Nykaa launched its own range of perfumes in 2018, and being someone who likes to test and wear perfumes a lot, I have been wanting to try them out.
One of the reasons why this range of perfumes appealed to me is that they have mini versions- even when they had full bottles. This helps because it says they trust their perfume performance enough for customers to buy mini ones and then invest in the 100ml ones.
I bought the mini pocket perfumes – all 7 of them. It’s been two years since I have these perfumes – I have worn every one of them – some more than others. So I believe it’s now a good time to share my experience with each of them.
Epice is the most interesting blend of perfumes from the Moi range. One of the first perfumes that has made me keep thinking about how it unfolds.
At its core, it is a spicy fragrance – as mentioned on the Nykaa website.
When I first smelt Epice right from the atomizer, it smelt like beautiful green mango and a burst of powdered pepper through my nose – and rightfully so, this burst of pepper gave me a cough. That wasn’t a very good experience but that didn’t me from trying out again.
The fruity note in this scent is something I like because it’s not overwhelmingly sweet and juicy.
Joie de Vivre has been a cheerful scent right from the time I tore the bubble wrap covering it. I didn’t even have to open the box and uncap it. It was subtle at first.
Joie de Vivre takes me back to hot summer days – of the smell of a glass of lemon juice my mother used to make right after we got back from school. Both salt and sugar are added to this juice.
But this scent has more to it than just the summer juice – it smells more of the leaves of a lemon than the inside juice of a lemon. Although it is not zesty – not as if you are crushing the leaves and a little bitter smell of zest comes out. It feels more like you are standing closer to the lemon tree.
Joie de Vivre is also super refreshing – without a doubt. But I won’t deny – it is a little headache-inducing, just like an orange zest would give me one.
I don’t know if I started liking the word Raison D’Etre before or after this scent. Raison De’tre means ‘Reason for being’, which is such a powerful statement – yet it’s underrated and not loud enough for people to talk about it.
The scent of Nykaa’s Raison D’Etre has been a similar experience for me. It changed my mood the first time I smelt it. It suddenly reminded me of a beautiful evening – of either spring or autumn, if I have to specify it, but never summer or winter. Although I do believe this will be suitable for all of the seasons.
Raison D’Etre is floral, it’s soft, elegant, pretty, naive and it’s warm. Somewhere on my blog, I mentioned that this perfume smells like a rich man’s daughter, who is naive and has all innocence in the world – in a good way.
This can easily be a daytime date fragrance.
Matin is another floral scent, but more like white floral. It’s mentioned as sweet by Nykaa, and honestly, this is the most subtle sweetness.
Right off from the atomiser, I smell green. Green leaves of flowers on a dewy winter morning. Even on the Nykaa website, they relate this scent to mornings, which I think is relatable.
The smell somehow reminds me of Armani Code Femme although it has nothing to do with that scent. I guess the reason is that this is a safe scent just like Armani code. You can wear it anywhere – an office, or any public gathering and not be worried about offending anyone with your perfume.
I almost forgot about Fluer because I gifted it to my cousin, which also means it was my least favourite.
All I remember is that it’s a sweet scent.
For me, Bisous is like that sweet guy that I either avoided or friend-zoned at first, and then when I learnt that bad boys aren’t really my thing, I started looking at the nice guy differently. At first, Bisous was just a scent, I didn’t understand it and I didn’t try to. But turns out there’s more to it than it meets the eye.
This sweet scent has vanilla and caramel in it, and there’s a floral scent going on too, but I can also smell something softly spicy in it. I don’t think it’s cardamon or cinnamon. Bisous is also warm, and long-lasting.
I remember one time I described Fluer as a characterless perfume. In the sense that the perfume just smelt of flowers, and has no other characters, no depth. Just some floral notes were what I could smell.
The jasmine note in this scent is the most prominent, no one can miss it. And that’s what and only what I smelt at first.
But as I wore it a couple of times, it started growing on me. Not that it showed me layers, but I just started appreciating the scent. This can easily become someone’s signature scent.
The tagline of Amour says, ‘Spark a love affair with yourself.’ – which gives a vibe of an independent young lady enjoying her femininity. This floral scent is exactly what it feels like – like the young women of yesteryears trying to break free yet staying loyal to their femininity.
Performance of Nykaa’s Moi Range Perfumes
Moi perfumes from Nykaa have relatively better performance in terms of longevity and projection. These tend to be on my skin for at least 4-6 hours. I am not sure about all, but Bisous and Matin have good sillage too.
Is the Moi Range Perfume of Nykaa Dupe of High-End Perfumes?
There have been some talks about this perfume range being dupes, and some close dupes of high-end designer perfumes. And considering many other brands like Renee and Bella Vita Organic today launching dupes of popular high-end designer fragrances, there’s a chance that this range is too.
Joie de Vivre is said to be dupe of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. While I don’t have the original Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, I have the Intense version, and no, Joie de Vivre is not a dupe of it, not a close one at least. But they are similar in the sense that they are citrusy and sweet lemony.
Amour has been said to be a dupe of Chance by Chanel. I don’t have that perfume, but I know it smells exactly the same as Elie Saab’s Le Parfum to me. Bella Vita has one similar perfume too.
One another possible dupe I want to talk about is Raison De’tre, which is said to be a dupe of Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP. And I have the EDT version(also my signature scent), and it does smell similar in some way, although Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDT has a dirt-ier and stronger musk than Raison De’tre.
Should You Invest in 100 ml Bottles of Nykaa’s Moi Range?
Yes, I think you should invest in 100 ml bottles if you like the scent. But I’ll definitely encourage you to go for the 16ml mini perfumes first. Even the mini ones come with beautiful tiny bottles.
I am not sure about the sturdiness of these tiny bottles, but I dropped one once, and it’s still intact. No scratch.
The 100ml bottles are super beautiful to look at, one of the reasons why I would definitely invest in one once I am done with tiny pocket perfumes.
Takeaway
Apart from the perfumes itself, I also like the concept behind this range. Moi in French means ‘Me’, which is exactly what it means in Assamese(my mother tongue) too. And all the names of these perfumes – Amour, Raison De’tre, Epice, etc., are French words.
