Crème de Clementine

NEST New York was founded by Laura Slatkin, who built the business on home fragrance before extending it into fine fragrance, and the house style has stayed consistent across both: legible ideas, single clear images, nothing abstract. Creme de Clementine, released in 2025, is one of the most straightforward things the brand has made. NEST describes it as a joyful citrus gourmand bursting with the bright, sun-drenched scent of clementine zest, swirled with sweet vanilla creme and rich blonde woods. That sentence is essentially the whole fragrance, and the plainness of it is part of the appeal.

The note list NEST publishes is short: clementine zest and a citron accord at the top, vanilla creme in the heart, and blonde woods at the base. In wear the clementine is the real thing, oily and slightly bitter as fresh peel is rather than the sugary orange of most fruit accords, and it lasts longer than citrus usually does because the vanilla underneath catches and holds it. The middle is where it becomes a gourmand: a soft, dairy vanilla, more custard than caramel, with a powdery edge that keeps it from feeling like a dessert product. The blonde woods at the base are pale and dry, and they do the useful job of stopping the vanilla from going flat. There is no spice, no floral and no heaviness anywhere in it.

It is a daytime fragrance and an unusually versatile one for a gourmand, since the citrus keeps it light enough for warm weather. A Highveld summer morning suits it; it is comfortable in heat in a way vanilla fragrances usually are not. It reads as unisex, and it works well as a layering piece under something woodier.

Two caveats, both about newness. This is a recent release with a comparatively small number of reviews so far, so long-term consensus on it does not yet exist. And NEST does not credit a perfumer for it, so any attribution you see elsewhere should be treated with caution. Expect five to seven hours with moderate projection, which is reasonable for a citrus-led composition.