Reviews of Terre d'Hermès (2006)
by Hermès

I received a sample of it very shortly after its release and thought it was a bit heavy and generally unimpressive. I still think the sillage and longevity are almost out of control, probably thanks the oft-discussed chemical additive ISO E Super.

The opening simply sparkles and fizzes. I think of a freshly squeezed, icy cold glass of limeade. Soon after, subtle (pink?) pepper notes unfold and balance out what the blast of citrus. For me, the scent retains this general smell of freshing lime and pepper while getting woodier, dryer, and smoother. Not sweeter: I hardly smell benzoin here, unless the all of the benzoin's typical sweetness was removed and whatever mineralic notes that remain were used. Whatever the case, this scent has a distinctly natural, windswept aura about it. I do tend to go back and forth on it, but overall I respect it and like it.

The first thing I notice in Terre d'Hermes is vetiver, tempered with a very light touch of citrus. Dry woody notes soon follow, and I think that these, in combination with the vetiver, create the "earthy" or "soil" accord so often noted in this scent.

The woods and vetiver stay very much front and center, rounded out by some very discreet floral notes. I get an occasional whiff of spice and incense, especially in the remarkably pronounced sillage. There is also an unusual note that suggests ash. Not tobacco ash, and not smoke, but old, cold ash, as from a long abandoned fireplace. The drydown reveals quite a bit of conifer, which melds with the vetiver in a lingering "forest" accord that I find quite pleasant.

I place Terre d'Hermes as a cumin-free, vetiver-seasoned derivative of Elléna’s earlier Déclaration. Terre d’Hermès is every bit as dry as Déclaration, but it’s also a cleaner, less angular, and less aggressive scent, which may account for its great popularity. It’s still a somewhat austere fragrance, though very easy to wear and very unlikely to offend. For this reason I could see it as a really fine business or office scent. A perfectly good, if not a terribly exciting fragrance, and certainly nothing that I have to own.

The scent evokes memories of an afternoon rainfall over sun-baked red earth and scorched clay. I found myself back in the infantry unit again as Bravo company made that 20 mile trek across desert terrain to reach the rendezvous point. Warm, desert-dry and ruggedly masculine, TERRE D'HERMES is another fantastic creation from perfume wizard Jean-Claude Ellena.

Red hot pepper spread out over "dried"vetiver on a base of woods left out in scorching desert heat...i can feel the heat waves...not a hint of sweetness ..the image it pictures for me is that of a desert with those handful of shrubs/weed growing in horizon..an acquired taste. once you get it, nothin else cud possibly replace it...ahh well, Montale erd Vetyver just might, but then..

I've worn Terre d'Hermes for the last 2 years, mostly during 2007-08.

It was love at first sniff. The top notes of citrus are uniquely implemented, and the progression to an earthy accord accentuated by vetiver is brilliant. Ultimately its popularity might be its downfall. I will always own and respect it even if I don't wear it as often these days.

Quite a simple, yet effective presentation of a kind of "terroir" smell: the smell of a piece of land and its associated vegetation. The much-discussed silica or flint note here seems to me really the product of pepper and geranium notes augmented by dry, woody notes, though there is likely some synthetic that tweaks that into a bit more stony vibe. The citrus top seems to acquire a greener feel under the influence of these. Some people complain about sillage and longevity of this scent, but I find the base notes do a good job of fixation, even though the sparkling nature of the top notes does dissipate relatively quickly. This is an intellectually satisfying piece, rather than an emotional one. I can't bring myself to think of it as sexy, but then, they don't all need to be that. This is very good just as it is, when worn for what it's good for. Keep it on tap for cool, uncomplicated occasions.

It is time for me to revisit Terre d’Hermes; when I first reviewed it I had unresolved issues. Those issues are no longer present.

My feelings about Terre d’Hermes have been all over the map. That makes it unique among the fragrances I have tested. On my first wearing (2006), I hated it. All I remember is it was excessively peppery and I couldn’t wait to wash it off. Subsequently in 2007 I obtained a sample vial and gave it another try: and I absolutely loved it. This time I appreciated a potent grapefruit with a dry earthiness. I emptied the sample vial and wanted it for myself. So I bought a bottle.

But the magic disappeared. I don’t get the potent grapefruit anymore. Just an earthiness and a synthetic orange-like note. It is okay, but there is nothing special to me anymore. I have decided this isn’t for me.

This might be just be a horrible reaction to my skin chemistry, but to me Terre D'Hermes smells of three things:

- red dirt with heavy clay content
- tomatoes, on the vine
- stewed tomatoes in a can (with that metallic / minearlic tinge, maybe from the "flint" notes)

Now i'm pretty sure "tomato" isn't in their pyramid of notes, so I'm guessing this is the "pepper" notes hitting my nose horrifically wrong. And I get no citrus in this whatsoever, no amber, no vetiver. It's just clay, tomatoes, and a faint metallic tinge. As you might guess, I find this completely revolting. Albeit it has tempted me to rub some garlic on my other wrist and hang out in Gilroy, CA.

Dry orange. Dry dirt. What seems to inhabit this minimal landscape the most is hype and the fertile imagination of the wearer. Proof that less is not simply more but something like a mirage. Just keep saying "Jean Claude Ellena."

Dry Mediterranean soil and orange, great scent. Yes it is kind of linear, but it is also masculine and kind of conservative in a cosmopolitan way. This scent is truly unique.

Aw, crap...it's another Terre d'Hermes review:

It is true that Terre smells like orange peels and a little sand. It is also true that it is transparent: seemingly weak when you sniff the spot you sprayed, but strongly present from time to time out of the corner of your nose, so to speak, as you move around during the day. Unfortunately, it's a bit perfumey, which I know is a vague word that will cause some consternation around here, but I use it to mean over-produced or over-polished with too many ingredients, or at least the illusion thereof. I feel like Terre was hyped to be somehow profound and different, perhaps a vision of citrus and desert sand as portrayed by someone who doesn't live with those smells on a daily basis, but has only fond memories from a one-week trip long ago. I tried to figure out just what makes Terre so deep, and eventually realized that it isn't particularly deep at all; it's just a very Zen cloud of orange peels, and orange peels smell nice.

I just don't get the appeal of this at all. Its so dry it hurts my nose and its really very linear. Not that being linear is always a bad thing but this is just vile! Non pour moi!

That was not a mistake to listen to the saleswoman advice of duty free shop couple of years ago. It's really different, it's really outstanding, very elegant. Smell of the minerals, earth and inorganic material. Simply must have!

This review is under revision...

I really wanted to like this when it first came out , it had everything going for it ,orange,dirt ,vetiver sounded like something I would like;and I am a real fan of JCE's work and Hermes. But I felt he had dumbed down too much for the mass market appeal with this one,loved the top notes,though far too short ,then it started to turn nasty and synthetic on me,couldn't wait to wash it off,great sillage though despite the vigourous washing it stayed ! Ended up smelling like a hundred other mens scents on me !
The SA in Hermes told me it is being launched in EdP very soon and was stunned when I told her I didn't like it !!

Hermes Terre D'Hermes

Popular. When did a term that should be considered a positive gain a negative connotation? It goes something like this; I love Stephen King books but, you know, his books are just popular. Doesn't it take a great deal of skill to be popular? It isn't like it is something everybody can do. The truly popular seem to be rare things. When we downgrade popular to make it a criticism are we speaking of ourselves? Yes there is a fragrance review in here. Terre D'Hermes is probably the most popular fragrance produced in the last few years. It was created in 2006 by Jean-Claude Ellena and was initially received to a chorus of great reviews. More recently I've seen more criticism of it which seems to boil down to "I like Terre D'Hermes but, you know, its popular." I am going to speak in defense of popularity today using Terre D'Hermes as my example. Jean-Claude Ellena is one of the current star perfumers out there and he is one of the few who regularly works the non-niche side of things. Ever since he became the head nose at Hermes he has skillfully divided his creations between the niche-like Hermessence line and the the designer side of things. Terre D'Hermes shows all of Ellena's skills as a composer of scents and does it in a non-niche way. Thus making it, you know, popular. The top of Terre D'Hermes comes in on a citrus breeze of grapefruit and orange. M. Ellena has become more skilled with the use of citrus and this is an extension of the themes begun in the Un Jardin series composed earlier for Hermes. The citrus is so realistic it smells like the grove is just out of sight around the next corner. The absolute stunning aspect of Terre D'Hermes takes place in the presence of this flint note in the heart. This is an unusual choice and a telling one. The mineral character that this gives to this scent indeed calls up the titular "Terre" or Earth and makes one feel the ground that those citrus trees are growing in and creates a unique scent experience. The base of this is almost the trademark of M. Ellena as he takes the usually strong notes of vetiver, cedar, and patchouli and instead creates an airy mix of these three which does not overwhelm and instead complements and accentuates the composition as a whole. M. Ellena has become a master of allowing every phase of his scents to be allowed to expand and breathe and in Terre D'Hermes I think he has created a singular masculine masterpiece. If, you know, its too popular for you to wear well then, you know, you're missing out on a great scent. Which, you know, is too bad.

People say this smells like dirt, I smell rich clay. Initially you will get the orange and clay and in the drydown you'll get a tad bit of citrus, clay, and lots of vetiver. Being the fragrance with the 2nd most reviews on Basenotes, it would seem to be popular, but thats simply not the case in the US (It was #5 seller in France though lol), Macy's and some other department stores don't carry this. If real-world popularity was directly linked to reviews numbers on BN, than AdG, Code, Issey, CKs, and D&G Light Blue would dominate the top 10. Anyways, its not a safe blind buy, nor is it a clean fresh fragrance, you gotta go try it out. Its earthy, masculine (not spicy or sweet), and has a whole lot of character so be careful with the sprays. One of the top 5 I've smelled.

Bitter orange peels, red pepper and vetiver over a heavy base of cedar (Ie. Iso E super) and something that smells a bit like dirt. Although the cedar and dirt notes in Terre D'hermes are the most enjoyable part, they give me a headache and they make the fragrance smell very chemically over time. The composition here by Ellena is impeccable and people always seem to compliment me when I wear this, but like I said, there's some sort of synthetic note in this that bothers the hell out of me.

As I've mentioned in my review of Red Vetyver by Montale, that synthetic annoyance isn't present in Red Vetyver, making it the preferable one of the two for me. If you try Terre d'Hermes and you like it, don't bother trying Red Vetyver. If you like Red Vetyver but haven't tried Terre d'Hermes, give it a shot, you might like it. Finally, if you didn't like Terre d'Hermes, give Red Vetyver a try, it's smoother and less annoying.

7.75/10

Edit: Since originally reviewing this one, I've worn Terre d'Hermes a few more times and it's just too synthetic for me. I can't take the overdose of Iso E Super in it, let alone the other synthetics and that dirt note I mention above. So I'm changing my review from a thumbs up to a neutral. Nice composition, but not wearable for me.

The scent that made Jean-Claude Ellena a household name. Well, not really, but it definitely padded his 401k. When I first tried this on paper, I was unimpressed with the tart-citrus notes that came off “sticky”. Fast forward a year, I was at an international art show on a sunny yet cool spring saturday afternoon. Passing a booth of art dealers from London, I caught a whiff of TdH. This time it was glorious, classy and captivating. I need to get this, I thought. And so I did.

Breaking down the elements of the TdH, it opens with tart orange-grapefruit notes. On paper, it gets sticky but on skin, it's a orchard of low-hanging oranges and grapefruit near your nose. The citric tartness fades into a spritely accord of pink-peppercorn and bergamot. Now some people detect patchouli and the infamous “flint” notes but I can not. The pink peppercorn dominates here to great effect. The basenotes are a medley of light-sparkling cedar, amber and vetiver. The sweetness from the amber is very prevalent but never tips the balance to the sweet side. The vetiver adds the “Terre” to the brew that brings it back to Earth. I find the vetiver and amber similar to that in B*Men. Excellent longevity and sillage. In my mind, Ellena's finest moment. Not quite a masterpiece but a superb scent for those sunny spring/summer days that you wish would never end.

This is a very interesting fragrance. It smells nothing like I expected it to. It's striking and powerful at first, with the sharpness I attribute to pepper. Once it has your attention, the woody notes and citrus take over. It's a sharp, but at the same time strangely fresh smell.
The only problem with this fragrance is staying power - which is rather weak on my skin. Really weak, actually.

