Sculpture Air de Lune EDP 100ml

Praline is the material that decides whether Nikos Sculpture Air de Lune Eau de Parfum 100ml is for you, so it is worth knowing where it sits before anything else. It arrives in the middle of the wear, sweet and nutty and faintly toasted, the smell of nuts browned in a pan with something sweet poured over them, and it is supported by clove, which supplies a warm, dry spice that keeps the richness in check. Orange sits with them, juicy and bright, cutting across the heart so it never becomes heavy or airless. The opening is cleaner than that suggests. Plum gives a dark, slightly winey fruit, mandarin orange adds a soft and peelish brightness, and marigold brings something genuinely unusual, a bitter green edge with a faint dustiness to it that most sweet scents would never risk putting at the front. Underneath, bourbon vanilla is rounder and darker than the plain kind, patchouli adds an earthy depth that stops the composition drifting into dessert, and musk keeps everything close and soft by the end of the day. Nine materials, arranged so that the sweet ones are always answered by something dry. At eau de parfum strength it lasts well into an evening without being overbearing, and it is best in cold weather, where sweetness holds its shape rather than turning sticky. One spray on the wrist and one at the neck is the right amount. Nikos is the fragrance line of the Greek born designer Nikos Apostolopoulos, who built his business in Paris and first became known in the mid 1980s for men's bodywear and intimate apparel. He later set up a separate company, Nikos Parfums, which released its first scent in 1994 and has kept the Sculpture name going ever since.