Mainstream Monday: Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black

I’m quite late to the party on this, but stumbled across Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black in Sephora the other day. I’m a bit too old to appreciate its creators, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, or their series “Full House,” but I recalled reading some favorable reviews of this, so decided to give it a whirl.

Nirvana Black’s violet, vanilla and sandalwood (plus a few other notes, I’m thinking) roll out as a warm sandalwood musk, very likeable and cozy, with some spices peeking through later to help dial up the heat. It evoked several layers of enjoyable scent and definitely smells like more than the sum of its parts.

Alas, I tried the rollerball version of it only, and was hoping to get a spray sample but all the SAs were slammed, and I was tight on time. So I left less than fully scented, and can’t speak to its lasting power or sillage (although the rollerball swipe lasted decently). But it’s a testament to Nirvana Black’s allure that I’m planning to try this sprayed, just for comparison’s sake, and will do so as soon as I next set foot into Sephora.

Now this isn’t going to set the world on fire, as there are a number of other scents that feather this style nest, but all in all, I thought it quite appealing, and would be perfect on a chilly day or evening. Also, I could see this working equally well on the guys.

And it didn’t hurt that I was rather taken with the retro-leaning, sleek, black square bottle, which reminded me of both a vintage evening clutch and a cigarette lighter.

On my way out of Sephora, one corner of my inside arm got a little swipe of the Nirvana White, and to my nose it fell somewhere between one of the Stella scents and one of the newer Chloes. Nice enough, but not memorable, at least for me. But in the spirit of fairness, perhaps this, too, should warrant a full-blown spraying next time around. Any excuse to go back, because, really, do we need a reason to do more sniffing/shopping?