I feel too young to wear this fragrance. Perhaps if I didn't rock a pair of sneakers this scent would work out way better for me. It's very solid.

This is definitely just like what most people have described thus far. I get a very nice orange note at the opening that lasts for about an hour on me. This slowly melts into the middle and base notes that when combined makes a sort of woody, earthy note. For me, these don't really separate. I don't get one isolated from the other...it all pretty much runs together.
I like this because I can take in the majority of the notes for the life of the fragrance.
I couldn't possibly find anything offensive about this one; thus it is a great all-round fragrance for anytime, anywhere. The orange gives it a feeling of a warmer weather scent...but the warmth of the middle and base notes balance out so that it would also make a great cold weather fragrance...much like the smell of orange spice (I'm not talking about the Creed orange spice). I'm talking about the warm smell of orange spice from a candle or scented heated oil during the cold months.
This one is worth the hype in my opinion, but you really need to test it before you by it. Blind buys are a bad thing with a fragrance as eclectic as this one. Honestly, the best website I've found for fragrance samples and decants is theperfumedcourt.com; and I know they have it.

Great fragrance if you're willing to give it a try.

I really don't get the fascination with Terre d'Hermès. Granted, it's a unique composition but definitely nothing to get overly excited about. The whole rotten oranges and mineral combo is far too anemic for my tastes, and just leaves me wanting something more substantial.

This is yet another minimalist creation by Jean-Claude Ellena – a release that's deliberately aimed at tapping into the psyche of those who are gradually being brainwashed, by the mass media, into believing that smelling faintly like fabric softener is the way to go.

A neutral rating only due to its groundbreaking composition.

[Original submission date: 25 May 2008]

Aptly named, though the earthy notes were lost on my skin after a couple of hours, giving way to citrus. Despite that description, at no point did I feel as though I was wearing a feminine scent. Though it lasted the day, the sillage was mediocre or worse on me. While I've enjoyed my sample, I don't think I'll rush out to get more. Very nice, and certainly worth a try.

This one is the antithesis of what I look for in a fragrance, so of course I can't give it a positive rating. As others have said, it's dry, austere, harsh, etc. I'd much rather not wear any fragrance than this. If you have never sampled this kind of fragrance, do not buy it "blind" because so many BNers like it. I just wonder where the thought that something like this should exist as a fragrance originated. Perhaps with a certain kind of skin chemistry this one might be acceptable, but on me it's got the "bug spray" note going in full force.

Terre d'Hermes remembers me of conifers and sand! That's right, conifers!

When I was little we used to play outside all day long and had a pretty big backyard with conifers lined up.

We used to jump through them and play inbetween them, right in the dirt, getting messy.

Fast forward 10 years later, one spritz of TdH and I INSTANTLY felt like I was in the dirt between our conifers (which we no longer have due to moving).
This is one of the things I like about fragrances, transporting you to a place in your head.

Furthermore, yes I can smell the orange and I kind of get what's being described as minerals. Love this fragrance and enjoy this as a nice clean fresh scent that isn't so generic as alot of other "fresh" scents.

Thumbs up for Jean-Claude Ellena

I find this inoffensive and rather bland in moderation. Irritating and overbearing in excess, and I must admit I enjoy it best when I don't wear it at all. I'm a fan of oranges and pepper--and the house of Hermes but I can't fathom what the fuss is all about. Oh, well. Live and let live . . .

This is appealing. great all-rounder. its dry and woody; another one of those fortunate scents that are sweet, herbal, spicy coming together to be able to attract the masses. This may qualify as a "dirt" or earthy scent

Silly rubber cap which sprays a silly smelling fragrance. The ingredients don't seem to go together at all. Musty weird smell. Not my cup of tea. Thumbs down in a big way.

An interesting fragrance. Warm, dry, very outdoorsy, but more like the high desert than the forest, which makes it sort of a rarity among the fresh woody fragrances I guess you'd classify it with. I'm not particularly keen on the citrus to open it, but once it moves into the heart note it really starts to shine. It's a complex scent, I seem to get a different impression of it every time I sniff it, and I find myself smelling my wrists more than a few times when I wear it.

Orange, cedar, cedar 'n more cedar.....whats the big deal????

I cannot believe the universal praise this fragrance gets.

The opening is ghastly, though fascinating in a macabre sort of way.
A bitter sour orange is thrown at you, mixed with some woodsy tones.
The sum of all the parts smells really synthetic, to me it smells what blue colored pastry would taste like (I never dared eating odd colorerd cake, so I am not sure)
It takes a very long time before it settles into a quieter scent, so you have to get up early, say 3 hours before you leave the house.
And when it finally has settled down, it smells very familiar to me: a somewhat softer DKNY men, honestly it smells almost identical.

Yes Terre d'Hermes is more complex than DKNY Men, which is a very linear scent, but I can live without the bitter orange splash.
Anyone who likes the dry down of Terres d'Hermes should get a bottle of DKNY Men.

A huge synthetic orange note that softens and smells better on the dry down,
its long lasting and great for daytime especially in spring time.
I like it,its not something so special to my opinion to deserve being a winner
in 2008 of all and day time frags but its a fresh uplifting scent!

I purchased TDH when it was first launched and liked very much, especially in the later stages. The fragrance produced an aura of orange, salt and vetiver that diffused everywhere and I was enchanted. I re-purchased last year and pretty much disliked it. It seemed to be very dry, dusty and almost unpleasant. I can't really explain the shift in perception, but moved it on quickly. The average must be a neutral.

To me it smells like a freshly chopped cedar tree mixed with a bit of oranges. An old man in the best way. Upscale woodsman. Very refined. It's drawn nothing but compliments thus far.

I thought I was going to hate this the first time I smelled it. It was a peppery orange explosion. I wore it to work a week later on a whim; it has been at the top of my cologne rotation ever since. It works everywhere: the club, the office, hanging out with my woman. It is earthy, mysterious, sophisticated. Very nice, indeed.

I bought this based upon the reviews here and awards.

It's a unique smell.
Very citrusy at first with the top notes, but then as it wears down to the base notes it smells okay.
A bit refreshing in the sense of acqua/giorgio armani or cool water but a lot more citrus and oranges.

Unique. 4 stars.

However, I don't think it deserves the massive accolades it has gotten. Look before you leap.

I have never worn a scent that has been so universally popular with EVERYONE I meet.
I am always asked what I am wearing or hear "who smells so amazing" It's always me. From flight attendants to guests at a party. Even random strangers when I am shopping. This cologne could get your clothes ripped off.

It's hard to imagine anyone writing a negative review for Terre d'Hermes. I guess it all boils down to chemistry. Thank God this scent and I have it.

This is my everyday cologne now and it never disappoints. I have spent small fortunes on others and have a large collection but always reach for this perfect scent.

I stumbled upon this site and after reading a negative review I had to register just to say how prefect this scent is for me.

I love this fragrance, is masculine and classy.. you wont find you 18-30's clubber wearing this. I have bought it for my dad, brother and partner....can immediately tell when someone on the tube is wearing it, attracted like a hawk. Again another great scent from Hermes, also love Orange Verte. Hermes make sensible adult scents for sensible yet sophisticated people, Terre takes on many forms from inital spray to a sultry few hours later, always smelling warm, welcoming and clean and more importantly sexy and sophisticated. Jo Malone manage to create the same sort of feeling with their Lime and Basil unisex scent. What might put you off the JM is that Ant or was it Dec ( one with big forehand) described it in a recent interview as his all time favourite unisex smell!!!!! Hopefully price point of hermes terre will put off the younger chav lot from buying...

Maybe this scent is a great example of skin chemistry but I think it's a clear example of how noses smell things differently. I smelled like exactly what I smelled on the card. Fast Orange Industrial Cleaner. It was over powering and it was the only note I got from this cologne. Not saying it's a smell I hate, it's just not how I want to smell. It certainly is not classy.

On the other hand, my girlfriend didn't mind it. She said it smelled citrusy but had a hint of something earthy and fresh. She didn't particularly care for it compared to other colognes I wear though.

I know a lot of people like this one but I do not think it's skin chemistry that makes it different from person to person. I think a lot of people smell this one differently, so having someone think I smell like rotting oranges on a park bench, cigarettes, dirt, gasoline or bug spray is not a gamble I really want to take. If this is what you decide to wear, you will smell like industrial strength cleaning solvent to me, and I don't think skin chemistry has anything to do with that.

I'm scared of this fragrance. It's like a very sexy but abusive lover: addictive and repulsive in equal measure. It is a terrible bully and whenever I wear it I feel overpowered by it. I worry that it is too strong and may offend those around me and so I'm selfconscious about it. And for once the amazing longevity is unwelcome - after a few hours I start to feel sick when I smell it on myself.

When I first tested it in a store I loved it. Enough to buy a bottle. Which I am using very slowly... just to prove I'm not a total wimp and also to enjoy the dazzling, spicy opening. I do tend to wash it off after a while though.

Over ripe oranges, vetiver and pepper being crushed into dry dirt.This was the most unique release of the year 2006.

The first time I smelled it- it took me back into history and reminded me of my trip to ladakh. Summer mornings in ladakh smell like this....
An original composition like this deserves a thumbs up ...What does one need more from a scent? a unique fragrance which evokes a feeling of nostalgia, with superb longevity.

Footballers scent. Sits right at the back of my cupboard, alongside the Brut.

I bought a bottle of this on spec after reading so many good reviews. It certainly smells like old oranges in dusty desert dirt. And that bit is nice enough. I'm still not convinced, however. It's strong and cloying in a way that I don't love. I wear it from time to time but at the moment I just can't quite give it the thumbs up.

I've had this fragrance for about a year now, more than any other surviving bottles in my wardrobe and it has yet to cease to amaze me. Perhaps it is attention deficit disorder, or perhaps it is short-term amnesia. Or perhaps it is attention deficit disorder or.... Nevermind! This is my favorite citrus fragrance! I know this gets a bad rap by a lot of people because they think it smells like rotting oranges or insect repellent, but to me, it opens like a juicy bite into a sweet, ripe orange - hence the probable rotting orange smell (though I disagree). But this develops into a nice woody and peppery drydown. Yes, it is a bit synthetic, but it is marvelous. If I have self esteem issues, I would wear this not only because it brightens up my day, but because it garners compliments like no other (although that may be in part due to the fact I wear this more than any other fragrance). Longevity is okay, with approximately 7 hours.

The fragrance offer true perfumery splendor of mastery skills and is a real classy composition with modern appeal. TDH does have a sparkling nature that extremely scintillates.

There is wood & musk but what dominate is pepper (pink & black) with orange “citrus” and a clear hint of flint. I am impressed as what I thought prior to try is … “Black and Pink peppers with flint and benzoin notes may even crash a sensitive nose & senses”… but I was totally wrong. TDH is a composition that really makes you dwell in a deep refreshing aroma of Terre (earth).

Merely a formal wear for day time in summer specially.

I grew up at the base of Mt. St. Helen's, massive fir forests for miles. This takes me back home. A day with a chainsaw, cleaning up the broken branches from last nights wind and rain storm. An orange in the lunch box, some gas spilled on your boots, and smears of fir pitch on your sleeve. I love love love it. Not like anything else I've ever tried. I have a feeling some may not like this at all, I would say try prior to buying, but I'm sold.

I went to Nordstrom today specifically to try this one on since I saw that it won the best men's fragrance award. Since the start, I could smell nothing but the geranium and a hint of orange. I was hoping for a burst of citrus like John Varvatos' Artisan or D&G's Masculine. I don't know if my nose is hypersensitive to geranium but I've had it on my wrist for over 3 hours so far and I still smell almost nothing but geranium. My mom loves geranium. I should introduce her to this one.

I like it not for 5 stars, but 4 it's ok.
It's a little creamy for me and makes me feel older but a nice scent old man !!

A transparent orange and woods that is something of a paradox - distinctive yet equivocal, hasn’t much sillage, yet is frightfully tenacious, obvious but mysterious. It’s very linear; the orange keeps unpeeling throughout its life cycle on the skin. This fragrance is rather cloying and may be the most melancholy scent I’ve ever tried.

