Bel Ami Hermès (1986)Eau de Toilette

8.4 / 10 330 Ratings

Bel Ami (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Hermès for men and was released in 1986. The scent is leathery-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.

Perfumer

Jean-Louis Sieuzac

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Mandarin, Sage, Lemon
Heart Notes	Basil, Carnation, Orris root, Jasmine, Patchouli, Cedar
Base Notes	Oakmoss, Coconut, Leather, Styrax, Vanilla, Vetiver

Ratings

Scent

8.4 (330 Ratings)

Longevity

8.3 (244 Ratings)

Sillage

7.6 (237 Ratings)

Bottle

7.6 (235 Ratings)

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 25.05.2020.

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Reviews

04/09/2020

8
Scent 8
Longevity 8
Sillage 7
Bottle

Chizza

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Chizza

Very helpful Review 12

You are not a Philistine, you are a fragrance of life

At the beginning I would like to start with a Heinrich Heine quote, which seems to me somehow appropriate:

"The Philistines, the limited,
these mentally retarded,
you must never, ever tease.
But wide open wise hearts
always know in our jokes
Love and friendship
to discover."
You are such a fragrance, not intended for any wearer who cares what others think about him or her and whether they may mock your age and the older-looking fragrance that goes with it. Whoever wears you, who wants to make a statement, wears you because he appreciates you and doesn't care what the environment says. Maybe he also carries you because your fragrance comes from a time of the perfume trade, where fragrances had charisma and character and were not so much a room fragrance.
You belong in line with the classics like an egoist. You stand for that era of masculine, explosive head notes. The mixture of citrus fruits and sage can hardly be described otherwise. This lasts for quite a while and you have to be able to accept it or leave it alone. It doesn't matter whether you're wearing a suit or a rocker, whether it's the 30 or the 60 year old. It's all about the appearance of your wearer.
You stay wild, this is ensured by your spiciness, which you get from your other ingredients. Nothing dominates, although individual notes shimmer through and the oakmoss gives you a certain cool serenity. Leather, too, is not found in you, but none of the things that are often found nowadays. It's not about intensity but about improving your scent, it's more of an alcohol-soaked leather.

In short: you are a friend you can rely on, who stays and is there when you need him/her after many years. You radiate the essence and character of a handshake fragmentality.

This - in scented form of course - is Bel Ami.

5 Replies

04/02/2020

8.5
Scent 8
Longevity 6
Sillage 8
Bottle

Konsalik

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Konsalik

Top Review 16

Sultanas of Swing, or: The melancholic ceiling fan

Several reviewers on these pages have contributed with their descriptions to the fact that Bel Ami presents himself to me in my mind as a slightly frivolous, but heart-felt, tobacco-tanned wrinkled face from the beat of a Lino Ieluzzi or Peter Heinrich. What could be more obvious than to make a comparison with Davidoff's Zino (which is also not far-fetched in view of the year of publication), at least as a heuristic and frame of reference?

But while the light-steamy, walk-in humidor at Zino houses not only decent longfillers but also a whole battery of simple economic miracle herb wraps like "trade gold", Bel Ami's is rounder, more select and of higher quality. The tobacco association is rather comparable with very dark, slowly fermented leaves, dark chocolate and oily shiny. But, wait: what are the white speckles on the leaf? Mildew? No! Sugar crystals, as they can also form on the leaves of pipe tobacco that have been stored for a long time (so-called "geageten"). For despite all the serious, dark green-brown roundness, the entire fragrance is accompanied by a very natural sweetness, which - in view of the listed notes - does not give off a particularly vanilla-like note. After the soft, citric top note had faded away, I was instead accompanied deep into the base by a reminder of a freshly opened bag of sultanas, which with their specific, withdrawn fruit sweetness provide an excellent accompaniment for heavy tobaccos. Like, what, rum? Yeah, it's kind of available here too, but without a hint of molasses. But something ethereal, almost alcoholic is still found. I guess the oakmoss in connection with the listed coconut, but my analytical apparatus fails at this point.

