Nel

Kittens have claws, roses have thorns, and Nel only looks sweet until you get close enough. KINETIC Nel coats fruit and pale pink flowers with ambergris, so playfulness always has a carnal, dangerous edge.

Lychee, apple, and rhubarb open the perfume with a crisp, juicy, and tart freshness. Geranium and marigold introduce a green-floral sharpness, preventing the fruit from seeming like an innocent bowl of sweets.

Rose, Grasse jasmine, dewberry, and magnolia then swirl in an airy bouquet like pale pink silk. Dewberry brings a wild fruity sting, and magnolia adds a creamy softness without domesticating the whole.

Mark Buxton builds the perfume as a portrait of the real Nel, a troublemaker and heartbreaker whose energy cannot be contained by a single galaxy. Ambergris runs through the entire formula as a sensual, animalistic lining.

Oakmoss, vanilla, ambergris, and cedar later provide a darker, long-lasting foundation. The fruit calms down, the rose remains, and the salty-carnal character becomes clearer against the skin.

Nel is not a pleasant lychee perfume for someone who dislikes surprises. It is lychee and rhubarb in a storm of roses, with the claws of moss, cedar, and ambergris — a heartbreaker who wins you over just when you think you know her game.