Ex Nihilo — Gold Immortals
Essence
Gold Immortals is one of the more broadly beloved entries in the Ex Nihilo catalog — a luminous fruity floral-amber built by self-taught perfumer Jordi Fernández to land squarely in the “smells expensive, easy to love” register. Within the house it plays the warm, golden, slightly retro-glam counterpoint to the blockbuster Fleur Narcotique. Its reputation among enthusiasts is that of an underrated gem, often overshadowed in conversation by Blue Talisman and Fleur Narcotique yet repeatedly singled out by those who try it as the best thing the house makes.
Scent Profile
The composition opens on pear and bergamot, moves through a heart of peony and a constructed lily-ylang “lysylang” accord, and settles on an ambery base of musk, amber and tonka bean. In wear, the signature is a juicy, almost crystalline pear braided into a soft peony, all wrapped in a sweet but airy amber. Many wearers describe an effervescent, fizzy or aldehydic sparkle, often likened to fine champagne, with a powdered-sugar lift over the florals. The drydown is where opinion splits. Most find a warm, creamy floral-musk that, in the recurring shorthand, “smells like gold.” A minority find the musk and a synthetic amber fixative too dominant, with some detecting a harsh or metallic edge in the base. There is also genuine ambiguity about its gender lean: officially unisex, it reads feminine to most noses, though a few find it spicier and more masculine. Overall it is a polished, glamorous fruity-amber rather than a challenging or avant-garde composition — its appeal is in feeling rich and luminous rather than in surprising the wearer.
Performance
Performance is strong and reliable, as expected at the price. Longevity is very good and sillage is moderate to generous — noticeable but not overpowering, a scent bubble that stays relatively intimate while still leaving a trail, with traces sometimes lingering on clothing for days. As a useful benchmark, the original EDP tends to fade on skin around six hours where the later Extrait persists closer to nine, marking the EDP as a solid half-day-plus performer. It is heat-friendly, though some wearers feel cooler weather flatters it further.
Wearing Context
Most wearers treat it as versatile and year-round, but it shines as a special-occasion, date-night and dressed-up scent, often described in terms of old-Hollywood glamour and city nights out, while remaining wearable to work. It leans feminine but is genuinely unisex on the right wearer, and transitional seasons suit it well. It is not a quiet skin-scent office default — it has enough presence and sweetness to register clearly as perfume, which some find dressy and nostalgic and others find a touch too perfumey for everyday wear.
Comparisons & DNA
The dominant comparison is Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, invoked constantly and disputed just as often: the expensive-amber halo and sweet, airy projection drive the comparison, though many wearers hear little real resemblance. A closer and more useful reference is MFK Gentle Fluidity Gold, and some suggest approximating the effect by layering Chloé Nomade with a little Baccarat Rouge 540. Within the house, it shares Ex Nihilo’s signature pear with Blue Talisman, but wearers who own both generally rate Gold Immortals as the richer, more characterful of the two.
Reception
No major critic published a review of Gold Immortals, so its reputation rests on a deep well of enthusiastic wearer reviews. Sentiment skews strongly positive, with repeated “my favorite Ex Nihilo,” “smells like gold” and “expensive-smelling” verdicts and a vocal “criminally underrated” contingent. The dissent runs along two lines: value skeptics who feel a more affordable designer fragrance could do the job and find the profile somewhat generic, and a smaller group sensitive to the synthetic amber-musk base who find it harsh or metallic. A fair summary calls it a modern, sweet, fruity profile that is pleasant without being excessive — faint praise that captures the skeptic view alongside the genuine devotion it inspires.
Versions & Reformulation
There are two key versions: the original Eau de Parfum (2020) and the Gold Immortals Extrait de Parfum (2023), again by Fernández. The Extrait is presented as a reinvention emphasizing vanilla and amber; in practice wearers report it is extremely similar to the original but shifts the base from musk toward a thick vanilla, runs sweeter and spicier, projects a little less and lasts a few hours longer. Opinion is split on which is better, with some preferring the cozier Extrait and others the musk-forward EDP. There is no widely reported reformulation controversy on the original. The Harrods-exclusive Brompton Immortals is a separate saffron-rose-patchouli composition, not a flanker, despite the shared “Immortals” suffix.
Acquisition Notes
This is a full-priced niche release in luxury-niche territory, with the Extrait listed around the mid-$300s for 100 ml and a smaller 50 ml format also available. It is sold through the brand’s boutiques and prestige stockists. Given the strong undercurrent that something cheaper might do the same job, and the polarizing base, sampling before committing is the clear recommendation; the house sells discovery sets and decants are widely available. For those who love it, the EDP is the musk-forward original and the Extrait the cozier cool-weather option.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Perfumer Jordi Fernández is positioned by the house as a self-made nose who skipped the traditional training path, drawing inspiration from Spanish landscapes.
- The heart’s “lysylang” is a constructed lily-ylang accord that wearers single out as the fragrance’s distinctive, hard-to-pin-down signature.
- The recurring shorthand that it “smells like the color gold” has become the fragrance’s calling card.
- Its marketing frames it as a golden, paradisiacal “invitation to immortality.”
- A 2023 Extrait de Parfum followed, shifting the base from musk toward vanilla and amber.
- It is often described as underrated within the house, overshadowed by Fleur Narcotique and Blue Talisman.