Nicolas Degennes: Brand Introduction

“Creativity is a mirror of yourself. So be good yourself, and good things will come back to you.”
— Nicolas Degennes

Basic Information
The Founder and the Origins of the Brand
The Brand’s Distinctive Approach
1. A Philosophy of Scent: Leaving Imagination to the Person Who Smells It
2. Commitment to Materials and Vessels: A Pledge to “Made in France”
The Fragrance Lineup
By the Way…

Basic Information

Brand name: Nicolas Degennes
Founder: Nicolas Degennes
Year founded: 2021
Brand launch: November 2021 (a world-first launch in Japan at NOSE SHOP, followed by France on November 20 of the same year)
Official website: nicolasdegennes.com
Categories: Scented candles and fragrance diffusers (home fragrance)

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

A Rebellious Teenager Goes to America

Nicolas Degennes’s story begins with a sixteen-year-old boy who could not find his place at school in France.

“Perhaps my rebellious phase lasted a long time, but I left home and went to America when I was sixteen. I don’t think I was a bad kid, though [laughs]. I wasn’t satisfied with the education I was receiving in France… I was more interested in art than studying, and I wanted to live more freely and openly, and learn about what interested me without restrictions.”
— Nicolas Degennes

Nicolas went to the United States barely able to speak English. At a masterclass at Sciences Po, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, he recalled that he had “studied photography in Iowa.” Initially aspiring to become a photographer, he began applying makeup to models in his photography classes and became captivated by the power of cosmetics.

“We often photographed female models in class, but we didn’t have the money to hire a makeup artist, so I began doing the makeup myself. I experienced how my own hands could make the models beautiful, but I also discovered that makeup has the power not just to beautify a woman’s exterior, but to make her shine from within by giving her confidence. I became completely absorbed and fell in love with the world of makeup…”
— Nicolas Degennes

According to the account of his Sciences Po lecture, he said, “I don’t think I was an excellent photographer, but I have done incredible work as a makeup artist.”

Returning to France and Pursuing Makeup

After his experiences in America, Nicolas returned to France and enrolled in the MAKEUP FOREVER academy, where he systematically learned the fundamentals of makeup under the brand’s founder, Dany Sanz. He absorbed not only textures and application techniques but even how to conduct himself with clients, later recalling, “Every day was full of learning, and I just kept absorbing it all.” Making his debut as a makeup artist at eighteen, Nicolas went on to work in television, film, and fashion.

At Least Twenty Years at Givenchy: Reviving “4G” and a History of Innovation

In 1999, Nicolas was appointed Makeup and Colour Artistic Director of PARFUMS GIVENCHY. The appointment reportedly came as a major surprise even to him, as he recalled: “I couldn’t believe it. I remember repeatedly asking the team, ‘Are you sure you want me?’”

Nicolas’s first task after arriving was to rebuild Givenchy’s identity. Feeling that the brand’s direction had drifted away from the DNA of its founder, Hubert de Givenchy, he restored the iconic “4G” logo to the packaging and infused the spirit of luxury into every aspect of the textures and use of color.

“It was about reclaiming Givenchy’s identity and signature. First, I revived the ‘4G’ logo created by the house’s founder, Hubert de Givenchy. It is a design that represents the house, so I was determined to bring it back.”
— Nicolas Degennes

Over the next twenty-plus years, Nicolas created many of Givenchy’s bestsellers. The Prisme Libre loose powder he developed in 2006 became a long-standing international success with its then-unusual concept of bringing four colors of powder together. Phenomen’Eyes mascara, with its spherical brush head, and the Le Rouge lipstick line are other signature creations born of daily observations in the studio.

“They often come from doing makeup in the studio every day and thinking, ‘I wish there were a product like this.’”
— Nicolas Degennes

Nicolas is also known as a devoted admirer of Japan. Records show that, during his time at Givenchy, he visited Imae Senshoku, a Nishijin dyeing company in Kyoto, and drew inspiration from conversations with Japanese color artisans. This may be seen as a precursor to the distinctly Japanese worldview reflected in the brand he later founded.