Despite reviewing my old notes, I simply can never remember how TDH smells. Consequently, every time I revisit it, it both surprises and delights me. On the trampoline of top notes, it is the pepper that bounces the highest, and grabs all the attention. Thankfully things settle fairly quickly, and the candied orange and pot-pourri accord that this fragrance is famed for steers the drydown into a dirty but warm base. I liked this a lot, firstly because it evolves continually until it's expiration, and secondly, it is edgy and full of character,

This the most wonderful fragrance I have ever owned! Comments from woman and men alike. Definitely sophisticated. Very longwearing!

I really like this fragrance, it's too bad that most of the people I hang out with do not. It's a fiery, earthy scent that has a citrus skeleton to it. It's a light, but long lasting cologne and is good for daytime stuff, but not really for the office. It's an outdoor scent. I think of a hike in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado when I smell this.

It ain't too scientific, I know, but a quick scan of 185 reviews probably won't convince anyone that fragrances smell about the same on everyone regardless of skin chemistry--at least if you assume that people who care enough about fragrances to spend time reviewing them are able to discern TdH's listed notes from bug spray, straight snadalwood oil, lime candy, cigarettes, dirt, rotting oranges on park benches, gasoline, or plastic. As interesting as it would be to smell any of the above in TdH, I have no suck luck. What I get is pretty typical turn of the Century citrus/wood stuff: a perfecly pleasant orange opening, a faint tinge of something metallic wehen the citrus burns off and a bit of vetiver along with very usual woods. Guess I have boring skin, a dead nose or, most likely, both. But if the day ever arrives when I can't possibly risk offending anyone's nose, I will confidently wear Terre d'Hermes.

For some reason I keep being drawn to these Ginger accords.

It often seems to catch my eye on the shelf. I put on some protection, I do it one more time, and I am disappointed again.

There is a reason this one seems to be the leading fragrance on the "For Sale" thread here on Basenotes.

I think it would be much more pleasant that if instead, someone could put Mary Ann in a bottle...

I just don't get the hype. The scent never develops; from minute 1 to 1000 it's exactly the same: dirty orange synthetic gasoline.
It does not jive with my skin AT ALL. I kept trying to come back to it, but I have never been happy with it.

While I was vacationing in France this winter, it seemed as if every other young guy passing by was wearing Terre d'Hermes. It got played out really quickly.

This scent might be cutting-edge and popular, but I cannot see it being in production for much longer.

After first trying a sample of this, I knew it was for me. From the bursting peppered orange opening to the vetiver, black pepper, woody dry down. I love it. It smells both fresh and mysterious, refreshing yet brooding.

The first time I smelt this cologne, it reminded me of something an older man would wear. Had that old school, spicy gasoline smell to it. I put the scent strip down and went on my way.

It wasn't until I was in Las Vegas at the Hermes store, that I changed my mind. I decided to test it on my skin and was extremely impressed. My girlfriend kept commenting on how much she loved it and that I should get it.

So I decided to get a sample to wear a few times to see how much I liked it over time. Sure enough, the more I wore it, the more I fell in love with this masterpiece.

I finally bought TDH for a great deal off the net and wear it on special occassions. This is my favorite scent that I own. It is also my gf's favorite. She goes nuts when I wear it. It's a very powerful masculine scent that goes a long way on my skin. It all depends on your skin type. If you have moisturized skin, you only need one of two sprays of this. If you have dry skin, you'll need more. I have never needed to reapply this scent.

This isn't a very personal scent IMO. I would say its quite out there as an expression when you wear it. People will know you are wearing something and hopefully they'll like it.

The best part of this fragrance is peoples initial reaction when they smell it in a store. They think, "old man" and move onto something else. The thing they don't know is how amazing it smells when its applied to skin.

I can't say enough about this fragrance. Truly a legend, and will always be in my collection.

Wow. Way too strong for me, it makes me sick. I can't get past the plastic/synthetic smell in this.

LOL, I can't believe this won the Best Fragrance for Men in the 2008 Basenotes awards! I recently found this site, and yesterday I made a list of fragrances to try based on the award winners. So I went to the Hermes shop this morning and decided to check this one out. It smelled good on the test paper, and also had an interesting citrus smell on my skin at first. Maybe 20 minutes after I sprayed it on I was sitting at a dining table waiting for my lunch to arrive with my chin propped up on one hand. I soon found myself thinking, "I smell insect repellant." I had to laugh when I remembered that I had sprayed on the Terre d'Hermes and realized that's what I was smelling! In my view, "expensive insect repellant" really is the best way to describe this fragrance. The color even matches!

This really smells no different than $5 sandalwood oil that street vendors sell along with incense and cheap romance novels. It's not a bad scent, but it's not really special in any way.

New to the world of fragrance, this was only the second scent I bought. A blind buy based on the ratings the scent received, I was not disappointed. The opening is very strong and almost to 'old' for me, however the scent becomes much more appealing and modern as it progresses.

I really life this one except for some kind of slight lingering petroleum note that kind of bugs me. Its definitely a different unique fragrance that makes you feel warm and cozy.
I can't really find too much fault with it and always recieve complements. I like masculine and unique scents and this fits the bill. I recently discovered F pour Homme by Salvadore Ferragamo and realized it is Terre's twin sister. It manages to smell almost identical to Terre without the stronger offending elements and has become one of my favorites.

How could anyone actually like this stuff! The guy below got it all WRONG this stuff does absolutely not smell anything like navel oranges! This crap just Flat Out Stinks!!! I had one girl tell me if I ever wore it around her she would PUKE!!! The actual smell of this poison is Pickles and Wet Naps! I bought this blindly due to the good reviews but I wore it once and it still gives me nightmares.

Two Thumbs Up !!!!


This is a modern classic. Very sophisticated, complex, but still has a young lively spirit built in to it. It is fresh and depth, a combination works wonderfully. It is great to wear to work and other occasions as well.


Good job Hermes!

The drydown is the closest to a masterpiece that I've ever smelled. An elegant orange wood.

The ad of this fantastic fragrance gives quite a nice idea. It smells of soil, a very red and peppery one.

I would classify this as a natural/outdoor scent. It really does not smell synthetic.

The best aspect is that is quickly mixes with your body and smells like your own body's natural odor.

I would recommend this top quality fragrance for those who want a natural, unique and masterfully composed fragrance

Very unique. Nothing smells like it in my experience. Very unique and versatile. Can be used on most occasions. I wouldn't use it on very formal occasions, but just about every other format its a go. Especially nice after a day on the beach after a nice hot shower. Also works for all ages. When I first got hold of it I couldn't stop smelling it. Very addictive. Remember wear it light so theres no overkill. The dry down does not change a lot but it really doesn't have to as it smells great when it first goes on. Not much sillage, and above average staying power. I love it for its originality.

Here's a tip for this amazing, masculine, clean, enigmatic juice: if you have oily skin, don't wear it or wear very little. Same goes for hot weather. Its real brilliance is in the drydown, where the benzoin, cedar and patchouli meld into natural beauty - warm rocks, cool breezes, plants, etc...
So this is best worn in colder weather on people who have less oily skin. Otherwise, that rotten, cloying thing happens and people around you will not want to come too close
This is one of the most amazingly transparent, linear, non-gross feminine "Male" EDTs (like Bond or Creed) out there right now.

I am pretty new here, but so far, Terre D'Hermes is one of my two favorite frags. The other one so far is Encre Noire. The things I like about TDH: On me, it is a very distinctive scent - I cannot remember smelling anything like it. I like the longevity, and I never get tired of smelling it. It is also light enough that I can wear it at the office. I do not personally like scents that are too musky, and TDH is good in this regard; nice and fresh smelling. So, thumbs up!

This fragrance really surprised me, is one of the best I ´d tried lately. Woody,vetiver and cedar with a continous bitter orange note. Clean but also complex, Terre d´Hermes have all to be a new classic. Great masculine scent,

This one is top-notch. The longevity is also excellent and the fragrance goes through different transformations throughout the drydown. I really love this one and it is one that I wear and will continue to wear often. The store testers can be misleading because they are exposed to heat and light so the juice may not smell like it is intended to. When first testing this one at the store all I got is some kind of orange and not much else. I tried this at two stores and it was not on the same level as my bottle. If you get a bottle that has been stored in good conditions then expect to be impressed by this beauty. Of course there will be those who will not like it even if they try a good bottle. I love it!

Sprayed some on my wrist while shopping the other day. Although I was already wearing another scent, I kept smelling my wrist. Couldn't get enough of it. Through the evening and into the night I kept bringing my wrist to my nose, intrigued more and more. It has a sort of decaying forest smell, natural and seductive, very earthy (as the name implies). I had to get a bottle. Glad I did.

Fantastic fragrance, it completely deserves the best of the year title. Very strong at the beginning, remembers Burberry Britt, but the end is less sweet, more uniform. It has a bit of Declaration, but lasts longer, and also remembers, far away, Sables. Beginning is a bit stronger than I like, so I recommend wearing more than one hour before going out, unless you want to appear too much.

An amazing balance between woods, citrus and hint of spices. I personally not into spicey fragrances,but this one is superb. Opening is very similiar to Un Jardin en Méditerranée , but this one is more strong and less smokey. After it settles down, changes to a wonderful blend. It smells "modern" from top to bottom. One of the most significant scents that i own.

Amazing part it even it is heavy on the woods, but not an evening wear. Perfect for casual. I think this is what makes Terre d'Hermès a masterpiece. Odd combination but still feeling safe, every time i wear it at least one person complimanted. Bullseye :)

Hi, hello, everyone - all around the World - concerned with scents!

It's my 1st. post here - helas I would prefer a positive one BUT regarding TdH I just cannot! IMHO - and of corse in my skin - it starts confusing, it goes dirt and it ends up so strongly oriental/spicy that reminds me the heavy religious church ambiance of my childhood - and it sticks so heavy in my skin that is impossible to wear. Of corse I must state that I found a curious similarity between perfums and Port Wine: being good or not good is not the point. The point is ONE'S CHEMESTRY and there are superb Port Wines (those aged...) that I my stomach can't stand, on the other hand there are young PW that I love (LBV's and Vintages, or even Vintage Character's) SO similar things happen with scents...!!!
Sorry - can't stand Terre d'Hermès.

Not bad, but it would be so much better if it did have some real earthiness. The subtle, dusty floral notes are good but the citrus and pepper are far too sharp and shrill, and there doesn't seem to be enough wood to balance it all out. I guess I wanted it to be a bit deeper and dirtier.

Already a classic. Has gained the admiration of conneissaurs as well as the big sales.

To me it`s just one of those "nice" scents, meaning, I think it`s very pleasant wear and very well made, but without any shaking under my feets.

Smells very natural, not artificial in a slightest bit, and it fits in every situation all year round. Another wonderful choice if you want to use only one scent during the days, without any rotation or collection of different kind of fragrances. In this case I suggest you to get those supporting products in whole.

Good stuff, but too vague for me personally.

This is a wonderful creation.very unique formula never smelled anything like it.i somehow agree with the comment of jenson like red hot pepper spread over vetiver on base of woods left to dry out in scorching desert heat.but i fell there are some green notes at the base which u will feel wonderful change from top to end.i agree this is a sillage beast nad don't be too trigger happy with it.not more than 4 spritzes and it will be all good.the staying power is equivalent to chanel.i think its an occasional scent.great addition for my perfume wardrobe.i have received lots of compliments.

Well, how can I best describe this fragrance. Ok, bear with me, by a bag of navel oranges, making sure there are some over ripe ones included. Now peel all the oranges without worrying too much about the peel oil spraying on you (that's actually essential). Once done, don't wash your hands (or face, depending how close you peeled them). Let dry e voila, Terre d'Hermes. This will save you $50 and doesn't come with the additional desinfectant scent of the original.

The opening is very earthy and hits you hard; sharp, green notes of what I thought was pine (cedar and vetiver). As it settles, the evergreen mellows a little, and the scent begins to become much more complicated; there is a prominent note of orange, and TdH becomes markedly sweeter, though the orange note is intensely bitter. It's much like the taste of orange peel, if you've ever bitten hard into it, though it is still very sweet and earthy.
Evergreen notes become more prominent as the citrus slowly fades away. The drydown is a sort of mix of the opening and heart, I find.

It lasts forever, and it leaves a very nice smell on your clothes, unlike some other scents that should never be sprayed anywhere near textiles.

I got hooked on earthy, woody scents when I first smelled polo a few years ago. I loved Polo, but I couldn't get over its medicinal quality. Terre D'Hermes is thankfully free of that acrid medicinal stink.

