Reviews of Phileas (1984)
by Nina Ricci

Edited review of Phileas. Still a big thumbs up and still a huge celery note on me all the way through the fragrance. Bright and vegetal scent from Ricci and one of her best male scents along with Ricci Club Haute.

After thinking about jenson's comparison of Phileas to Punjab, I did a side by side. Phileas and Punjab have similarities due to their herbaceous and vegetal qualities. Phileas remained lighter and brighter, but longevity and sillage did not suffer. Punjab is the big brother to Phileas and is heavier / darker, but definitely related.

If you're a fan of different scents such as Yatagan, etc.....and enjoy vegetal offerings, Phileas should be in your drobe. THEY DON"T MAKE JUICE LIKE THIS ANYMORE FOLKS.

Unique vegetal chypre with animalic nuances. Something in between Oscar de la Renta`s Pour Lui and Yatagan. Very sharp and temperamental on my skin in the beginning perhaps mainly due the aldehydes, but the slightly soapy drydown smooth things up nicely.

There is a strong, perfume-y, feminine touch to this one. That’s actually very common with these old masculine chypre fragrances.

Great scent with wonderfully captivating concept and packing. I believe it had a terrific side products as well, such as bar soap….

To my mind probably one of the most tragic discontinuations ever.


Be very careful in purchase; I know there are bottles of this one with already spoiled juices inside. It was longtime ago discontinued, and this is kind of juice that (rich with lots of ingredients, including naturals) unfortunately doesn’t stand for time the best.

Stinky! But in a good way. First sniff I recognized it as yet another 80's powerhouse. Fun fact: it's not, it fools you. It's still citrusy, mossy and a little dirty but it's quiet about it. Quiet for an 80's scent that is. Very nice but I still wwould have to go with Paco Rabanne pH or Bijan because they have a woodiness to them I like. Phileas has more of a vegetal/herbal tone to it and would be good to wear in the fall and spring or on cooler summer nights.

Bought a miniature blind, after all the good reviews I had to try it. Sorry, but I dont like this one at all. Its very original, but it smells just like Arabian soap. Soapy fragances can be good, but this is just too much, it smells cheap soapy.

There is no other scent like it. Love the herbal celery note. It last all day!

This is my all time favourite. Best looking bottle ever too. I had a bottle of Phileas about 20 years ago, and recently, I got my hands on a miniature. Just bought it to see if the smell was as good as I remembered. And it was! Rich, spicy, warm, oriental,complex but balanced. Never have smelled anything like it. I think it's a good thing though that Phileas has become rare and is not produced anymore; makes it even more legendary!

Very soapy, very 'erbal, unashamedly full-bodied, beatifully mixed and just downright pleasant. Add excellent longevity, Nina Ricci quality and the unique celery note that run throughout the progression - and you get a must-have in the vintage department.

"Doctor, have you been preparing celery sticks again for your diet?", my noble assistant asked me. "My good man, what at first sniff smells like celery, is in fact the most noble and sadly discontinued fragrance, Phileas, from our dear Nina Ricci."

[b]Phileas[/b] is an outstanding fragrances and I, too, am very happy to have this among my flock. As has been noted, this scent is solemnly herbaceous, with a prominent, masterful celery note leading the way. I imagine this could have been a scent that would have been easy to go astray with during formulation, but whomever perfumer did a masterful job! Beneath the celery and herbs are delightful woods and subtle spices, that never quite eclipse the celery, which is quite astonishing. Definitely a must-try for the serious fragrance aficionado.

Wicozani

PHILEAS is a sharp aromatic chypre. I've found a legend that told it's a perfume "incarnation" of round-the-world voyage. It contains ingredients from Europe (balkanian oakmoss, cypress, cistus, celery from Provence, lemon from Italia), Asia (indian sandalwood, pachouli from Indonesia etc. ), America (virgin cedarwood, caribean lime etc.) and Africa (Reunion vetiver, Marocco wormwood, jasmine from Egypt etc.). It reveals lots of various spices and woods that perform a dance on your skin. The scent lasts forever and is VERY strong. I tried to apply a very few drops from splash (it was enough) and it made a marvellous smell. It kindly asks for a suit just to place you in Jules Verne's "Aroud the world in 80 days" atmosphere. I smell it from time to time. Foggy and rainy autumn days will be the right time to wear it.