A Turning Point Brought by COVID: Toward “New Horizons”

In June 2021, Nicolas left Givenchy. The end of his tenure of at least twenty years surprised the entire industry. Romain Spitzer, then CEO of Parfums Givenchy, said, “I would like to personally thank Nicolas for his creativity and immense contribution to the makeup division over twenty years.”

Nicolas himself reflected on the two pandemic years as follows.

“Looking back, I think many bad things happened during those two years of COVID, but for me they encouraged the next step in my career. Having spent at least twenty years at one brand and established its signature, perhaps it was time to take that next step. COVID made me realize that.”
— Nicolas Degennes

In November 2021, just five months after leaving, Nicolas launched a new brand bearing his own name, Nicolas Degennes. In Japan, advance sales began at NOSE SHOP Shibuya and online on November 19, 2021, just ahead of the launch in France.

Why Fragrance Rather Than Makeup?

Despite having built his reputation through a career in makeup, Nicolas had a clear reason for choosing fragrance for his own brand. While at Givenchy, he worked on adding scent to makeup products with François Demachy, who served as Director of Perfume Creation at DIOR, and became deeply fascinated by the world of scent.

“Makeup products are not just about color. Texture and scent matter too, and together they affect the emotions and skin of the person using them. So I wanted to start something new that connected everything I had learned.”
— Nicolas Degennes

He also explained what it meant to create scents as an individual under his own brand.

“Now I wanted to create my own signature as a creator, without being influenced by anyone else’s opinions. And I wanted to share stories filled with my feelings with people around the world through these products. Working within a large organization can sometimes make you lose yourself, but this time I was honest with my own feelings and expressed myself.”
— Nicolas Degennes

The Brand’s Distinctive Approach

A Philosophy of Scent: Leaving Imagination to the Person Who Smells It

At launch, the heart of Nicolas Degennes’s brand philosophy was distilled into the seemingly bold choice “not to name the scents.” The original product packaging bore only the universe number, the scent’s sequential number, and that universe’s theme color. The current official website lists scent names alongside the numbers.

“I wanted to leave the products I created through my imagination to the imagination of the person smelling them. I took the distinctive approach of not naming the scents and putting only the universe number and scent number on the packaging, in the universe’s theme color. Scent is not something to explain at tedious length.”
— Nicolas Degennes

Behind this lies a belief that scent is deeply connected to memory.

“Scent has the magical power to transport you instantly to the place and time where you smelled it, returning you to the person you were at that age. Scents that allow a thousand people to go to a thousand places and feel a thousand emotions: those are the scents of Nicolas Degennes.”
— Nicolas Degennes

He also defines scent as “self-expression” and “protection,” explaining:

“There are moments when you come home and its smell puts you at ease, making you feel protected. Scent also creates the ambiance that surrounds a person.”
— Nicolas Degennes

Nicolas is also said to experience synesthesia, in which a stimulus to one sense simultaneously evokes another sensory experience. This underlies his approach of designing scents as though mixing colors.

Commitment to Materials and Vessels: A Pledge to “Made in France”

According to the official website and press releases, Nicolas Degennes products pursue quality and sustainability rigorously, from their materials to their vessels.

Fragrance: Created by a long-established, family-run perfumery in Grasse, the heartland of perfume in southern France. The compositions use raw materials of the highest quality, combining traceability and sustainability.

Vessels: Custom-made porcelain commissioned from porcelain artisans in Limoges, France. The official website describes the Limoges porcelain makers’ expertise as “Living Heritage.” Drawing on that skill, Nicolas chose nonporous porcelain fired at high temperatures to make recycling and reuse possible after use. Being able to “continue using it as tableware” is described as part of the design.

Wax: Launch materials described a French wax combining 70% mineral wax of a quality also used for food containers with 30% plant-derived wax. The official website likewise explains its policy of combining plant and mineral waxes.

