Spiky Muse by Ex Nihilo: The Muse in the Garden
Written by Eveline Nagajeva
One of the things I really love about Ex Nihilo is how they use modern fragrance molecules with such finesse that their creations feel effortlessly elegant. Their scents often come across as refined but never boring, there’s always something interesting or unexpected. They walk the line between high-concept niche and sheer wearability with poise, and Spiky Muse is a perfect example of that balance.
Photo credit: Eveline Nagajeva
It surprised me from the very first spray, and I ended up going back to the store to buy it the same day.
Spiky Muse is an edgy tribute to the rose, the Queen of Flowers and timeless muse of artists, reimagined through a bold, modern lens. The rose in this fragrance is anything but conventional, it’s not romanticized or polished, but raw and full of contrast. It feels sharp, green, and bursting with personality. It’s almost as if the rose has flesh — something you can feel, not just smell.
Though the official notes list pistachio, strawberry, rose absolutes, cedarwood, and modern ingredients like Akigalawood™ and Ambrofix™, I wouldn’t get too attached to the pyramid.
On skin, Spiky Muse tells a much stranger and more captivating story. To me, it leans much more green and raw than floral, gourmand or amber woody.
The opening offers a brief nod to the gourmand trend: a modest, fleeting blend of pistachio, subtly sweetened by tonka bean, paired with juicy berry notes and a sparkle of bergamot. But this is no sugary composition. Those notes disappear quickly, and honestly, I wouldn’t even mention them if not for the fact that some might be drawn in by the trendy strawberry and pistachio in the description.
Photo credit: Eveline Nagajeva
What really stands out is the green, garden-like feeling that follows. This is where the fragrance becomes truly memorable. It plays with a wide range of green facets — freshly cut grass, hemp, tomato leaves, all circling around the rose. The muse of the scent starts off young and innocent at first glance, but soon reveals a vegetal, almost fleshy character reminiscent of green tomatoes. I believe this comes from the upcycled natural strawberry.
While strawberry is usually sweet and fruity, natural and upcycled extracts often carry green, slightly fermented qualities.
To me, Spiky Muse evokes a very specific scene: a cool escape into a grandmother’s garden at the beginning of summer. Everything is lush and alive — tomatoes, strawberries, hemp (not for what you think, but for her homemade hemp seed butter), and at the center, her proudest rose bush, thriving in the stuffy, humid air of the greenhouse. It’s an image both nostalgic and unconventional, much like the scent itself.
If you like fragrances that feel fresh, green, and a little vegetal, Spiky Muse might surprise you too.
The scent was created by Louise Turner, the perfumer behind Lust in Paradise, its flankers, and Musc Infini.