Nivea
Mass-market skincare and fragrance.
Nivea was introduced in 1911 by Beiersdorf, the Hamburg personal care company founded by pharmacist Paul Carl Beiersdorf in 1882, as a name for the company's new stable water-in-oil cream formula — the iconic tin that remains in production today. The brand entered fragrance through body sprays, deodorants, and Eau de Toilette lines that extend the Nivea sensory identity — clean, soapy, milky white musk — into standalone scent products. The characteristic Nivea fragrance, present across all their grooming products, is one of the most globally recognised mass-market scent signatures: powdery white florals, skin-soft musk, and light aldehydic freshness. Operating within the mass tier under Beiersdorf's global distribution infrastructure, Nivea fragrance reaches billions of consumers across every inhabited continent. The fragrance output is functional rather than artistic, designed to complement skincare rather than stand alone as a perfumery statement, yet the consistency and quality of the Nivea accord have made it an involuntary cultural reference point for generations of fragrance consumers worldwide.
DNA over time
Each column is an era. Each colored band shows that family’s share of accord weight across every perfume the house released in that window. Bigger band = the house leaned harder on that family.