Very nicely blended, great fragrance. Not too sweet not too fresh

very orange feeling from the first spray

but after 30 minute or so,

it become nice orange'

i'm from malaysia where then wheater is very hot,

therefor this perfume is just the right 4 me...................

hmmmm i feel like boxer knocked out by.... pepper. pepper, pepper and some orange. it makes me dizzy

Very masculine and virile parfum. Without a doubt I recommend this fragrance!

Spice caravan on a wet dirt road. My mind has gone wandering into where the guy wearing this may have been. Mmm.

WOW i love this one! It's a real pulling scent and always has every one wanting to nuzzle in to my neck! There's not a single note in this that doesn't go well with my chemistry. And to the person that says not to expect to smell sexy with this - your so wrong! If i could give this a double thumbs up I would

Believe the hype (mostly). But be aware that this is a special type of fragrance that won’t appeal to everyone. It’s very subdued, very earthy. Even with the supposedly “rotten” oranges (which to me do not smell so), it is a clean fragrance. But it is not over-powering. And during the dry-down, it seems to all but disappear, leaving only a faint wisp of spices, orange, and something sweet. It is a weak fragrance, and this is a weakness that can’t be overcome with extra sprays (which brings about the dreaded “cloying” adjective). If it were stronger and longer lasting, I would consider it one of the best colognes I’ve ever tried.

I do not find Terre d'Hermes hard to wear. It is a fragrance that I use regularly, because to me, it is a very safe scent. I get a 'professional' feel from the scent. I think the name is a misnomer though. I was expecting something like L'air du Desert Marocain, but there is no earth, sand, rock or coal at all. I get bergamot, but not at all the 'rotten orange' that some other members have described. The benzoin is obvious during drydown. Good longevity.

This is a nice frag that starts out on the bright side IMO. Then, once the drydown starts, it gives you that peppery aura. Not a overpowering frag by any means. A real gentleman's fragrance: subtle, sensual, classy, confident.

This fragrance stalks me. I bought a bottle because I got a good deal. My first impressions were not good. I thought it smelled weird in a medicinal or all-purpose cleanser manner. After leaving the fragrance on my wrists for some time, it is a sturdy fragrance, I smell something alluring, strangely inchoate, yet inviting and warm. It definitely has an earthy aroma, but this is intermingled with softer musky and fruity notes. I don't usually like fruity notes in fragrances. I've never received any comment while wearing Terre, but I am constantly aware of how seductive the fragrance is to me while I have it on. Jean-Claude Ellena is truly a master perfumer.

One of the best of this newly popular genre, the peppery woods. Both men's and women's fragrances nowadays are striving for light, diffusive, exotic wood scents. To this end, they make lavish use of peppery bases interspersed with tangy vetiver or tart fruits. Any sweet notes are downplayed; and often they occur in the top and gradually fade into the background (in contrast to the traditional development which allows top and middle notes to fall away and reveal a sweet base). On the women's side, Estee Lauder has recently launced Sensuous, and YSL has offered Elle in the same spirit. Terre d'Hermes, being masculine, is unburdoned by the sweet and fruity ornamentation of the feminine offereings--and it's all the better for doing so. TDH has a better-balanced formula and doesn't try to do more than one thing at once. In the grand scheme of things, there were other, previous fragrances leading us in the direction of this genre. The first fragrance I remember with black pepper was Bulgari Omnia, but it was really all about sweet, gingerbread and sandalwood. Scents more similar to this new genre were Creed Royal Water and L'Artisan Timbuktu, which groomed us to accept the light, dry, almost astringent qualities of wood. It's a far cry form the patchouli and sandalwood of yesteryear, my friends. And it dovetails nicely with the rising popularity of veitver, which also has emerged in a starring role in fragrances. Overall, I still find vetiver to be easier on my nose. In the final analysis, I tire easily of pepper. But Terre d'Hermes ranks in the top of its new class.

The most-complimented fragrance I own so far.
(Not that I own that many, but I'm gathering more slowly.)
I like everything about it, and that's the name of that tune!
I play in several bands, and while I mostly get good reviews from women, this frag is so great that one drummer even commented on it!
He was a little embarrassed to admit it, but I think he will be purchasing it soon!
Wish I could rate it two thumbs up!

Strong, masculine scent ideal for an evening spent with a beautifull woman. It smells like a soil mixed with tobacco and oranges, a smell you could probably meet in late summer in Valencia surrounded by orange trees while smoking a cigar. I use it only for special ocasions. It's quite powerfull and on me it lasts long. I'm young but I would rather recommend it for more mature people.

Certainly above middle of the road to me. Rocabar is still No.1 for me on my man.

lately, i've taken to masculine marketed scents, this is one of them. smells like a wet road, spicy, fresh with oranges, black pepper and vetiver. edgy, definitely unisex

It smells like blood oranges and sweet spice. I like this fragrance but it's overly strong to my nose, even when using only a single spray. There's also some type of metallic property that just doesn't work with my chemistry. I really wanted to like this one, as I LOVE the smell of oranges, but something about this makes me gag when I spray it on myself.

To get my "orange fix," I think I'm going to give Clinique Happy for Men a try instead.

A somewhat linear accord with highlights including pepper/vetiver/cedar and discreet florals. Less minimalistic than many other offerings by Ellena. Wonderful sillage, and a truly terrific overall effect. To me, this smells like Hermèssence Poivre Samarcande fleshed out into a fuller perfumistic composition. I can see myself wearing this often and receiving many complements from it. Terre d'Hermès is a real winner, especially for us lovers of pepper and vetiver.

Very safe, not breathtaking, but it is recognizable. I like this stuff. It's my go to frag. when I dont' know what to wear. Don't expect to smell "sexy" with this though, just expect to smell good. Perfect for daily wear, very versatile in warm or cold weather. Can be a little strong if you spray too much though...had a bad experience with that. Overall i would recommend this.

Undoubtedly the best fragrance I have ever smelled. When I first applied it on a test paper the top notes were probably a bit sharper and I didn't like it, however I kept the test paper in my pocket for later review and in just 15 minutes walking by the street I smelled the paper again and was truly amazed by the beauty of this scent. Most of the people are rather neutral regarding the scent, but the more important is that I feel so comfortable and happy wearing this stuff! I feel like I am wearing the best scent ever created for me. And the good news is that this is so different than anything else, also Hermes is not imported here in Bulgaria, so I can really feel unique with it.

Take this review for what it is: The first review from someone new to Basenotes and new to the fragrance world in general.

I've been studying the site and trying samples, trying to figure out what notes work for me, trying to be smart, as I want to smell good but have young kids to rear and not too much cash to flush on blind purchases.

Try some of this, some of that, I'm not sure whether this one is working for me or not, when something hits me I'll know.

Terre d'Hermes. One application and I knew. This one works on me.

I'm not going to embarrass myself going into notes or descriptions and I wouldn't presume to aspire to the level of the sophisticated noses here.

Bought it, wear it, love it.

The journey continues....

A clean, light and classy scent that I can see worn in just about any setting. For whatever reason, I think "Modernism" when I smell it--sleek, unadorned, but with hidden angles and compositional complexity that belie its simple appearance.

It begins with a cymbal crash of bittersweet citrus and earth that is momentarily aggressive and "spiky." And I can see why some do not care for it. But for me the scent is all about that sparkling, mineralic edge that emerges just after, glinting off the peppery, woods/cedar. The orange becomes more "burnt orange peel." It mellows to warm woods in the long drydown.

After an initial positive reaction, my nose may have grown too used to it, and for a few days I was very disappointed by what seemed to me a smell like "burnt rubber." It is possible I overdid it a bit, mistaking its lightness for faintness ("faint" it is not.)

I took a break for a few more days, re-applied, and I'm back to really loving it. If applied lightly, a great, long-lasting scent which could very well be worn daily. The scales tip decidedly to "masculine," but not "macho."

this is become my everyday smell. I wore terre to office and lounging at the side of the street with my friends. They found terre is so fresh. bit too orange at the first time, but it blend so well with my skin and tropical weather to be subtly woody and deliberately fresh. I love Ellena

Strong, peppery, overwhelming, nauseating, rotten, overrated frag ... you can choose.
Want something fresh, natural, light, clean and from the Hermès-house?
Buy Eau d'orange Verte!

She walked right passed me and stopped. Then she turned around and said: you smell good. Then she sniffed again and said: super, really super......Funny, the first time i smelled TdH i was not convinced...i could just smell the orange and thought: is this really what i want? I decided to buy it anyway. Even after the first times i used it i was not sure...But this soon changed. Somehow, this flagrance starts smeller better and better in time. Also apply a little bit on you shirt..believe it will do wonders during the next hours...I never had so many good reactions with a flagrances then this one..

This fragrance has two directions: The initial "hit" which is overbearing, earthy, mineral, and harsh orange. This melds into wonderful drydown smelling of rich earth (humous), leather, and tangerine. The fragrance lasts forever in it's transition to drydown.. Very sophistacted, as noted by others, and quite sensual...almost too sensual for office wear. (I still use it there!) I think this is a unique fragrance which still is not in wide-spread use, except by afficianodos. A very fine scent. I like this one.

I bought this blind and while I do think it's a high quality, long lasting fragrance, I'm still getting used to it. The orange really is overwhelmingly strong and candy-like and combined with the spiciness it has unfortunately given me a slight to moderate headache the few times I've used it, even with just one spray. Maybe they should give away free samples of advil with every purchase because I've had to take a couple every time I spray this! Anyways, I'm still going to keep trying with this but I fear it may not suit my personality or skin type.

Hmm, I like this scent very much, but I have hard times wearing it. It smells delicious, but I can not put a finger on that one note that keeps me sniffing my skin for hours. Somehow it smells like some sweet candy which I never smelled before, and I want to taste it, but I cant. That is what I am going through while wearing this scent.. Over and over again. And I'm talking about the dry-down, not the opening notes. And I've experienced the candy smell of many other scents (Lolita, Rochas, B*Men etc.), but this one is different.

And it is really beautiful how the sharp orange mutates into a very soft masculine earthy dry-down with that weird candy smell. I think it does not smell sweet, but there is definitely some candy.

Silage is pretty good for the first hour, I received some compliments which I do not often get for any scent, but the longevity on my skin is 4 to 5 hours, not that amazing. But I was wondering, maybe cause all of my sniffing I'm sniffing it off my skin! That is something to think about. I think I just have to spray a little more on me next time (did 2 sprays in the neck and 1 pray on each arm).

Anyway, the scent is getting 5 stars from me, but for longevity I think I only give it 3 stars for now. But it is definitely a thumbs up!

A wonderful, warm fragrance that starts off citrusy and settles into a comfortable, woody, spicy feeling on your skin. What grabs me about this fragrance is that its very unique and I get lots of attention when wearing it! The coup de grace of this fragrance is that it just feels very classy and it just oozes style from the second you put it on. Its masculine and definitely unforgettable. I cant wait to try it out in summer!

Have had a lot of compliments on it. Tested it bunch of girls that are friends of mine, and a few different girlfriends, and never had any lady not like it. Now don't put too much of this one on. It has excellent long time wear - evenwhen ballroom dancing for a couple of hours. But easy to over do it with this one. Nice masculine scent. I really like it top 4 of the 17 I have chosen to keep around.

An aged (not exactly "rotten") orange sitting on an old wooden bench.

Somewhat tranquil -- but overapply and you'll end up smelling like a toilet cleaning/floor-washing liquid.

i first tried this a while back on a card, and was underwhelmed. thought i'd try it on my skin today to see how it warms up with my chemistry.

the first thing i get from terre d'hermes the orange, but it's a candied orange-peel orange note. there's something unusual after a few minutes, a note which emerges as the orange becomes surprisingly more citric. it's as though what was originally preserved orange is now becoming fresh orange (plus a faintly bitter lime), like watching some process in reverse, and the 'preservative' is now present separately. it's a pleasant note slightly reminiscent of unscented moisturizer (if that makes any sense), and it gives a weird quality to the citrus, and to me the first hour or so of terre d'hermes is dominated by this weird/citrus accord combining and separating again. at one point i felt certain that it smelt to me like a lime jelly baby (english candy), almost feminine in it's sweetness, and then suddenly i started becoming aware of something organic, the 'after the rain' shrub-like smell that others have noted. i simply dont get the cedar that others have mentioned, nor any pepper whatsoever (a shame, as a good peppery kick would fix the sweetness for me i suspect)

it has good staying power (my skin can positively drink fragrances) and even a couple of squirts is still quite noticeable now. now it has a patchouli tone to it, again with this odd vegetal/wet/moisturizer smell (is this the mineral note?) that is actually the main thing that keeps me interested.

my current thoughts are that i wouldnt mind smelling this on someone else, but that perhaps its not for me with it's overly candy-sweet fruit in the opening. the drydown is beautiful, thoughtful and cool and very faintly soapy (perhaps vetiver, lovely though i dont normally like soapy) but is it worth hours of orange candy?

i'm going to have to keep trying this one. not sure.

