Jour d`Hermes Absolu Hermes

Source: www.style.com

Jean-Claude Ellena said “I wanted to express the essence of femininity with flowers and nothing but flowers.”

Well if femininity is delicately classy florals from start to finish, JC Ellena got it down pat. I can't recall the previous versions well enough to comment on similarities or otherwise, but Absolu is like a glass of sparkling wine in the palest shade of gold. Wine of a good standard but nothing to gush over. From beginning to end about four hours later, it stays as a golden subtle glow about oneself, perfect when one wishes to remain unobtrusive.  Light, bright, sweet and dry white florals that would wear well for both the office and casual days, as well as being a safe choice for gifting, the luxurious flacon adding to its charm (as long as she enjoys the lighter scale of things and flowers). While I won't need a full bottle of this anytime soon, I am very pleased with my 15 ml, part of a set of four scents, my departing buy from JFK, along with Caleche, 24 Faubourg and L'Ambre des Merveilles. All in identical minimalist glass bottles, with their own cloth bags...Hermes really knows how to package their goods!

Eau des Merveilles Hermes

Good morning. Today I feel pretty drained out despite it just past the 9 am mark and also being a Friday. To give you a gist, this is what I feel like :)

Cholmondeley Oudry, White Duck

I needed a pick-me-up scent today and reached for Hermes Eau des Merveilles, which I was introduced to this year and am slowly developing a taste for, being more of a dark Oriental lover than a fan of aromatic marines( I know Fragrantica lists this as an Oriental Woody but I don't find it Oriental. Woody I would accept. Maybe Aromatic Woody?).

Perfumes from Hermes are the only reason I step into the store, the coveted silk scarves being out of my financial reach(and seriously what would I do with them anyway? I work with spit and blood, not in Vogue) and the bags I developed a dislike to after seeing them on none too classy reality TV people. 

After much dithering, I left with both Eau des Merveilles and Elixir des Merveilles, just in time for a getaway in Bali. Perfect choices for an island holiday really. The Eau starts off with a citrus blast without smelling like dishwashing liquid, it smells like when you dig your fingernail into an orange. It's a bracing salty sweet scent, not like salted caramel but literally gourmet rock salt and a tad of something that is naturally sweet, I suspect it's a combination of the amber/elemi/fir. 

It's perfect for hot tropical weather and when feeling under the weather. Sillage is good on me but longevity I get about 4 hours tops before it pretty much disappears. Since I have a habit of lugging the SOTD around, that's not much of a problem for me. 

So post liberal spraying of Eau des Merveilles, I will make my foray out today, feeling a little more like this. Enjoy your Friday :)

Certain Uncertainties, Christian Vincent