A slightly melancholic gentlemen's evening in Caracas, in which the ceiling fan hums slowly, half-closed blinds shut out the sharpest rays of the already low sun and the friends present are offered pleasures that must seem strange and provocative to our Jochen Schweizer society.
Let us hope, with all our sympathy for the friendly gentlemen, that in the fields behind the house only tobacco is actually cultivated.

10 Replies

12/20/2019

9.5
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 8
Bottle

Siebenkäs

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Siebenkäs

Top Review 22

Friendship

Amp busted, remote lost, no tea in the house.
So I grab the jacket, and I go to Richie's.
But first, the big Bel Ami sample.
Ding-a-ling.
"What do you want?"
"Do you good, you loser..." "And with what?"
I wave' with the clearly marked Bel Ami sample
rum.
"Honestly, if this is the vintage version. which is'
so fucking "awesome..."
"Uh, Richie, could you... i mean, you're live right now
on perfume, I can't find that adjective straight..."
"What are you like? But ok, so then different:
the vintage in the shaker bottle '
is' like playing Yahtzee the double..."
"All right, Richie, we all get it, but trust me on this eternal vintage swarms or lamentations is not
particularly original or entertaining. Try
without reservation this version..."
So I spray him with a couple of charges from the 2019 to the
And let him have a few moments of your time... (Sniff,
sniffing, skeptical-looking...) I'll try
to advance cautiously:
"There's nothin I'd rather do with Ellena than this to screw up an icon...?"
"Nope, not that, but... what's he supposed to do? The ifra,
the regulations..."
"What he does best - a perfume that goes all around
works..."
"That sounds cold, doesn't it?"
"Bullshit. Does that smell like ice cold?"
"Well, no... rather warm... the citric is at first
not so violent anymore, the wood-leathery seems already
to come earlier, it doesn't rub between sour
and leather... tamer somehow..."
"But worse? Seriously? "
(Sniff, brood, ponder...)
"Definitely different..."
"OK, but does that automatically mean less good?"
"Yes, no... not exactly... let me think about it..."
"Just think... all you want..."
We actually let a few minutes pass.
Silently. Believe it or not.
"Well, let me tell you, he's... also... who sails around
all the cliffs so elegant... hardly any ashtrays,
but still a little smoke, softer, sweeter smoke, maybe some cigar ash..."
"Exactly there I see some points of contact to Antaeus, but a little bit different, at Antaeus there is more cigar box..."
"That's right, the cigar stays out at Chanel, at Bel Ami
...it's lit on fire for a minute... dry journeymen they both are, despite all differences."
"I agree... it's nice how we understand each other." "And there's some leather after the kind of club chairs you get but not crude, but sophisticated... and again and again clouds of discreet sweetness, but taken on the curb..."
"If that doesn't fit... the curb comes out of the
Horse world, that is Hermès ancestral land..."
"...and of course there's a spice mixture in there, too...
she's almost 80s..."
"Well, that's a compliment, isn't it?"
"Yes, in itself..."
"And he's still got strength, hasn't he?"
"Already..."
"So not a power row house?"
"More like a powerhouse with solar panels on the roof..."
"Well said, Richie! There's sunshine in there somehow no wonder, Ellena works in the south of France..."
"Reminiscent of a dignified English club you can
into the mountains above St-Tropez..."
"Exactly ...and the projection?"
"Not directly loud, but noticeable..."
"A hummer with soundproofing, so..."
"It's like a totally gutted old building..." "...even with air conditioning..."
"That's right, there's something fresh, too..." "And yet also flattering... Vanilla?"
"Report obediently: present!"
"But there's nothing snappy here..." "Nope, not that, rather dreamy..." "But a dream with power..."
"No fucking way!" "That word gets on my nerves so bad..." You and I are going to have a little silence again Des amis n'ont pas peur du silence.
Then I remember something else.. "You, Riechie, my friend, don't you want to give people say something else, so at the end of the year, something reflective...?
"Nope, you can do better..."
"Come on, they want to hear from you!"
"But I know nothing. Except I'm quoting..."
"Please, feel free..."
Now, this is' from New Order, from the song "Game",
gei... uh strong number..."
"Shoot...!"
"Really...?"
"Yeah, man!"
"All right:
It's so clear, but we can't see it It's in the air that we breathe in It's so close, but we can't touch it.. But it is here, and we love it..." "You, Richie..." "What?"
"Goose bumps!"