I'm going to need a 3rd time for this one but so far it came off as STRONG, orange, peppery and overwhelming. Way too much and headache inducing. The second time I tried it it was a little better. Considering I like others that are allegedly similar I just don't get it. I definitely think this one could be one that grows on me later but right now, this is it.

It's got the same sparkle as Le 3e Homme de Caron but Terre doesn't become cloying. It behaves very well even though longevity is comparable to Le 3e. And it smells much more modern and up-to-date. It's winter in the southern hemisphere now, so I'm looking forward to seeing how Terre does in the heat. I like the fact that there's a hint of the trademark Hermés note lurking in the background.

Really lovely. I'm a fan of Ellena anyway but this was even better than I anticipated. A very 'rich' feel to it without being overly heavy. Great complex dry-down and it lasts a long long time without being overpowering (well, after the first 5 min).
Gets the most compliments and looks from women af all the scents I've worn as well.
In a word; sophisticated.

Fresh, original, natural, light, clean, bright, mineral, classy, fashion, exclusive, luxury.
Do you want more words to define Terre d Hermes?

NOT SURE ABOUT THIS FRAGRANCE.I WORE IT TO WORK BEFORE,SOMEBODY TOLD ME I SMELLED LIKE VICKS.I STOPPED WEARING IT.

The naysayers can nay, the poohpoohers can pooh, but this is already a classic, and there's nothing anybody can say or do.

I can't improve upon Strollyourlobster's description of this scent, so I won't even try.

This was once my signature scent; not any longer, but I still wear it about as often as anything else in my wardrobe. It's simple, original, and beautiful. If you want baroque gymnastics or Ye Olde Perfume, look elsewhere. Within its own minimalist aesthetic, however, TdH is perfection.

Huge, fat peppered orange peel to me. I don't enjoy being on the verge of sneezing all day. There is also no development and all there is is the bitterness of dirt. Since this gets gets so much praise I recommend you try this before buying.

The opening is great. YThe opening is great. An orange dirty of earth.
All day long TdH will be like an storyteller ending with a long lasting nice orange smell.
Unique but not agressive therefore good to for office.

Terre D'Hermes is a real Beast. It's totally different which is good; and because it is an exclusive scent I reign supreme here in MississippiI(LOL). I did not like this at 1st whiff ,but went back to it 5/6 months later and I'm kickin myself for blowing this off for so long. The patchoulie & fruit mix is really workin well in combination. Try it. I know you'll like it!

a citrus juice spiked. warm oranges ,warm grapefruit juices spiked with spicey warm v8 juice. its different a spicey citrus individual.

Way over ripe oranges floating in dirty semi spoiling milk. No way for me.

I like Terre d'Hermes on paper, and I like the citrusy/peppery/woody concoction when I first apply it, but I find that the bracing freshness I first find so appealing really gets on my nerves when wearing it. It's oh so strong and oh so linear - might be a good choice to wake you up in the morning but you'd have to be slightly masochistic. It's "refreshing" like working out is "refreshing", or like that annoyingly cheerful and energetic friend... Some fresh scents cheer you up on a grumpy day - this one would just annoy you more if you weren't in the mood for it. But it might be that I don't particularly like grapefruit as a fragrance note, it has always struck me as unpleasantly shrill and synthetic.
I've seen people rave about the "mineral" note in this one, but they must be the same people who are all over Eau des Merveilles, because I find the scents remarkably similar, like the men's and women's version of the same scent. Yes, they do share a sort of mineralic note that's quite unusual, but more than that they share the same aggressively artificial quality - so much so you can literally TASTE the perfume in the back of your throat. (Perhaps the mineral note and the assaulting perfuminess are really the same element in the scent.) That's what gets on my nerves and makes me slightly queasy with both of them.
That said, I can definitely see the appeal of Terre d'Hermes (more so than with the slam-you-in-the-face-with-a-perfumed-piece-of-driftwood Eau des M., even though the quirkiness of the latter should appeal to me more). It's neither dull nor weird, it feels elegant rather than cheap, it's fresh without being sinus-assaultingly ozonic/aquatic, it has a pleasantly peppery wood note without being too rich and warm for casual everyday wear... If I smelt it on a strange man I'd probably think he was a gentleman with impeccable taste in fragrance (provided, of course, he didn't overapply this sillage beast!). I wouldn't want to snuggle up to him though, or even stay around him for very long. This is a scent you'd wear to impress (without seeming to try too hard), not to seduce. Might be suitable for office wear, especially brief and businesslike encounters. Might even be ok to the gym - ONE spritz MAXIMUM. Don't wear it to dinner though - I at least would lose my appetite if I had to "taste" this perfume mingled with food...

TdH is an extremely intoxicating scent...

It's one of the only fragrances I've worn that has gotten a noticeable reaction from the ladies. Lots of deep sniffs (woooooooooooosh) and second looks.

Highly recommended!

My experience with TdH:
1) I want to love it, but it is a difficult lover.
2) It lasts longer than Methuselah.
3) I love it for short periods, it's better late in the drydown for daytime wear (which is a problem....do I apply at 4 a.m. for work arrival at 8?).
4) I agree with others here: It can give me a headache if I'm having one of those days when a headache feels imminent.
5) It lingers on clothing in a good way -- very fresh and summery -- like a memory of an old friend.
7) It is completely unique, can easily be a signature scent.
8) For those who like it but would prefer a kinder, gentler experience, try F pour Homee by Ferragamo.
A reserved thumbs up.
Merci bien!

Terre is an amazing fragrance. It is a three dimensional beauty, which gives off its secrets slowly, as it dries off. For some reason, I've been using it for the past year now, non stop, everyday. I've gotten so used to the fragrance, that I don't even notice it on me anymore. I don't feel like I want to wash it off my neck, because it never becomes overpowering. Once a while, I will get a hint when the wind blows on my neck, and I fall in love all over again.
Terre has an outer aura that is subtle and leathery-sweet, with a mild hint of sweetness. It is this exactly thing that I've fallen in love with. The closer you get to the skin, the more prominent and in your face organgey it becomes. It is subtle and elegant. It is almost like Terre is Bigarade Concentree, only 20 years older, with mature and poised presentation. It is not in your face orange, and carries an enigmatic feel to it. I just hope they keep making it. One of the only fragrances I've found that's a keeper for life.

I really wanted to like this, smells wonderful on paper but on my skin it smells horrible almost dirty.

The Buddhist wedding ceremony of an orange and a stone, celebrated next to the stream where the rock is from. They do.

green leaves of geranium give the earthy note to terre d' hermes. if you lean and smell the geranium leaves, you can easily notice the natural, fresh "after rain" earth smell. perfect...

I didn't 'get' this fragrance when I tested it in the store. I thought it was a simple, harsh and linear citrus scent.

However, I bought a small tester and I changed my mind completely. This fragrance is stunning. It opens with a crashing burnt sugar, caramelized smell not very unlike A*Men.

However, quickly after that, it settles into a very classy, self-confident orange/citrus-note, embedded in an aura of cedarwood. And this smell pretty much stays throughout the heart of the scent.

The basenotes remind me of a civilized Eau Sauvage from Dior. Very classy.

I like this scent.

very well done graasy and slightly sitrus scent. longevity is an issue but an overall good scent. price is a bit much for it's lack of power.

Terre D'Hermes makes me think of the works of a certain writer/director/actor... a certain auteur... The late Coleman Francis. I'm thinking of such films as "Red Zone Cuba" and "Skydivers." These films are on a general level just terrible B-movies. They were made fun of in episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. They were bad, yet compelling.

Even though these movies were by all accounts "bad", man there is just something about the starkness of these black and white films that just resonates with me. First of all they take place in the early '60's and most of the scenes are shot outdoors with the hapless "stars" jumping out of airplanes, driving around in rusty pickup trucks, hiding in drainpipes, assaulting sandy beaches, climbing up rocky crags, crawling through the dirt, digging for pitchblende... Even in the worst of these movies, there is just a glimpse of a simpler, better time than that of today's overstuffed blockbuster films. I don't know if the world of "Red Zone Cuba" ever existed, but man, I'd trade all the modern conveniences to sleep under the stars and pine trees in the America that Coleman Francis portrayed. Yes, I want to live in a 1963 B-movie.

Anyway, I wear Terre D'Hermes... and I feel like I've LIVED "Red Zone Cuba." I've crawled under barbed wire fences. I've stormed the beaches of Cuba (or was it Arizona?). I've climbed the mineral cliffs with a stiff breeze blowing through me. I've ducked hot lead. I've had my face buried for hours under the hood of a rusted out F-150 that I later sold for 35 bucks. I've eaten frog legs at Cliff Weismeyers place. I've gone out looking for pitchblende on Chasteen's property. I've run all the way to hell with nothing but a penny and a broken cigarette... OK, I'm poking a little fun at the movie.

BUT if you've seen "Red Zone Cuba"... it might make sense. Aside from the fleeting orange citrus note, I find Terre D'Hermes to be a very stark, no-nonsense black and white B-movie of a scent. And a manly one at that. The outdoors. Open Roads. Hills. Mountains. Rocks. Cedar forests. It does something very unique. It captures the outdoors and it does it without being green! It's the outdoors as seen in black and white. It manages to evoke rolling hills fo grass, but not green grass. Black and white grass! A grey sky with grey clouds, a sawtoothed black horizon that stretches far and relaxed.

I'm sure that Jean Claude Ellena has never seen "Red Zone Cuba"-- because if he had intended to create an homage to this film, coffee would be a central note. I digress. Anyway, regardless of what the auteurs Mr. Ellena and Mr. Francis intended to create, to me, what they captured a kind of beauty in quiet breezy blacks, whites, greys, slates, charcoals. But with that orange note like the sun on a cloudy cold day, as your collar flaps against your neck on the open range.

Masterful creation. It smells like an Ansel Adams photograph.

Similarities with Eau des Merveilles? I don't think so.

One of the best designer offerings of 2006. I read somewhere that the bottle is supposed to represent earth and sky. Well, you know, that's not far off the mark at all. Ellena skillfully juxtaposes two elements - a vibrant monster grapefruit on one side, and on the other a combination of earthy and woody notes that include vetiver and cedar. I'm not usually the one to care about compliments from others, but this does seem to elicit more positive responses than any other that I have, so I take it that it's pretty public-friendly. A summer staple in my wardrobe. The only danger seems to be that it's becoming too popular.

I love this scent. Even my picky wife loves it. For me, there is a cedar-like accord unlike others, which never gets too loud, but has great persistence all day long. I compared it to a good dozen other potential buys in Sephora, but just found myself going back to it over and over again. I can see why Ellena thinks it's so important. It's a soft but masculine scent that is outdoorsy and sophisticated at the same time. For me, it's now "my" scent. I bought the deodorant stick to go with it, so that it wouldn't collide with my usual deodorant, and I'm happy to report that the Terre d'Hermès deodorant is the perfect complement, and keeps the volume constant all day long.

Interesting factoid - when it was still in the box, in my luggage, it slowly gave off a strange, sulfur-like smell which really had me worried. I'm not sure what it was - it had to be unusual to get through all that packaging. Most scents stay in the bottle, but this one wanted out. But once I actually opened it up and used it, the balance returned, and the sulfur smell fell back to a single, weak note in the symphony.

I really only get a mineraly orange popsicle here, but I adore it! Perfectly unisex to my mind. Got compliments on how fresh I smelled. Goodish staying power from three tiny tester spritzes, so I would be ecstatic to have a bottle. Why oh why can't we have 10 ml bottles, so ordinary folks could afford these with our exchange rate??

a spicey citrus scent. it just didnt work for me.

