Vintage Tobacco: Chérigan Fleurs de Tabac

I grew up around old people, and as a child of nine years whose mother worked as a sole charge nurse in a number of aged-care homes, I got to know many of the patients by name. A bespectacled lady called Daisy taught me how to knit, a mute named Sylvia to write with my left hand, and Sam... well, he taught me not to smoke.

Sam terrified me every time he would follow me down a hallway with his emphysemic rattle and persistent wheeze. Gaunt and ashen, he had been a heavy smoker all his life. I would watch my mother dispense his daily allowance of cigarettes (usually three) with his medications after breakfast, but also knew he rolled his own thanks to contraband smuggled in to the resthome by other patients. But that was our little secret.

Right up until the day before I found him lifeless one morning in his bed, I would watch Sam roll his illicit cigarettes and would always indulge if invited to push my nose into his outstretched bag of stringy cured tobacco. It smelled pungent and sweet. Now, some 30 years after Sam's passing, I recall that distinct odour... though not by way of a bag of tobacco.

Chérigan Perfumers is a company for which there is little recorded history in the public arena. It was said to be established in the 1920's in Paris by a Czech immigrant named Ota Polacek whose Champs Elysées address was shared by so many influential perfume houses of that age. In 1929, no less than three perfumes were launched to the house's credit: Mascarades, Chance, and Fleurs de Tabac. Examples of all three perfumes (as well as a number of others released in the 1940's) still exist to this day, though they are found quite infrequently. Fleurs de Tabac is a wonderful example of the European penchant for tobacco-inspired scents in the 20's and 30's, and is the cause of today's vivid recollection from my youth.

It is often Tabac Blond - the masterwork of perfumer Ernest Daltroff and founder of the house of Caron - that is seen as the yardstick against which all other tobacco scents are measured, however Fleurs de Tabac emerges as a strong contender for the ultimate tobacco accolade. Whilst Tabac Blond was primarily marketed to women, Fleurs de Tabac was geared towards men; although it is fair to say that both perfumes seem to have a shared respect and appreciation across both genders.

Fleurs de Tabac is a paradigm of masterful blending. Without any olfactory notes to refer to, I follow my nose and enjoy a brisk citrus opening and am instantly charmed by a dry, smokey vetiver which swells from beneath. There is an 'unaired' mustiness that the vetiver brings and it possesses a certain 'olfactory temperature' that I immediately recognise: Guerlain's illustrious Djedi instantly springs to mind. Star-shaped tobacco flowers and jasmine tippy-toe over generous splinters of cured tobacco leaves, and a spicy warmth spreads laterally across the heart of this perfume. Here is where Fleurs de Tabac and Tabac Blond converge slightly in style (though the former lacks the punchy clove and leather notes that the latter possesses). A rich amber/vanilla base can be felt through a a light haze of smoke, and as the perfume dries down it becomes increasingly fleecy and powdery. A sensual muskiness reveals itself - one that can be likened to the sensation of burying ones face in the plush fur or hide of a magnificent beast. With it's final whispers, Fleurs de Tabac becomes a cas fortuit of carnality.

When coming to know this perfume, it is an important revelation to discover that Ota Polacek opened a second outlet after the store on Champs Elysées was established, and that was in Havana, Cuba. I would speculate that the raw tobacco materials used to create Fleurs de Tabac might well have been sourced (and even distilled) locally, and a retail outlet created to meet the demands of the Cuban contingent. Whatever the case, Fleurs de Tabac is a virtually unknown tobacco perfume which possesses all I love about the Art Deco age.

Although not having made a splash in the industry for decades, it is interesting to note that Chérigan Paris have a basic website, registered through a company in the Netherlands.

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Last year, following a gradual decline in interest in the written word, Sorcery of Scent transferred platforms across to Instagram, which makes for a more immediate means to communicate with my readers/followers with pics and information!
Please follow me there with the handle @eaudorangeverte to see photos and engage in perfume-related discussions (and witness the occasional video review).

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GUERLAIN - Les Absolus d'Orient : Ambre Eternel

In 2014, Guerlain perfumer Thierry Wasser introduced Santal Royal, the first scent in a series of fragrances directed firmly at the middle eastern market. Les Absolus d'Orient explore exotic raw materials common in the East, and 2016, Guerlain has launched it's second Ambre Eternal.

