Terre d'Hermès Eau Givrée
Hermès (2022)

TL;DR -

This is an excellent flanker, which does not and cannot bring what Eau Très Fraîche brought to the game, as a TdH usable for even extremely hot weather. Still, this version is much more favorable than the original for hot weather, and is still excellent in winter.

The marriage of Nagel's style with Ellena's style is complete and perfectly Hermès. In particular, her sour fruit reflex is just so naturally and purposefully fused with Ellena's citrus-mineral-cedar vision, as a vehicle to bring in a frosty freshness, that it seems like destiny. I just love this fragrance, as does my wife, and I should have bought a bigger bottle.

***

Nagelization
Although inevitable
Was necessary

In the universe
Where grapefruit over-ripens
To new perfection

And Maison Hermès
Evolves in Time's dimension
In Ways that it must

So Hear ye, Hear ye
The loss of dear Eau Très Fraîche
Has so been redeemed

Not in a Clear Way
Not in the Way of the Eau
Not in less's more

But in Decay's Way
Of new possibility
Through combination

Opportunity
And assorted subversions
Which then introduced

A sharper freshness
Violating Ellena
But in a Good Way

PineSol's Wanted crew
Points and laughs in Simpson's Way
At New Note Trio

Screwing it all up
But good old boy nods and smiles
As it all works out

Red's old signature
Fruit-whipped into frosty chill
By jiggling the bits

In a Boulder Way
Sliding home past Damned WEFRA
As Eau Très Fraîche smiles

From memory hole
Deep in L'Archipel Lyral
They can't stop us all.

Smells like a fresh and clean grapefruit scent like D&G Light Blue Pour Homme Forever layered or mixed with TdH. The original TdH DNA is subdued but still there in the background. I'm not a fan of the TdH scent profile but this version leans more towards a crowd-pleaser and among the most wearable, if not the best.

Wears very light, especially after the opening fades. Also, there may be some sweet, modern, woody-amber notes going on in the base. Feels like a great warm weather work scent.

Projection is fine in the opening but fades to a skin scent later. Decent longevity but this is not a performance champ at all.

Opening has strong notes of fresh citruses, orange or even grapefruit, maybe fresh cut ginger. It's very nice, very fresh, with the deeper undertones of the regular Terre d'Hermes. It's actually excellent.

The drydown and base is a slightly fresher and more citrusy version of the regular Terre. If you really really enjoy Terre d'Hermes, get this for the warmer months, it will be excellent.

I personally don't like this line that much, as it's a bit aggressive to my nose, so I will not be buying this one either.

3/8/23 - This will be my first review on Basenotes.

Terre d'Hermès Eau Givrée

I am a novice with fragrance reviews, despite my 50something years, so there will not be a lot of jargon or references to other colognes or makers -- I simply don't have the experience and knowledge. However, this being a relatively new fragrance to the market, and me having stumbled upon it recently quite by serendipity, and it not having many reviews yet here on BN, I wanted to put in a good word for it.

I love this product. Granted I have spent very little time in my life in serious pursuit of the ultimate fragrance for me. But this one makes me feel good, and it brings me pleasure from the first spray all the way to bedtime.

Projection and sillage are not huge, which is actually preferable to me. I'm a grown man who doesn't feel compelled to brutalize everyone within 20 feet around me with my odor. That's for obnoxious boys who mistake aggressiveness for confidence. If you can't interest someone with a look, I don't think an olfactory assault is going to mitigate that. Let them enjoy your smell after they get close.

Both my wife and I like it, and that's really all that matters to me.

Upon spraying, the first hit is lemony-citrusy, with slightly gin-like juniper berry in the background. I love it, it makes me want more. It's a rind-y smell, slightly sweet but nowhere near cloying. A bit like lemon zest. There is also a mineral-y note in there, I wish I could be more specific, but it's terribly nice. It feels like eating a whole lemon on a snowy mountainside covered in pine.

It tones down and softens with more woodiness, almost powdery. Is that the vetiver I keep hearing about? I wish I had the scent knowledge to describe it. It's almost edible.

Toward the end of the day, of course the projection is pretty minimal, but I still get random whiffs of the slightly intoxicating woody-earthy scent, with just echoes of the citrus and juniper berry. Perfect and relaxing for sleepytime (or other bedtime activities).

My nose needs more training, but to me the pepper must be located on a subliminal, subconscious level, because I don't pick it out distinctly.

All in all this is a fantastic fragrance to me, and I consider it a great first step in what I hope is a journey of discovery... if there are more fragrances out there like this, I want them.

Update 5/10/23:
Eau Givree sat in its box untouched. I wasn't a fan of this, giving it a lukewarm neutral pushing towards a thumbs down. After macerating for 7 months (I say with chagrin, wishing I were joking), this has turned into one of my favorite discontinued fragrances: Burberry Sport for men but with staying power. I even went back to Sephora with a spray from my bottle on my arm and then sprayed on their tester. This really needs to macerate for quite a while, unfortunately. It has a bright and uplifting citron that's a little rindy in the opening but quickly turns icy and fresh with metallic notes through to the drydown with barely any dirtiness of the original retained. The atomizer gives you barely anything, so I needed 6 sprays with mine to get a reasonable amount of juice. My entire day with this fragrance was wonderful. I kept getting wiffs inside and outside, and it even smelled fantastic in the warm shower water. I can confidently say this is the best summer fragrance I own, dethroning my coveted Issey Summer, and with 10hr endurance that makes Versace Eau Fraiche seem far inferior.

I have Hawas (I know, I know, I am easily influenced to blind buy) and Swiss Army EDT (Kohl's greatest hits lol) on the way, but unless they really knock my socks off I might just buy a refill of this to stash away. Recently I've also been loving CDNIM EDP, but wouldn't dare wear that in the scorching heat. It's just too bad this fragrance shot up $40 after release.

Original review:
I love the floral yuzu in Issey Miyake Summer 2009. The sharp note is an attention grabber that's almost too harsh but assuaged by the soft florals backing it. The fragrance lasted all day, the rind aspects growing and the floral notes mellowing through the day and mixing with the salt smell from sweat.

This fragrance replaces the yuzu with citron and the floral notes with ginger. It's definitely interesting, but quite weird to experience until the harsh citron+raw ginger combination in the top that suddenly disappears after half an hour and you're left with the original DNA but with less flint and citron in place of orange. Are dirty ginger and sour citron a winning combo for summer? I don't know, but I don't think so. I blind bought this bottle and loved it at first spray in my home, but I can't imagine a situation where I would want to wear this mess.

To me, this smells too much like its raw ingredients. The more I smell my arm, the more I strongly dislike this. It's the early days of fall now, so let's try it more in spring and summer this year to see how I like it. I probably should have gotten a YSL l'homme flanker instead of a TdH flanker since this line is wonderful perfumery but definitely a bit far down the "old man cologne" spectrum.

This one is intriguing, it truly is.

At first it seemed to me like a diluted version of Eau Intense Vetiver with just a pinch of juniper and juniper berries thrown inside. But... it's got quite a lot more it it IMO. In general it's a spicy woody scent that can be worn in 3 seasons out of 4 - suitable for spring, summer and fall. It's also got some touches of that bitter orange and pomelo from Eau Tres Fraiche.

Lasts on me around 6 to 8 hours, projection is relatively moderate.

I guess I have to test it a wee more, but I can already tell it's a decent release, surely way better than H24, for example.