Simply Abu Dhabi XXIX

2 9 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I gossamer-fine cloud of perfume for you to smell and consider. The fragrances installed in the Vase des Senteur are the Ex Nihilo perfumes available for ‘personalisations.’ This is the term used for the company’s bespoke service, where the customer combines one of the scents available in the Vase des Senteurs with other combinations that the Ex Nihilo team has prepared for a potential perfect match. The fragrances available for personalisations are: Fleur Narcotique (Ex Nihilo’s first and most famous fragrance), Venenum Kiss (an elegant and feminine mix of amber, suede, rose and saffron), Oud Vendôme (a contemporary oud made of Agarwood), Bois d’Hiver (a woody fragrance with a musk heart), Musc Infini (an homage to musk), Rose Hubris (a tribute to the Rose of May of Grasse), Cologne 352 (a Parisian cologne), Vetiver Moloko (a woody fragrance with notes of vetiver) and Jasmin Fauve (a feminine mixture of jasmine and leather). After you have chosen between one of those fragrances the assistants will encourage you try all the four combinations that the Ex Nihilo team has ready for your selected base scent. I was drawn to the Rose Hubris fragrance and so Pauline, the lovely assistant that guided me in my experience, took me through four combinations with vanilla, rose, sandalwood and jasmine. I finally chose sandalwood because personally I found that it was an unusual blend between a spring fragrance and a more wintery one. And here comes the magic: the Ex Nihilo founders have patented the “Osmologue,” a machine that is able to mix scents in traditional alembics—a device for the separation of products by heating and cooling that was first used to make floral waters, I n the city of light, walking down Rue Saint Honoré just in front of the famous Le Castiglione café, one of many “places to be seen” in Paris at number 352, you find the perfume boutique of Ex Nihilo. Observing the store from the outside, it doesn't seem out of the ordinary, elegant and well- appointed as one would associate with the array of luxury mono- brand stores that are in Paris, but only when you enter do you discover an extraordinary world of fine fragrances. Founded in 2013 by Olivier Royère, Sylvie Loday and Benoît Verdier, the Ex Nihilo brand has distinguished itself from other perfumery brands for its contemporary and conceptual approach to scents. The brand’s name itself, that comes from Latin “ex” (from) “nihilo” (nothing), speaks volumes about the brand. “From nothing”, Olivier, Sylvie and Benoît have created a striking brand with an innovative concept: they allow the customer to be the perfume atelier. Relying on your own nose, you decide the perfume that you want to create, a one-of-a-kind scent made just for you. When you enter any of the Ex Nihilo boutiques that span the world from Paris to New York to Dubai, you can either choose an already existing perfume or you create your own scent. And with the second option, there is no lengthy process and drawn out anticipation to receive your personal creation—it can take as little as 15minutes to invent your own personalised perfume. How do they manage that? This is how it works. On the ground floor an assistant invites you to discover the Ex Nihilo fragrances through the “Vase des Senteur”, a series of scent emitters that look like vases encased in blocks of transparent Perspex. To smell the scent, you just need to press a button on one of the vase blocks and the fragrance delicately releases a essential oils and medicines. Pauline then put the two mixtures into a cup and pressed a button on the Osmologue—the scene reminded me of the factories of the 19th century, extremely revolutionary for their time, with their chimneys pumping out black smoke. Three minutes later and my fragrance was complete and ready to be bottled. As a customer, you can choose the bottle and also the cap, which come in different colours including brown, blue, white to black. Like the best of bespoke luxury goods, the experience is an integral part of the purchase. Ex Nihilo has created an exclusive personal treat combined with a compelling range of scents. Luxury item blended with personalised experience… it makes perfect sense.