I feel - before I write my actual review - that the term 'amber' deserves some disambiguation. You see, it's somewhat common in the fragrance world - particularly for newcomers - for one to be bamboozled by the term. Here on Sorcery of Scent, I've blogged before about vegetal amber (i.e.: the hardened nuggets of tree sap, fossilised over many decades), and this is the component that many recognise when one sees the 'amber' being used in a perfume pyramid, or in a perfume's name. The scent profile of this type of amber is characterised usually by a blend of individual components such as labdanum, vanilla and patchouli. The 'other' amber, however, is grey amber (ambergris) - a by-product of the sperm whale which is highly coveted by perfumers for it's fixative qualities. Ambergris is formed in the gut of the sperm whale, whose diet comprises chiefly of squid. The hard squid beaks and cartilage that is not easily digested by the whale remain in the intestine, and over time, is covered by a thick, waxy intestinal secretion that grows and grows in size as the whale ages. Whilst many have suggested that the whale somehow passes this colossal blob from it's body (through regurgitation), the truth is that the process has never been witnessed and thus cast's a shadow of doubt. Others believe that the whale in fact perishes as a result of this intestinal obstruction, and when the carcass is eventually broken down by sharks and other feeding marine animals, the indigestible mass is released into the sea, where it floats for many years, taking on a richer, marine/balsamic quality.

The reason for the short lesson here, is because Ambre Eternal is much less the former, (vegetal amber) and much more the latter (grey amber).  This excites me no end, as ambergris interpretations in modern perfumery are scant, and perhaps none I find more enjoyable than this new Guerlain release.

With expectations of a honey-like sweet amber extinguished, one can approach Ambre Eternal with a sense of excitement, because it is quite literally like nothing you might have imagined. First of all, for one, it feels very Thierry Wasser. By this, I mean it does not hold any olfactory markers that liken it to the Jacques and Jean-Paul creations of the house... rather, it pushes forward just as one now expects from Thierry's work; that is, it continues to plot a new point in the arc that is the new Guerlain of the two-thousand-and-teens.
Ambre Eternel has a curious flight - one which instantly veers away from the usual Guerlain citrus/floral quickstep, and instead feels somewhat ashen and animalic from the outset. A spiced scattering of dry coriander and cardamom seed introduces an almost-instant ambergris / leathery feel... a sense of balsamic earthiness that immediately tells you this is not a(nother) vegetal amber interpretation. A very delicate peachey/ylang-ylang ribbon underpins the composition; never quite reaching the dizzying heights of Mitsouko et al, but rather, acts as a supportive strut to the composition, lending a light tenderness to what feels like quite a gruff, masculine framework. Precious woody notes play off the slightly salty ambergris, which leave a dry sensation at the back of the nose. But somewhere within - as Ambre Eternal warms on skin - there is a curious fleecy, almost waxy facet. It is warm, husky and very animalic - perhaps much like one might imagine the back of an elephant's ear to smell of. There is something organic about this perfume as it warms on skin, and this gives it a sultry, somewhat carnal quality.

Ambre Eternel ticks many boxes for yours truly. Not only does it highlight again that Wasser is indeed a master of his craft, but it also shows his startling innovation and incredible restraint. Wasser has recognised and demonstrated here that Middle Eastern perfumes need not always shout... rather, they can beckon and haunt; like the stirring song of a whale.

Ambre Eternel is available as a 125ml Eau de Parfum from selected retailers and on guerlain.com.

Hermes - 2 new Colognes, 2016

Be on the look out for 2 more scented reveries from the house of Hermès this year!
Eau de Neroli doré and Eau de Rhubarbe écarlate are set to bring some colour and zest to 2016 in true Hermès fashion: a pair of vivacious and bracing tonics that beg to be worn with abandon.
The former, created by in-house nose Jean-Claude Ellena promises vibrant and enveloping freshness, and the latter - the creation of perfumer Christine Nagel, boasts a unique red/green freshness which is both sharp, crisp and mild.

With Eau de Neroli doré, Jean-Claude Ellena's fifth creation in the Cologne family, he has given free expression to the raw materials and to the memories of his Mediterranean youth. Neroli, the essence extracted from orange blossom, named after the 17th century Italian Princess of Nerola, in fact used it to perfume her gloves.

"When I started out in the profession of perfumer", says Jean-Claude Ellena, "I learned to distil raw materials, including orange blossom. When you enter the world of stills, you are immersed in the scent, impregnated with it, you become it. My entire being was fragranced with orange blossom. To reproduce this sensation, where normally one uses very little neroli in fragrances, I used it abundantly, with abandon, as never before".

And to pay tribute to his cherished Mediterranean, to its history, its sunshine and its spices, he enhanced this golden neroli with saffron.

