Hermessence Vétiver Tonka Hermès (2004)

Bottle Design Alnoor Design

7.9 / 10 363 Ratings

Hermessence Vétiver Tonka is a popular perfume by Hermès for women and men and was released in 2004. The scent is woody-spicy. It is still in production.

Perfumer

Jean-Claude Ellena

Fragrance Notes

Hazelnut, Lily-of-the-valley, Praliné, Sandalwood, Tobacco, Tonka bean, Vetiver

Ratings

Scent

7.9 (363 Ratings)

Longevity

7.3 (251 Ratings)

Sillage

6.1 (240 Ratings)

Bottle

7.8 (235 Ratings)

Submitted by Sani, last update on 17.01.2020.

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Reviews

11/26/2019

7.5 6.0 7.0 7.5/10

Taurus1967
3 Reviews

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Taurus1967

Greatly helpful Review 12

Green-brown is the hazelnut

Vétiver Tonka from the Hermessence series doesn't make it easy. It's not a fragrance that flatters your nose and causes storms of applause. At the beginning it seems to be much too bulky and unnatural after spraying on, as if drunken hobby chemists had mixed something together out of test tubes standing around by chance.

Only gradually does an olfactory impression emerge that could be described as hazelnut or walnut-like. A little harsh, but definitely recognizable as a nut.
Tonka flows in from the side as a soft, cushioning element. The slightly creaky vetiver is also a careful eye catcher, which becomes more and more dominant in the course of time.

However, you already have mixed feelings here. On the one hand because you're unsure whether everything really fits together, on the other hand because it doesn't look so bad at all. The Vetiver and hazelnut combination has a bit of liver sausage on Christmas stollen or chocolate on salmon. Can be done, but causes irritation ...

Personally, I thought I'd prefer either more hazelnut or more vetiver, with the latter becoming more and more popular as time went on and the scent becoming more relative again. Tonka is rather such a mediator between the worlds, because somehow it fits everywhere.

As soon as the sweet grass has the upper hand with the soft tonka flanking, everything seems to be fine again. But all this time I was wondering how I should evaluate this experiment. He will never become a candidate to buy for me, but when I wear him, I also get a signal of a casual and unconventional attitude. The high ratings don't come by chance and so I can more or less give the green light ... but ordering blind would be even less advisable here than anyway.

11 Replies

02/03/2019

8.0 7.0 8.0 8.0/10

Meggi
0 Reviews

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Meggi

Greatly helpful Review 38

Bübü and we

The squirrel whose humans we are is called "Bübü". A name that only children can come up with - because it's a nickname, of course, we haven't officially gotten to know each other. Nevertheless we get along very well, we humans may even live on a good piece of Bübüs precinct. The peaceful coexistence is not a problem, after all, Bübü tends to occupy the area one floor above us and also shows no visible enthusiasm for land register entries. By the way: The mole one floor below us never imagined himself by name. A mole, so to speak.

Since Bübü does not come close enough to us that I could have obtained his consent to the processing of personal data (specifically: photos) pursuant to Article 6 para. 1 lit. a DSGVO, I refer to Article 6 para. 1 lit. f DSGVO and assert a legitimate interest in the completeness of my present documentary treatise: parfumo.de/Benutzer/Meggi/Bild/133580 und .../133741.

Bübü trained us to lay two nuts on the terrace for him once or twice a day during the sparse months. It gets it (with squirrels, more exact is not to be recognized without plentifully indiscreet examination without it) then sometime individually picks up itself up, after it has carefully located the situation from the swing-scaffold before; sometimes this can be observed. Usually we don't see Bübü, but the gifts are regularly gone by the following day at the latest.

Bübu's motivation regarding nuts is only too understandable. Concerns, on the other hand, could - and we are now finally in the topic - arouse my gradually almost obsessive relationship to the appearance of alleged hazelnuts in fragrances. But we are among ourselves, here in our support group.

My curiosity about 'Vetiver Tonka' (for the rehearsal I thank Garcon!) was awakened at the time by the test of Pal Zileri's 'Viaggio d'Africa', which is rightly attested to be close to Hermès. As I progress, however, I would prefer to make a separate effort with another sparring partner.

Mr. Ellena is off to a good start: After a short solvent-like start, the sourness of the vetiver (presumably -ylacetate, possibly supported by a splash of bergamot) experiences a downright liquorice-like lycra-like turn due to the added sweetness. Haribo, not Danish Saltlakrids. Nevertheless, the idea of hazelnut gradually penetrates obediently only half a minute after spraying, initially due to the continued presence of acid rather similar to a corresponding yoghurt - although this association is not nearly as compelling as liquorice
After an hour 'Vetiver Tonka' seems a bit soapy, harsher, less sweet to me. A persistent light cheese foot speaks indeed for a contribution of bergamot. But most of all, the as-if liquorice accompanies me reliably over the course of time and this aspect led me to a parallel test with 'Contre Pouvoir'. In a direct comparison, the differences are clearer than expected, although I notice that in the Brecourt Vetiver Vetiver might play an even bigger role than I thought.

Back to the nut: Young, green hazelnuts have an olfactory creaminess which may be mirrored by musk - if the nut idea is to be further pursued against the sweetened vetiver mixture. Hmm. Up to now I had hazelnuts mainly in natural scents, which of course bend around musk. In any case, the nut smells different here, less needle-sweet than yoghurt-creamy.

