Scent of Peace: Nina Ricci’s L’Air du Temps fragrance inspired a war-weary generation to embrace freedom and peace. Its message is more timely now than ever.
“A fragrance is a work of art, and the object that contains it must be a masterpiece.” – Robert Ricci
Maria Nielli, nicknamed ‘Nina’, was born in Turin, Italy in 1883. At the age of 12, her family moved to France where she began an apprenticeship at a dressmaker’s learning the art of pattern cutting, fabric draping and sewing. This work became a passion of hers and she continued to sew throughout her teen years eventually becoming a skilled seamstress. She would fall in love with an Italian jeweler and composer named Luigi Ricci and marry in 1904. After giving birth to a son named Robert, she joined fashion label Raffin where she combined design prowess with business savvy eventually becoming Raffin’s business partner after 20 years. In 1932, at the age of 49, she decided to strike out on her own and launch her own design house simply called ‘Nina Ricci’. It quickly became a family affair: Maria designed the clothing and her son handled the finances. Paris aristocrats quickly flocked to her atelier for the refined and feminine designs.
It was Robert’s idea to create a fragrance to celebrate freedom after years of war. It would be called ‘L’Airs du Temps’ (meaning ‘spirit of the times’) and he turned to master perfumer Francis Fabron to create a modern, light floral that would reflect the elegance of Madame Maria Ricci’s gowns. The formulation itself was strictly edited to 30 ingredients: a floral bouquet wrapped in the silken benzyl salicylate, a groundbreaking ingredient that created blooming effect. Add in some bergamot, rosewood, clove, lily, carnation, gardenia, peach, orris, and dusky woods and you have an elegant, spicy-floral for her.
“There is always that special mysterious something that makes one fragrance more seductive than another: there is something of a minor miracle about L’Air du Temps which gives it its distinctive personality,” said Robert Ricci. “In the same way as a dress is designed to enhance the wearer, so a fragrance is created to seduce in the most subtle of ways. Its purpose is to exalt the personality, and achieve the ideals that the wearer sets for herself. It is a ‘protection’ in the same way as a veil. It ‘shelters’ the wearer inside a fragrance aura.”
Robert’s idea of using two intertwined doves on the cap was brilliantly interpreted by Marc Lalique in 1951 who designed the crystal bottle. In fact, both families got along so well that the Lalique family manufactured bottles exclusively for the house until the 1950s. (The first L’Air bottle was created by Joan Rebull in 1948 and featured a crystal sun with a sculpted dove cap.) In 1991, the L’Air du Temps flacon was named ‘perfume bottle of the century’ and remains admired and appreciated around the world.
What is astonishing to learn is that in over sixty years, Nina Ricci has never revealed the quantity or quality of the hand-sorted ingredients. Even the maceration time of five weeks remains the same. The formula is still passionately protected.
“French perfumery was an art and it is important that it remains one or becomes one again. It is also important that we rediscover the passion for creating the fragrances and visual appeal that, with talent, are vital for the truly inspired creativity that transcends fashion.” – Robert Ricci
This season, Nina Ricci has reimagined the classic scent in a modern version of white flowers and musk.
L’Air du Temps – Collection Lumiere
L’Air du Temps Eau Sublime Collector Edition, $118
Fragrance style: A radiant interpretation of the iconic L’Air scent
Notes: a sillage of white flowers including carnation that mingles with yuzu, tuberose and musk
The bottle: The twin doves and flacon are dipped in gold
The Giveaway: I gave away a bottle of Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps to one lucky reader. To enter, I invited readers to tell me in a blog post comment below if they’ve every tried L’Air du Temps before? Denae Boucher told us and we drew her name from all entries. Congrats Denae!
Nina Ricci fragrances are available in Canada at Hudson’s Bay stores and thebay.com
1,138 Comments
meg
January 4, 2017 at 7:19 am@MxxxMeg I have never tried this.
