Best Ex Nihilo perfumes: 9 picks by style, tried first

There is no single best Ex Nihilo perfume, because the house spans rose, ambery and woody styles. Fleur Narcotique, an early launch that helped propel the brand¹, and Blue Talisman, its 2023 hero scent¹, are both “iconic creations” to Premium Beauty News². Blue Talisman is #4 among the most-bought unisex perfumes in Europe on Scento. Nine picks follow.

• Blue Talisman is #4 among the most-bought unisex perfumes in Europe on Scento, October 2025 to September 2026, and #13 across all perfumes.
• A 100 ml Ex Nihilo eau de parfum costs €280 on the maker’s EU site³. A 2 ml decant at Scento starts at €10.90.
• The nine picks fall into five groups: signatures, rose and floral, warm and ambery, fresh and woody, and the newest release, Demon Dancer.
• Extrait versions cost more per decant: €18.90 to €19.90 for 2 ml, against €11.90 to €14.90 for the matching eau de parfum.

Quick picks

One line per style group, with the 2 ml decant price. Details and notes follow in each section.

• Signatures: Blue Talisman (€13.90), Fleur Narcotique (€14.90) and Fleur Narcotique Extrait (€18.90).
• Rose and floral: Lust in Paradise (€11.90) and Lust in Paradise Extrait (€19.90).
• Warm and ambery: Gold Immortals (€14.90).
• Fresh and woody: The Hedonist (€10.90) and Speed Legends Living on the Edge (€14.90).
• The newest: Demon Dancer (€14.90).

How to choose an Ex Nihilo perfume

Start with style, not with a ranking. The nine perfumes below sit in clearly different families, so the useful question is which family you already like. If you wear fresh citrus and ginger, the woody picks are the closest step. If you prefer rose, peach or orange blossom, start with the floral ones.

Next, decide between eau de parfum and Extrait. The Extraits are a separate product at a higher decant price, and the notes list on the maker’s page is the place to compare them. Then think about the season you will wear it in. Lighter citrus, ginger and vetiver compositions tend to read well in warm weather, while tonka bean, ambery wood and musk suit cooler days. That is our reading of the notes, not a maker claim.

Finally, set a budget to try. Ex Nihilo lists its 100 ml eau de parfum at €280³, which is a lot to spend on a scent you have not worn. A decant lets you wear it for several days first. If the house is new to you, the Ex Nihilo page lists everything we stock.

The house in brief

Ex Nihilo describes itself as a French fragrance house founded in 2013 by a cosmopolitan trio from Paris: Sylvie Loday, Olivier Royère and Benoît Verdier⁵. The name means “created out of the blue” in Latin, according to Eurazeo⁶. Business of Fashion says the phrase roughly translates to “from scratch”¹.

The range has grown fast. The original collection included nine fragrances, and there are now 78, priced between $165 and $365¹. Co-founder Benoît Verdier told The Business of Beauty that the brand’s retail sales exceeded $100 million in 2025¹. In the United States, Ex Nihilo operates 80 points of sale, including 40 department stores, and aims to reach 200 across all US channels by 2028⁴.

Ownership changed in 2026. Eurazeo’s sale of its minority stake to L Catterton was completed in February 2026, with a gross cash-on-cash of 2.7x on Eurazeo’s initial investment and around €55 million of proceeds⁷. One of the house’s differentiated offerings is the Osmologue, which lets shoppers customise existing scents such as Fleur Narcotique¹.

The signatures

Blue Talisman by Ex Nihilo

Blue Talisman opens with pear, bergamot, ginger and mandarin, moves to orange blossom and Georgywood, and rests on Ambrofix, Akigalawood and musks. It was created by Jordi Fernández³. Ex Nihilo launched it in 2023, and Business of Fashion calls it another hero scent¹.

It is the one Ex Nihilo perfume that shows up in our own data. In the Scento Fragrance Index, October 2025 to September 2026, it is #4 among the most-bought unisex perfumes in Europe, behind Ombre Nomade, Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait and Pacific Chill. Across all perfumes in Europe it is #13. By country, it is #8 in France and #7 in Greece overall, and among unisex perfumes it is #2 in Greece, #3 in France and #5 in Germany. The Scento Fragrance Index publishes these ranks each quarter. If you are looking for lookalikes, they live in our Blue Talisman alternatives guide.

Blue Talisman as a 2 ml decant (€13.90)

Fleur Narcotique by Ex Nihilo

Fleur Narcotique starts with bergamot, lychee and peach, centres on Petalia, orange blossom and jasmine, and dries down to musk, transparent wood and moss⁸. It was one of the early launches, composed by Quentin Bisch, then an obscure young perfumer¹. It suits anyone who likes a bright, fruit-led white floral rather than a heavy one.

Fleur Narcotique as a 2 ml decant (€14.90)

Fleur Narcotique Extrait by Ex Nihilo

This is the extrait version of Fleur Narcotique. We have not read the maker’s notes for it, so we do not describe its character here. Try it next to the eau de parfum if you already know the original and want to see how the two differ on your own skin.

Fleur Narcotique Extrait as a 2 ml decant (€18.90)

Rose and floral

Lust in Paradise by Ex Nihilo

Lust in Paradise pairs pink pepper and Rosyfolia with Petalia and rose absolute, over musk, white cedarwood and Ambrofix. Louise Turner is the perfumer⁹. It is a rose with a peppery lift, a good place to start if you want florals without sweetness. At €11.90 for 2 ml it is among the lower-priced ways into the house.

