IDLE HOUR is the result of a collaboration celebrating the ways in which a particular smell makes us unknowingly re-enter a space completely forgotten by visual memory.
Amanda Charchian, Los Angeles-based photographer and multidisciplinary artist loves to play with a feminine sensuality that is simultaneously epic and intimate. She earned a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in 2010 with a focus on painting and sculpture.
We worked together to create an exclusive scent inspired by her daily life in LA as fragrance has always been an important aspect of her artistic universe. Two visions reunited to open new perspectives and draw a singular creative path.
IDLE HOUR is a fleeting moment of reflection, categorized by the long mercurial rays of the late afternoon sun. Permeating the windows of a LA hillside home, they evoke flashing memories interjected by distracting shadows on skin, a moment to exhale.
An unexpected and memorable scent, IDLE HOUR exudes Pink pepper, Ylang-ylang and Cedarwood to a lingering effect.
Designed in collaboration with Amanda Charchian, IDLE HOUR celebrates souvenir. The name IDLE HOUR alludes to a memory where time and space collapse.
Only available at EX NIHILO Los Angeles Flagship store, 926N Sycamore Avenue, EX NIHILO Paris Flagship store, 352 rue Saint-Honoré and online.
Shop nowA solar iteration of LUST IN PARADISE, revisited by French Californian photographer Reine Paradis.
She joined forces with perfumer Louise Turner to translate her colourful universe for a very addictive result, like a skin warmed by the Los Angeles sun.
Reine Paradis is a visual artist who constructs narrative photographs staging herself as the central figure in surreal landscapes. Shot in many locations throughout America, the photo series takes us on an introspective journey across a symbolic and chromatic world, projected above the limit of reality and imagination. All the scenes are imagined and conceptualized before shooting in real locations. Once the scene is visualized in it’s entirety, Reine Paradis makes sketches and paints the scene to use as a blue print when photographing the final scene.
As a fragrance enthusiast herself, she teamed for the very first time with master perfumer Louise Turner and EX NIHILO to create an olfactory interpretation of her visual work.
Born in Kent, UK, Louise found her vocation during a work placement, where she studied raw materials and trained and developed her nose.
Inspired by nature, her vision is one of pushing and transforming boundaries. Now settled in Paris for many years, she is one of the most respected master perfumers.
She is the author of the famous MUSC INFINI for EX NIHILO and behind the creation of FASCINATE and MAGNETIZE, from the new SUBLIME MISTS hair perfumes collection.
Her mission was to give her own olfactory interpretation of Reine’s unique universe, giving a new Californian twist to the mesmerizing LUST IN PARADISE.
Reine constructs narrative and ultra-chromatic photographs, staging herself as the central figure of surreal landscapes. Inspired by her work, the scent gets more solar and poetic, like a skin warmed by the Californian sun.
Its signature gets more hypnotic through deep Woods, Pink Pepper and white Peony notes notes, above the limits of reality and imagination.
Discover the Artist EditionEX NIHILO and Reflections Copenhagen present an exclusive collaboration: the Masterpiece Collection. Composed of three unique fragrances accompanied by an exceptional crystal bottle. Taking inspiration from a journey through Paris and its highlights, each perfume creation is the olfactory interpretation of a Parisian facet in its most magical aspects. The play of lights in the city is also to be found in the reflections of the crystal bottle’s shades.
Exclusively available at our Parisian flagship store, Harrods London and The Dubai Mall and EX NIHILO Los Angeles.
Reflections Copenhagen is a Danish design studio founded in 2014 by Julie Hugau and Andrea Larsson in Copenhagen. Driven by the challenge to reinvent traditional styles, colors and shapes of today’s decor, Reflections develops crystal works of art that enhance light reflections. Each product is skillfully and creatively crafted, entirely by hand with unique artisan techniques. All Reflections’ creations are inspired by the graphic expression of the Art Deco era, the contrasting 80’s and the opportunity to work with delicate and fragile materials to create unique and innovative products.
Created exclusively in collaboration with Reflections Copenhagen, this unique handcrafted bottle made from 100% crystal is a real work of art to be exposed. Custom designed in three different colors: royal blue, ruby red and emerald green, this perfume flacon is a true collector’s item that reflects the light endlessly.
The Masterpiece Collection is composed of three unique fragrances. Designed in Paris by the world’s best Master Perfumers with the most exclusive materials and no limit of cost: each creation is destined to become the property of one person in the world for life. As soon as a fragrance is chosen, it disappears from the Collection.
Mathieu is part of the new scene of international photography. High Perfumery was the next playground to express his curiosity for creation in all its forms.
Driven by the same passions and demands, EX NIHILO founders, Olivier Royère, Sylvie Loday and Benoît Verdier, invited Mathieu to imagine the fragrance of his dreams.
