Rocabar (1998)
by Hermès

A super woody aromatic of great proportion! This is pine, cedar, sandalwood--no, several types of pine and several types of cedar on a creamy balsam base. The dry down is pretty good, but the initial blast of woods is too much for me.

Woody, aromatic, spicy, herbal, fairly sweet — and a chypre. I find this a very appealing scent. Like most Hermès creations, this smells elegant. I can wear this to work, but it's also perfect for an evening engagement of a more personal character, dinner or a date; perhaps it would be most appropriate at an elegant soirée. One of things it does suggest to me is a night on the town. The juniper berries and cedar really take the lead with this. Lavender, spices and vanilla provide the underpinning and the chypre accord does the heavy lifting. Key words: Smooth. Elegant. Relaxed. Confident.

Spray it on and for the first five minutes, Rocabar smells like the most elegant, complex and sophisticated men's fragrance ever made. It's sweet and very woody, very reminiscent of Tsar. In fact, I used to wear Rocabar quite often about 10 years ago solely because I loved the top notes. However, after those first five incredible minutes, Rocabar falls apart, and its "heart" turns sour, cheap and kind of nasty. This lasts for a good hour or two, but it then settles back down to a sweet, somewhat powdery drydown, which is not terrible, but is pretty dull and uncreative. It seems like Hermes put all their cash into the top notes, hoping people will spray it on in a store and buy it on impulse. I really expect better from Hermes. (Edited from March 2009 review)

Very smooth, subtle (but still present), and well blended, it smells high quality. Has alot of pine and cedar in it. Although it listed vanilla as a base, I can't really detect it there. I think it smells like walking through a coniferous forest after it had just rained (when the wood smell comes alive). The new slim bottle is reformulated very slightly, the only difference I smell is that the pine note is sharper now.

Rocabar has juniper, citrus, and maybe even artemisia on top. It's cool, it's piney, and it's a bit astringent. In fact, the conifer notes in Rocabar have a bracing, almost menthol quality about them. There are also some sweet undertones which, combined with the pine, vaguely suggest anise. The whole thing is very clean and bright, like crisp cold air in winter. Or like Vick's Vapo-Rub.

Michael Edwards classifies Rocabar as a dry woods (read: "leather") scent, but I can't find a lick of leather here. If anything the base strikes me as a fairly conventional sweet fougère. Then again, what do I know? All I can tell you is that Rocabar seems simplistic, even puerile, coming from Hermès. It appeals less to me than any other pre-Ellena scent in the line.

The blend of woods, juniper berries, balsam and vanilla in this fragrance are distinctive and very refined. It lasts a long time and projects well. But it's what it projects which is what makes it special.

This is not a flashy scent, it doesn't scream for attention. It makes the recipient aware that they are in the presence of a fragrance that is a gentle seducer. It's calm, reserved and strong in a subtle manner.

This is a fragrance for a man who doesn't want to brag, but rather be appreciated for having excellence in taste.

As with most Hermes fragrances this is beautifully constructed, the transition of notes is smooth and understated.

It's the kind of fragrance a man wears to attract the kind of women who understand what the word "distinguished" really means.

It's lovely, A fragrance to enjoy for your own pleasure on a quiet day reading the Sunday papers. Or a fragrance to wear out for dinner on a first date when you want to exude quiet confidence but not in a flash or cocky manner.

It's a quiet masterpiece. And really quite addictive.