Elixir des Merveilles (2006)
by Hermès

Hermes Elixir des Merveilles

Notes: chocolate-covered candied orange peel, caramel, vanilla biscuit (vanilla sugar, tonka bean), creamy milk, sandalwood, incense, resins, ambergris, Peru balsam and balsam of Siam, oak, patchouli and cedar (from NowSmellThis.com)

What happens when you take a weird, top-heavy woody gourmand like Eau des Merveilles and amp up the sweetness with excessive amounts of vanilla-orange creamsicle and some chocolate? You get an orange-creme truffle of a fragrance that smells like cheap food flavorings rather than a fine fragrance. Ok, so it does smell a bit yummy, in the same way that I loved my grape flavored Bonne Bell lip gloss when I was young. I apologize to those who may love this fragrance, but to my nose it smells of inexpensive body care products. I enjoy the dissonance of dessicated cedar wood and tea contrasted with syrupy sweetness, but I can't ever see wearing this with any regularity. In other words, it is nice for an occasional diversion, but is ultimately boring, loud and unsophisticated.

I love this scent. I bought it on a whim from a person who didn't like it much. It was his wife's and she says it just didn't agree with her. She said it smelled like a men's fragrance. He should have taken her word on that and kept it. This is a wonderful frag and I see it as entirely unisex. Either he didn't like it or the power of the marketing gurus was too powerful and he just couldn't see it as a masculine scent.

The initial blast is candied orange peels. Very sweet but tempered by a spicy undertone that mixes wonderfully. I can catch the faint chocolate goodness and the vanilla. Not normally a fan of vanilla in men's frags but this is so subtle that it doesn't mess with my senses at all.

The first time I wore it I received compliments from both guys and dolls on it. Of course when I stated it was designed as a women's frag the guys were immediately turned off. Their loss.

Really gorgeous deep, dense, almost dark orange right at the top -- some of the best topnotes ever are here. It's orange, but not a normal citrusy, fresh fragrance you would expect --- it's kinda woody and gourmandy. A nice sandalwood, spice and vanilla (tonka) show up later to produce a mellow refined finish and comes as a slight relief -- the top and middle can't be described as shy. There are 'men's' fragrances out there more feminine than this. Classy.

The Hardy Boys hid in the old warehouse for what seemed like hours, waiting for the mysterious man from the luggage company to come back. "Maybe he won't come back at all." Frank said, shuffling his feet on the bottom of the crate. His shoes kicked up fragments of the wood; it was rough-hewn and easily released bits of fragrant sawdust. The crate also smelled of the spices it had contained at one time. It reminded Frank that it had been quite some time since they had last eaten. "Maybe we should just go home and try again tomorrow."

"We have to stay just a little longer." Said Joe. "We have to find out why he was digging out behind the old Merveilles house last week, and if it has any connection Sally's disappearance."

Joe had to admit that things had become rather uncomfortable. Huddled together inside the rough wooden shipping crates, the boys were getting tired, cold, and hungry. They dug through their pockets looking for something to tide them over. Joe had some hard candy, and Frank had a big, succulent orange he had saved from lunch.

"This will have to do for dinner." Said Joe, solemnly, and peeled the orange, releasing it's pungent oil into the dusty night air. He pulled up the collar of his borrowed jacket, which still faintly smelled of his father's favorite soap. "I wish Dad was here." he thought, but kept those thoughts to himself. He did not want to let his brother know that he was scared.

They ate the orange and the candy slowly, silently, as if even the sounds of their chewing would somehow give their location away, hidden as they were in the pile of old spice crates. Together, they waited. Darkness fell.

Unable to get past the fact that it smelled like men's cologne on me. Wasn't something I'd bother regifting to my husband, either...sorry.

Starts out with warm incense and woods. After about 20 minutes the orange kicks into high gear and stays, which caught me by surprise since citrus can be so fleeting. I don't care for it so much myself (despite the incense and woods) as it's a very ripe, sweet, and robust orange, like orange liqueur. I appreciate the scent because the orange is prominent and long lasting, which is an impressive accomplishment for a citrus in my opinion. How this plays out with the woods and incense is quite fascinating. I'd call it an evening citrus, something you don't see often in perfumery. I'm glad others seem to like it a lot, but it's simply not my bag.