The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Fascinate landed in 2019 as Ex Nihilo's explicit love letter to the heart of a composition. Not the opening, not the drydown, the middle, where rose absolute, jasmine sambac, and white cedarwood do their real work. The house calls it an ode to the heart notes, designed to leave a floral trail that follows you through a room. Louise Turner composed it, and the structure shows her hand: clean green lift at the top, a dense white-floral core, and a base that doesn't just support but wraps everything in warmth.
What's interesting here is the restraint at the edges. Ex Nihilo could have gone louder. Pink pepper adds warmth and a soft bite, but it doesn't dominate. The white cedarwood in the heart gives the florals a clean, almost architectural frame, its pale woody character acting like scaffolding rather than scenery. And the vanilla-musk base does the thing most floral-gourmands forget to do: it lets the flowers stay flowers instead of drowning them in sugar. The musk brings a clean, slightly powdery softness that rounds out the sweetness without flattening the petals.
The evolution
The first 15 minutes are green and sharp. Pink pepper cuts through with a dry, almost peppery sweetness while the green notes give the whole thing a just-crushed quality, like stems still holding moisture. Then the rose absolute arrives, and it doesn't sneak in. It walks in, full-bodied, with jasmine sambac close behind adding that creamy, almost fruity sweetness. White cedarwood sits underneath like a frame, giving the florals structure instead of letting them float, its dry woodiness preventing the bouquet from turning heady or syrupy. As the hours pass, the vanilla starts pulling the composition downward. Warm, soft, not gourmand-sweet but skin-warm, almost like the scent of fabric that has been close to skin for a while. The musk underneath keeps everything close to the wearer, an intimate base that holds the other notes without announcing itself.
Cultural impact
Fascinate has earned a following among wearers who want florals with backbone. It appeals to the person who finds many modern florals too sweet, too syrupy, or too eager to please. The rose-jasmine heart carries a naturalistic weight that reads as grown-up rather than girlish, and the cedarwood gives the whole composition a dry, clean finish that prevents it from feeling overly romantic. Wearers often describe the scent as confident without being loud, present without being aggressive. It suits someone who wants to smell beautiful without making a statement about it, who prefers intimacy over projection.
The House
Ex NihiloEx 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.
The Creator
Louise TurnerTurner's style is hard to pin down to a single descriptor, but there are some common threads. She often plays with contrasting elements, juxtaposing sweet and spicy, floral and woody, or fresh and gourmand notes.
