Un Jardin sur le Nil (2005)
by Hermès

Story became you,
Soft strange smell so distant, yet
You became story.

The opening is a very pleasant citrus, a sort of fresh tartness. I initially perceive it as a mix of grapefruit and orange, but after reading Chandler Burr's article about the creation of this fragrance, with which Jean-Claude Ellena wanted to capture the smell of green mango, one day it just clicked! Now I perceive it as a green, tart-sweet mango (not the ripe, sweet red-yellow type).

It then dries down to a green-woody, even a little bitter scent with a small touch of flower. I get a carrot note all way long, which is a very interesting twist. It's indeed a very fresh fragrance and the subtle bitterness can wake you up in a sleepy summer afternoon. Ieal for daily use in spring and summer. Suitable for men too.

The longevity is about 7h and the sillage is close.

Originally written in 2013

So what does this smell like? Chemicals. That's not a complaint - what made Sur Le Nil so groundbreaking was the way that something so chemical and abstract could still characterize a garden and fruit. But speaking specifically, this mostly smells like Cis-3 Hexenol (an artificial green grass/leaf smell) with a lot of salty Calone and some Grapefruit Aldehydes and probably a ton of Hedione, because there's a disembodied juicy brightness as well. As such, Sur Le Nil is extremely abstract - it's juicy and salty and green and sort of fruity and citrus, but nothing is expressed in a literal way.

It's interesting coming back and smelling Sur Le Nil now, after all these years. It's weird how something that smelled so groundbreaking and compelling when it came out now smells kind of, well... common. Here and now, in 2016, ten years later, if you go to a fancy hotel, their soap will likely smell a lot like this. If you smell the candles at a cute boutique, there will probably be one that smells like this. Somehow, Sur La Nil became the blueprint for the smell of products associated with upscale relaxation. It's not that it smells bad, it's just what expensive shampoo smells like now.

In order to fully appreciate this beauty, one must test it on skin on a hot day. Not a pleasant day, or a warm one-- a hot day. This fragrance stays longer and blossoms more fully in the heat. In the cold weather, it's a refreshing little number that sings ever-so-slightly off-key, leaning sharp. But in the heat, it's refreshing, fruity, floral and musky all at once. It works with and not against the salty smell of my skin in the sun. My favorite summer scent.

Road near Mont Sainte-Victoire — Paul Cezanne