Bottle Design:
Marc Lalique

See Prices

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Farouche Nina Ricci 1973 Parfum

8.1 / 10 57 Ratings

A popular perfume by Nina Ricci for women, released in 1973. The scent is floral-chypre. The production was apparently discontinued.
Pronunciation Compare

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Floral

Chypre

Woody

Spicy

Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Aldehydes

Peach

Galbanum

Mandarin orange

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Honeysuckle

Lily of the valley

Cardamom

Clary sage

Geranium

Iris

Lily

Rose

Carnation

Jasmine

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Amber

Musk

Vetiver

Sandalwood

Perfumer

Michel Hy

Ratings

Scent

8.157 Ratings

Longevity

7.348 Ratings

Sillage

6.446 Ratings

Bottle

8.672 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 08/11/2025.

Variant of the fragrance concentration

This is a variant of the perfume Farouche (Eau de Toilette) by Nina Ricci, which differs in concentration.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Farouche Eau de Parfum

Farouche Eau de Toilette

Calèche Eau de Toilette

Imprévu Parfum

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/23/2011

9Scent 10Longevity

Medusa00
842 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Medusa00

Top Review 20

A Nearly Forgotten Gem...

... which is now weighed in gold. I only have a mini bottle as a reminder of old times, as Farouche and L´Air du Temps used to be among my favorite Riccis. I must honestly say that while the new releases are quite pretty, they no longer blow me away. Farouche is not just a fragrance; Farouche is an aura, yes, a fluid.
It starts off aldehydic, almost like a restrained No 5 to which a few fruits have been added to soften it and keep it from being too rough and too extroverted.
With each passing minute, Farouche becomes deeper, more mysterious, and more beautiful. I cannot pick out the notes individually and I don’t want to, because dissecting it would mean overanalyzing it. It is like a veil that does not sparkle, shimmer, or shout for attention. One must immerse oneself in Farouche. Yet it is still there, close and yet with a clear statement.
In the base, a mysterious, almost mystical and dark chypre reveals itself. Woody, warm, ambered. Moon dust and the song of the wandering angel. A dark melody, an unspoken ode to love, an image that was never painted yet is there, with Farouche.
The base lasts for hours and is an intimate and unprecedented embrace.

11/28/2012

10Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Florblanca
1168 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Florblanca

Top Review 13

When the visual and olfactory factors create THE unity...

...then it is a wonderful fragrance in a beautiful bottle.

Who doesn't know it, L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci! Even as a young girl, I adored this fragrance and eventually I had the EdP. Of course, not in the swan bottle, I couldn't afford that, but in the white plastic container that held a glass spray bottle that could be replaced, and only 50ml.

I hadn't discovered Farouche back then...

However, I have owned a mini of the original bottle, as shown above, for many, many years. For me, this is the most beautiful perfume bottle of all time. I didn't know the fragrance until recently, as I never opened this mini (it opens a bit stiffly). But for the past week, I have been hooked on Farouche, meaning my nose has been on my wrist. Almost every day, a drop on the wrist and I have been drawn to this wonderful scent.

Farouche is a chypre, and one of the excellently crafted chypres, but it is not really my usual type. Yet, the same goes for Private Collection by Estée Lauder, and still, I could bathe in it. Farouche is also somewhat similar to this fragrance. However, it is much more complex and softer, with its own special note.

The opening is green and herbaceous, very aromatic but not piercing. It is very short in Farouche - at least in the EdT of my mini.

What follows is an olfactory experience of the highest class. A bouquet of flowers that are hardly identifiable. Nevertheless, I can smell Chèvrefeuille (honeysuckle) here, with its wonderful, delicate scent. A glance at the pyramid revealed to me - it is indeed included! Those who know Chèvrefeuille by Yves Rocher will understand what I mean.

If I had to give a color to this lush heart, I would choose white gold. Silvery shining, but not as metallic as silver, cool but not cold. Very noble and sophisticated.

The base is dry and warm, mossy dark green and velvety soft. I would love to lay down on this bed.

How could I have overlooked this fragrance for so long! A delight all around!

The name Nina Ricci was once a guarantee for tasteful fashion and wonderful fragrances. L'Air du Temps, Farouche, Capricci, and Fleur de Fleurs - the four classics. All four are wonderful - both visually and olfactorily. These fragrances were not only high quality and very well made, but they were also quite pricey and yet worth every cent.

What Nina Ricci has become today is no longer inspiring. Owned by Puig, the Nina Ricci fragrances available today are just a faint shadow of what the earlier Riccis once were. Even the wonderful Nina has become a mass fragrance in a kitschy bottle today.

Back then, all the bottles were by Lalique - each uniquely special and unmistakable according to the fragrance. Some of the most beautiful perfume bottles of all time and a part of perfume history.