16 Replies

03/05/2017

7
Scent 7
Longevity 6
Sillage 7
Bottle

K1
121 Reviews

Helpful Review 3

Woody - soil - green leathery

Initiates a distinct sombre green vinegar'ish smell that conjures up impression of petrichor after acidic rain. With a hint of barbershop leathers it actually stays miles away from barbershop leathery frags, and while smells mossed woody and wet soil, Bel Ami remains so much higher than a natural or nature-inclined fragrance.

A never-showing-up-entirely leather envelops whole sharp astringent mossy top and warm woody base and gives it a frown animalic twist. It's a heavy macho masculine with kinky preferences! Strong longevity, medium sillage yet 4/5

07/24/2016

9
Scent 9
Longevity 9
Sillage 9
Bottle

Rickbr
190 Reviews

Rickbr

Very helpful Review 5

Classic Leather with a Fougere hint

An interesting aspect about the fragrances before the nineties and its simplification of the formulations is the richness in aroma details. Even perfumes that are even being adapted to current regulations continue to offer more complexity and nuances in aromas than many recent releases (provided they are properly reformulated, of course).

I remember a few years ago experiencing Bel Ami and being charmed with its leather, dense, classic, surrounded by aromatic resins and woods but with a sweet coconut nuance that appears at the end of its evolution and surprised by its lactonic creamy impression. The modernization made by Jean Claude Ellena which resulted in Bel Ami Vetiver left me apprehensive perhaps that the brand had also made the classic one a simple perfume, more transparent and more similar to some of the other Ellena creations.

My concerns proved not to materialize once i had the chance to use Bel Ami again in the skin. The reformulation that resulted in the current version seems to me to have a dry and serious aura and brought the fragrance more into a fougère than chypre direction, making it come closer to other perfumes of the its time, the eighties. The current Bel Ami still has the classic smell of drier leather, but not very smoked and without the sweet coconut nuance. I notice in most evidence the smell of spices and a combination of herbs and astringent citrus aromas, which are what shape my perception into a Fougere perfume.

But as I said at the beginning, Bel Ami still has a lot to offer and even at the end of its evolution is possible to see the perfume win ambery oriental nuances. There is a combination of amber with a velvety musk and a slight hint of vanilla that perhaps curiously brings me the aura of some current compositions that explore these elements within the oud theme. I do not remember if this aspect was present in the original, but it shows an interesting addition and matches with the composition as a whole. Bel Ami is like the perfume evaluated yesterday, Rocabar, a more mature and sophisticated creation and a scent that seems to focus on a very specific audience rather than trying to please everyone. Even reformulated easily beats many current releases.

06/19/2014

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Top Review 10

petro leather

In retrospect, Hermès Bel Ami marks the midway point between the dry woods of Chanel Antaeus and the gasoline slap of Dior Fahrenheit. The connection is leather, which both the Chanel and the Dior hint at, but the Hermès wraps itself in.

An intermediate species can by definition only be identified after the fact. So, here we are, after the fact, and Bel Ami deserves its niche, its genre. The woody petro-cuir.

Chanel Antaeus is classified as a woody fragrance. But it hasn’t been given the typical Chanel face-lift of aldehydes, iris and velvet (Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie). Antaeus is woody by virtue of the range of its notes, not for any affiliation with nature. This is a wood product in the same way that turpentine is. Where most woody perfumes emulate botanical woods, Antaeus reminds me of touching my tongue to a frozen chain-link fence at an outdoor skating rink. Antaeus feels chilled by virtue of an extreme dryness that conjures freeze-drying. Dior Fahrenheit matches Antaeus dryness with a cool hiss. The chill is the feeling left behind on your skin as gasoline evaporates, leaving only a brisk whiff as memory.