Wooden lids and packaging: The lids use wood sourced from French forests and purchased from a timber company with PEFC certification, an international certification for sustainable forest management. The glass and packaging cardboard are recyclable.

This commitment to “Made in France,” with every supplier based within France, is also reflected in Vogue France’s description: “After twenty years at Givenchy, he launched his own brand. Home fragrances with a genuine soul.”

The Fragrance Lineup

A Map of Six Universes

All Nicolas Degennes products are grouped into “six universes” inspired by the theory of the five phases and the five elements. Each universe has a theme color, and at launch scents were identified by their universe and sequential numbers. Four universes debuted when the brand launched: Bois (wood), Terre (earth), Eau (water), and Air (air). Feu (fire) and Métal (metal) are described as still in development at present.

Universe	Meaning in Japanese	Theme
1: Bois	Wood	Uprightness, endurance, sacredness
2: Terre	Earth	Protection, universality, the power of the earth
3: Eau	Water	Source of life, purification, coolness
4: Air	Air	Spirituality, elusiveness, vitality
5: Feu	Fire	Immortality, flame, searing heat (in development)
6: Métal	Metal	Alchemy, the cosmic, preciousness (in development)

Representative Scents

The product lineup offers each universe in two formats: candles (240 g) and fragrance diffusers (250 ml). Representative creations from the launch are listed below.

1.1 (Bois Universe): The brand’s first scent, inspired by the smell of a hall at Tō-ji temple in Kyoto, which Nicolas calls “the place where I feel most at peace.” Top notes of incense and cardamom, a body of guaiac wood, cedarwood, and patchouli, and a rounded tonka-bean base express repose within stillness.

2.1 (Terre Universe): A sensual scent on the theme of “the meeting of yin and yang,” with white flowers and musk entwined upon a foundation of patchouli.

2.2 (Terre Universe): Evokes the sunshine of southern France and sacred moments. Top notes of tangerine, bergamot, and angelica lead into a lush body of orange blossom and ylang-ylang.

3.1 (Eau Universe): A scent that dreams of journeys to faraway places. A soft vanilla base melts into a floral heart gathering tuberose and jasmine.

3.2 (Eau Universe): Described as an invitation to Nicolas’s garden, this scent centers on the refreshing qualities of greenery and mint. It moves from top notes of wormwood and rosemary to a tranquil base of leather and moss.

4.1 (Air Universe): A complex scent inspired by a velvety crimson rose, with shadows of cumin and leather within its sweetness. As the product description says, “Nicolas’s rose is not merely sweet.”

In an interview after founding the brand, Nicolas also said he was developing incense in Kyoto using traditional methods, suggesting further products created in collaboration with Japan.

Formats and Prices (at the 2021 Launch)

At their initial Japanese debut, the candles (240 g) launched at ¥17,600 and the fragrance diffusers (250 ml) at ¥19,800, both including tax.

By the Way…

The story that Kyoto’s Tō-ji inspired the first scent Nicolas conceived for the brand’s candles is more than simple romanticism. Archipelago’s website records how, during a visit to Kyoto while he was at Givenchy, he toured the Nishijin dyeing artisans at Imae Senshoku and studied Japanese color culture in depth. For Nicolas, who repeatedly says he has “drawn the most inspiration from Japan,” choosing Tō-ji in Kyoto for his “brand’s first scent” may have been a sincere confession in its own right.

One anecdote from his Sciences Po masterclass recounts how he introduced himself by saying, “I’m forty-eight,” then corrected himself: “No, fifty-eight.” With a career spanning at least a quarter-century, he could still surprise himself with his own age. Perhaps this offers a glimpse of why his creativity never seems to grow old.

In the same Sciences Po lecture, a student reportedly asked Nicolas what his greatest sacrifice for his career had been. He answered, “Personal time, and not having a family.” This candid confession reveals a kind of purity in a person who has devoted himself to the world of beauty.

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