Hermessence Appreciation/Discussion Thread

mr. reasonable said:

Oh, OK - just thought it was one of hers. She released a couple of vaguely 'Attar' styled ones not long after joining and I thought the Santal was around the same time. It is a nice one - just don't figure I need a full bottle, still have a coupla 15mls.

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Yea I've got Cardamusc and I love it! They seem to have disappeared lately but I asked at an Hermes counter about Iris Pallida and she said it would definitely come back in stock it was a best seller. I was surprised as I thought they're probably not that popular and getting phased out.

cheapimitation said:

Yea I've got Cardamusc and I love it! They seem to have disappeared lately but I asked at an Hermes counter about Iris Pallida and she said it would definitely come back in stock it was a best seller. I was surprised as I thought they're probably not that popular and getting phased out.

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Hermes did a redesign of the bottle just a year or so ago, so very much doubt they're being discontinued.

Oviatt said:

Not a huge fan of the line and of the ones I own, the only one I wear regularly is Poivre Samarcande. I gave my Cuir des Anges to my daughter and also still have but rarely use Brasil Paprika.

The thing that never gets discussed is that at their launch, the collection was meant to be a mix and match layering collection (Think Pavilion, Celadon and White Linen). When these first came out, the head for the fragrance department at the Hermes on Rodeo had just come back from the Paris mothership where they were trained about the launch. They were given all sorts of secret recipes to layer them to create new scents (sort of like the secret menu at In-N-Out). She sprayed three on my arm and the result was amazing but the cynical side of me though "now she is trying to sell me THREE bottles...."

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What was the secret layering combo?

Sultan al Hindi said:

What was the secret layering combo?

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Ambre Narguile, Poivre Samarcande, Rose Ikebana, and Vetiver Tonka were the original releases. Poivre Samarcande and Rose Ikebana seem like the most likely contenders, but there's only 24 possible combinations, so you could certainly try them all.

I'm a huge of fan of the Hermessence range. I loved it back in the day, and hope I still do because I haven't really used any of them for years. I own Rose Ikebana, Ambre Narguile, Osmanthe Yunnan, Vetiver Tonka, and Paprika Brasil. They are all 15 some odd years old, I don't remember. I would assume they've all been reformulated? Ambre Narguile being my favorite in the bunch needs some attention and thanks to this thread it will get some.

I stepped away for 8-10 years from MUA of which I'd been there maybe a year or two after it launched and I would also come over here to see what was going on as well. I found in my busy life these last 10 years I've only been using maybe 30 bottles from my collection and it's time to dig in and start using them again. I will be offering some of them up for the taking later on after I go through them as I saw a thread about it and, I have a ton, and I mean a ton of samples from my business that I will never use in a million years. They're new and unused and just sitting there. So I'll be offering those up as well. I do wish MUA still had their swap, that was so fun!

Anyway, thanks for still being here! My perfume love/desire/interest is starting to grow stronger and I'm loving it!

pfranka said:

I never really clicked with any of the Hermessence line enough to buy one until the recent Violette Volynka, and now this new one (Oud Alezan). At first it reminded me of Micallef's Bruckner Aoud 1 with a more prominent rose. The very beginning wasn't my favorite part due to the slightly medicinal oud. This was the only part of the perfume's development that had sharpness and it passed within 15 - 20 minutes I think. About an hour in, the clothing it got on reminded me of Roja's Pierre de Velay No. 1 - with that furry, animalic (civet?) - and the scent of the sillage was very nice. It went through different phases, a brief one of which was a bit like FM Lipstick Rose. Hours later the base became sweeter with musk. This has gone to the top of my wishlist.

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I’ll have to compare this to PdV No. 1, when I eventually sample. Oud/Rose isn’t my favorite combo, but even so I thought the PdV was great- should be on everyone’s shortlist when exploring this category.

Didn’t buy because the rose eventually turned too feminine for my taste. I have trouble with most any rose I try because no matter how pleasant, I still get a matronly, middle-aged woman’s toiletries association from it. I’m really only willing to attempt pulling it off when the rose is “photorealistic”, as we say so often on this forum, i.e. when there’s green, when it feels like you just went outside garden shears in hand and cut a few for the vase in the entryway lol. From everyone’s comments, it seems like this release leans that way?

Tangentially related- shame PdV isn’t talked about more, I think it’s some of Roja’s best. Although I’ve come to hate the faux art deco, Microsoft Word font and honestly cheap feeling bottles.

