Ex Nihilo — Explicite
Essence
Explicite is a 2020 gourmand-floral EDP from the Parisian niche house Ex Nihilo, composed by Jordi Fernandez as part of the brand’s Les Interdites, or Forbidden, collection and marketed as a forbidden fantasy in a bottle. In practice it is a creamy praline-and-peony floral with a spicy pink-pepper and nutmeg lift over a smooth sandalwood-vanilla-amber base. It is pretty and approachable on the surface, but a narcotic white lily underneath gives it more carnal depth than the fluffy-peony first impression suggests. Critic Olya Hramova captured it as flowers with fangs.
Scent Profile
The opening is spicy in a gently gourmand way, sparkling pink pepper and nutmeg, occasionally sharp enough that some wearers find the first ten minutes challenging or even headache-inducing. It quickly melts into the heart, where the praline reads as a buttery white-chocolate-ganache sweetness rather than a sugary candy, woven through peony and a narcotic white lily that pulls the composition in a more mature, heady direction. A petalia note adds a fresh-floral transparency that keeps the sweetness from feeling heavy. The drydown is the brand’s signature creamy, fruity-floral musk over sandalwood, which wearers praise for never turning sour or pencil-shaving woody, finished with a soft, almost condensed-milk amber-vanilla. The development is real, moving from a praline-floral heart into a smooth, slightly lactonic sweet-woody base. The signature accord is smooth praline over peony and lily with a pink-pepper sparkle. A minority pick up a synthetic, cutting quality or even a phantom oud they cannot quite place.
Performance
Performance is above-average and one of the scent’s selling points, with strong longevity commonly cited at eight or more hours and good, though not monstrous, projection. Reports run from a perfect day-long wear with amazing sillage and compliments to one or two dissenters who found it disappointing for the price, likely a skin-chemistry effect. As with most praline and sweet-floral compositions, results vary by skin. Given its density, a moderate hand works best.
Wearing Context
Explicite is versatile and leans feminine-unisex. Wearers describe it as workable in both winter and summer, though perhaps not in peak heat, and notably office-appropriate despite its seductive marketing, because the sweetness is refined rather than loud. The brand pitches it for evening and seduction, but in practice it is polished enough for daytime and work. The overall impression is sweet, elegant, and sexy-but-classy: a cool-to-temperate-weather date or dinner scent that also passes easily as a daytime gourmand-floral.
Comparisons & DNA
The most useful reference is in-house: Ex Nihilo Gold Immortals, also a 2020 Fernandez creation, against which Explicite reads as the sweeter, more vintage, more floral older sibling, where Gold Immortals is airier and pear-led, the difference between a date and an event. Amouage Guidance is the other key anchor, with Explicite playing as a softer, smoother, less sour take that drops Guidance’s hazelnut accord. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 comes up mainly to be ruled out, since wearers stress the praline here pointedly does not smell like BR540. The overall DNA is a praline-floral amber gourmand.
Reception
Explicite is generally well-loved within its niche audience, with the clear axis of disagreement being the opening. Praise centers on a smooth, elegant, intoxicating character, quality sandalwood, and a praline that stays sweet without being cloying, along with strong performance and a compliment-getting reputation. The criticism focuses on the spicy, sharp first ten minutes, which a few find headache-inducing, a synthetic edge perceived by a minority, and price-versus-performance grumbles from those whose skin consumes it quickly. One critic gave it an enthusiastic, evocative review. As a blind buy it is reasonably safe for fans of smooth sweet florals, though the niche price argues for sampling the opening first.
Versions & Reformulation
Explicite is a single composition with no known reformulations, offered as an EDP in 50 ml and 100 ml. Ex Nihilo’s Quintessence extrait line has reworked some catalog scents into extrait versions, but no Explicite extrait or reformulation is documented.
Acquisition Notes
Explicite sits in the niche-luxury tier, around 385 USD for 100 ml, with a 50 ml also available. It is sold through Ex Nihilo boutiques and luxury department stores, and decants and samples are easy to source, which is the recommended route given the price and the divisive opening. The brand offers an Osmologue personalization concept at some boutiques. No counterfeit or batch-code guidance is documented specifically for Explicite.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Explicite launched in early February 2020 as part of Ex Nihilo’s Les Interdites, or Forbidden, collection.
- The house framed it as the epitome of all fantasies: a torrid summer night, braving the forbidden, unapologetically sensual.
- Perfumer Jordi Fernandez is described as a self-made nose who draws on Spanish landscapes, and his Ex Nihilo work is broadly regarded as consistently strong.
- The recurring thread among critics and wearers is its looks-innocent, plays-carnal tension, driven by the narcotic white lily under the sweet praline-peony surface.