Lust in Paradise as a 2 ml decant (€11.90)

Lust in Paradise Extrait by Ex Nihilo

The stronger extrait of Lust in Paradise. Verdier announced its launch for 1 April 2026⁴. It makes sense to wear the eau de parfum first, then try this one if you like the rose and want to compare concentrations.

Lust in Paradise Extrait as a 2 ml decant (€19.90)

Warm and ambery

Gold Immortals by Ex Nihilo

Gold Immortals, described by the house as an “Infinite floriental”, opens with pear and bergamot, moves into ylang-ylang and Petalia, and ends on Ambrofix, tonka bean and musk. Jordi Fernández composed it¹⁰. Choose it for cooler evenings, when a creamy flower with an ambery base feels right.

Gold Immortals as a 2 ml decant (€14.90)

Fresh and woody

The Hedonist by Ex Nihilo

The Hedonist starts with bergamot and ginger, then cedarwood and Akigalawood, and finishes on vetiver, musks and tonka bean. Jordi Fernández is the perfumer¹¹. It is a clean, dry-woody option for daytime and the office. It is also the lowest-priced decant in this guide, at €10.90 for 2 ml.

The Hedonist as a 2 ml decant (€10.90)

Speed Legends Living on the Edge by Ex Nihilo

Speed Legends, whose tagline on the maker’s page is “living on the edge”, opens with bergamot, mandarin and pink pepper. Clary sage and blackcurrant follow, with vetiver, tonka bean and ambery wood underneath. Jordi Fernández created it¹². It sits between the fresh woods of The Hedonist and the warmer end of the range, which makes it a sensible choice if you want something that works across seasons.

Speed Legends Living on the Edge as a 2 ml decant (€14.90)

The newest: Demon Dancer

Curious? Try Ex Nihilo Demon Dancer as a decant, from €14.90Try it →

Demon Dancer by Ex Nihilo

Demon Dancer is an eau de parfum with rhubarb, bergamot, peppermint and blood orange on top. Orange blossom and blackcurrant form the heart, over Georgywood, Akigalawood, Ambrofix, musks and tonka bean. Jordi Fernández is the perfumer¹³. The notes are brighter and sharper than most of the range, so it suits people who like a tart opening.

It was available from 3 August on the brand’s website and from 1 September at all its points of sale¹⁴. It was unveiled at a dinner at the Palais de Tokyo in September 2026¹⁵. Its 5 ml and 8 ml decants are priced higher than the other eaux de parfum in this guide (see the table).

Demon Dancer as a 2 ml decant (€14.90)

Comparison table

Try before a €280 bottle

Decants cost more per millilitre than a full bottle, so this is not a cheaper way to buy. It is a cheaper way to find out. Blue Talisman as a 2 ml decant is €13.90, which works out at €6.95 per ml. The official 100 ml bottle at €280³ is €2.80 per ml. A 2 ml decant costs about 5.0% of the full-bottle price, so sampling costs more per ml but avoids a €280 blind buy.

Prices across our nine picks run from €10.90 to €19.90 for 2 ml. For a wider view of how decant prices compare, see the perfume price per ml index. If you later buy a full bottle elsewhere, the batch code guide shows how to check it. For more Paris houses worth sampling, read our Paris niche picks.

Scento decants are hand-poured from original full-size bottles bought through authorised retail channels, with no dilution. Delivery is tracked and free over €75, and we ship to 26 EU countries.

How we compiled this

We chose the nine perfumes from the Ex Nihilo decants Scento currently sells, grouping them by style family first. Notes and perfumers come from the maker’s own product pages, read on 14 October 2026; news and ownership facts come from the sources below. Ranks come from the Scento Fragrance Index, October 2025 to September 2026, ranked by paid decant units, and are shown as ranks only. Decant prices are Scento retail prices checked on 14 October 2026.

Sources

1. 1Exclusive: L Catterton Invests in Ex Nihilo, Business of Fashion, 19 January 2026.
2. 2Eurazeo divests its minority stake in fragrance brand Ex Nihilo to L Catterton, Premium Beauty News, 20 January 2026.
3. 3Blue Talisman EDP, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
4. 4French fragrance brand Ex Nihilo embarks on a new growth phase, Premium Beauty News, 30 March 2026.
5. 5La Maison, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
6. 6Eurazeo enters into an exclusive agreement with L Catterton, Eurazeo, 19 January 2026.
7. 7Eurazeo completes the sale of Ex Nihilo to L Catterton, Eurazeo, 20 February 2026.
8. 8Fleur Narcotique EDP, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
9. 9Lust in Paradise EDP, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
10. 10Gold Immortals EDP, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
11. 11The Hedonist EDP, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
12. 12Speed Legends EDP, Ex Nihilo US, read 14 October 2026.
13. 13Demon Dancer, Ex Nihilo, read 14 October 2026.
14. 14Ex Nihilo Unveils a New Eau de Parfum: Demon Dancer, Fragrantica (Sophie Normand), 28 July 2026.
15. 15Demon Dancer: EX NIHILO Unveils Its New Fragrance, Say Who, September 2026.