I admit, when such wonderful fragrances are turned into mere drugstore products and the name is just one of very, very many, I would rather see both the name and the fragrances disappear from the market, meaning discontinued, than to degrade into such mass-produced items.

In any case, I will be on the lookout - perhaps I can still find one of those dreamily beautiful original bottles with original Farouche somewhere...

11/09/2016

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Minigolf
2517 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Minigolf

Top Review 11

Yesss, I am a Chypre...

"May I introduce myself?.... Farouche is my name, 'born' in 1973 at Nina Ricci, but unfortunately, I am no longer produced (sigh..sniff..). I can only sometimes be found on eBay, or I gather dust forgotten in the back rooms of long-established private perfumeries. Undeservedly and cruelly!!! Because I was once a kind of flagship of the 70s at 'Ricci' and quite sought after by Chypre lovers. Because I smelled exactly as one imagines a spicy-floral, high-quality Chypre should.
My top note shines brightly with aldehydes, green with galbanum, woody-bitter bergamot. Even little, cheeky fruits have immortalized themselves in me... Ah... and then the slow transition to my heart... A gem of flowers and herbs. A fine, unsweetened mélange... Cloves, mmmhh.. and roses, delicious, iris and honeysuckle! The longer, the better... Cardamom from the Orient, lily of the valley from the woods.... (I am completely smitten with myself)... I last, without wanting to boast, quite a long time, and then I present... Voila!.. My underside, the base, which reaches deep into the heart. Or comes from the heart, or... whatever.. makes me even more Chypre. My mossy cushion is not from bad parents, nor are the sandy-aromatic woods and the amber that dwell within me, I must not forget my vetiver grass, or rather its root. This base makes me deep, bitter, and simply a dream Chypre. (the two previous stages of me, of course, too).. And while I am praising myself now (I just need to do that right now). but I don't have to shout loudly to prove my Chypre existence. Slowly, quietly, deeply. and steadily..... Goodbye, dear perfume lovers, see you soon... Yours, Farouche".......""""

08/19/2022

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Serenissima
1222 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Serenissima

Top Review 11

Parisian Chic

Nina Ricci: The name stands for dreamy fashion creations and romantic fragrances.
A name that announces beauty and romance, but also raises expectations.
But what a dreamily beautiful chypre creature meets me behind the name "Farouche": Lavishly rich, full of feminine elegance - Parisian chic, captured in a stunningly beautiful bottle.

And here she comes, this "Chypre Lady": Surrounded by aldehydes, strolling through richly scented fruit and flower gardens, and finally grounded in woody and mossy dampness.
The glow of the aldehydes, together with the lively freshness of bergamot and mandarin as well as the velvety sweetness of peach, hints at the time of this fragrance on the grand, slightly galbanum-smoky stage:
Back then, aldehyde fireworks not only shimmered around the fruity entrance of chypre fragrances, they accompanied their scent development to the often enchanting finale.
Thus, the lavish floral aromas are also radiantly accompanied here.
What wealth is presented to the eye and the senses:
Spicy-scented garden carnations with their pink-tipped tutus, noble, slender irises, and ripe roses accompanied by classic white flowers:
Sensual jasmine, intoxicating lilies, and charming cheeky lily of the valley belong to a chypre fragrance masterpiece just like bergamot and oak moss.
Honeysuckle, with its slightly rustic scent charm, entwines all it can reach with its long, flower-laden arms.
Delightfully feminine, these scent notes weave through the existing fabric called "Farouche".
How well the spiciness of rose geranium, clary sage, and cardamom fits into this weave.
Interestingly dosed spice is a refined enhancement of any graceful floral garden scent.
Here, too, it shows the way to the base with the already mentioned rich oak moss, sandalwood and vetiver classics, and a decorative musk and amber scent veil, interspersed with fine resinous scent fires and aldehyde fireflies.
Classically beautiful, the scent journey of "Farouche" concludes.

The Nina Ricci brand has once again succeeded in creating one of its remarkable fragrance creations.
One should not compare them all to the grand romantic heart fragrance "L’Air du Temps"; here, no Lalique doves coo and peck:
"Farouche" is a mature fragrance personality in splendid tones that is truly worth getting to know.

Charming in sillage and longevity, with time for the development of all inherent scent note beauties.
Simply a captivating floral chypre, a child of its time, whose heart still beats in its rhythm, which was also ours back then.

How incredibly rich that time was in extraordinary scent compositions.
Of course, not all could survive, but what joy it is to encounter them again here on Vintage Street or to get to know them.
It is always worth it, and here especially!

01/22/2012

10Scent 10Longevity 5Sillage

Undine
30 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Undine

Top Review

Creates Biotopes for Wild Cats!