With Eau de rhubarbe écarlate Nagel creates a unique and bold freshness that is more vegetal than citrus. More textured, more marked, it offers a new sensation that reawakens the memory of inhaling the scent of rhubarb in the garden before its picked.

"When you work with rhubarb stalks", explains Nagel, "when you reproduce simple age-old gestures, the scent bursts forth. I have always liked the duality of rhubarb, both visual and olfactory. Its green colour metamorphoses into red. From acidic and crisp, its scent becomes smooth and velvety".

Nagel has sought to amplify certain olfactory traits... she sought a fleshy and delicate rhubarb, exalted to the point of yielding a scent of refined white musk. Brisk and invigorating, the act of spraying it on oneself diffuses freshness, and no more needs to be said. It is self-evident.

The two new colognes will be offered in 200ml, 100ml and 15ml sizes, and will also be introduced as part of the Le Bain d'Hermès line.

For more information, visit hermes.com.

N-Cigale sample winner

The winner of the N-Cigale sample draw is M.D - congratulations!
Your name was drawn on random.org as the triumphant one!
You can see the draw here.

Please contact me via the Sorcery of Scent blog or Facebook page with your details so that I can get your prize off to you.

Thank you to those who participated! I strongly urge you to check out the sublime N-Cigale scents and perfume presentations at your earliest convenience - there's so much to love!

Sincerely,
Dimitri

N-Cigale - Brief Review + GIVEAWAY

I was fortunate to spend my youth growing up in the emerald embrace of New Zealand... a far-flung Isle with a South Pacific lilt; one whose natural beauty is incomparable to any other country I'd seen before, nor seen since. Our small home used to back on to a national forest... a vast viridian thicket of curling 'punga' palms and countless towering pine trees. On summer days I would venture out with my friends and get lost in it's green. We would throw fallen pine needles scooped by the armful from the forest floor at one another; traipse through shallow creeks looking for eels, harvest hardened pine-sap nuggets from damaged tree trunks, and collect abandoned cicada husks in screw-top glass jars. All around us, the scent of the forest... damp soil, rotting leaf litter, fresh oxygen and the resinous green of pine. We would stay out well into the early evening until after the sun had gone, returning home only when the orchestral chirrup of the cicadas had ended for the day.

Now - some 35 years later - the smell of pine or the song of cicadas will take me straight back there. They are memories I cherish of carefree times, and I feel a life-long affinity with these two things. Cicadas and pine. Imagine my delight then, when I recently discovered N-Cigale, perfumers of Marseille who honour both with their exquisite olfactory creations.

Whilst regarded in many cultures as an insect of royalty, wealth and good fortune, cicadas have become a recurring theme in 'modern' perfumery over the past hundred years; their decorative form reproduced many times in flacons and boxes, particularly during the Art Nouveau age. Roger et Gallet and Molinard have arguably two of the most exquisite interpretations, the former rendered by Rene Lalique. 

Now, almost one century later, renowned decorative artist/sculptor Patrick Veillet has re-rendered the cicada for a modern age. Gone are the Arts and Crafts ornamental flourishes... instead, Veillet has conjured a stripped-back geometric interpretation that communicates all that is required with just a few lines. Veillet's illustrious career has seen him working with the world's biggest names in fashion and accessories, and he is credited with designing some of the world's most recognisable and beautiful perfume bottles - editions for Thierry Mugler, Gaultier, Chloe, and Alexander McQueen amongst others.... his wealth of experience has finally culminated in the realisation of his own perfume house N-Cigale, of which he stands firmly at the helm. N-Cigale is super chic, edgy and breaking new ground in design, perfumery and the decorative arts. 

To date, N-Cigale's approach to their perfume has been to explore 3 ingredients: fig, pine and lavender - but to elevate them to a whole new space. Frankly, what they have managed to achieve - in my eyes - is nothing short of spectacular. Three notes, each rendered two contradictory ways - one follows a lively, vibrant trajectory, and the other, a darker, unexpected one. These scents are packaged in exquisite lacquered shiny glass cicada flacons - each tinted with a different hue, and each with a stained ash wood cap. And, if these objets d'art weren't desirable enough, the perfumes they hold are truly inspired.

Below, a brief reflection on each fragrance in the N-Cigale collection.