Vanessa Christiane
January 4, 2017 at 7:18 amNot tried this fragrance either, no doubt if it’s been chosen by you, it’s got to be awesome! And that Bottle! ❤❤❤❤❤
Shelley Hickey
January 4, 2017 at 7:18 amI have never tried it but would love to!! @ShelleyHickey1
Miriam
January 4, 2017 at 7:17 amNo I haven’t tried it but I would definitely wear it @tytyvn27
lenaki_papaki
January 4, 2017 at 7:17 amno, but I ‘ d like to try it!@lenaki_papaki
Yaya
January 4, 2017 at 7:17 amI’ve never tried it, but would love to.
Twitter: @mydreamality
Heather Baxter
January 4, 2017 at 7:22 amYes have worn it & love it. Has a scent all of its own…..xx ????????????@HeatherBaxter2
Jennifer Kjergaard
January 4, 2017 at 7:17 amI have never tried this scent but certainly would love to. I can just imagine how exotic it smells and the bottle is so beautiful. Thanks for chance Dave @Jen29sd
Konstantina Giavroudi
January 4, 2017 at 7:16 amNo,i have never tried it but i want it.. ????
@ntinaa321
meg
January 4, 2017 at 7:16 am@MxxxMeg I have never tried this.I would love to 🙂
Susan Stirling
January 4, 2017 at 7:16 amI wore it for several years when I was younger. when I read this, I remembered its lovely, soft scent and wondered why I stopped. Love to try it again.
Mel
January 4, 2017 at 7:16 amI haven’t tried it before but I love the bottle design.
Louise Rogers
January 4, 2017 at 7:15 am@lrogers324-I love perfumes! Anything that smells good! I just read an article of what celebrities favorite scents were-just about all of them were French perfumes-I’d love to try L’Air du Temps .
Serena La Pietra
January 4, 2017 at 7:15 amNever tried it but would love to. I love perfumes. @UKcydonia
Kimberly Cage
January 4, 2017 at 7:14 amYes, I have used my mother’s before and loved the scent. would love a bottle of my own. @suagrbritches56
Stephanie nelson
January 4, 2017 at 7:12 amL’Air du Temps was a favorite scent long ago. I would definitely eear it again.
Irina G.
January 4, 2017 at 7:12 amI’ve never tried L’Air du Temps before.
Thanks for the chance!
Twitter: @IrinaZhoze
Georgina Jacobs
January 4, 2017 at 7:11 amI haven’t used before but I certainly would love to – the bottles are so stylish and iconic too! thanks @gegewiganese
Emma Lewis
January 4, 2017 at 7:08 amNo I have never tried this but I would love to @emmstar2
Dimitris Zafeiropoulos
January 4, 2017 at 7:07 ammy girlfriend would love to try it
@DimitrisZafe
Theodora Ar
January 4, 2017 at 7:05 amUnfortunately I haven’t tried this perfume before but I would love to… @Theodora28A
Nell Westwood
January 4, 2017 at 7:03 amI love this perfume and have been wearing it, on and off, for nearly fifty years. I’ve recently been tempted away by Miller Harris, but I’ll be back 🙂
Solange
January 4, 2017 at 7:02 amI’ve never tried L’Air du Temps before but I’ve heard good things about it and I love the bottle. It’s definitely something I’d wear.
April Thrash
January 4, 2017 at 7:01 amYes I Have Tried It, But I Haven’t Ever Owned A Bottle Of My Own. My Mother Loves This Fragrance And Chanel N°5. I Would Always Spritz Some On. I Would Love To Own My Own Bottle, It Is Such A Classic Fragrance. My Twitter Is: @AprilThrash
Debbie Winstanley
January 4, 2017 at 6:59 amNo, I’ve never tried it but I’m a sucker for a beautiful perfume bottle and I love this one!
Dimitris Zafeiropoulos
January 4, 2017 at 6:58 amno.i didn’t
@DimitrisZafe