The search for a scent takes time. It was quite complicated when I got tired of the drugstore experiments towards the end of school and wanted something "real": I needed to set myself apart, fragrances in the style of my mother were out of the question. Grasse (Fragonard? Molinard?), Guerlain, Chanel were ruled out, "Tosca" & Co. as well. The floral waters that were deemed suitable for my age - I looked younger than I was ;-) - I found silly. At some point, a frustrated saleswoman reached for the "adult" shelf. Ricci's "L’Air du Temps" perhaps? No, too nice, too much white blouse & pleated skirt. But "Farouche" was a fit. And "Cabochard" (the saleswoman was baffled).

Unfortunately, Grès' stubbornness turned my stubbornness into a nose, always evaporating quickly. "Farouche" fared much better; the perfume accompanied me through my studies. Then I was unfaithful to it. And today, you can't find it anymore, unless at "antique" prices. Now a dear Parfumo has enabled me to reunite with it (thank you very much!). A miniature. Carefully pulling the stopper: Yess!, stopper back on, testing will be done in peace.

Two days later, new un-stopping. A drop on the skin, and - - -
BAM - - -
something leaps at me, with a huge leap from nowhere. A furry paw taps on my scented arm, I feel claws, but not extended. A soft hiss. Another leap, and the something is gone. But it has only retreated into cover; it is still there, I hear it crackling and rustling, I feel its presence, its gaze: a wildcat.

"Farouche" means "wild" and "shy" at the same time - no other creature embodies this dual meaning for me better than the wildcat. Quick and strong (how powerful the scent begins, I had forgotten in all those years of not smelling!), supple and graceful, cautious and quiet, warm and soft (after the energetic start, gentler phases quickly follow; Medusa has beautifully described the scent's progression with all its depth and sensuality). Stubborn, mysterious, untameable, wildcats need a lot of space...

On the manufacturer's website, "Farouche" is still mentioned; the perfume (Extrait) seems to still be in production. Just like the beautiful animal that this magnificent scent reminds me of, the olfactory wildcat is not extinct - that is the good news.

However, it seems that "Farouche" is only available in a combo pack with four other older Ricci scents ("Coeur Joie" from 1946, "L’Air du Temps" from 1948, "Fille d’Eve" from 1956, and "Capricci" from 1960). 15ml portions in crystal noble flacons as "Collection Prestige," certainly correspondingly expensive, the wildcat vegetates in the (golden) cage - that is the bad news.

If the wildcat were to return to the wild, that is, back on the market, we would be friends again immediately. Oh, you people at Ricci: Please remember your former courage - and create suitable biotopes for wildcats!

P.S. My rating of the flacon refers to the standard bottle in which the scent was sold earlier (the one on the left in Hasi's photo below).

---------
Addendum 03.07.12:
Affection can sometimes be persistent ;-). So I sent a question email to Ricci. And received - very kindly - the response that the scents from the "Collection Prestige" can also be purchased individually, specifically at the Paris Ricci boutique. I should inquire about the price there, phone number and email address attached (and yes, they also ship). I left that alone and preferred to stomp directly to Avenue Montaigne on my Paris tour on Saturday.

The noble crystal flacon with 15ml Extrait costs 410 euros. Can it be refilled? No, "pas de recharge, j'suis désolée." Proud price - "mais c'est Lalique!" Certainly, certainly; but I don't collect flacons, I just love scents...

The "Farouche" relationship box is now closed. It was lovely while it lasted - very lovely :-).

More reviews

Statements

8 short views on the fragrance

Eggi37

4 months ago

9Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

47

80

Nina, your
herb-fruity delicate peach cheeks
& aldehyde shine enchant
angelically beautiful in a
floral white dress
Take all my moss &
marry me

Translated · Show original

Gandix

2 years ago

8Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

35

45

Aldehyde sparkling Chypre
Peaches rolling
A certain animalic quality can't be denied
Musk-moss rivalry.

Translated · Show original

Gold

7 years ago

10Scent 9Longevity 9Sillage

14

3

Incredibly soft, dreamy chypre, whose beauty can't be described in words. I can't think of anything more to say.

Translated · Show original

Serenissima

4 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

10

6

A Chypre dream from another time: gentle yet full-bodied floral beauty on a profound base, with a unique radiance.

Translated · Show original

Rieke2021

2 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 5Sillage

10

7

Starts bright and fresh with aldehydes + gentle citrus. Harmonious flowers under the peach tree on velvety moss. A summer morning.

Translated · Show original

DANA17

2 years ago

9Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

5

2

starts a bit herbal-spicy, in the dry down a lush floral garden, a velvety-warm base to melt into
something special, a different kind of Chypre

Translated · Show original

Minigolf

9 years ago

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

5

Vintage, affordable, Ebay, chypre at its finest. First light and bright, then darker and deeper. Enchanted garden of a "White Witch." NINA....

Translated · Show original

Seerose

10 years ago

7Scent 10Longevity 7.5Sillage

2

Without oak moss in the base, it would be perfect; a delicate lily-jasmine-lily of the valley combo intensifying into a herbal floral chypre, resinous-creamy.

Translated · Show original

More statements