Pin Mystique

The sharp (almost citrus) ecclesiastical perfume of resinous incense stones burnt in swinging censers... a whitewashed Greek church perched high on a pine and cypress-covered hill overlooking a sea of endless blue. A Mediterranean zephyr and the haunting wail of wind in the needles. Austere, yet summery - a sense of solar warmth and dappled shadows under the canopy of a majestic pine. Pin Mystique (Mystical Pine) is a bracing yet comforting olfactory journey - a sense of familiarity and timeless tradition.

Pin des Calanques

A fascinating study whose opening is resolutely citrus and camphor... it veers into a darker orbit with an underlying ribbon of precious woods, violet and husky iris, the sum of which evokes a sense of dwindling light at the end of the day. It is the hour just after sunset where the sky is a sweeping palette of pastel hues that run through the pink/purple/blue spectrum. The perfume of resinous pine remains as the evening wind picks up and sweeps the warmth of the afternoon off into the Aegean. The mosquitoes are out and its time to retreat indoors for a shot of masticha or feijoa vodka. Pin des Calques (Pine of the Creeks) feels devoutly nocturnal.



Figue Fresh

Brimming with a sense of broad, open spaces, Figue Fresh is a diaphanous interpretation of fig that feels somewhat weightless and ethereal. It floats under a sky quilted with clouds that are pregnant with rain. A sense of ozonic wetness and impending lightning. Static in your hair. This is a fig whose sun-soaked warmth is dwindling after a sudden drop in temperature. There's moisture in the air, and only minutes before the deluge begins.







Figue Orientale

An oriental reverie - the perfume of the Syrian souks at sunset - perfumed wooden boxes, sugared rose petals, tanned animal skins, sweet figs steeped in honeyed syrup, and the glint of hammered copper.
Figure Orientale (Oriental Fig) - to my nose - has a slight Middle Eastern slant, reminiscent of the beautiful perfume oils one comes upon when wandering the medinas and bazaars. A darker, more mysterious exploration of fig.



Black Lavender

A nostalgic glance back to a Golden Era - sequinned dresses and fringed hemlines, velvet smoking jackets and black shoes with a mirror-like shine... sheikhs and flappers dancing with abandon in the decorated jazz halls of the Art Deco age. This aromatic lavender is imbued with the smell of heavy mahogany furniture, face powder, floral corsages and a light film of sweat. A genderless, celebratory nod to times past where stuffy airs and graces were abandoned in favour of daring personal indulgences. 

Lavande Velours

Brisk and chilly, Lavande Velours (Velvet Lavender) evokes thoughts of crisp linen tablecloths on tables overlooking the Santorini Caldera... cloudy glasses of ouzo tinkling with ice sipped generously at nightfall. Whilst ever-present, the lavender here is blanched and crisp... almost unrecognisable under a freshly-ironed mantle of green anisic aromats and creamy tonka. The smell of clean skin, rubbed with light natural oils after a cold dip in the Aegean. Light, vivifying and cold.






N-Cigale is a welcome addition to a world rife with niche perfume houses and artisanal producers. Their beautiful boutique in Marseille is testament to Veillet's keen design sensibilities, and their vitrines are immaculately stocked with beauteous flacons, and cicada-shaped porcelain and jewellery. 

For more information, please visit their showroom at:

5 rue de la Prison
13002, MARSEILLE

You can also find them via their website at www.n-cigale.com or on Facebook and Instagram.

WIN!

Whilst I'm reluctant to let go of these wonderful samples, I would like to offer them to another reader so that they too might experience N-Cigale. 
(I am sure with time, that I shall be purchasing full bottles of those scents that have moved me the most)! All six samples have been lightly tested.

To win, just leave a comment in the comments field below, telling me which of the N-Cigale scents intrigues you the most. One winner will be drawn at random on Friday January 29th, and their name published here!

Good luck! 

Ne m'Oubliez Pas - New from Guerlain

This year, Guerlain Parfumeur Thierry Wasser restores the Maison's celubrious tradition of somewhat affordable luxury with the release of "Ne m'Oubliez Pas"; a new pure parfum creation with sales limited strictly to the flagship Guerlain boutique on the world-famous Champs Elysées. It marks the second release of an extrait de parfum in recent times, presented in a generous 125ml quadrilobe flacon... "Le Bouquet de la Mariée" - the first -  was intended for (but not limited to) brides-to-be. Given the pair's generous concentration and liberal fluid volumes, their price (from €500 - €750) is more attainable for most than their spectacular annual editions that often run in the high thousands.

