Hermèssence Brin de Réglisse (2007)
by Hermès

Brin de Réglisse goes on with a really lovely savory-salty accord of black licorice and lavender. Contrary to my expectations, it does not then settle into the sharp, synthetic woody accord that anchors so many of Jean-Claude Ellena’s previous scents. Happily, this means that after twenty minutes it doesn’t wind up smelling exactly like Un Jardin sur la Nil, Un Jardin en Méditerranée, or Terre d’Hermès. Sadly, it also means that after twenty minutes Brin de Réglisse winds up smelling like nothing at all.

Brin de Reglisse, a lavender/licorice scent that is part of the Hermessence Series of boutique exclusive scents by Hermes sadly suffers from shockingly low longevity.

The scent: I LOVE IT.

The lavender (reputed to have been dissected by the perfumer Jean Claude Ellena into an entirely different molecule minus a few notes) is fantastic and extremely vegetal. For those who do not like the smell of celery - steer clear of BdR, because you can smell this almost immediately upon application (I found it extremely comfortable). The flat and starchy lavender then highlights the oncoming licorice notes just right. The black licorice is not gourmand (like Yohji Homme) and not anise-oriented (well...like many mens fragrances...the new Diesel comes to mind immediately) but licorice in all its pastel, chewy aroma.

In the middle notes I detected a slight confectionery note that reminded me of white chocolate. It strikes that yin/yang between the dry herbal note and that sweet candy note. I got absolutely no orange blossom. I think I might have smelled the hay note, but my nose is sometimes anosmic to hay so I can't be certain. And then...it disappeared in about 1 hour. The next time I wore it I intentionally over applied - I think I sprayed it 20 times (no kidding). It lasted about 2 hours. Then, in the same fashion, it completely disappeared from my skin. I tried it at night, at the end of the day. Same thing.

I would like to look past this and recommend this scent - but based upon the price (Hermessence scents are luxury priced) and the fact that other more affordable Hermes scents (Kelly Caleche, for instance) aren't burdened by such issues, I cannot.

I knew something was special about this on on my skin so I tried it a few times. I found that I liked it more and more.
First application: dry lavender. didn't go anywhere, set it aside to tyr again
Second application: dry lavender and citrus with licorice, something seems to be creeping up
Third application: a licorice note that transcends the dry lavender note into a green herbal puff of dry and spicy vanilla that is pleasant and lingers making this a lavender gourmand

If you believe in heaven, this is the key....

Brin de Réglisse is not necessarily a dry lavender as seems to be the consensus in most media mentioning the scent. Rather, it plays up the richness of lavender, which can be more easily found with the absolute or concrete distillation: herbaceous yet sweet, green yet smooth – Brin de Réglisse renders a velvety gourmand lavender, likened to a lavender-flavoured chocolate. The licorice note, apparent right from the start is reminiscent of tarragon, with it’s off-beat, awkwardly green sweetness, which seamlessly complements the lavender paste. It is further deepened by deep cocoa and dark coumarin sweetness with a gourmand intensity that is more vanillic than hay-like. And than, after less than two hours of wear, it practically disappears… So unfortunately, while I find the concept of Brin de Réglisse just as surprising and original as Vetiver Tonka (a vetiver that stands out among the over-populated crowd of scents of that theme), Vetiver Tonka remains my favourite Hermèssence for both its originality and lasting power.