The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Bella Holiday Edition 2019 arrived as part of Nina Ricci's seasonal lineup, composed by Sonia Constant and Louise Turner. The brief seemed simple: a fruity-floral with enough brightness to cut through winter holiday weight, heavy sweaters, mulled wine, dry heated air. The choice of rhubarb as a signature note was deliberate. It's unusual in mainstream feminine perfumery, where sweet usually wins. Rhubarb brings tartness, a green-vegetal edge that reads as freshness without the usual citrus obligation. The holiday edition framing gave permission to be more playful than a year-round release might allow, a seasonal treat rather than a signature commitment.
What makes this composition interesting is the tension between rhubarb's sharpness and vanilla's warmth. They're not natural partners. Rhubarb wants to stay crisp and green; vanilla wants to soften everything it touches. The freesia bridges that gap, it's floral but cool, with a soapy-clean edge that keeps the sweetness from swallowing the tartness whole. White musk in the base does quiet work, extending wear without adding weight. The result feels straightforward but isn't boring, there's actual thought underneath the accessibility. That's harder to achieve than complexity.
The evolution
The opening arrives fast, green mandarin and lemon land first, bright and immediate. Then the rhubarb asserts itself. Not fruity-sweet rhubarb, but the real thing: tart, slightly sour, with a green-vegetal quality that feels like biting into a raw stalk. That initial sharpness holds for thirty minutes to an hour before the citrus softens and the freesia takes over. The middle phase is the longest, a clean, sweet floral that stays close to skin. The rose appears here but doesn't dominate; it's more suggestion than statement. By hour two or three, the vanilla begins to surface, wrapping everything in a gentle warmth that lingers another three to four hours. Moderate sillage throughout. Close enough that someone standing beside you will notice, far enough that you won't announce yourself entering a room. The drydown on clothing can last into the next day, faint, sweet, like memory rather than presence.
Cultural impact
Bella Holiday Edition 2019 occupies comfortable territory within Nina Ricci's fruity-floral lineage. It shares DNA with the house's earlier Nina (2017) and Luna Blossom (2017), both sweet, both approachable, both positioning the brand as the choice for women who want romance without heaviness. The addition of rhubarb sets Bella apart from its siblings, giving it a tartness that keeps it from feeling like pure confection. Since its launch in 2019, it has remained a reliable seasonal option, not a statement fragrance, but a trustworthy one. The kind of scent you reach for when you want to smell good without thinking too hard about it.
The House
Nina RicciNina Ricci is a Parisian fashion house founded in 1932 by Italian-born designer Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son Robert Ricci. The house began as a couture salon on Rue Haussmann, quickly establishing a reputation for refined, feminine gowns with romantic sensibility. Robert established an in-house perfume division in 1941, though the first fragrance would not arrive until 1946. That inaugural scent, Coeur Joie, marked the beginning of a partnership with Lalique that would define the house's olfactory identity. The house introduced its most celebrated fragrance, L'Air du Temps, in 1948, a scent that remains in production decades later. Puig acquired Nina Ricci in 1998, bringing the house under the same ownership that manages Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier. Today, the fragrance collection spans from timeless classics to contemporary offerings like the Nina line, maintaining the house's commitment to feminine elegance.
The Creator
Sonia Constant & Louise TurnerConstant's style is often described as daring and complex. She's unafraid to use powerful ingredients and unexpected combinations, resulting in fragrances that are memorable and impactful.