TdH is an interesting fragrance. It goes on with a sharp acrid citrus and a single spray goes a long way. I really didn't enjoy the topnotes, but once the smell of grapefruit subdued and the patchouli came out more, the drydown becomes fantastic. The scent lasts forever and a day which is a definite plus. Unfortunately, this fragrance gives me a headache so that I can't bring myself to truly appreciate it.

It's an intriguing scent. I find the overall accord reminiscent of quality cannabis smoke: the kind that smells rich, buttery, a little sweet and earthy. Terre's built on a good-sized framework, but its execution is relatively simple with no unnecessary notes present. The most prominent notes of grapefruit, geranium, vetiver, pepper, and an accord of cedar, benzoin and patchouli appear quickly and move around each other for most of the duration. The drydown gains a smoother, richer, earthier, more velvety texture. The overall scent creates something that feels both vital and serene. I was in the Mexican desert and wore the fragrance every day for a week, and it always felt like it belonged on my body. I attribute that to its use of high quality raw ingredients and Jean Claude Ellena's ability to blend with finesse. The scent was at its most interesting when I hadn't showered in a few days. It's supposed to smell like bodies after lovemaking, and while I find that somewhat accurate, the scent only expresses itself fully in warmer temperatures. When I wear it in cooler temperatures, I usually get something relatively flat and dormant involving primarily grapefruit and geranium. It needs heat and sweat.

To my nose Terre D'Hermes and Eau Des Merveilles also smell very similar.
I like it but don't love it. Would like to buy it for those not so special days but then maybe not.

Try this a few times. It took me three trials to understand Terre d'Hermes, but once I did it jumped right to my top 5. Dominant note on my skin is grapefruit. Insanely masculine, original and classy. I haven't smelled anything that is similar. Projection is extremely strong, longevity is absurd. It could easily last (and project) for more than 24 hours. 5/5.

absolute quality! my best purchase for over a year

A truly unique scent IMO -- very well described in posts below. You have to try this at least twice before you draw any conclusions as it is surprisingly different from many of the other fragrances on the counter. Good longetivity on me and the ladies seem to like it. TdH is part of my permanent collection.

The top notes contain a nice citrus aroma, especially orange. In the mid notes, the smell becomes sweeter but the orange remains noticeable. Although a blend of orange and sweetness is one of my favourite aromas, the mix in this fragrance results in a rather lolly pop smell which I don't find very masculine.

This is a very nice, mature scent. I found it a bit understated, but it is a wonderful combination of earth and citrus.

I was trying out some of the Hermessences at the Hermes boutique in Vancouver the other day and happened to mention to the SA that i was a big fan of Jean-Claude Ellena. But as i was walking home it struck me that although i am quite familiar with Ellena's style and have tried (and liked) many samples of his work, I still had not actually purchased a bottle of anything he's done. Well. This situation had to be remedied...

I didn't like Terre d'Hermes at all the first time i sampled it; i remember it being somehow cloying. But the more i tried it, the more i came to REALLY like it. So that is what became my first official Ellena scent. I must say that his stuff intrigues me and i respect him as an artist, but it's not really an accident that it took me this long to spend money on his work. TdH is the first of his scents that really gets me in the heart. The others i've tried are kind of cerebral and minimalist, but Terre is the first one that feels grounded and full of life. I have a hard time picking out the individual notes; it's just this kind of tangy, raw, magic earth smell that is soapy-clean and smoky-dirty-sexy at the same time, and i just can't get enough of it. Sadly, my skin seems to just lap the stuff up, and I get maybe a couple hours, at best. But what a couple of hours...

A unique fragrance, definitely not uplifting, more so mature and moody, not for the happy-go-lucky types.
I'd wear it in the evening or keep for that special occasion, not for everyday use or you'll get sick of it.
Use sparingly to control the experience.
The jury for me is still out, but I'm getting there.

plain and simple....overrated.

jesus christ people, if you are going to go goo-goo ga-ga make sure that the fragrance stands out in any way. Bought it stricly off great reviews on basenotes and all i got is a rotten orange left on an old bench smell.

an interesting fragrance in its topnotes that mix dry mineral notes, woods and hesperids
but the drydown is ... non-existent !indeed, IMO, there's not really a drydown : all notes seem to stay the same in a very linear and boring way
all what the fragrance has to "tell" us is done in the first minutes and then it just repeats itself
and as the staying power is very long, one gets the same "conversation" all daylong;

Just nature! orange, sand, earth Perfect and longlasting, light, sweet, warm and theres is something windy in it that I love. For me, one of the moderns masterpieces.

I agree, a masterpiece. Very earthy and very orange smelling. However, so strong, so lasting, so unique, so interesting. A must have for those cologne lovers - but then again so are all Hermes and all Carons, and all Guerlains. The three best design houses in the history of the world.

A very masculine scent. I actually was not impressed initially; it reminded me of countless uber-musk perfumes that I tend to dislike. However, as the day wore on, the true glory of the scent shone through.

The initial emanation of mandarin, cinnamon and spice (from my estimation of the ingredients)did indeed seen to possess that off-putting sweetness without a woody or floral to lend it substance. However, about 30 minutes into the scent, your skin is endowed with this undeniably masculine scent of leather, smoke, and sweet 'n' herbal mossiness that intermingle to create an almost pheromone like allure.

It is definitely an earthy scent, meant to bring out the magnificent untamed male stag in anyone looking for a boost in sex appeal. Colors I would associate with this Terre d' Hermes are orange, cream, brown and grey, with a bottle green, sepia and black finish.

Earthy and orange. Addictive. Long lasting. Unusual and intriguing for a day-wear scent. Great bottle. Never grow tired of this.

I echo everything said here - especially the warning about over application.

This is a wonderful scent, but do not, judge it on first application, it is over-whelming.

However you do not buy this fragrance for its topnotes. I bought my bottle of this last December at the end of a holiday. The reason I bought it was because when I tried it in duty free at the beginning of my holiday I didn't like it. Then on the plane my wife both kept getting this whiff of something that smelled gorgeous - it was where I'd sprayed the Terre.

To this day, whenever I wear this, my wife says "You smell lovely, what's that?"

Two squirts from the EDT, one for each cheek will last all day. You don't need more!

I was always whining and complaining about men's fragrances being shortlived. Well, Hermes finally shot my mouth. Terre d'Hermes is SO wonderful and strong and sumptuous and enthralling. Ooooh...

Y'all were right.
Lime, lemon Pledge, and cigarettes.
Not for me.

This is a sun drenched wooded area, with the enchanting noises of trickling water from a near by brook in a bottle. The warm sun rays finding their way through the foliage, while brightening the leaves to a warm glowing green. Absolute earth meets air.
A masterpiece.

Earthy! Hence the name "Terre d'Hermes" couldn't be more appropriate! This dry, aromatic blend is sun-kissed by citrus and wears close to the skin. It is very fine quality perfumery, just what I'd expect from this house!

The one word that best describes this fragrance is ‘Intoxicating’. This juice is truly amazing. Terre d’Hermès is, as we say down south in the USA, ‘Slap yo mamma good!’ Without a doubt, this is one of the very best frags on the market and it gets my highest recommendation!

Good stuff. VERY strong, rotten orange plus bitter grapefruity plus earthiness. Some females have expresse dthe fact that it smells like 'cohones'. Well, I like it. Overapplication can and will give you a headache though.

DIVINE!
As many have said before me, Terre d'Hermés is a triumph! Its opening accords of fresh green/orange citruses are much akin to those found in Eau d'Oranges Verte - another of my Hermés faves. However, it quickly shifts into an unusual chocolatey/jaffa note before earthy and elemental accords come to the fore. One can almost smell the dusty earth as it is speckled with large raindrops. There is almost a sense of an "electrical storm" hanging overhead... TdH is as threatening and challenging as it is basic and familiar. It is the scent of a long forgotten orange orchid that is overgrown and earthy.
I give this fragrance full marks. Its projection is not the best, however it is worn close to the skin, and in doing so, allows the wearer this small personal luxury.

This is a wonderful dry citrus scent, that creates a warm earthy mood. My wife and I both love Terre d'Hermes. This fragrance is great for summertime, the office, or any occasion. On my skin the scent lasts all day long and produces a medium sillage.

While I think most Basenotes members will enjoy this scent, it is unique enough that I would urge you to try it before you buy it. I think most people will be glad that they did get a chance to experience this uniquely warm, earthy fragrance.

Am i the only one who finds this to be a rather wan retread of Vettiveru? I'm not as opposed to it as some, but not nearly as enamored as others... still waiting to "get it"

Fresh and Earthy. You can wear this scent the whole season and it last very long. I already bought a bottle...it´s a must have.

Very distinctive and original, but I don't like it at all.
GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR wrote that it smells like a smoker who just peeled an orange, and that's a superb description!
The combination of orangepeel and ashtray reminds me of the content of a garbage can. Sorry, but that's nauseating to me.

The dry down isn't half-bad, but, there is a rotten, orange peel note that just keeps ruining this one for me.

“A woody, vegetal and mineral eau de toilette” (from Hermes website)
Terre D’Hermes opened with a very strong and synthetic lemon blast. It developed a sweet wood note (cedar? birch?). These two notes ping-ponged back and forth in a tiresome way. It became big and rather obnoxious. This did not appeal to me. I like woody scents and appreciate good citrus notes; this had neither in my opinion.

This is perhaps one of the most transportive fragrances I've ever experienced. That is, some fragrances recall a moment, a thought, an idea, some envelop, some repell. But this puts me in a different place, somewhere in ancient Greece or Rome. I see pillars and dry brush growing out of a dry and dusty landscape. It is at once modern and classical. Acrid, arid, yet warm and enticing. I love it love it love it, though my first experience with it was not so glowing. I had to really commit to it, wear it a full day, exclusively (not just try it in the store) and experience its every move. What a grand payoff.

It was only after this sensory experience that I visited the fantastic website terredhermes.com, where in motion, the landscape (save the classical architecture) I envisioned flashed before me somehow confirming that Ellena's intent, the story he wanted to tell, the picture he wished to convey, was phenomenal success.

That in itself makes this one of the most respectable works of art I've yet experienced in fragrance.

I'm using it for one year. Never dissapointed me. Quite noticable. Even selesgirls at the parfum stores love it. I adore Terre D'Hérmes...

I wear it if I am unable to make up my mind what fragrance to use that day - is is inoffensive, fades remarkably quickly and can then be replaced with whatever scent I eventually choose (usually X by Clive christian or the all-conquering Yatagan)

A polite, citrus, hint of tangerine and grapefruit scent with no real balls. Top note is bright and actually pretty appealing first thing on a summer's morning, but it dries down to somewhat artificial, sugary ghost of itself within all too short a time.

Someone suggested this a while ago, and i couldn't help but run into Sak's the next day and try it!

What a mistake-- I thought! The opening was like freshly squeezed tangerines! Not a bad smell, but not for me per say.

BUT...AFTER...
This has AMAZING sillage, i mean...
That night i was sitting at my computer and i said to myself 'what is that amazing smell'...

It wasnt my sister's reed diffusers..IT WAS MY HAND!!! The drydown is, just like aceyman says, a MASTERPEICE!! Can't explain it because i can't remember, all i know is i'm going soon to purchase a bottle!

Go try... you might not be dissapointed.

Imbalanced. Reminds me of Baldessarini in that it has a nice base, but the damned citrus-fruit-candy hardly gets out of the way for me to smell much of it. And so I'll wear out my samples of both, on those days that I don't mind smelling like a silly fruit hiding a good heart.

I tried this today and yesterday in a perfumery. I put the fragrance on my arm and on my neck, but the scent was gone after 1 hour already. Maybe it's just my skin, but this perfume doesnt last long on me.
Because i like the scent, i give it a neutral thumb.

Is it just me or someone else think that this one smells quite alike to eau de merveilles?
:):)
oh well, probably it's just me!

I tryed it last sunday and I though the tester botle was wrong and they bottled the fragrance wrongly,as It smelled exactly in my skin like the female version: eau de merveilles.
So I cross to the woman section and I sprayed in the other wrist the female one and I swear, there mostly the same
Check out for yourself!.

Terre d'Hermès certainly is appreciated by many basenoters and there has been plenty of discussion regarding it on the boards. Personally I find it hard to form a distinct opinion. It´s just so and so. Not bad at all, but definitely not groundbreaking or very desirable either.

The broad shouldered and proud looking flacon however is excellent, as always with this house.

