Bel Ami (1986)
by Hermès

An intense and pungent woody fragrance that made me jerk back my head in initial disgust. However, it does settle down to something warm and spicy. Although this would have been nice to wear in the ‘80s, I definitely can’t see myself wearing it now (and this is its main downfall).

I still love the re-vamped bottle, though.

[Original submission date: 29 December 2007]

Hermes Bel Ami

Hermes introduced Bel Ami in 1986 and according to many websites and posters on Basenotes was reformulated recently. I believe the bottle I have is the old formula because one area of agreement in the new formulation is there is more citrus on top. On me, the bottle I have is more a mix of pepper and what I would call cardamom but cardamom has a sort of lemon character to it and so it might be lemon but it feels like a dried lemon. After the spice fades a raw cedar note appears like a newly hewn piece of wood has been heaped on the olfactory fire. Then the leather shows up and this is a quite beautiful and deep leather and it lasts for a long time. Very slowly the well-balanced base of vanilla and patchouli mix with the leather and by the time all three are on equal footing the transformation is elegant and sophisticated. If the alleged re-formulation is more citrus prominent and less pepper and lighter lemon, like I experienced, I could see that I might not enjoy that as much as what I just wore. I hope that it isn't another case of changes made for the worse, as the version I'm wearing is beautiful.

Spicy florals and a deep sandalwood base. Sometimes it comes off as a citrus and leather but for me, it's all about the sandalwood. Opens up a tad off-putting with a bitter/sour lemon. I'd wear this for formal events.

What a wonderful name for the fragrance, "beautiful friend". I love it.

The scent itself isn`t bad either, although I don`t wear it myself anymore. To me Bel Ami has always been a borderline case. It smells good and fascinating, mysterious too, but at the times it can be quite offputting because of the weird combination of animalics, vanilla, flowers and smoky woods. Also, Bel Ami has a capability to remind me of Aramis, and that my friends is a huuuuge minus.

Bel Ami is very raunchy fragrance. It`s sweet and animalic. It`s very much "love me or hate me" type of fragrance, so I feel little bit strage giving this one a neutral rating.

Bel Ami is a big, spicy leather scent with a heaping dose of dark woods in its base. It’s neither so lithe nor so risqué as its lascivious oldest brother Eau d’Hermes, and it doesn’t share middle brother Equipage’s taste for tobacco. This leaves it the most staid – stolid, even – of the Hermes leather brethren. It’s a guy you can depend on, even he’s not the most charismatic one in the room. When I'm looking for a leather scent in this general style, I'm more apt to reach for the more challenging Knize Ten or Parfum d'Habit, but Bel Ami works just fine if you're after something more congenial.

An attempt to make Equipage more macho, or at least have stronger sillage and longevity by adding notes not listed on the pyramid that could be curry, onions, sulphur or mud. Nevertheless I can't bring myself to give Bel Ami a thumbs down--it's still too good for that-- and shall contain myself to pointing out that the earlier Equipage was better, though it demanded a bit more patience before socking you on the nose. Furtthermore, the early supposedly unisex original leather beast, Eau D' Hermes is still the best of the three. When it comes to leather, Mercury--or Hermes has been going retrograde.