10 things to know about Nina Ricci L’Eau

By Deborah Fulsang

1. Nina Ricci L’Eau is the newest fragrance in the Nina portfolio of scents launched by Paris-based house of Nina Ricci. Other Ninas that have come before: Nina, Nina Fantasy, Nina L’Elixir, Nina Love, Nina Le Paradis and Pretty Nina. The original Nina was launched in 2006.

2. Olivier Cresp is the perfumer behind the new Nina Ricci L’Eau. For this latest fruity floral spritz—a combination of frosted neroli, apple blossom, gardenia and white musk—he opted out of a traditional pyramidal fragrance structure when in the perfume lab. Instead he created what he calls a “whirl” of scent where the perfume’s notes play together simultaneously over time. No top notes, heart notes, bottom notes: the fresh yet warm, sparkling yet sultry scent just fades quietly over time.

3. Twenty-year-old, Stockholm-born model Frieda Gustavsson is the muse and face of the Nina fragrance. As a model, she signed with international modeling agency IMG at the tender age of 15. And for a fashion FYI, she has walked the catwalk at Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta. Gustavsson is also the face of Marc Jacobs Daisy fragrance.

When asked about her sense of style, Gustavsson says: “As long as I can remember I’ve really loved the ’70s style and when I got a book called gypsy style with pictures of Marisa Berenson and the ‘gyp-set’ I got really inspired. But I really love the style of women like Amelia Earhart.”

4. Spanish photographer Eugenico Recuenco directed the Nina L’Eau commercial, which features Gustavvson running through a frost-covered maze. The mood is surreal possessing a rather Harry Potter meets Alice in Wonderland eeriness. It was shot in Prague.

5. Nina Ricci is named for Maria “Nina” Ricci, who founded the fashion and fragrance house in 1932 with the assistance of her jeweller husband, Louis Ricci. Impressively, she was 49 years old when she launched her brand.

6. The role of the owl in the Nina Ricci L’Eau commercial was actually played by two owls. (We met Paloma, one of the majestic birds at the fragrance launch in Paris.) The owl is Frida’s guide through the maze in Recuenco’s Nina L’Eau filmic commercial.

7. The gown worn by Gustavsson in the Nina L’Eau advertising images is crafted in silk muslin and took 15 dress designers, patternmakers and seamstresses 350 hours to complete.

8. Nina Ricci L’Eau comes inspired by the brand’s 1952 Fille d’Eve perfume and its flask. The apple-shaped Lalique bottle, which housed a fruity floral chypre, was beautiful: no wonder it inspired this new generation scent and its packaging.

“The original Nina was launched in 2006 and was a reinterpretation of this classic Fille d’Eve,” said marketing Nina Ricci marketing VP Caius von Knorring at the perfume’s launch event in Paris. “Fille d’Eve means ‘daughter of Eve’ so it was already at that time the artistic intention to capture the secret of seduction of women.”

9. Nina Ricci’s Nina, le Parfum Facebook page enjoys an passionate engaged fan base numbering more than 2.9 million.

10. Nina Ricci L’Eau, Eau Fraiche, is available for $62 (50 ml), www.thebay.com