The creamy addition is the final point in the differences between 'Contre Pouvoir' and today's candidate, because it is missing in the Brecourt. On the other hand, the Hermessence also seems to involve a proper ladle Ambroxan, which - to stay in the picture - shares the territory with Vetiver(-ylacetat). It can also be used to diagnose a, let's say, sweet-creamy pseudo-nut by the evening. It is questionable, of course, whether this would have been equally recognizable as such without any prior reference to it.

The nut, the nut, the nut...

I wonder if I could ask Bübü for a favor sometime I could spray 'Vetiver Tonka' (or some other nut scent) on the terrace. If Bübü should sniff the stain with interest, contrary to expectations, I will never again doubt the distillation of hazelnuts. Is it a deal? Bübü...?

31 Replies

10/16/2017

RhythmnHues
21 Reviews

RhythmnHues

Helpful Review 3

The Different Vetiver

First things first - Hats off to Jean-Claude Ellena! I believe no one else could've done this. He is undoubtedly one of greatest contemporary perfumers and also one of my personal favourites of all time. If one could perceive perfumery as music - for the nose, then JC Ellena could be likened to a contemporary composer mainly influenced by impressionist masters like Debussy & Ravel but with strong shades of late romanticism from Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. He takes his main motif/idea and juxtaposes it with some dissonant contrasts while keeping it very minimal and transparent all the time. But at the same time he embellishes each stage of the movement in a very romantic manner choosing very traditional, pleasing, consonant harmonic ornamentation. One can see this across his compositions, especially for the house of Hermes. (I think he probably got the most freedom from this house in terms exploring of his own creativity.) And I think Vetiver Tonka is, arguably, his pièce de résistance.

Vetiver is a grass native to India but is also found in abundance across Haiti, Indonesia, China, Java, and Reunion. The oil extracted from its roots has a distinctively complex scent ranging from wood shavings, wet earth, fresh green grass, roots to ink, licorice, nutty-roasted sugar, and cold-humid air - depending on it's origin. So a perfumer is to not only know what material to use but know each strain of that material intimately well to know what works best for the brief at hand. For instance, in my opinion, the vetiver used here is Bourbon vetiver (Reunion, Madagascar etc) which has more of the nutty, chocolate-y facets. Using Haitian vetiver or another kind would've taken this composition to a completely different place. Ellena takes this main motif of Vetiver & Tonka and gives it a form going from nutty (hazelnuts) to caramel-y/cacoa (praline) to an almost burnt sugar accord. And embellishing this main idea is a touch of flowers (Muguet) in the heart and some soft woods (Sandalwood and cedar probably) in the base just to balance the composition from getting overwhelming. And a dash of tobacco for some contrast and probably to accentuate the dry hay-like facets of tonka beans. Utterly fascinating! It's light, airy, sweet and extremely pleasant to wear. Quite a unique take on this multi-faceted root. Highly recommended if you are open to a different vetiver.

9/10

1 Replies

06/29/2014

5.0 7.5 5.0 10.0/10

MasterLi
370 Reviews

MasterLi

The "Sweet" Vetiver

This is a good one. It's also a good contender for the best performing out of the Hermessence line. A sweet Vetiver fragrance that combines a nutty, almost edible like smoothness with the dry, earthy Vetiver root in the background. I really like it.

I feel that what is different here is Ellena's use of Tonka, Caramel and especially Praline to give the standard vetiver a nice "twist", and make it likeable to many people. It almost reminds me of a marriage between Lolita Lempicka au Masculin and Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver. The Vetiver itself here is dry and earthy, but is balanced perfectly well with the almost gourmand like sweetness of the Hazelnut, Tonka and Praline notes.

That being said, Vetiver Tonka is definitely not a gourmand type of scent. It has the balance just right between sweet and sour. I also notice the Lilly of the Valley note which gives a soft floral touch in the dry down, which slightly reminds me of Andy Tauer's Vetiver Dance.

Highly recommended, especially as a very unique and different take on a vetiver perfume.

12/19/2012

5.0 5.0 5.0 4.0/10

Drseid
690 Reviews

Drseid

Sickiningly Sweet Vetiver...

It is rare I find a vetiver scent I dislike... Unfortunately I have found one in Vetiver Tonka.

Vetiver Tonka opens with a very clean vetiver note, before quickly adding a very large dose of sweet tonka bean coupling with a hazelnut accord that really is the star here. The combination is wearable I suppose, but it is rather strange. There really is not much development in this minimalist scent, with the exception of a small amount of sandalwood joining the few other notes later on in the base. Longevity and projection are both below average to average.

I really don't like Vetiver Tonka at all. It is just way too sweet, and I think the hazelnut accord is really out of place. I love hazelnut, but prefer eating it in Ferraro Rocher chocolates, not wearing it with my vetiver. If sweet scents containing vetiver are your thing, I strongly recommend you check out Coeur de Vetiver Sacre from L'Artisan instead. It, like Vetiver Tonka does not really feature vetiver as its primary note, but it definitely is there and for less money it smells excellent; to my nose and preferences Vetiver Tonka doesn't. A very weak neutral here... 2 to 2.5 stars out of 5.

1 Replies