I strongly feel that this theme was done better with Cartier´s Declaration, that also used a tad of cumin (just like the first Hermès) for an added dangerousness. If I´m not misstaken Ellena was the creator of that one too, which would certainly explain the similarities.

TdH is mainly a grapefruit/vetiver combo to my nose. The slightly acidic citrus works well with the earthy grass and that mineral note that sounded like fancy copywriting at first is definitely lurking in there. It creates a salty soiliness making the scent stand out from many other fresh juices of today.

Longevity is decent compared to general stuff, but superb compared to several others from this particular house.

Certainly worth a try. I can see how this can become a easily worn everyday staple scent for some. I´ll stick to the original Bulgari pour homme for that purpose.

Love it eventhough I think all the creations of Jean Claude Ellena likely smell the same to me.

When I was in high school, in the late eighties, I was doing a lot of scuba diving, and there was a new brand of sunscreen that wouldn't wash off in salt water - useful stuff, and it smelled just like bitter grapefruit. Imagine my shock and amazement when I discovered Terre d'Hermes, which smells quite similar. Add in a splash of orange, cedar, moss and earth, and there you have it. An utterly bombastic and awesome fragrance. Not one I'll wear every day, but I'll never be without a bottle of this.

Flint, and orange scented gunsmoke. It's arid and works better when there is some humidity in the air, regardless of season, otherwise it's too inorganic and unhuman. I don't smoke, but when you wear this you smell like a smoker who smells of orange peel. It's really shines nice when it mixes with a little sweat.

As much as i tried to make friends with it , it just couldn’t happen.
On my skin it almost felt like I was wearing some sort of household cleaning liquid, and not one that smells good.
I appreciated the mineral notes in it but the rest seemed almost like been there done that and I truly felt that it didn’t bring too many new things into play.
I guess it’s all down to personal chemistry, right?, I mean on my skin the top notes turned an acrid, very sour, pungent, even too aluminum like grapefruit, and I mean the white part of it not the juicy, less sour body of it.
I was very discouraged about this one since I am a big Hermès fan, but hey, there are plenty of Hermès offerings that go very well with my skin and that I don’t like this one doesn’t make me less of a fan. A lot of times I like to be challenged and this time, fate had it that it was not for me. I still got a bottle of it, who says I can’t use it for air freshener or even for a gift.?

I am a new reviewer, but after wearing TdH for a week now, the 'm' word comes to mind -- this is a masterpiece. The zesty orange/grapefruit top/middle notes over a great base of wood/soil make for a lovely point and counterpoint. The balance is near-perfect, and the drydown, while fairly linear (as the top notes seem to remain throughout) is delicious. I don't ever want to run out of TdH so am already stocking up early. A must try for any fragrance lover. Kudos, Hermes!

I liked this scent, except I didn't smell orange per say, but more of a "green smell". My son didn't like it, but we don't always have the same taste in scents.

This my first review, so please bear with any terminological shakiness or imprecision.

I both like and dislike this edt, though I think more the latter.

Here is what I like: the woodsy, peppery undertones that emerge during the drydown.

Here is what I don't like: the sour, orange bite that is most present in the beginning but, on my skin at least, never quite leaves.

Though it is better than many I have tried, I don't think I make this Hermes one of my standards.

I tried this today, based on the positive reviews here, and came away rather nonplussed. It's both fruitier and sweeter than I expected. Unfortunately, it reminds me strongly of some gelatine type sweets ("candies" to the U.S. guys) I knew as a kid, which makes the whole experience a bit off-putting.

I sprayed a TdH tester on my wrist this past weekend at Neiman Marcus in Atlanta. While the scent was interesting there was a familiarity that I just couldn't place. The longevity and sillage were both strong. After about an hour, it dawned on me. The fragrance was very similar to ........ pickle juice! But not real pickle juice - more like the 'scratch and sniff' pickle scent I remember as kid (some game I had as a child had a bunch of scratch and sniff dots on it).

This one's not for me.

Bought it because everybody was soo positive.At first i was a bit dissapointed;i expected something else,no this;but after a few days of wearing i started to like it and understood the special aspects of this one.Its a very naturally smell,Terre is a high quality scent but also a bit of a strange scent;a great strange scent that makes you forget many others.Surprise yourself;get it!!

Several days ago I wanted to test this fragrance, as I had read several good reviews about it. I went after work to a department store near home and asked for a try. As the tester was almost empty, I preferred to smell it on paper instead on my skin.

Here the first notes I could smell was soft orange, with traces of somewhat similar to resin or depilatory wax, strange but not bad... a bit sweet, remembering me some starting notes from Cartier's Declaration. Later at home I felt more middle notes, mainly wood, plus vetiver, cedar and wet earth as base notes.

It's a very woody fragrance,I don't see it as an evening fragrance, instead it seems to be a better daytime or office style fragrance, suitable for all seasons but preferred at colder occasions. Recommended for an age range over 30 years old.

Bitter orange mixed with a light ethereal wood note - a soft smile in the aura. It presents itself softly and warmly like a predawn sunsrise. Very unique cologne. It is a subtle wood like some of the CdG fragrances for men, but with soft bitter orange top note.

Nice smell of oranges, with something a bit sour, maybe orange bark. Mix this smell with some kind of white musks and pepper and you got an unusual casual fragrance flerting with the "classy style". Versatile and long lasting, thumbs up!

No, actually what I loved most is the idea of it. It does smell like dirt! In this case this is good. And well no it isn't dirt but wood but it pretty much channels the wet soil in a pine forest. It's so conceptual, I mean. Dust to dust, you know? Thankfully, the oranges fade quickle on me. Not on girls, though. A girlfriend of mine proved me wrong, since I used to say girls can't get away with male fragrances. She smelled of oranges and no Terre at all!

Intriguing scent, smelling as it does of dirt, at once dry and wet. And heat, yes, shimmering heat off the desert floor. Strange, but lovely, a definite must-buy.

I found the pepper and benzoin combination to be so incongruent it gave me a severe headache. I think this is what robyogi was referring to when he described it as being like old wax fruit or cedarmoth's description, "An old shoe grinding a baby aspirin into a gravel road". It also reminds me of those paper-strip sachets they sell in Italian grocery stores. I do appreciate the citrus/woods going on, but I much prefer Déclaration to this.

i hate to break the chain of thumbs up
but in my very own opinion this scent is very heavy and dense and litterally smells like semi-clean dirt...terre....
i prefer the orange...
could have added a hint more of sweetness

Cold, dirty, bloody oranges. Love it!

Traveller, beware!
You should definitely NOT BUY THIS BLIND!
To me it smells like some grapefruit dessert(smells somewhat creamy to me), seasoned with some pepper and then spread on dirty ground.
Has very strong sillage and longevity though (only sprayed once on my wrist and everybody smelled it).
In essecence: Try before you buy!

Stunning. If it was the only scent of Hermes line, it would be enough for Hermes's credit. I like spicy / citrus quality, and yet it has amazing earthy notes as well. Terre is a regal melange of cedar, exotic mineral and tangy orange, and woody / peppery notes also in the second point—it has a sweet, sour and powdery benzoin finish. Lemon isn't in it' s pyramid, but I feel a hint of fresh lemon too. Excellent staying power and good sillage—the drydown is better than other scents I've worn recently. Now I say: "This scent originally created for ME" in my book it is one of the 5 favourites.

This one threw me for a loop in my quest to stray away from my typical light, fresh scent and go more spicy and musky for the winter. Although the more I wear it I think it is a nice transition fragrance for that effort.
Definitely citrusy (which I tend to like very much) but the pepper seems to change the grapefruit to more of a blood orange for me, which is a nice change. The other elements blend wonderfully to a very alluring effect. Highly recommended.

They talked about arid Mexican deserts.
I smelled lemon and earth.
They wrote volumes about patchouli.
I smelled lemon and earth.
They passed around flacons full of this stuff, and daubed it on their wrists.
I smelled lemon and earth.
They dubbed it "a masterpiece."
I dubbed it "lemons and earth."

Couldn't help but like this stuff, true, but it was not at all what I expected. I had expected an earthy, dark, meaty scent, and I basically ended up getting a holistic, vegan, burlap-clothed version of Eau Sauvage.

Last time I heard, the ever earthy Terre d'Hermes had moved into a co-op in Eugene with some chick named Alice Sky Tuesday. The two plan to open a tofu factory and start an Indigo Girls fan club.

I don't think I've ever come across something so unique before. Basically Terre d'Hermès its a really subtle, sophisticated and extraordinary fragrance. This one is citrus, vegetal, warm earth, woods and a hint of gunpowder-also gives a persistent spicy accord feeling midst all peppery ones and has mineral ambience. It puts in a favorable light and I was excited when came out-Terre is prestige of Hermès. As a matter of fact Terre d'Hermès is a class one and highly recommended for all season. Thumbs way up here!.

I got this one blindly based only on the reviews. It's a winner. It screams French all over. It's a very elegant scent, fruity in the beginning and then becomes earthy, like the name sugests it. Not an ordinary earth, but a mediteranean type. It's not the usual fresh smell. It's different and makes you special. When sprayed with responsibility it last decently. The bottle asks for engineer skills to open...just kidding :D. Very original indeed.

I can't say enough good things about Terre d'Hermes. I can understand why some people might dislike it - it's a very unusual scent - but I love it. It's basically a two-note accord: cedar and orange. It's an odd combination, but it really works. It's sophistication and very masculine yet subtle. Right out of the bottle the orange is a little much, but it mellows quickly.

nothimg special,you can't impress anyone with this scent,should be worn fall- winter.

Hermes-a world of refined luxury and sophistication.Great scents like Derby and Bel ami and now this!?Terre d´hermes-nice advertising, very promising is a simple and vulgar fruit basket-orange and grapefruit,sour smell-it does not dry down to my opinion-it stinks the whole day and badly!It´s spicy and sweet, superficial and simple but on a high level.Again a huge deception-i mean l´eau d´hermes was a great work,the same as the first female scents but Terre d´hermes is a deep deception.Ellenas composition ends up in a chaos and mass!A perfume this is chanel ( cuir de russie), tabac blond(caron), A-man(Mugler)etc. But Terre d´hermes is a disappointment on a high level but the bottle is nice.At least one point!

Avante garde. It's my chosen frag in
2006. Yummy orange and tange grapes
is delicate top note - immediately
merger with cedar and touch desirable
opening. Afterwards appear shaded of
flinty accents--It's ethereal and a
bit resinous. Immediate emerge planty
part and mixing woody, mineral, spicy,
and vegetal notes and appear
important part. Terre d'Hermes is a
little synthetic--however it's needful
and not knocker AT ALL. Base it off
with a smooth benzoin drydown. Hermes
nose Jean-Claude Ellena is often
surpriser!. Overall high sillage and
longlasting. Distinctive frag and this
name is worthy.

An old shoe grinding a baby aspirin into a gravel road.

Terre d'Hermes reminds me of a beautiful basket of fresh oranges and Clemetines. I personally don't care for fruit fragrances, but this one, I think, is special in that just three spritzes should give you your daily allowance of vitiman C. Now, what other fragrance could say that?

Joe

This one has me puzzled! All I can really smell is pepper. But it has depth and I keep going back to smell it - perhaps because it's a change from the fruity aquatics I am so accustomed to seeing/smelling on the shelves these days. To me it smells masculine, sophisticated, confident and somewhat mature - not a grandad scent but a little too old for my tastes.

This is the only citrus fragrance I've found that doesn't fade after an hour or two. It's a dry grapefruit, bitter and refreshing. Crisp.

The drydown brings out earthy notes, rather flat and metallic, smells that are the polar opposite of the fresh, aquatic, floral, and vanilla odors so common now.

That might partly explain the controversy around Terre d'Hermes. It's different.

One of my long time favorites is Guerlain Vetiver. I find many similarities between these two scents, and admire them for the same reasons. Such natural aromas, clean and clear.

You can't overlook the bottle, vaguely reminiscent of a horseshoe. It's tasteful and impressive. The design of the cap will surprise you.

In a word, excellence.

The notable thing about this fragrance is that it is unlike anything else on the market at present. (I say “at present” because it is sure to be imitated within a year.) It is thus distinctive and unique—both good things in the overcrowded smell-alike world of scents where everything seems to have been done and few things stand out. Terre stands out—and how! The opening is of cold earth, and is faintly off-putting. It’s a sour smell, rather than the modern feminine “sweet” that most men’s scents seem to have. But it dries down quickly to something quite lovely—without losing its distinctive masculinity. A great scent—and a distinctive, creative achievement. It shows that new things can still be done.

