Martine

Full of enthusiasm I discovered the Eau de Toilette (!) yesterday in a perfumery. What a subtle, gentle scent. I can only agree with the comments on the EdT: mood and smells after a thunderstorm in the morning were probably never captured in a more successful olfactory way. It's all there, the freshness, the slightly musty-modgy, the feeling of relief and new beginnings, of cleansing and short moments of pausing, immediately sprouting leaves and flowers, steaming asphalt. The scent lies we a light cloud around the skin. As if you were rain and air at the same time.

Unfortunately only the Eau de Parfum was available in a smaller unit. And then I foolishly acquired that without testing (here the tester was missing...). At home I sprayed it on full of expectation, again ready for this thunderstorm miracle. Hm, it was immediately clear that the EDP is clearly different. Louder, more flowery, a little more synthetic at the beginning, far less pastel, although the basic tone of the fragrance is recognizably the same. That would even be pretty nice...wouldn't be there...yeah, wouldn't be there the vanilla...I just don't like vanilla in perfumes. And here it doesn't take long, and she is omnipresent until the end (with me about 6 to 8 hours later). Even if it is a very spicy, unsweet, elegant vanilla, unfortunately I have to part with it again...

The EdP is undoubtedly very high quality and interesting. A must for all vamilla lovers, more beautiful than vanilla galante, for example. My recommendation to test both the EdT and EdP thoroughly before considering a purchase.

Honestly, my advances went up and down. The first curious touches with Myrrhe Eglantine weeks ago in the store initially triggered rejection. Too sweet, somehow synthetic and intrusive. A strange scent, which had something sour and at the same time honey. I forgot him for once.

Then in between my sister reminded me of Myrrhe Eglantine. I had given her the little sample that had been kindly given to me. The scent is so soft and fresh! Really, I thought so Did I miss something? One reads something similar again and again about the new Hermessencen. He was a crowdpleaser, light and rosy, lighter even than Rose Ikebana, whom I love.

So I made a new attempt and bought a 15ml bottle. I sprayed generously at home. Waiting for the gentle fresh rose. Again a rather killing sweetness. But at least this time, at least hours later, something unfolded that suddenly appealed to me. Something warm, which I have never smelt in this form before, rose, and not spaciously, but close to me, like something that got close to my body and into my nose.

Is there something about this scent after all? One more try the next day. A little spray, and this time I intuitively did something you shouldn't do. I rubbed the scent into my skin. And suddenly it was all there. The gentle rose, surrounded by apple, delicate amber and above all something completely unknown to me, which is probably myrrh and can be described as resinous. I got it right at that moment: This fragrance is not a perfume, but a balm!

Christine Nagel has achieved something incredible here. A perfume that feels like body oil. There is something acidic about it which does not kill the rose, but rather highlights it and produces the much invoked freshness. Myrrh and amber (I suppose) make it all oily and resinous and give it what I think is a unique consistency. And then there is this real strange oriental smell, probably also the myrrh, who knows, which is really innovative without being too much. Not to forget, the scent lasts for hours and develops over time only more "balsamic".

That must have been how an ancient Egyptian beauty smelled! Well dosed a dream!

Vacation. A few days in Barcelona. I have all the time in the world to indulge in the scents of Cortes Ingles. And try some. My beloved Hermessencen (Myrrhe Eglantine begins to please me), the new 1957 from Chanel, also La Pausa, even Molinard fragrances, which I did not know until now (Chypre Charnel is interesting).

And despite all my enthusiasm, suddenly the desire for a "simple" fragrance arises in me. A fragrance like before, when I wasn't so spoiled olfactorically and could be very happy when the perfumes just worked well on me, like Allure by Chanel or No. 4 by Jil Sander.

My search focus changes immediately, suddenly I find myself at the Lancom stand. And reach for O d'Azur. And sniff something. Try O de Lancome, too. So, exciting. O de Lancome doesn't work. It must have appeared in 1969. You can smell it. But O d'Azur attracts me. I'll buy it!

I'm not so interested in the fragrances in the foreground, the citric ones in the opening, the rose and the peony in the heart note. I'm not even sure I can spot the rose as such. Anyway, it smells clearly flowery, not fruity.

As always, I am more interested in the plasticity of the fragrance. And I like it. It surrounds me a rather firm, not cloudy fraying fragrance field, with little Sillage, but close to the body warm and round. The "consistency" reminds of the fresh warmth in a pine forest in the late afternoon at heat. There is a lot of oxygen...and also a slight wood note, which is often very synthetic in newer fragrances. But here is bearable and fortunately very enigmatic.

You read O d'Azur doesn't smell intense. Seems to me that's what's wanted. Here the haptic is in the foreground. You can breathe freely, and yet there is something enveloping, warm summery.

All in all a beautiful fragrance with an acceptable shelf life (6 to 8 hours). A perfect modern interpretation of the famous O de Lancome! And an excellent choice if you want it to be something "quite simple" again!

I recently received a sample of Rose Ikebana's scent. Rose Ikebana is one of the few Hermessence fragrances that I have consistently ignored in the past. Because I don't like rose scents. And an unconcentrated test in a Hermes store in Frankfurt years ago left me with the impression of a watery, light rose water. I own and love Osmanthe Yunnan and Cuir d´ange and I was so far sure that the rose will never reach this level.

But sometimes it's different than you think. I sprayed a sample on it, didn't have any expectations. But suddenly, sitting at a wine bar, a stunningly gentle breath of hardly anything more than nothing rose into my nose. What the hell was that? Warm skin, that was my first thought. Somehow round and full, and at the same time fresh and slightly spicy. Simply fragrant!

I needed a moment to understand. So this is Jean Claude Ellena's rose tea arrangement! Brilliant! Both components were distinguishable by an exact "smell". But it felt as if the aromatic tea was darkening the rose over the course, taking away the sweetish-rose and giving it something slightly spicy. Anyway, it seemed as if he suddenly wrapped her in a gossamer warm veil. The overall result was not really "rosy", but rather material-silky. I felt like I could gently touch the scent. I was just so carried away. What a beautiful Ikebana!

A few days later I went to the office with the remaining droplets on my skin. A colleague asked me promptly what I smell like. Well, and then there was no stopping. Now I own two 15ml bottles of Rose Ikebana and don't think it can be ruled out that this fragrance will eventually become my number 1 in the Hermessence series. It is even more harmonious on the skin and "fuller" than Osmathe Yunnan, whose tea-flower-mixture sometimes unfolds in a slightly "scratchy" way. Compared to Ellena's masterpiece and the second skin scent of the series he seems even more subtle to me. And it is less prone to nicks, after all, leather, even if it is as velvety as the angelic scent, is not everyone's cup of tea.

By the way, one reads from time to time that Un jardin sur le Toit has a certain resemblance to Rose Ikebana. I think that's true, but it only reveals itself in the beautiful middle and final part of the jardin when the musk starts to play and the completely wacky compost notes emerge. A nice alternative for all who don't want to go straight to the top!

A last sentence on durability. I've got the rose there for up to 10 hours. As with the other Ellena-Hermessencen, the fragrance is not as intense, but at least with me it is perceptible for a long time. Stillage is very close to the body, anything else would make the fragrance in its core something else!