Expect to smell like warm amber and opulent flowers, or one of the five fragrances in the Dusk assortment of INFINIMENT COTY PARIS, a conceptual fourteen-fragrance collection by Sue Nabi and Nicolas Vu. In an exclusive interview with V, Nabi, beauty expert and CEO of COTY, gets into the molecular structure and sci-fi inspiration behind the deeply personal parfum project.

V MAGAZINE: Congratulations on the launch of INFINIMENT COTY PARIS! When did you begin to think about this collection of scents? And what did starting this process look like for you?

SUE NABI: Thank you so much! It has indeed been a long journey. In 2017, Nicolas Vu and I co-created Orveda, a bio-tech skincare brand specializing in longevity, drawing its inspiration from science with no cost limitations on formulas and ingredients. As early as 2014, we started laying the groundwork for our vision of INFINIMENT COTY PARIS. Our goal was to create fragrances of unparalleled quality and exceptional longevity, well before the trend of long-lasting perfumes emerged. After ten years of development, our project finally came to life last March, and I am incredibly proud of this collection of fourteen fragrances.

When creating the perfumes, we began with notes that were meaningful to us. Each of us brought our personal touch to this collection. Nicolas crafted several notes that were close to his heart, especially for Aristo Chypre, his signature scent, which he wears daily. On my side, I worked on notes that were significant to me, like Soleil D’Ikosim, a perfume reflecting my childhood in Algeria. I wanted a fragrance that evoked an overdose of orange blossom, reminiscent of the aroma my mother used in cooking, in our home in Algiers, surrounded by orange trees. This is how it all started, with four or five core notes. Gradually, the project took shape, and we expanded our creative play.

V: This collection explores seven human emotions: awakening, self-esteem, tenderness, sensuality, relaxation, fun, and pleasure. How did you decide what emotions to focus on?

SN: Each fragrance is linked to a specific positive universal emotion, proven and measured by neuroscience. This involves a complex analysis of verbal and non-verbal responses, combining declarative emotions claimed by the tested panel, crossed with analysis of their rhythm, melody, and intonation of speech—or prosody. For INFINIMENT COTY PARIS, all seven emotion families are represented in the collection. We linked each perfume to a singular emotion. For example, we have noticed different shades in happiness, from the glee of Encore Une Fois to the bliss of Atomes Crochus. The same happens with tenderness—while Les Mots Doux can evoke a soft tenderness, Soleil D’Ikosim is more about a tender reassurance.

V: This collection also mirrors the structure of an average day: Dawn, Day, and Dusk. Focusing on the Dusk scents—what about this assortment’s composition evokes the feeling of dusk?

SN: For this collection, the goal was to group perfumes into families while preserving the unique personality of each fragrance. I’m a big fan of science fiction, and I had the pleasure of encountering this idea in a series I recently watched. These imagined categories—Day, Dawn, and Dusk—represent a cycle, a stage of life, reflecting different facets of a great personality. The collection goes beyond simply categorizing perfumes into separate groups. Instead, it portrays life moments, taking a poetic approach to existence. Each perfume is an expression of these experiences. The Dusk collection is composed of our intense notes: nocturnal and powerful flowers, sacred woods, and warm ambery scents. Infinitely sensual, it includes fragrances like Après l’Amour, which captures the scent of skin after making love, and an amber vanilla note dear to Nicolas. This fragrance embodies his perfectionist nature and obsessive quest to redo things repeatedly, almost to the point of exhaustion.

V: What scent are you wearing today? And out of the 14 scents in the line, which ones would you include in your discovery set?

SN: Today, I’m wearing Entre Genres. It’s a cloud of clean musks that envelops like a cocoon, a second skin—sensual without being overpowering. Like olfactory lingerie for a gentle awakening. For a discovery set, I would include Entre Genres, Soleil D’Ikosim, Aristo Chypre, Encore Une Fois, and Noir Encens.

This story appears in the pages of V152: now available for purchase!

Photography Adam Friedlander

Production Alyson Cox

Set Design Jenna Tedesco

Photography assistant John Miller

Production assistant Ha Chu