The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Les Gourmandises de Nina arrived in 2017 as part of the Les Belles de Nina collection, a lineup built around the idea that Nina Ricci's romantic femininity could translate into something more playful, more immediate. Olivier Cresp, the perfumer behind it, had worked with the house before. The brief, if there was one, seems to have been simple: take the brand's signature softness and make it smell like a dessert. Not a sophisticated one. The kind a twelve-year-old would choose.
The note structure leans into contrast: acidic citrus up top to cut the sweetness before it gets cloying, tropical fruits in the heart to anchor the whole thing in warmth, and caramel at the base to give it weight without depth. Gardenia was always the odd note here, a white floral with so much coconut and praline around it that it barely registers as gardenia at all. The result is less a perfume than a sensory mood: sticky fingers after eating something too sweet, sunblock on skin that's been in the water, the moment summer stops pretending to be sophisticated.
The evolution
The opening hits bright and tart. Lemon and orange arrive sharp enough to make you think this might actually be a citrus fragrance. Then, within minutes, the coconut milk takes over. The citrus retreats. The tropical sweetness intensifies. Passion fruit comes through as a slight tartness beneath the coconut, the pina colada reference becomes undeniable. The drydown is where things get soft: caramel and gardenia blend into something lactonic, sweet, and decidedly close to the skin. By hour three, it reads more like a memory of the fragrance than the fragrance itself. What stays is a faint sweetness, almost like sugar on skin that hasn't quite washed off.
Cultural impact
Les Gourmandises de Nina arrived in 2017 as part of the Les Belles de Nina line. The fragrance captures the essence of summer vacation with its lemonade and coconut combination, creating an edible, gourmand character that's sweet and inviting. This launch represents a move towards sweeter, more playful compositions. The Les Belles de Nina line collectively showcases Nina Ricci's ability to create youthful, spontaneous perfumery while maintaining its romantic roots. The combination of tart citrus and creamy coconut creates a unique scent profile that captures the fun and accessibility of the line.
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
Olivier CrespCresp's signature style often features a blend of fresh, clean notes with warm, comforting accords. He's known for his masterful use of fruit notes, particularly fig and berries, which he often combines with florals and musks to create scents that are both inviting and sophist…
