opens with a gentle green — not sharply, astringently green, but fresh, dewy leaves. I like very “green” perfumes and this is not a heavy hitter in that category.
Shortly therafter it blooms into a golden bouquet of spring light. It’s barely sweet at all, mingling warm hay with something pleasantly piercing and deep — I guess that’s the daffodil. It is the olfactory idea of golden sunlight with pollen motes dancing in it.
After buying a full bottle, I learned the hard way that over-applying Le Temps d’Une Fete results in a day spent choking in a hayloft — it is definitely possible to overdo this one! But if you spray moderately, you carry your own atmosphere of a perfect late spring day in a meadow along wherever you go. And it does indeed last all day.
AnarcH – :
I pulled my previous post because I now have more sampling experience under my nose and can give a better review.
This scent is so unabashadly green it could be used as the mascot for St. Patrick’s day. Now I love Chamade, and have added it to my collection, but I will say i **like** this opening better. Unlike Chamade, which comes out of the bottle wiht a slap to your face, this slinks out of the bottle; like a cat with an oily grin on it’s face.
And this kitty is sly. It rests langourously on its throne all day, a throne made of deep, rich woods. Idly the kitty peers into a pool framed by narcissus, and is greeted by a tart, seductive smile.
I set this one notch below Chamade, however, because of longevity and hte dry down. While the dry down is impressive for an EDT, it doesn’t carry the green sparkle throughout. But for the first few hours, this is truly the cat’s meow of green florals.
reguar – :
I am struck mute with the beauty of this one. Fresh, green spring florals, with the apricot-suede smoothness of osmanthus and the earthy, hay-like dusty quality of narcissus, all backed with light woods and moss. Smells like a forest floor in spring, with all the wildflowers blooming. A happy, happy perfume.
I can’t wait to buy a bottle of Le Temps d’Une Fete. It’s that lovely!
Edit: I did buy a bottle (and kudos to Patricia de Nicolai for those 1-ounce bottles!!) and spent the summer wearing it. This remains one of the few perfumes I can count on to brighten my mood, and it would definitely make my Desert Island list. Lasting power is quite good on my normally scent-eating-skin (about 4-5 hours).
kinash1682 – :
So beautiful feel good and be happy scent, green sophistication for adults (but I’m sure that this one will please all ages). Le Temps d’une Fete is so rounded, like Leesee wrote, you can’t separate single notes, it’s just fresh’green with some earthines beneth. Great for spring, you really can feel new bright green leaves growing, daffodils popping out to shine in sun and all this springy things, but it’s too lovely to use only in one season.
And like a added bonus, this Patricia de Nicolai gem do last well on skin, maybe 8-10 hours.
Mowassili – :
This is the sunniest, friendliest, most open green floral I have ever tried. The perfume has a balanced, well-rounded structure, and the notes, rather than existing as distinct yet harmonious beings, have meshed into a newly created whole, a new species of scent. A few spritzes of this and you are enveloped in a soft cloud of fragrance that moves gently with you throughout your day and hums a quiet but genius tune — a tune I seem to want to hear over and over again.