Le Temps d’Une Fête – green and floral and sophisticated

Spring has many stages. It’s born in winter and progresses through the thaw. Early plants, narcissus and hyacinths, appear as temperatures slowly rise. Then comes my favourite part: primavera or first green. That first pop of luminous bright, near-neon green on trees and shrubs lifts my spirits and brightens my days. And the finest olfactory expression of that feeling is Le Temps d’Une Fête from French niche indie line Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur, founded by Patricia de Nicolaï.

Patricia de Nicolaï is one of my favourite perfumers with an intriguing backstory.

She was born in Paris in 1957 into the legendary Guerlain family; she is the great-granddaughter of Pierre Guerlain and niece of Jean-Paul Guerlain. She studied chemistry at university before studying at perfumery at ISIPCA in Versailles. After graduation, it was a challenge for her to find work in the male-dominated perfume industry. Still, she eventually landed at Florasynth, and later, at raw materials company Quest International. Throughout, it was assumed that she was a candidate to one day become Guerlain's in-house perfumer, but since only Guerlain men worked on the brand, she wasn’t considered for the position, so in 1989, she launched her fragrance line with her husband Jean-Louis Michau.

For me, Patricia de Nicolaï has created some of the greatest fragrances in niche perfumery and Le Temps d’Une Fête is one of them.

Le Temps d'Une Fête opens up sparkling, bright and herbal from galbanum, giving the fragrance a tone of that early spring chilliness. A note of opoponax gives it a gentle, spicy warmth that sets the stage for the flowers - narcissus and hyacinth. Narcissus is opulent and honeyed, complex and strong, and it is centre stage here with all its facets as the fragrance progresses. The jasmine aspect of narcissus makes it so heady and rich, it’s hard to move my wrist away from my nose. Its green undertones link to the galbanum and give the impression of crushed fresh leaves and grass that calls forward a note of sweet, floral, delicate hyacinth that complements the narcissus perfectly. Soon, the earthy, animalic facet of narcissus appears along with a sharp, bitter green smell. It settles on a softly woody base of creamy sandalwood and patchouli and oakmoss, which gives the feeling of damp soil and forest underbrush.

Le Temps d'Une Fête is composed of some pretty assertive notes, but in the deft hands of Patricia de Nicolaï they come together in a fragrance that’s delicate, beautiful and sophisticated.

‘Le Temps d'Une Fête’ translates as ‘time to celebrate’ and what sets it apart from other floral/green fragrances is that green isn’t just an accent, it’s celebrated throughout scent, so that Le Temps d'Une Fête smells like a garden - the green leaves, warmth from the sun, animals that might have wandered through, flowers, twigs and soil – at the peak of primavera.

Check out Le Temps d'Une Fête in our Shop.