Review – Nicolaï – Riviera Verbena – A Trip To The Côte d’Azur

I love the smell of verbena/lemon verbena. I have some growing in the garden, and I love the herbal, lemony, zesty scent created by rubbing the plant between my fingers. There’s nothing better at putting a pep in my step on a warm, humid afternoon in the middle of summer than this enlivening aroma.  

Finding a good verbena perfume hasn’t come easy, though. To quote a famous movie line, “There can be only one.” And that one is L’Occitane’e Verveine. It has a pleasant citrus flanker, but I always turn to the original for my verbena fix. Miller et Bertaux’s Green, Green, Green is another quality option, but it’s double the price. And honestly, I don’t think it’s financially wise to be spending vast amounts of cash on a verbena fragrance.

But I still enjoy trying new verbena fragrances, and In 2022, one of my favorite houses, Nicolaï, released their contender to the lemon verbena crown called Riviera Verbena. This one should be a beauty if their past freshies are anything to go by. I’ve worn it frequently in March as the humid summer days vanish into the rearview. 

Verveine from L’Occitane keeps things simple and gives the impression of lemon sorbet. However, it still glistens, sparkles, and shimmers, producing natural hints of herbs and floral notes as it dries down. But it’s not exactly complex. So, to act as a worthwhile counterpoint and provide value for money (30ml of Riviera is equivalent to 100ml of Verveine), Riviera Verbena needs more backbone. And to a certain extent, that’s what Patricia de Nicolaï delivers.

Riviera Verbena opens on a delightfully bracing, invigorating note of lemon and verbena mixed with cut grass and herbal materials. The brand lists spearmint and thyme. I agree. However, there might also be a hint of rosemary too. Certainly, there’s a gentle, relaxing, tonic-like quality to the opening chords of Riviera Verbena. I enjoy it more than I thought I would. Indeed, I was reticent to try it as the brand mentions Calone in the note pyramid. Fortunately, I detect it only briefly. Calone can dominate, but in Riviera Verbena, it’s quickly swallowed up by the subtle sweetness of jasmine and the green aromatic top notes that stick around tenaciously. 

Riviera Verbena distinguishes itself from other fresh scents with a relatively authoritative conclusion featuring vetiver and patchouli. It’s oh-so-chic and reminds me of Deauville from Chanel in its theme and scent profile at specific points. Both have lovely citrus/herbal tops (albeit slightly different variations) and substantial backbones. The citrus, herbal top notes gradually yield to the vetiver and patchouli base so seamlessly one hardly notices, like a relaxing languid day spent under a palm tree on the beach transitioning to a late-night stroll along the Promenade des Anglais. Lasting for around 5-6 hours, it’s a lovely addition to the brand’s fresh canon, which already includes L’Eau Mixte, Cap Neroli, Eau de Yuzu, and my favourite, Eau d’Été.

Maybe MacLeod was wrong! There can be only two doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, though. But this is perfume, and there’s no need for such violent competition. Indeed, there might be room for more than one verbena scent in my collection. Verveine remains an immortal warrior, though.

Perfume Notes: Top: petitgrain, lemon, green grass, thyme, mint, blackcurrant.

Mid: verbena, Calone, jasmine, rose.

Base: vetiver, musk, patchouli.

Final Rating: 7/10.

What’s your verbena scent of choice?

Note: Images are my own, besides the Riviera Verbena bottle (Nicolai) image. I purchased the sample.

Here are some more images conjured up by Riviera Verbena.