(The Art of Perfumery) The name Ex Nihilo, Latin for “creation from nothing,“ reflects the brand’s philosophy: reinventing the art of perfumery from the ground up. The brand uses the most precious ingredients in the world, including noble raw materials like rose, iris, and oud, to create perfumes that are true masterpieces of the art.

In this interview, we speak with one of the founders, Benoît Verdier, about the inspiration behind Ex Nihilo, valuable ingredients, and the future development of perfumery.

M.Ë What are the professional backgrounds of all three founders, and how did you decide to create Ex Nihilo?

B.V. We met with Olivier more than 20 years ago on the benches of Sciences Po in Paris. When we met with Sylvie, we were all industry insiders at different levels and collectively decided it was time for us to quit our respective jobs and do something more exciting on our own in the fragrance world. It was really an entrepreneurial adventure from day one! We were longtime fragrance heads and just wanted to create the luxury house of our dreams, trying as much as we could to bring a new energy to it. We wanted to bring back this idea of super exclusivity with a twist of French irreverence and innovation. We had the opportunity to find this amazing space on Rue Saint-Honoré, et voilà! One day we took everybody by surprise, opening our first store. This resonates well with our ethos, as “ex nihilo” means in Latin “created from scratch.”

M.Ë Your brand has skyrocketed within a few years and the list of your fans includes many celebrities. What makes Ex Nihilo so special in the perfume market?

B.V. The market landscape has changed a lot these past years. When we started Ex Nihilo, before we opened our first store, we worked one full year on the brand ethos alone and how we were going to bring a meaningful 360° scented experience. We stand out from competition, first, with the Osmologue© – we invented this personalization technology available in our flagship stores around the world. We also design fragrances with an international team of perfumers based in Paris, where we only work with the best high perfumery materials we can find without any creative limits. We are always investigating and imagining what could be the future of personalization and rethinking the scented experience. We always try to bring innovation and newness. I also believe that the idea of never-ending innovation is something unique to the brand. We want to push the limits.

M.Ë Can you tell us more about the perfume oil percentage in the creations and how to identify a high-quality perfume?

B.V. We only propose eau de parfum concentrated around 20%. It can be more for our extraits collection called “Quintessence”, but overall, don’t be fooled by this indicator. A good fragrance is a subtle balance between ingredients, how they are creatively crafted into a beautiful formula, and more importantly, the way it “lives” on your skin.

M.Ë You offer a service for custom-made perfumes. What does the process of creating a unique, custom-designed perfume from Ex Nihilo look like?

B.V. It is really a holistic experience around the fragrance. The customer can walk in or set up a private appointment (which we would recommend). Then, around a drink or some bites, we will deeply understand what he or she is looking for through a deeper discussion about their taste, personality, or specific needs. It will be the occasion to smell absolutes of fragrances like Rose of May from Grasse, Iris Pallida from Italy, and Orange blossom from Morocco in their purest form, and to experience all our combinations according to his or her mood. Once the choice is made, we will proceed with the making of the juice thanks to our Osmologue©, the exclusive technology we created to blend the fragrance in front of the client’s eyes. It is very entertaining and exciting to see the making of your own creation, including the blending and sealing of the bottle. For the very first time, customers will be able to leave with their own creation without waiting weeks for the result. The customer will receive a certificate of authenticity with their name, the custom materials we used, and a special identification number. We will also keep all their preferences in our database so we can provide the highest level of customer service.

M.Ë Where do the raw materials come from, and where are the products produced?

B.V. The natural raw materials used in our perfumes come from all over the world (vanilla from Madagascar, sandalwood from Australia, patchouli from Indonesia, etc.). We only focus on the best quality materials with no limits on cost. We mix a lot of beautiful natural ingredients but also the most innovative synthetic ingredients, including some from bioscience and what we call the captives, which create a mesmerizing and long-lasting effect on the skin. We design everything here in Paris, and the fragrances are bottled in France. We protect the fragrances in innovative boxes made of recycled materials (old champagne foam boxes, editorial note) that ensure perfect protection and long-term conservation in a very cool design.

M.Ë Please give us some background on the raw materials. What are the most expensive and rare ingredients, and what are the overall costs like?

B.V. One of the most expensive raw materials we work with is Iris Pallida and Rose Centifolia, two beautiful flowers sourced in Europe. Rose of May from Grasse is only gathered once a year, so resources are very scarce. Iris, which we source from Tuscany, is expensive because of all the processing involved. One kilo of these ingredients can easily cost thousands of euros.

M.Ë Can you tell us about the global tastes of your customers?

B.V. I think there are no rules; it’s very cultural. But in the case of “Fleur Narcotique”, it works in every country in the world. It’s very universal despite being very niche, so you have to stay open-minded and not reduce other countries to clichés. In Europe, they choose floral notes like “Fleur Narcotique” and “Lust in Paradise”. Interestingly, we see that some markets learn very, very fast, like in China, where you can see trends of woody or ambery notes taking over, despite what we read a few years ago. This is particularly true with the youngest generation. Social media is a very powerful tool.

M.Ë What trends do you see in the perfume industry?

B.V. At a global level, we all want to be unique and to get the most personalized products. This is especially true among the younger generation. Except for diffusion, a long-lasting fragrance has no functional benefit; it’s above all a matter of perception, subjectivity, and art! So, I would say the personalization trend is going to grow, along with a bigger demand for more concentrated scents like extraits. Despite a “mainstreamization” of our segment, I think that what people want is to feel an experience and live a true olfactory moment with fragrances. With the boom of Instagram and TikTok, I’m sure people will be even more educated and will help us be more creative to satisfy them!

M.Ë Can you describe the process of developing a new perfume?

B.V. It’s really created “ex nihilo” – I mean from scratch. It involves a lot of reading, information searches, mood boards, and we use a lot of inspiration pictures, materials, movies, and creative references. I’ll write a little story – a storyboard or concept. Then we go to see the perfumers and bring all the material to discuss – that’s the briefing part. After that, we spend about three weeks to a month working on the fragrance, and at the end, we meet again. As I said, there is no limit in terms of the materials we use, and there is no limit to creativity either. So, that’s how we do it. Just to be precise, we do not do any marketing or focus groups, and we do not conduct any studies. It’s really a conversation between us as founders and the perfumers. We are not technically perfumers, of course, but I think it’s good to keep the process inside, with a broader universe of ideas.

M.Ë What does Ex Nihilo’s collector’s edition offer that differs from the standard version?

B.V. The most exclusive Ex Nihilo collection is “The Masterpiece Collection”, composed of three unique fragrances. Designed in Paris by the world’s best master perfumers with the most exclusive materials and no limit on cost: each creation is destined to become the property of one person in the world for life. As soon as a fragrance is chosen, it disappears from the Collection. It is available only in our flagship stores. It also comes in a special collectible bottle. More generally, we do a lot of collaborations and limited editions available in our world flagships with artists and creative minds like us to push the boundaries of creativity.

M.Ë What is your favorite perfume/smell, and does it remind you of anything particular?

B.V. The smell of figs, hot earth, and aromatic Mediterranean rocky landscapes, including a bit of burnt cork wood, triggers deep memories and reminds me of where I’m from: the South of France, after all!