Ne m'Oubliez Pas - to my mind - feels more like a harkening back to the House's illustrious history of coveted editions made in small quantities, rather than Bouquet de la Mariée's conspicuous marketing brief compliance. Ne m'Oubliez Pas, for one, feels undisputedly Guerlain... it draws an arc through points plotted along the Guerlain timeline since Wasser's ascension to the throne; an olfactory snapshot of the fingerprint he has left on the House to date (with perhaps with a brief nod to one or two of the greats of yesteryear).

Ne m'Oubliez Pas (Don't Forget Me) has a surprising fruity flight, though not an expected one of citrus and pink pepper... rather, it feels dense and dewy; a splash of the amber/peachy opening of Guet-Apens perhaps? Second, a rising tendril of curried immortelle, laced with spices... a dense thread of cumin and cardamom that echoes the dry wood and allspice of Songe d'Un Bois d'Ete. These notes are steeped in a rosy/fruity damascone plumminess reminiscent of the highly coveted Shiseido great Nombre Noir. (Here, we have a rare, fleeting glimpse through a window into the excessive creations of the 80's). As the parfum dissipates over many hours, we catch flashes of the candied rose in La Petite Robe Noire and Rose Nacrée du Desert and finally trace the drydown back to the amber / patch / vanilla toothiness that is evident in the l'Art et Matière collection.

Whilst on paper this scent may read as something of a Frankenstein's monster, on skin it actually sits in the register of the sublime. I can see no good reason why Ne m'Oubliez Pas will not be as revered and cherished as one of Jacques Guerlain's lesser-known creations. It may never quite be a Shalimar or a Mitsouko, but quite possibly a Fol Arôme, a Coque d'Or or an Atuana.

As one can never truly predict how long a Guerlain scent will be kept in production, I recommend you think about making this your purchase of the year. And whilst it may one day inevitably end up a Bolshoi or a Parisienne, one can never refute the timeless allure and charm of an exquisitely-fringed quadrilobe flacon. 

Get it while you can.

NEW: Olivier Durbano - Chrysolithe (Chrysolite)

Each September in the lead up to Pitti Fragranze (the international perfume and fragrance trade expo held in Italy) I find myself awash with excitement; overwhelmed with an eagerness to learn which new stone has been plucked from the vast repository of jeweller / perfumer Olivier Durbano, and has been fashioned into one of his olfactive 'Stone Poems'. Last weekend, Olivier presented the eleventh scent in his series, Chrysolithe to a very receptive international audience. Today, Tuesday, a bottle has reached my desk here in Perth, much to the delight of a very adrenalised Sorcerer! Chrysolite is a name given in antiquity to any number of stones in the yellow/green spectrum. Today however, the term which was once give to a whole cornucopia of gems, has narrowed somewhat to describe chiefly one stone in particular: Peridot.

This past weekend marked the 16th wedding anniversary of yours truly and Mrs Sorcerer, and quite by coincidence, Peridot is the stone traditionally given on this occasion. I'm sure Monsieur Durbano could not have imagined how well timed this release was; particularly as it has already taken place amongst my most favourite perfumes in his collection to date. It represents something quite unlike any other perfume he has released until now, and in fact, like nothing else I've ever smelled. Period.

Chrysolithe has been referenced in the Holy books of many cultures and is a stone linked closely to the Gods. It is the stone said to have even been one of the foundation stones of Jerusalem, and it is right here that the artistic focus of this perfume becomes a lot sharper for me. Chrysolithe - the perfume - I find, straddles the line between the East and the West. It feels distinctly French in its approach, but in the olfactory register it veers more towards the Near and Middle East... a fanciful jaunt along the mesopotamian basin; green oases in the sands; hammered Persian gold; bustling soukhs filled with viridian hand-dyed silks.

Chrysolithe opens with a sparkle of lemony-green verbena whose tartness is instantly diminished by the herbaceous spiciness of hyssop - a plant with a slightly camphorous quality. This is underpinned by a bouquet garni of cumin, black pepper and cinnamon which each lend warmth to the composition. A flash of ginger proffers a sharp 'bite' to the topnotes, and ushers in an aromatic heart of rosemary and sage. These notes feel dense and oily, but are broken up by flowering jasmine which adds a certain softness and roundness. A woody, earthy trail unravels, which at times - given the condiment-like piquancy of the top and heartnotes - flickers between musky and leathery animal facets in a somewhat astonishing fashion. Chrysolithe feels genderless and compelling... a perfume which for the most part in fact, defies adequate description. It is the perfect marriage between green aromatic accords and woody spicy notes...the sum of which surprisingly propel the author to landscapes dotted with whirling Dervishes, open desert fires under a rising crescent moon, and lumbering Bedouin caravans. Oddly - for those familiar with Olivier's work - this is another of a small few scents in the series that do not carry his signature 'Durbano-ade' of Somali Frankincense, but that is certainly not to its detriment. Chrysolithe - whilst a unique and distinct creation unto itself - does not feel at all out of place in the distinguished company of its older brothers and sisters.