I recently came across two bottles of vintage Bel Ami, the cocktail shaker model. They were boxed testers that had been well stored and were perfectly preserved. I never smelled it at the time of its release but I wish I had. The combination of botanical and proudly synthetic notes make Bel Ami a large-scale fairy-tale of a perfume. No Disney back-pedal for a G rating, though. Bel Ami is an olfactory history in the school of historical oral history. Fairy tales were principally a means of reinforcing the super-ego, were deliberately frightening and worked by reinforcing irrational thought. Fairy tales told you, “don’t go outside the boundaries of tribe and kin, or monsters will destroy you.” Less specific, but equally promissory of harm, Bel Ami taunts with a smile: ”Go ahead. Fuck with me.”

Bel Ami plays with a gasoline note that Fahrenheit would eventually take to maximum expression. The top notes are a big opening and grab your attention, settling pretty quickly into the heart. The leather note in Bel Ami is irresistable. The wood and the gasoline notes set the tone for the fragrance and the leather is dry and crackly-stiff. It has the quality of an imagined leather object like a leather blanket. I've never heard of one, but I'd love to have one.

I've never tried the current model of Bel Ami, and I'm leery too. Vintage Bel Ami reminds me of everything that I loved about the early men's power fragrances. Vintage Bel Ami is not the shaved steroid gym queen of this millennium. It precedes the contempo-masculine poodle-tailored facial hair , and it certainly precedes topiary pubic styling. Bel Ami has honest-to-goodness chest hair, the kind you want to run your fingers through.

Fucking hot.

from scenthurdle.com

04/20/2012

6
Scent 7.5
Longevity 7.5
Sillage

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

Very helpful Review 5

Leather for the men

Now this is the kind of masculine I like. The moment I put this on and inhaled deeply, I thought to myself, all men should smell like this.

A ruggedly masculine man makes my heart skip a beat and this is the essential fragrance for such a man. Rich, leathery and clean. Bel Ami is the scent of those 1950's Hollywood cowboys. It's a fierce fragrance, not for the shy.

You need to like leather in order to enjoy this fragrance. For some, the leather note may be too strong, however I find it fascinating. There's a hint of sweet incense mixed in there somewhere too, that gives this fragrance a rather luxurious feel.

The heart is mostly leather, pepper, herbs and earthy patchouli. This combination is strangely clean yet a tad dirty. Bel Ami has an almost dizzying effect on my senses. To be honest, I'd much rather smell this on a man than on myself. The mystifying masculinity of Bel Ami goes to waste on my feminine skin.

The longevity of Bel Ami is very impressive, as is the sillage which will leave the air around you beautifully scented for all to enjoy. A true classic in my opinion. A fragrance that separates the men from the boys.

02/02/2012

10
Scent 5
Longevity 7.5
Sillage 5
Bottle

Lola82
362 Reviews

Lola82

Helpful Review 3

Bel Ami

Bel Ami the perfume with master class
the opening is well defined with Lemon with a mixture of dry sage and velvety
citrus note of bergamot dries the top note, the middle section becomes a bit
more spicy consisting of Carnation with
the herbal scent of basil with the nuance
of pepper Jasmine in diluted form makes
it's presence known and orris seems to
quiet the jasmine with it's earthy aroma
dries the middle with sharp ceder,
Patchouli is elusive and heard to detect
in Bel Ami that is perhaps the most
elusive note in this fragrance,

The drying down starts off deep resinous
of styrax with undertone of leather for
an glossy texture and semi-sweetness of
coconut then dries to an mossy
feel of oakmoss and dry vetiver.

Bel Ami conjours for me a vast hunting den in
the Scottish estate in the highlands of some
pompous Earl with deer antlers
a bear rug in the floor with red velvet
chairs a huge ornate fireplace
meticulous crafted ebony table and
a vast library of old books from great
masters on a dusty shelf musty in scent
sitting in his luxurious chair sipping
his blood red Vino in his Burgundy colored
robe and idly listening some
depressing violin adagio almost falling
asleep,

Bel Ami is for a man or for a few brave
women who appreciates the finer things in
life this is one of the finest cologne in
perfumery there is nothing
cheap or kitschy about Bel Ami they only
make the top of the line of ingredients
to make this masterpiece