Nikki Phillips has spent most of her life around the language of image. Born in Auckland, she grew up outdoors – sport, horses, competitive riding – before modelling pulled her in a different direction at just 14. By 2002, she’d relocated to Australia, and the years that followed took her around the world: campaigns for leading brands, editorial pages, and catwalks for high-fashion designers. In 2009, she sat as a guest judge on the first series of New Zealand’s Next Top Model, evaluating the same industry that had shaped her.
Eventually, Sydney became home, and Nikki shifted toward the other side of the camera – hosting events and television, dabbling in freelance journalism, learning to read a room rather than simply stand in one. These days, alongside the hosting jobs, TV appearances, and fashion shoots, she runs her own kids’ brand and is, by her own account, mother to three children – Jett, Luca, and Billie Rose – first.
Ask her to describe her style, and she doesn’t reach for trends. “Effortless, chic and versatile,” she once said – comfortable above all, worn according to mood rather than occasion, elegant but never at the expense of ease. She mixes price points freely, borrowing from a trend without letting it own her. It’s a philosophy two decades in the making, and it shows up in how she talks about almost everything – including, most recently, the launch of the new Guess Iconic Blue and Guess Iconic Sublime fragrances at the 2026 Oceania Coference.
Describing the latest additions to the brand’s fragrance line, Nikki moved through both with the kind of confidence the scents sought to bottle.
“Guess Iconic Sublime embraces spontaneous moments and the vibrant essence of life,” she said of the new fragrance that continues the brand’s “signature confidence with effortless sophistication.” Nikki described the fragrance “created as a tribute to empower Guess women” – someone who “lives her life on her own terms, radiating positivity, and inner peace,” who “embraces the unexpected with elegance and inspires those around her simply by being herself.” It isn’t hard to hear an echo of Nikki’s own description of her style in that.
She walked through the composition almost note by note: a “refreshing burst of aqua essence” – mandarin and cardamom – “creating an uplifting sense of clarity and renewal,” settling into “a serene floral bouquet” of blue lotus, jasmine, and “dewy magnolia petals,” before a base of “upcycled vanilla, sandalwood, fire amber” left, in her words, “a beautifully lasting impression.” Quoting Guess Vice President Yvonne Doan and perfumer Stephen Nielsen, she called it, in their words, “an invitation to live fully and find every beauty in every moment.”
Notes: mandarin, cardamom, and an aquatic accord at the top; blue lotus, jasmine, and magnolia at heart; upcycled vanillin, sandalwood, and amber beneath.
Turning to Iconic Blue, the brand’s new fragrance for men, Nikki compared it to “the exhilarating rush of an Italian speedboat ride,” a scent that “combines Guess Italian heritage with a bold sense of adventure and confidence.” It celebrates, in her words, “the magnetic Guess man … curious, fearless, effortless and in control,” whether “cutting through open waters or pursuing his next adventure.”
There was a candour to her delivery, too. “I mean, I want to meet this guy,” she admitted. “Where is he?” Then, catching herself: “I’m married, happily married,” she laughed.
She described notes of “vibrant Italian citrus, lemon and a unique Mediterranean sea salt accord, instantly evoking the fresh breeze of the Mediterranean coastline,” a heart of “blue lavender, black pepper and geranium,” and a base of “cedarwood, vetiver and tonka.” Quoting perfumer Christine Hassan, she added that the scent “embodies the exhilarating spark of connection and passionate spirit of Italy.”
Notes: mandarin, Sichuan pepper, and black pepper at the top; orange blossom, marine accord, and cypress at heart; vetiver, amber, and cedarwood beneath.
By the end, Nikki wasn’t hedging. “I don’t know if you’re sold on those perfumes,” she said, “but I am certainly sold.” What stayed with her, more than either scent on its own, was what the two together seemed to add up to: “these two new fragrances are more than just beautiful scents… They really represent Italy.”
It’s a claim worth testing for yourself. But coming from Nikki, it carries weight. After all, she’s spent two decades learning to tell what’s styled from what’s real – on runways, in front of cameras, and now in the quieter work of raising three children and building a brand of her own.
