Hermès Un Jardin sur le Toit Eau de Toilette

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

HERMÈS Un Jardin sur le Nil Giveaway Contest

HERMÈS Un Jardin sur le Nil is a delicious fragrance - light, fruity, and sparkingly fresh. I have one to give away for our latest giveaway contest. This is one of my favorite spring and summer fragrances!

Translated as "A Garden upon the Nile," the fragrance evokes the mangos of the fertile Nubian region of Egypt. However, it's so much more complex than those overly sweet mango fragrances that abound. It has notes of lotus flowers, shown on the box, sparkling citrus fruits (definite grapefruit), and something very green. There's a very slight woody note that comes from sycamore. Although billed as unisex, I think this fragrance is very feminine. From the moment you spray it on until later in the day when you still get a whiff, it's feminine charm is undeniable.

How can you enter to win? Just e-mail bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com and put "Fragrance" in the subject line. Please also tell me your favorite fragrance - the one you use more often than not. If you want a second entry, just follow BTiBeauty on Twitter. All existing Twitter followers who e-mail will automatically receive a second entry. New entrants who e-mail and follow on Twitter will get two entries (if you use a different name on Twitter, make sure to tell me in your e-mail).

The contest deadline will be Friday, February 19, at midnight. I'll select the winner using a random number generator. This contest will be limited to U.S. and Canadian residents (addresses).

I'll be posting this contest at Free!Grechen, a giveaway site you should get to know.

Good Luck!

Update 2/15: This is amazing. Every entrant so far wears a different fragrance. I'm loving your e-mails - reading about your choices!

Photo courtesy of HERMÈS

HERMÈS Un Jardin sur la Nil

Have you ever tried HERMÈS Un Jardin sur la Nil? This is a delicious fragrance - light, fruity, and sparkingly fresh. Give it a try next time you're shopping!

Translated as A Garden upon the Nile, the fragrance evokes the mangos of the fertile Nubian region of Egypt. However, it's so much more complex than those overly sweet mango fragrances that abound. It has notes of lotus flowers, shown on the box, sparkling citrus fruits (definite grapefruit), and something very green. There's a very slight woody note that's quite pleasant; I have read that it's sycamore.

Although billed as unisex, I think this fragrance is very feminine. From the moment you spray it on until later in the day when you still get a whiff, it's feminine charm is undeniable.

Despite the HERMÈS name, this perfume is competitively priced. Once available only in high-end stores and priced from $90 or $125, depending on size, you can now find it online at Amazon ($67.99) and other discount sites I see online.

I think I bought a lifetime supply when this fragrance was introduced. Every time Neiman Marcus had a kit, with a body lotion and "take-to-work" size included, I would buy another one. To this day, I'm glad I did.

Photo courtesy of Hermes.