Eau d'Hermès (1951)
by Hermès

I was looking forward to trying Eau d'Hermès as I had read the reviews here and have an interest in what are considered classic scents. The Hermès boutique here in Madrid unfortunately does not give out samples so I sprayed my wrist and went on my merry way.

I gave it a smell and was greeted with...horse manure. Not fresh mind you, which can be pleasant in the right environment but rank and vile. I was shocked and disappointed.

I could not understand how this got such good reviews.

I went back recently and decided to apply it as I would normally. Not just on the wrist with my nose pegged to it. It was a completely different animal. On me, very close to the skin and the harshness passed rather quickly becoming a warm mix of skin, butter and spice. It seems to me this is something that you wear for yourself rather than for others. Very personal and intimate.

I totally get it now. I also can't get it out of my mind.

A great cool weather fragrance unlike any other.

22nd December, 2011.

According to Hermes, this is original cologne is available everywhere, but I've only ever seen it inside Hermes boutiques, even in Paris. That said, it is worth searching out, especially if you like being the only person around wearing your scent.

Eau d'Hermes has been described as sexy, skanky, dirty, reminiscent of body odor, even a sweaty man's crotch— and it is all of these things, especially on paper or clothing.

But Eau d'Hermes, like many older fragrances needs to be smelled on skin. On paper it is all cumin and cardamom and civet. Sprayed on skin and allowed to settle for a few minutes, it's a warm, deep, mildly powdery holiday pastry, bready not sweet, eaten over a cookstove after a morning of chopping wood. Ed'H is a single drop of Ambre Narguile under your navel fresh back from a winter morning's jog.

On my skin in particular, Ed'H becomes cinnamon and butter and warm skin, like eating snickerdoodles in bed after sex. A warm spiced wine poured over the body or your lover, bergamot and cloves and first-flush armpit. And perhaps it is just the image of Roudnitska modeling this after the smell of a used Hermes bag, but I detect a some leather and lipstick in there, too. Powerful stuff.

28th November, 2011.

I wore eau d’Hermes today. Eau d’Hermes is my favorite eau de cologne. I think I wear edc for different reasons than most men. If I want simple, fresh and bracing (what I think most people want or expect from a cologne) I’ll rub on a little tea tree or lavender oil out of the shower. I turn to my colognes for a timeframe and a progression that grabs your attention when you pour it on, excites you as it fills the air around you for a few moments, then quickly quiets down to Something Else. Mugler’s cologne’s something else is that odd nose equivalent of a tuning fork crossed with a dog whistle. CdG’s Anbar’s something else is that hint of amber that would take you 12 hours to reach in an amber-oriental but you find 15 minutes after applying Anbar.

Eau d’Hermes’s something else is funk. I enjoy the decadence of stepping clean from the shower and inducing that wonderful skin scent that might otherwise take some sweat and a good few hours of ripening. I love the fact that skin smells. EdH just gets me there faster.

(note: I only know the copper cap version.)

5th August, 2011.

After reading so many positive reviews here of EDH I decided to splurged and bought a bottle. I will never know what the original formula was or even find out about the bottle with the copper cap many talk about here, as Hermés boutiques do not sell that anymore.

Now it's the same bottle as the "un jardin" series with a clear cap.

Anyway, at first spray, EDH smells citrusy with a heavy dose of cummin and cinammon. At that moment it smells like indian food and it can be repulsive. But, after the lemon dissapears, the scent finally emerges as what has been described here as the smell of sex. It reminds me of a sweaty -but clean- armpit. And even, and yes I love that smell, a sweaty -but clean- hairy butt crack.

It's sexual, animalistic and it's only for men. I can see men wearing this to clubs (whether straight or gay) and be hitted on!

Although it's best suited for a leather scene, IMHO. Too ahead of its time in that sense.

28th July, 2011.

Without question of the greatest perfumes ever made, Eau d'Hermes stands as one Roudnitska's ultimate masterpieces. One of the earlier Roudnitska's, within EdH lays bits of every perfume he would ever make as if it were the grenade that would explode into the works of his career. All of the themes he would later explore are presented in EdH - sharp citrus, subtle florals, animalics (civet, castoreum, etc.), and the combination of citrus with florals and animalics. Pick any Roudnitska from Eau Fraiche de Dior all the way through Parfum de Therese and you can find a bit of it in Eau d'Hermes.

Of course a perfume is not just a history lesson. Eau d'Hermes wears both comfortably and with the utmost comfort and class. Note this is NOT a perfume for newbies - advanced perfumistas only. The unattuned will likely not be able to recognize how much is happening on so many levels. If you are a newbie I can only encourage you to stick with EdH no matter what you think of it on first sniff. Don't let the cumin fool you - this note is soon lost in the mix and it wears like a broader spice blended with citrus. Eau d'Hermes is meant to be *worn* not sniffed on your wrist, and it will not smell right if you're just smelling a couple sprays on your hand.

From what I've heard the most recent reformulation, recognizable by the clear cap that replaced the copper cap, is not very good. Stick with any pre-clear cap formula and you'll be all set. For the person reading this who is already an Eau d'Hermes fan keep an eye out for one of the 120ml crystal flacons that have been available by custom order from Hermes boutiques.

26th May, 2011.

I'm usually into edgy, challenging, very challenging, almost stinky animalic leathery fragrances but I can't stand Eau D'Hermes. Please, don't blame me. I've been trying this fragrance countless times but there's something that really disturbs me in Eau D'Hermes. I don't know if it's the cumin or the incredibly noticeable retrò feel, but as a matter of fact my olfactory nerves transmit to my brain the wrong impulses and the feeling I have is of an aged citrus cologne that smells like bad breath.

Now I'm ready for flogging!

Note: It's me, it's surely me. Eau D'Herme deserves it status as a classic, but I still don't like it.

20th May, 2011.