Review of the new and extremely limited Paddock:

Does Nagel have as much autonomy as Ellena did at Hermes? I hesitate to endlessly critique Nagel on the assumption she doesn't, but seriously what is Hermes even doing anymore? Oh, we stuck a carrot seed/iris in the fragrance, because horses eat carrots, and don't you see the little horsey in our logo? It's so uninspired and bland, it's the same style of marketing that Chanel, Dior, and Celine use. For instance, why the fuck do I care that Coco Chanel was a Leo, and how does that have anything to do with inspiring a 2020's Shalimar (Le Lion), or that Christian Dior liked a certain sweet so let's make Vanilla Diorama? It's so boring, it doesn't even come off as art, and this is the same nonsense that Nagel is doing at Hermes.


Give me inspired, interesting perfumes. Stop building the marketing campaign, and then crafting a scent around it. Guerlain's classic perfumes are perfect example of a good perfume product. You have these interesting fragrances, and then Guerlain crafts a romantic story around the perfume, and you get a Mitsouko. Today, in the hands of Chanel or Hermes, Mitsouko would smell of yuzu, peony, and white musk, with some bullshit bland story about a visit to Japan and their flower festivals attached.

GWM said:

Does Nagel have as much autonomy as Ellena did at Hermes? I hesitate to endlessly critique Nagel on the assumption she doesn't, but seriously what is Hermes even doing anymore? Oh, we stuck a carrot seed/iris in the fragrance, because horses eat carrots, and don't you see the little horsey in our logo? It's so uninspired and bland, it's the same style of marketing that Chanel, Dior, and Celine use. For instance, why the fuck do I care that Coco Chanel was a Leo, and how does that have anything to do with inspiring a 2020's Shalimar (Le Lion), or that Christian Dior liked a certain sweet so let's make Vanilla Diorama? It's so boring, it doesn't even come off as art, and this is the same nonsense that Nagel is doing at Hermes.


Give me inspired, interesting perfumes. Stop building the marketing campaign, and then crafting a scent around it. Guerlain's classic perfumes are perfect example of a good perfume product. You have these interesting fragrances, and then Guerlain crafts a romantic story around the perfume, and you get a Mitsouko. Today, in the hands of Chanel or Hermes, Mitsouko would smell of yuzu, peony, and white musk, with some bullshit bland story about a visit to Japan and their flower festivals attached.

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I really liked Nagel’s initial releases at Hermes. Maybe she was still a bit under the wing of Ellena or cautious not to shake things up too much following the transition. I think H24 was an extremely clever direction to take for her big men’s pillar.

So I still have faith she can and will create interesting work at Hermes. But for me, Oud Alezan is a real low point in a previously almost unimpeachable line. And it’s a real slap in the face to fans following that up with a seemingly much better and more interesting release but making it a limited edition Paris exclusive.

I have a feeling the Hermessence line was never the most profitable venture for them, but it gave the brand artistic integrity.

The snootily recited refrain “Hermes doesn’t discontinue fragrances” I once got from an SA still echoes in my mind when I see the changes taking place. I’m sure it’s more the corporate side of things needing to shore things up in the line and get some more hype around it (we need an Oud, we need a limited release!). But Hermes used to be one brand that didn’t manipulate you with FOMO, whether it be fear of reformulation, discontinuation, or limited release, or even price hikes which they held back on until recently. It feels like a big loss we can no longer count on Hermes for this kind of integrity.

Another man down, who’s left now? Frederic Malle, Lutens, maybe CDG.

SOTE: Hermessence Santal Massoïa

cheapimitation said:

I really liked Nagel’s initial releases at Hermes. Maybe she was still a bit under the wing of Ellena or cautious not to shake things up too much following the transition. I think H24 was an extremely clever direction to take for her big men’s pillar.

So I still have faith she can and will create interesting work at Hermes. But for me, Oud Alezan is a real low point in a previously almost unimpeachable line. And it’s a real slap in the face to fans following that up with a seemingly much better and more interesting release but making it a limited edition Paris exclusive.

I have a feeling the Hermessence line was never the most profitable venture for them, but it gave the brand artistic integrity.

The snootily recited refrain “Hermes doesn’t discontinue fragrances” I once got from an SA still echoes in my mind when I see the changes taking place. I’m sure it’s more the corporate side of things needing to shore things up in the line and get some more hype around it (we need an Oud, we need a limited release!). But Hermes used to be one brand that didn’t manipulate you with FOMO, whether it be fear of reformulation, discontinuation, or limited release, or even price hikes which they held back on until recently. It feels like a big loss we can no longer count on Hermes for this kind of integrity.

Another man down, who’s left now? Frederic Malle, Lutens, maybe CDG.

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The thing about Hermes fragrance is they didn't care to be a most profitable venture. Pierre Bourdon talks about how they turned down his Cool Water formula, because they knew it would sell too well, and didn't want to associate Hermes with that. Who does that? They gave complete creative control to Ellena, and he made a wonderful line of fragrances with Hermessence and the designer segment with Terre d'Hermes and the Jardin range, while also touching up the classics to ensure they still smelled wonderful. Then came Nagel who brought inconsistency and nothing that's really wow'd. I also hate how Hermes was strictly against an oud scent when Ellena was around, and now with Nagel they have two and she lies and says oh no we've never made an oud oil fragrance, Agar Ebene was the smell of oud smoke, whereas the new oud is oud oil. Give me a fucking break, you're making the same fragrances everyone is making and trying to tell me it's special. I hate when companies are manipulative like that, and you never saw this behavior when Ellena was with the company.


