New-York Nicolaï / Parfums de Nicolaï 1989

This is an old-fashioned but quite lovely and sophisticated style of cologne with an initial fresh citrus burst mixed with the herbaceous green of thyme, and artemisia. It reminds me of a powdery lavender cashmere soap mixed with musk and vanilla. It is a nostalgic scent for me, reminding me of the lavender and cashmere soap my mother used to use. After about 30 minutes, the spices - cinnamon and cloves - are noticeably wafting up and blending seamlessly with the balsamic-sweet floral and somewhat spicy styrax, the vanilla and musk and wrapped around by a light note of incense. The drydown is a mix of powdery lavender and cashmere.

It was one of the 'luckyscent' 0.7ml samples that a family member had bought a while ago and found "too strong" so gave to me to try. Whilst it's technically a men's fragrance, as a woman I did like it on my skin. When I wore it out for the first time today I received a lot of lovely compliments for this fragrance which was quite nice. I wouldn't have worn this in my early 20s. However, it's a decade or two on since then and I think it's suited to women if they have a strong and independent nature. It's got a great projection and lasts about 5-6 hours. It suits most occasions, from the office for certain to something to wear during cooler weather curled up by the fire in a cashmere sweater.