Ex Nihilo is Latin for out of nothing, and the founders say they made the house from scratch. It opened in Paris in 2013, founded by Sylvie Loday, Olivier Royère and Benoît Verdier. Verdier met Royère at Sciences Po, and the two wanted to disrupt the traditional approach to fragrance. Its signature move is the Osmologue, a fragrance blending machine whose name comes from the Greek science of scents, designed around Loday's engineering idea and kept at the center of the flagships. The boutiques, by the architect Christophe Pillet, are done in wood, marble and royal blue. In the demi-bespoke service you choose one of eight unisex base scents and personalize it with raw ingredients such as vanilla, jasmine, sandalwood and iris. The bottles in this first group are the house's core: Blue Talisman in both Eau de Parfum and Extrait, Fleur Narcotique in Eau de Parfum and Extrait, Lust In Paradise in both strengths, and Brompton Immortals in Eau de Parfum and Extrait. Also here are Outcast Blue, Vendomania, Oud Vendôme, Speed Legends, The Irreverents, Cologne 352 and the Sublime Mists hair mist. For white florals in general, this creamy white floral guide is a good map.

The second group is where the house gets theatrical. Devil Tender, Love Shot, Spiky Muse, Demon Dancer, Honoré Delights, Gold Immortals and Venenum Kiss all sound like characters in a film, and I like that the names do not pretend to be anything else. The Hexagone Travel Case is the useful object in the set, made to take a bottle along. Ex Nihilo does not use plain names, and the point of view is a little provocative, a little knowing. If you are drawn to the warmer, sweeter side of perfume, this guide to boozy gourmands is a nice partner to read. What I would skip is picking a name by mood alone for a gift; a scent should be chosen by what the person already wears, so a sample or a travel set is the safer way to start.

A scent can live beyond the bottle, and the house makes the case with body care. Fleur Narcotique gets a body lotion, a shower gel and a hand cream, Lust In Paradise has a shower gel, and Blue Talisman has a body lotion. The Hedonist hand cream and the Exalt Sublime Perfumed Mist 100ml sit alongside the Les Sublimes Essences Musc 15ml. Layering the same scent from shower to skin is an easy way to make it last longer. If musk is what draws you, this look at creamy white musks to layer is a good reference, and body oils and lotions to pair with a scent is a fun reading on body care.

The sets are where I would send a first-timer. The Iconique Discovery Set 6 x 2ml and the Selection Iconique Miniatures Gift Set are for trying several scents. Five-bottle travel sets of 7.5ml exist for Venenum Kiss, Midnight Special, Blue Talisman Extrait and Cologne 352, and the Fleur Narcotique Eau de Parfum Travel Set is another way in. Wear one for a full day before you decide, since a perfume changes as it settles on you, and keep the discovery box for the friend who likes to try everything. Full bottles in the section include The Hedonist in both Eau de Parfum and Extrait, French Affair and Citizen X, plus the Lust In Paradise Body Lotion. For other small cases that hold a perfume and a lipstick, this guide to flat zip pouches is useful.

I would start with a travel set and find the one I reach for in the morning, then buy the full size of that. The Osmologue idea is worth remembering: a scent is not fixed, and you can bend it toward vanilla or sandalwood until it suits you. That is the idea the house was founded on, made from nothing and changed until it fits.

If you want to keep going, Creed Perfume and Fragrance and OUAI Hair Care and Fragrance pair well with this edit.