I will say though, I have no idea how much Nagel's input is valued with the company, nor how much say she has about marketing, formulas, direction the brand's fragrance take, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of dorks and bean counters that have input, so I won't just place the blame on Nagel, but she sure hasn't helped Hermes move in a positive direction. I don't think Hermes can doing anything both interesting and really good again until she's gone, and the company recalls their ethos. Ellena is a true master of the art, and you can't just replace him easily, but at some point you have to look at Nagel's output and notice it's lackluster. Hermes is among the last of the great perfume houses left, and Nagel isn't helping that legacy.

GWM said:

Does Nagel have as much autonomy as Ellena did at Hermes? I hesitate to endlessly critique Nagel on the assumption she doesn't, but seriously what is Hermes even doing anymore?

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I believe it's not just perfumes and Nagel, it's the entire brand marketing and product lines that have changed as well becoming more " true to the codes of Hermès " in recent years, that's why the turnlock chaîne d'ancre and horse stuff appears in every product category prominently compared to some years ago.

This is an hermes sneaker, with the very meaningfully placed and not just slapped on turnlock ..




Even volynka violette could be seen from this perspective as it is named after an hermes leather + violet.

At Hermès, you can be a horse if you want to. Galop. Plop.

Hermitage said:

I’ll have to compare this to PdV No. 1, when I eventually sample. Oud/Rose isn’t my favorite combo, but even so I thought the PdV was great- should be on everyone’s shortlist when exploring this category.

Didn’t buy because the rose eventually turned too feminine for my taste. I have trouble with most any rose I try because no matter how pleasant, I still get a matronly, middle-aged woman’s toiletries association from it. I’m really only willing to attempt pulling it off when the rose is “photorealistic”, as we say so often on this forum, i.e. when there’s green, when it feels like you just went outside garden shears in hand and cut a few for the vase in the entryway lol. From everyone’s comments, it seems like this release leans that way?

Tangentially related- shame PdV isn’t talked about more, I think it’s some of Roja’s best. Although I’ve come to hate the faux art deco, Microsoft Word font and honestly cheap feeling bottles.

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PdV No.1 *is* great. I sold mine because it was too masculine for me (!) Many of the PdVs I've sampled have a thick, luxurious (?) feel to them, and I love the bottles/Art Deco style, but these things are so personal. With so many new brands popping up, I often rule out even sampling just by the look of the bottles. Who can sample everything? The very few rose-centric perfumes that I truly love all conjure for me a specific association with a trip to Paris, otherwise the rose needs to be a subtle part of the composition or accompanied by some other thing that I click with (like the PdV No.1 association I had here). Have you ever tried Bvlgari Garanat? That one struck me as a great masculine rose. Anyway, if *I* love the new Hermes, it might be too feminine for some so I would always recommend sampling, as you mentioned!

I got a sample of Oud Alezan and on wearing it, thought it was quite similar to Galop d'Hermes - did anyone else get that impression?

Had anybody else got their nose on paddock yet?

Sultan al Hindi said:

Had anybody else got their nose on paddock yet?

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Nom de Guerre said:

Review of the new and extremely limited Paddock:

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Paddock is not an Hermessence fragrance though, correct?

I was enthusiastic about the Hermessences when they first came out and bought Rose Ikebana and Brin de Reglisse. At that time Osmathe Yunnan was also really popular here in Asia. The scents are low key, elegant and unique. I also really like their smaller bottle sizes that are perfect for traveling. Recently I bought Volynka Violette. But they need a lot of reapplying and fade fast on me.
Not Hermessence but mentioned earlier in the thread. I love Galop and am now very curious about Paddock...did they say it a France only release?

The one I'm tempted to get is Epice Marine, which is Ellena essentially doing a conceptually bolder remake of Declaration. But I also wonder if I'll actually wear it if I have it.

I have Ambre Narguile now but rarely wear it. It the best of the apple pie gourmand trend by a long shot thanks to Ellena's gift for structure, somehow making something dense seem aromatic, but I still so rarely want to smell like apple pie.

purplelilac said:

. I love Galop and am now very curious about Paddock...did they say it a France only release?

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Not only is it so far limited to france, it was only released for the Hermès sponsored equestrian event Saut d'Hermès in Paris. As far as I understand, it's not available in most of the stores in France either and is a limited edition. Who knows if there will be another edition of 'Paddock' in the future.