The Story
Why it exists.
Explicite arrives from a place that treats perfumers as artists with no ceiling on ambition. Jordi Fernández built this scent as a sensory thrill, the name says it all before the bottle even opens. Inspired by the addiction of a summer night in Paris, the fragrance translates that sultry, daring energy into something wearable rather than confrontational. The heart is where this scent lives: a warm floral embrace softened by praline, sitting in contrast to the crisp pink pepper and nutmeg that open the composition.
If this were a song
Community picks
Thinking Out Loud
Ed Sheeran
The Beginning
Explicite arrives from a place that treats perfumers as artists with no ceiling on ambition. Jordi Fernández built this scent as a sensory thrill, the name says it all before the bottle even opens. Inspired by the addiction of a summer night in Paris, the fragrance translates that sultry, daring energy into something wearable rather than confrontational. The heart is where this scent lives: a warm floral embrace softened by praline, sitting in contrast to the crisp pink pepper and nutmeg that open the composition.
The real intention surfaces in the heart rather than the opening. Praline and peony suggest something sumptuous rather than sweet. The spiced top acts as a doorway, it announces and departs, leaving the floral-gourmand warmth to do the actual work. Ex Nihilo didn't opt for obvious here. The house signature is a certain candied warmth, but Explicite leans into powdery florals instead of fruity ones. Fernández found a way to make warmth read as classy rather than aggressive. That balance is harder to hit than it sounds.
The Evolution
Explicite moves fast. The pink pepper and nutmeg hit bright and brisk, a spice-rush that lasts about twenty minutes before the florals take over. The heart arrives without ceremony: peony first, then lily of the valley catches up. Between them, the praline reads as barely-there sweetness. Not foody. Not green. Powdery, almost, leaning into the skin. The sandalwood waits. That's the patience here. The creamy warmth comes at hours, not minutes. When it arrives, the drydown revises everything, vanilla and amber create that late-night skin-warmth that lingers. The sillage moderates. The longevity does not. On clothing, this fragrance stays present for a full day after application.
Cultural Impact
Since its 2020 launch, Explicite has built a following among fragrance wearers who want warmth without aggression. The floral-gourmand combination, peony and praline, fills a particular gap between fresh florals and full orientalism. Conversation around this fragrance often circles the same point: it leans more feminine than the unisex label suggests, which has become part of its appeal rather than a negative.
The House
France · Est. 2013
Ex Nihilo is a contemporary Parisian perfume house that champions a radical, modern approach to high perfumery. Born from a desire to break with tradition, it offers an alternative to stereotyped luxury, giving carte blanche to perfumers to create without compromise.
If this were a song
Community picks
Explicite sounds like late evening in a warm room, that specific hour when the light drops and things get quieter, more intimate. Pink pepper sparks like a struck match; the florals arrive soft, like fabric moving. The drydown is that moment of stillness after. This is a fragrance for jazz at low volume, for slow-build electronic, for something with texture and warmth no sharp edges.
Thinking Out Loud
Ed Sheeran
