Here goes...
Nina L'Eau...
... Is a floral and fruity fragrance with an aquatic feel to it. I started to wear it last February after having recieved several samples and fell in love almost right away. It's described as light and fresh but for me, it's a little heavy for Summer. In fact I wore it once last July and felt slightly uncomfortable. For some reason I have a tendency to pair fragrances not only with the weather but also with colors and Nina L'Eau for me goes with cooler temperatures, black, navy and dark purple.
Nina L'Eau, so just feminine and pretty.
Nina L'Eau came out last January and is the latest incarnation of the original Nina from 2006 created by Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavalier. Since I've tried the original only a few times I'm not in a position to compare the two. I may eventually be able to if I can get my hands on a few samples. There aren't many reviews of Nina L'Eau out there but from the few I've read, this version is apparently a little fruitier than the original.
I think unconsciously I steered clear of Nina when it came out because of L'Air du Temps. That fragrance had such a following in the 80s and 90s, it was everywhere. I don't think there was a single day where I didn't get to smell it on someone either in the metro or at the office. My mother in law, bless her heart, used to wear it and every time we met, after an hour or so, I would end up with a headache. So yes, I was afraid of Nina even though I still have a bottle of Fleur de Fleur that I enjoy wearing once in a while.
The top notes of Nina L'Eau are really what grabbed my attention, apple, grapefruit, mandarin and neroli, so flirty and fresh, they simply put me in a good mood. The heart envelops you with gardenia and cherry in a beautiful, mature kind of way. The base is musky and sweet and I must say, quite sensual.
The cherry is omnipresent in this fragrance but not in the same way as in Guerlain's La Petite Robe Noire, which by the way I will revisit once the weather is cooler. In Nina L'Eau, the cherry notes are more voluptuous and in a sense a little less girly. This is most likely due to the gardenia it's paired with. This I find makes it more complex, more sophisticated.
Nina L'Eau is feminine, elegant, but also playful and I can definitely see myself reaching for it on a snowy Winter morning. According to a Elle France article published just before the launch, it's the fragrance of a girl becoming a woman and I have read somewhere that it was meant for younger women but I really see no reasons why older gals wouldn't enjoy it. It's not the most complex of juices but in my opinion it does have enough style to be worn by any self assured grown up.
The ad campaign for Nina L'Eau is positively stunning! Starring Freda Gustavsson, it starts in a Parisian apartment and takes us to a beautiful silvery labyrinth...
Now this could be because my daughter and I recently did a marathon of the famous wizard movies but is it just me or are there some Harry Potter references? The labyrinth, the white owl, I couldn't help but think, now this is where Edgwig ended up!
Nina L'Eau is a truly pretty fragrance worth a try and if you like Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire you may very well enjoy this one too.
What was your last fragrance purchase?
