Patricia’s laboratory is visible from the shop avenue Raymond Poincaré. She creates formulas on a computer; then her assistant make a sample (thousand of samples are made each year). When the formula is finalised, then it is blocked and is always reproduced very precisely at the factory on a larger scale.

Each fragrance requires hundreds of hours of work to find the perfect balance among all its ingredients (sometimes up to 50 essential oils and components).

NICOLAI has its own factory since 1994, located near Orléans, 2 hours south of Paris in the « Cosmetic Valley », near Dior, or L’Oreal and Shisheido. Production is fully integrated from natural oils to finished products. Candles are also made in this factory, ans well as all of perfume lamps and their refills. With 2000m2, it is big enough to have enough stocks, and prepare quickly any order.

How to make a perfume :

Buying of natural oils :
Patricia de Nicolaï takes a special care for that, as she uses more natural ingredients than most of its competitors, whatever the cost. It creates a unique quality.

Then formulas are weighed :
formulas are kept secretly, or often divided into several parts to be sure secrets are well kept.