In 2015, Olivier Durbano continues to prove he is a master of his craft, and indeed an accomplished interpreter of the stones that have enchanted him since childhood. Chrysolithe is the olfactory apogee of his hard work this past year, and gives rise to more exciting additions as he continues his journey moving forward. Olivier's is a path that is paved with baubles both rich and rare, and I, for one, cannot wait to explore it with him.

GUERLAIN: Dress Code - the ultimate refashioning of Habit Rouge?

To many, Guerlain reside at the pinnacle of French perfumery where they have been held in high regard for almost two centuries. Within its bountiful history, countless perfumes have come and gone, but Jean Paul Guerlain's masterstroke of 1965 Habit Rouge is something of a perfume pillar Chez Guerlain... arguably their most beloved and revered masculine. Over the years Guerlain have tinkered with it - reprising it in every concentration imaginable, and shuffling components in its pyramid to try and achieve a flanker that can come even close to its legend. In 2015 - the 50th anniversary of Habit Rouge - master parfumeur Thierry Wasser has arguably pulled off the unthinkable... he has refashioned this timeless classic and given it a new lease of life. Habit Rouge Dress Code may very well mark the Mount Everest of flankers... can anything shoot higher than this new edition whose charisma might very well eclipse the original?

I don't think I've been more excited about a flanker, um, ever. Dress Code takes all the aspects I love about the original and amplifies them... it creates an orchestral passage that increases in volume and force, drowning out the annoying white noise (those love/hate nuances) that dogged Jean Paul's creation. Today, Wasser paints from a palette that is partially his predecessor's and partially his own; Jean Paul's comprises vibrant pops of citrus and subtle tints of leather whilst Wasser's is rich with infinite shades of almond and toothy praline. The result... Wasser's considered reorchestration sees Habit Rouge galloping forth and leaping out of the 1960's and right into the here and now. Much like a museum-quality restoration of an old master, Wasser has removed the lacquer that has yellowed with age, exposing a colour spectrum that is infinitely more lively; the contrasts are more pronounced; the fonto more vibrant; the highlights crisper and whiter. Wasser has rendered Habit Rouge more relevant to today; heightening it's already-celebrated status to something stratospheric.

As with years gone by, if it is Guerlain's intention to release a Habit Rouge flanking edition every year, then in the years to come Dress Code will be hard to trump. To my mind - at least - it has achieved everything it could possibly wish to. It stands a head and shoulders above the L'eau's, the Legere's, the Driver editions and the Cavalier presentations. How sad it will be to crowd it and devalue it with countless more revisions, when frankly, Dress Code comes within atoms of pure perfection.

One not to be missed.

Hermès - Jour d'Hermès Gardenia

In 2015, Hermès in-house parfumeur Jean-Claude Ellena continues to stroll in his garden to find a guiding light; one which will transform his 2012 creation 'Jour d'Hermès' into a paragon of femininity and fortunately he has done just that. This year, his eyes have settled upon the gardenia - a flower whose narcotising and mesmerising perfume has won the hearts of millions the world over.




Jour d'Hermès Gardenia represents the dawn of a new day... a whisper of feminine charm laying just below the horizon; the anticipation of the beauteous sun about to breach the skyline before climbing in the filament. Illuminated by a single flower, gardenia serves as the backbone upon which this profusion of florals has been planted... Jour d'Hermès Gardenia is an aria to sensuality. Bursting with intoxicating blossoms of rose, jasmine and tuberose, they are dragged into the celestial orbit of the gardenia - a flower which has remained the symbol of womanly appeal for millennia.

Straying somewhat from the Jour d'Hermès and Jour d'Hermès Absolute trajectory (but still managing to remain recognisable as their younger sibling), Gardenia is resolutely more delicate... the sensation of a zephyr of wind caressing the skin, or the gauzy, diaphanous tickle of silk dragged across the body. Jour d'Hermès Gardenia forms a luxurious vegetal/solar halo around the wearer.

Already launched in Europe, Jour d'Hermès Gardenia will reach retailers shelves here in Australia this September, and as with all scents from the esteemed Hermès stable, it will not disappoint.
Visit hermes.com for more information.