Balenciaga 2025 releases, Nissaba Les Alpes, Prada Paradigme and other reviews

Five reviews in brief 9:21
Le Dix 12:50
Getaria 17:09
Extra 23:10
Muscara 27:07
No Comment 31:17

A few years ago, brands followed the ‘why make one when you can make three’ strategy of perfume creation. Now, that number has increased to at least five, with houses releasing six or seven scents in one fell swoop. Under the ownership of Kering, Balenciaga have upped the ante even more, offering a re-launch portfolio that includes no fewer than ten compositions, including a new version of Le Dix. I reviewed them all in a recent set of Love At First Scent episodes, together with releases from Prada, DS & Durga and Nissaba. Here all links to all three videos: Balenciaga Le Dix, Getaria, Extra, Muscara and No Comment reviews — Prada Paradigme and Aramis Intuition reviews — Roos & Roos Les Larmes De Tiresias, DS & Durga Cognac Reign, BDK Nectar Oud, Homework Fire and Nissaba Les Alpes reviews.

Prada Paradigme (Marie Salamagne, Bruno Jovanovic, Nicolas Bonneville) 3:21
Aramis Intuition (Carlos Benaim) 15:23

Roos & Roos Les Larmes De Tiresias (Alexandra Carlin) 3:25
DS & Durga Cognac Reign (David Seth Moltz) 15:57
BDK Nectar Oud (Anne Flipo) 28:57
Homework Fire 38:34
Nissaba Les Alpes (Fabrice Pellegrin) 46:11

Of the scents above, the only two that are worthy of your attention are the Homework and the Nissaba. I confess I know very little about the first brand. All their website tells us is that their founder is someone called Stephanie and that she follows the principles of traditional Chinese medicine in her fragrance creation. I’d like to learn more about her and her work, because if Fire is anything to go by, she has something genuinely interesting to bring to perfumery. Combining the endearing naivete of Aesop’s early scents with the impassioned outdoorsiness of Tauer Lonestar Memories, the perfume is a complex, naturalistic presentation not just of flames and charred wood, but also, rather wonderfully, of sparks. I’ve ordered their discovery set so that I can try the other four in the range.

I’m not much of a hiker, and I’m certainly no skier, but Fabrice Pellegrin’s Les Alpes for Nissaba made me long for a morning on a secluded mountain top, somewhere between a cloudless sky and a pine-covered valley. With fennel, cardamom, juniper and, crucially, hay, it takes the wearer on an exhilarating journey from bracing, citrus-like energy at the top, to a quieter, darker, fougere-like conclusion. Utterly charming, and more evidence that Nissaba is a brand to watch.

Persolaise

[Review samples were provided by the brands, except for the Balenciagas, which were obtained by me.]

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