(For what it’s worth I detect no patchouli whatever.)

This scent is uninspired, mediocre and just plain messy. It is all over the place in terms of what it wants to become and in the end, fails far short of either sophisticated, sporty, fresh or sexy. I guess that's what happens when you become a mass marketer and try to appeal to the lowest common denominators and hope that the luxe Hermes brand name and marketing ploys will compensate for an utterly banal product. I tried wearing it at least three times and all three times, thought that it was dull without any distinction in terms of composition, projection, and aura. This latest release from Hermes is not good, in fact, not good at all.

Elegant scent. Bright citrus initially, which is nicely abrassive. Then mellows to a clean crip earthy freshness. Brings to mind images of manicured bright green lawns after a rain and later neatly pressed white shirts. I think it compliments suits -pair it with a dark navy suit, a crisp white shirt and a colorfull Hermes tie.

One of the most Hermes scene IMO. Terre's got its own beautiful bottle, which contains wonderful water inside. I find it really manly, dark, gentle, deluxe and confident. It worths every spray :)

A delicate citrus opening with an element of, I think, cedar from the base. I catch a hint of the patchouli and that is indeed a sensitively subtle broadening of the background to the citrus. The opening is a charming accord in its balance and delicacy—and Jean Claude Ellena seems to have defeated the synthetic tinges of his citrus accords that have, IMO, occurred in several of his previous scents. As opposed to the synthetic aura of the citrus in Un Jardin en Méditerranée and the tacky synthetic ambiance of the opening accord of Un Jardin sur le Nil, this citrus opening of Terre d’Hermès is crystalline and pristine. When the citrus abates a little, the scent takes on a mineral earthiness—not a sensual earthiness, but a desert breeze earthiness—it’s clear, breezy, fresh…almost primordial. I enjoy the purity and naturalness of this fragrance, and this fragrance is a quality alternative to the generic, synthetic, ‘me-too’ juices that are so prevalent in the mass market now. Though not a great fragrance, Terre d’Hermès is a very worthy one, and certainly one of the best designer offerings in recent years.

I concur with Helder. Nice for 30 minutes, and maybe lasted 2 to 3 hours tops. But after that, really, I can not detect it. Warm perhaps, but really, I could not distinguish anything about this cologne. Now, your mileage may vary, but I'll not think twice about thumbs down on this. Not bad, but how can you say something is bad if you really can not smell it?

I swear I previously entered this review but it disappeared when we moved to the new site. Here it is again, as I still feel the same way...

Since the moment I first opened the Hermes mailer containing my sample of this fragrance I have tested it hoping that I would like it. I really did want to add this Ellena creation to my wardrobe, if only to have something for the office, something citrusy, something lighter, something easy-to-wear, something mineralic. Taking the advertising materials and the early reviews at face value, my hopes were set for this scent to be something of a holy grail.

How disappointing to encounter the real Terre d’Hermes and not the one of lore. The more I test it, the more I dislike it. The grapefruit is one of this scent’s worst components - it borders on annoying, and never disappears from topnotes to basenotes – it is also the most prominent note. It's not a clear, crisp grapefruit, but rather a waxy, almost synthetic grapefruit that reminds me of the wax fruits my great aunt has on her kitchen table.

I usually like scents said to be “mineralic,” for example, Creed's Vetiver (1948). Here again, I am disappointed as I compare marketing, advertising, and hype to my experience. I don't get minerals or wet stones as the marketing folks at Hermes and fans of this scent claim. What I do get is, again, that plastic or wax-like feel, one that seems to lay on top of the skin rather than meld with it; an opaque quality that makes me feel like the scent is the one in control, using me as its canvas.

As to the development...I don't get much. This is usually the case with scents that just sit atop my skin, slowing drying down with the typical, boring gaining-vanilla drydown common to many designer fragrances. On the plus side, it does last a good while. Then again, maybe that's not such a plus, as longevity is a good thing only if one likes the fragrance.

Ah, Terre d'Hermès, that brash new kid on the block! Holding up pretty well under the glare of the bright lights, I should say. Though he is of gangly legs and puffs up his chest a little too much, he is suitably humble and built out of strong stock.

I consider Terre d'Hermès a very good, if not great, new release. The simultaneously bright and sour grapefruit citrus note is tempered or blunted just a touch with a sharp metallic, or flinty note. For comparison, the grapefruit here is not as bright and clear as in Guerlain's excellent Pamplelune. A faint hint of pepper leads into a nice, discrete drydown, which introduces soft woods and vetiver. Overall, I think this is very well done, and will stand the test of time. For a while I didn't think that I'd smelled anything quite like Terre d'Hermès before. That was before I compared it with Nina Ricci's Memoire D'Homme! Both scents are enriched by the comparison, and I urge you to compare them also.

Wicozani

It's all in the drydown. It does smell a lot like Un Jardin sur le Nil in its beginnings - but for that matter it smells characteristically Hermès – something is shared by all Hermès perfumes, not just the Ellena compositions – for example, I’m distinctly reminded of Équipage and Eau de Merveilles for some reason, even though they’re quite distinct. I’m also reminded a little of L’Artisan’s Passage d’Enfer – they all seem to express that satisfying clash of dusty, even musty, earthiness on the one hand and outdoor, zesty summer freshness on the other. Maybe it’s the cedar…

What sets Terre apart from most other “fresh” or summer fragrances is its longevity and its projection, which is really quite remarkable. I was standing at least a metre or so away from a friend when I was wearing this, she thought our other friend who was standing much closer was wearing it. Her exact words: “You smell like a summer breeze”. You can’t really get a better endorsement than that, can you?

This scent is suitable for all season IMO... PERFECT!

all the positive aspects mentioned above are true and I really liked the fragrance during the first 30 min after aplying it. But after this time the fragrance rapidly melts into a very mediocre mixture and there is no way you could distinguish any particular notes.

It is a shame really because it starts off so well but it is impossible to wear it unless you want tos smell like anybody else's mainstream perfume after a short time.

Just finished using two samples of this from Sephora. Love it! I am very pleased. Much better than previous Hermes male fragrances. Very tailored and elegant. For the grown and sexy!
Warm and gently sweet. Long lasting. I am purchasing a large bottle this week!

Terre d'Hermès is the scent of 2006. It is a warm, welcoming scent that keeps you coming back for more!

So perfect. So lovely. This is a scent I could wear anytime. I get a warm amber-like glow from it; vetiver and woods at the base, and bright, sunny grapefruit on top. Everything is blended so harmoniously.

Terre D'Hermès is a masterpiece. My favourite of all.

So far I have only tested this scent from a sample. For the moment I am a little bit splitt about wheter I like this one or not. It is a very different scent - like everything that Hermés does. The beginning is a little bit offputing but then the drydown is very fresh and elegant. A perfect summerscent.
benb

The first Hermes fragrance that I will purchase. To me, Orange Vert, Bel Ami and Rocabar were disappointing scents, however Terre is an intriguing juice. On me, it starts off with an A*Men like sweetness, however the earth drydown is what makes it a winner. I am wary of vetiver-like earthy drydowns which can be hard to wear for many, but the earthy undertones in Terre D'Hermes are perfectly balanced, and are what make this scent a winner. Realise that I havent entirely explored the house of Hermes, so some of the criticisms (like it smelling similar to the two Un Jardin scents) leveled at Terre might be valid. Its on my list of future full bottle purchases!

Here is what I think happened: Hermes had a few vats of Mediterranean Garden and Nile Garden left over and mixed them together. The first blast is the cedar/fig stuff and then it softens into the (what is it? Tuberose?) of the Nile. But, in the mix, something good happened: Hermes Terre is far superior to either of the Jardins. It is more subtle, complex and more appealing. This is a lovely, rich, casual scent. Just great.

I came across this in GQ magazine, and im sure glad i did. Ive never paid too much attention to Hermes fragrances, but this one definitly caught me by suprise. Elegant earthy base notes really does reflect their goal earth and sky

I could wear this any day, without getting bored.This fragrance really puts me in a good mood. Like the others stated, i's really a well balanced, yet simple composition of freshness with some light earthy under tones lingering in the background and settling on your skin. Picture Orange Vert with a bit of Declarations drydown. Less smokey, but it's there. It's refined, it's pure, and like Hermes stated, it's really a fragrance of earth and sky.

This new men's fragrance by Hermes is not highly innovative, but quite pleasant nonetheless. For some reason it reminds me of Arrogance Uomo. It begins with light citrus top notes and mellows into a wonderful base of cedar and earthy elements.

An amazing fragrance. At first you think its just a rehash of their Orange Vert but on drydown you are suddenly transported to the cedars of the Atlas mountains, to the dry earth of an arid desert and to a Mediterranean orange grove. Good sillage and lasts, could be overpowering if sprayed too many times; maybe 2 or 3 will do. I know this will become my eventual everyday (and evening) fragrance. Class in a bottle, but not for everyone's nose, maybe one for the over 25's.

It smells nice to begin with, a typical Hermes fragrance one would say. there is something in common with all of them (jardin sur le nil opening) very pleasant and organic it dries down to vanilla/benzoin softness. the notes are (from the sample package): A wooded harmony, both vegetal and mineral: Cedars, vetiver, grapefruit, peppers, benzoin

I've read that this was supposed to be a men's version of Un Jardin Sur de Nil. It carries the same levity and freshness, but I find that it's a good deal greener than Sur de Nil. The substantial grapefruit notes of Sur de Nil are nowhere to be found here.

Ultimately I found Terre d'Hermes to be as elegant a green fragrance as I've seen (admittedly not as much as many here). There is a sensual note to it that I really like. At one point during the drydown it smelled vaguely soapy, but it's really much more sophisticated than that.

I would definitely suggest this as a good day-to-day fragrance that is probably suitable for any weather. I'm very anxious for warmer summer temperatures so I can see how Terre d'Hermes holds up then.

An honour to start the reviews on this brilliant new fragrance made by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermes. I just tried it recently and the first impression was the wave of orange/grapefruit with ceder and vetiver earthy-mineral freshness which dries down so very nicely and gives it and exotic though still familiar touch that makes one feel comfortable.
It probably has some similarities to Eau de Rochas for Men but I am not sure. In some way it just reminded me to that fragrance. This one is much richer and more sophisticated though. Warm, delicate with very clear lines. The drydown hides a special surprise: you can actually smell gunpowder in there. You really can. If to describe using colours it would actually fit the Hermes orange with brown and green tones added as well. A nice, well balanced masterpiece fitting into the precious Hermes heritage.

This is just a hypnotic assortment of fruit (grapefruit), wood, wet soil after the rain, grass, pepper and something ... which smells like metal...but only an hour after you have applied it. I got a sample last night and could not wait for the Hermes boutique to open this morning so I could get the largest bottle. Wish this was an ocean I could swim into... If you liked Un Jardin sur le Nil, you will like this one even more, as with the time since the last release, they took the time to perfect the essence and make it so much more substantial and mature. Wearing the Terre feels like being in a company of a very good friend, rather than being wrapped in a blanket (Dior Homme), or lost in a cloud (Daim Blond). Love this stuff, am so happy it came out. Not to forget, quite good lasting power.

I really like this one. I usually find citrus scents a little dull and "disinfectant" smelling(if you know what I mean) but this has a lovely base of patchouli, or at least that's what it smells like to me. Settles down beautifully to a lovely warm, but strong earthy scent. Definite thumbs up!

A unique blend from the master Jean Claude Ellena. A fragrance that contains no animal notes and musks. One can detect the vegetal nature of this masterpiece right away. Just like the description, it smells like different elements of the earth, first the green damp forest, then comes the woods and the stones, and finally the fire, the spice and the flowers reveal themselves. It's a stunning creation, would work wonders in the summer. It is also subtle yet long lasting, designed to be closer to the skin, giving a perfect skin accord to each individual. Very original and creative, have to give Jean Claude Ellena a big round of applause for this piece!

I obtained a sample of this at the Hermes boutique and was pretty stunned. It reminds me of something I can't place. It really has that 'rough' sweetness yet with a 'light' touch to it, totally fits the description. Very earthy but not at all intoxicating, it was very 'lightly sweet' during my wearing. Absolutely pleasant and a great piece of art.