The latest fragrance from luxury house Hermès is Un Jardin sur le Toit ($90 or $125). It's the fourth scent in the Jardin series that has captivated me. Rather than looking to foreign lands for inspiration, Hermès sniffed closer to home in a small plot of green on the roof of their headquarters in Paris.A secret garden, hidden in the heart of the city, in Paris. A fruity, vegetal, floral Eau de Toilette appreciated by both women and men. With Un Jardin sur le Toit, Hermès celebrates its deep connection with contemporary craftsmanship and invites us to discover its garden, a little slice of nature and poetry shaped by man's hand. Secret, hidden in the heart of the city, it stands at the top of the historical 24.faubourg building in Paris. A hanging garden, which surprises and fascinates. Wild grasses, an apple tree, a magnolia...A perfume of light and delight is born and offers a feast for the senses and mind.
Un Jardin sur le Toit (A Garden on the Roof) was created by in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. WWD said that Catherine Fulconis, Hermès Parfums’ chief executive officer, used words like “crisp,” “vegetal,” and “luminous” to describe the new fragrance. Un Jardin sur le Toit’s outer packaging, with garden green and white coloring, features an illustration of a Paris cityscape by Philippe Dumas, a member of Hermès’ founding family’s fifth generation, who has known the garden since childhood.
Despite the flowers that contributed to its inspiration, Un Jardin sur le Toit is very green and fruity. The notes are grass, apple, pear, rose, magnolia, and rosemary. There's some online talk of mulch too, but I don't smell the woody notes. Andy Tauer's new fragrance Zeta dries down with strong woods (I will feature it in a few days - just got it). This lovely green fragrance dries as itself - a charming green, fruity fragrance that charms in the same way its Jardin predecessors do. I have now purchased so many bottles of the Jardins, there's a retired Neiman Marcus fragrance sales woman with whom I had a secret joke. Every time I walked by her, she asked if I needed some more. I had so much Un Jardin sur la Nil, I had a giveaway contest early last year.
Is this new one incredibly different from Un Jardin en Méditerranée? Maybe not to an unsophisticated nose like mine. Is it worth trying if you own the other Hermès Jardin fragrances? Absolutely! If that sales woman were still there, she would be asking me if I needed a second bottle. I did purchase my Hermès Un Jardin sur le Toit at Neiman Marcus. I must acknowledge and thank Kathy Shoreman at Neiman Marcus for knowing I would love it.
Photo courtesy of Hermès
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9 comments:
sounds intriguing. I did not like Mediterranee as much as Jardin Sur Le Nil- it remains my favorite of all Hermes fragrances so far. Have you tried the new Hermes Iris Ukiyoe yet? I am curious if it features a true iris scent.
I haven't, Anna. I'll have to look for it.
My experience with "iris" scents is that they don't really smell like any of the irises I've ever grown, and that includes the bearded iris, along with Siberian, Japanese, and Louisiana irises.
I've read so much about Jean-Claude Ellena and his Hermes "Jardin" scents from Chandler Burr's excellent book, but I've never actually gotten the chance to smell anything Hermes. The scents and Ellena's story sound so intriguing, one day when I am a more fabulous and mature woman I will brave one of those Hermes boutiques and go sniff sniff.
Also, in my next life I would like to be reborn as a perfumer. Perhaps it's because my eyesight is so bad, but I have an extremely sensitive nose, and I would love to be surrounded by wonderful extracts and create new scents... Especially if I had a luxury sponsor like Hermes instead of working for a mass-market Britney Spears type fragrance.
Hi Rhapsode!
What book is that? It sounds interesting!
I am so sorry to hear about your vision. My mother is blind in one eye from a benign brain tumor, and she was always extremely nearsighted. She is fierce about protecting her good eye. It's made me appreciate my vision.
I think I have a sensitive nose; I must because I can pick out so many scents/notes I don't like. It would be nice to turn that sensitivity into a profession. Go for it! If you can create some scents, you could start to sell them at farmers' markets. Do you read Anya's Garden?
http://anyasgarden.com/
Anyhow, I have a lily of the valley fragrance oil that a dear friend bought for me on the Eastern Shore at a market. I adore my no-name scent! It's in a rollerball, and it's perfect for this time of year - really any time of year in my world. :)
I'm such a fan of green fragrances. I am going to have to try this out. BTW, there was a great article in one of the fashion mags about green fragrances(???--Glamour--I'm on pain meds and can't recall!).
I read some reviews about the Chandler Burr's book about Ellena, altough I do not remember the exact name. It seems like a very interesting account on how some fragrances were created (Un Jardin Sur Le Nil I believe is one of them).
I love the irises, we used to have them in our garden when I was little, so it is a sentimental scent. But I also was never able to find any fragrances that smelled anything close to the real flower. Hermes Hiris smelled extremely weird, like a vegetable :(
Oh no, Mama Val! I hope you aren't in too much pain. I know that feeling.
Check this one out. I like it - wore it today. :)
Hi Anna,
Now I have to find it and smell it. While it may not smell like an iris, I want to see what it smells like to me.
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