The French couture house Nina Ricci was founded by Italian fashion designer Maria Nielli who relocated to Paris after getting married. She has been known as Nina Ricci ever since. In 1932 she opened her first Nina Ricci boutique at 20 Rue the Capucines in Paris and managed her company together with her son Robert. Robert Ricci took care of the business side of the company but also took a dedicated interest in the world of fragrances. The pair sold elegant Couture clothing to upper class Parisians and later added a ready to wear collection as well as shoes and boots, bags and other accessories.

It was Robert Ricci who introduced the legendary fragrance line the company is popular for today. He started work on his first creation in the early 40s and a couple of years later the first Nina Ricci perfume was introduced: Coeur Joie (1948), a floral fragrance for women. The second fragrance released under the roof of the company outdid its predecessor on all levels and L’Air du Temps (1949) went on to become one of the best loved fragrances of all time.
The L’Air Du Temps perfume made Nina Ricci famous and its complex composition of delicately balanced notes remains one of the brand’s bestsellers to this day. The timeless floral scent for women features notes of carnation, rose, peach and bergamot in a top that melts into a bouquet of gardenia, violet, orchid, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rosemary and cloves and ends in a comfortingly warm and spicy base with amber, sandalwood, benzoin, oak moss, cedar, vetiver and musk. It is famously presented in a crystal bottle designed by Marc Lalique, owner of the prestigious crystal design house by the same name and features two doves elegantly wrapped around the top of a yellow base. The iconic bottle was designed as a symbol for love and liberty in reaction to the despair following the end of the recent war. The French phrase translates to “Air of Time” which is the perfect name for a fragrance still as topical to the modern fragrance market as it was at the time of its release in the late 40s.

Since L’Air du Temps, Nina Ricci has continued to release a big array of women’s fragrances. Earlier editions include Eau de Fleurs (1974), the Les Belles de Ricci collection and the floral Premier Jour (2001) and Love In Paris (2004). The floral fruity Nina (2006) replaced the 80s fragrance by the same name. The floral woody musk scent Mademoiselle Ricci (2012), the oriental floral L’Extase (2015) and the oriental vanilla fragrance Luna (2016), which is presented in an elegant apple-shaped blue bottle, are amongst the most recent releases. Most Nina Ricci fragrances are also available in attractive perfume gift sets including body lotion or shower gel.