The result of this union with Mathieu: a quintessential scent that reinvents the olfactory codes of Leather with a very Haute Couture twist.
Promising, gifted, self-taught, Mathieu César is one of the new emerging talents of contemporary photography. Recognizable for his timeless touch, his subtle black and white has seduced the most prestigious magazines. He regularly works with international celebrities and creative high profiles.
A lifelong love of fragrance inspired Quentin Bisch to pursue perfumery, but as a non “scientific” student, he was told he could never be admitted to an elite training academy, so instead, he went to school to be a dancer and theatre performer.
But even while running his own theatre company, he continued to study and lobby the gatekeepers at the training schools, until finally Givaudan offered him a slot in their program, despite his lack of a chemistry degree.
He is the creator of FLEUR NARCOTIQUE, VENENUM KISS and FRENCH AFFAIR, three of the most iconic EX NIHILO fragrances.
CUIR CELESTE is inspired by the iconic garment adorned daily by French photographer Mathieu César, a vintage B3 bomber jacket reworked for him by a Parisian craftsman.
Under the auspices of EX NIHILO, he asked perfumer Quentin Bisch to create a scent evoking the protection of a Leather armor tinged with a pure Haute Couture sophistication.
It mixes Leather notes with Ambrette, addictive Violet leaves, Patchouli and Musk as olfactory links between past and future.
In response to a new invitation from Gilles Vidal, Style Director of Peugeot PSA and its creative teams, EX NIHILO has olfactively transcribed the identity of the spectacular concept car E-LEGEND. It is presented for the first time at the Mondial de l’Automobile in September 2018 in Paris.
EX NIHILO created for the occasion an exclusive perfume that reflects the unique atmosphere of its interior, made of wood, velvet and technological materials, tribute to tomorrow’s mobility.
Graduate of Art Center College of Design in Vevey (Switzerland), Gilles Vidal started is career in 1996 for Citroën, where he collaborated with Jean-Pierre Ploué.
Now he is in charge of the concept cars and he has been the head of Style for Peugeot since 2010.
He was voted GQ man of the year in 2014.
E-LEGEND celebrates the visionary spirit of Peugeot PSA.To pay tribute to this concept, EX NIHILO used Akigalawood, a perfume note created in laboratory, born from biochemistry by fermentation. Givaudan House created this revolutionary ingredient, made from Patchouli essence.
This creation synthesizes the common ambition of the two brands to revisit tradition (the codes of the iconic Peugeot 504 designed by Pininfarina) thanks to technology.
Daniela Busarello and EX NIHILO celebrate Franco-Brazilian Avant-Garde through FOGO, a collection of hand crafted perfumes bottles highlighting the French Haute Manufacture and the expertise of the CIAV of Meisenthal
Both partners cultivate an obsessive love for details and sophistication. Their common ambition is to create sensual, creative and elegant objects that will get even better with time and will never go out of style.
It has been an obvious choice to partner with Daniela to create this series of hand-crafted unique pieces. Each of them is unique, textured, shaped by the human’s hand. Their creator imagined those bottles as a metaphorically moving object coming to life through its constant interaction with light, a reflection between the perfume and the carved monogram of its surface.
Daniela is a Brazilian artist who lives and works in Paris. She has signed several architectural projects as well as objects made by the best craftsmen. Inspired by EX NIHILO’s olfactory creations she designed raw, natural and sensual glass pieces, like a tribute to her Brazilian origins.
A unique philosophy: the promotion of the best French know-how in their best expression. The Craftmen from CIAV Meisenthal have been a crucial asset in the success of this project, which represents a real technical feat. The blown glass on mold and bespoke mesh technique were obvious to create the bottles and their accessories.
The handmade work of vermeil on the “piercing” embellishes its hood made of cork, giving it a pure and delicate shape. The Lapis Lazuli is the subtle touch of “introspective luxury” discreetly hidden inside the FOGO XL, like a secret amulet.
The tailor-made glass texture increases sensations such a touch and look. It also creates a kaleidoscopic effect representing a much more feminine side. This texture is principally dressed in blue from solid to gradient finish creating a luminescent effect, or natural crystalline.
The FOGO Collection was first introduced during the Révélations Fair in May 2017, the most prestigious Biennial fair celebrating international finest craft and creation. This event confirms the commitment of the French perfume house through the Art community and its will to support French Avant-Garde.
The largest piece, FOGO XL, is a contemporary interpretation of an ancient amphora. A mysterious piece like the translucent monolith of Stanley Kubrick in 2001 The Odyssey of space. The iconic hexagonal shape of EX NIHILO has been reworked to engrave a graphic pattern into the glass. The oversize piece is assorted with a collection of 12 small formats that respond to its shape.
Each piece is unique and signed by the artist. They were created with the passion and techniques of excellence from Lorraine, Gascogne and Paris.
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