Hermèssence Vanille Galante (2009)
by Hermès

Hermessence Vanille Galante by Hermes - One is initially treated to a fruity accord of melons and bananas coupled with some leafy and dried grass nuances. Sea water from calone sprinkles this gardeny melange with saltiness, and flows to the awaiting middle. Here, in the heart, the smooth sweetness of lily and the flowery fruitiness of ylang ylang, enhanced by sunny salicylates, infuse the opening brew with their exhilarating facets, while a faint, nascent vanilla makes its presence known. Transitioning to the waiting base, a barely sweet vanilla blooms and commingles with a milky and pleasant sandalwood, while faintly floral, cherry-vanilla heliotrope floats about. An airy and soothing drydown ensures. Definitely leaning to the feminine side, this well-done composition is reflective of its high quality. This is a skin scent with average longevity.

29th January, 2012.

Well, I'm one of those people who hates vanilla -- and I gave this a try.
Verdict: well done for its type. My antipathy to vanilla keeps me from endorsing it but I won't slag it.
It starts with a green, slightly sweet floral note. Vanilla provides a counterpoint, here a creamy-woody vanilla. The scent gets a bit gourmand -- like a cookie or pastry. In style this is more rich than sweet, and certainly not cloying.
If you like vanilla, then do check it out.
But this isn't the one to move me off my position.

20th January, 2012.

Put the name aside, and come with an open mind. Vanilla doesn't only describe a scent, but can be a colour, and expression of something plain or unadulterated. So, if you are of a literal mind, yes, you will be disappointed if you think vanilla means only a note in perfumery and that this is what you are chasing. The vanilla is there, but it isn't centre stage, more woven through, and doesnt smell like pudding!
This comes out of the bottle like silk. It's as smooth and delicately luxurious. This scent immediately conjours up a 'felt' experience, not just olfactory. Silk settles on skin. Sweet - lilies? Yang ylang? Jasmine? Suddenly I don't care what it is. I've never liked white flower notes- too piercingly sweet. I don't want to deconstruct this into components I 'don't like' and therefore ruin the experience. And this is beautiful. I have a soft spot for M.Ellena- even though he frustrates at times with awful longevity, or deconstructs something so it becomes more holes than scent. But when he brings his delicate art together just right, it sings. This is one of those times, for me. Big thumbs up for a lily,
white flower whatever it is that I can actually wear ( and more importantly enjoy!)
And-joy of joy- I get a good 8 hours from it!

3rd November, 2011. (Last Edited: 6th November, 2011.)

I find the name misleading. You would expect a vanilla fragrance, and Vanille Galante doesn`t seem to be about vanilla. Instead, it`s white flower confection that smell like a cross of jasmine, ylang-ylang and lily, with a bare swetness of the vanilla. I think that, if you are a perfumer that doen`t like the vanille note and want to do a vanilla fragrance, at least you can do like this, constructing a decent abstract flower aroma, and not destroying the vanilla aroma with some strange ambers and wood, as Annick Goutal did with Vanille Exquise. Vanille Galante smell like a variation of a spring frargrance. It`s good, but something on the abstract floral gives me a brown impression that i don`t like. I still prefer the much better Osmanthe Yunnan as a floral fragrance to this one.

27th January, 2011.

First time I tried this, I liked it, but it wasn't too special to me. Second time I wore it, I hated it! Afterwards I wrote it off, yet still had this 15 ml decant in my possession. Eventually I mustered up the courage to give it another try, and this time I enjoyed it much more, and every time thereafter. Although, I don't see myself buying this again in the future.

What Vanille Galante does that no other vanilla fragrance does is it extracts the sweetness from the vanilla, and really makes it earthy, with that Hermes touch. But, then the earthy like smells are less earthy than others made by JCE, because of some added synthetic and chemical notes. I pick up a strong rubber/latex note that stays in the fragrance for a while. I think this is what initially turned me off the most, but it's like, the more you smell it, the more you like it. I think rubber notes are actually quite nice in many fragrances, if done right they give a certain ruggedness to them.

Vanille Galante is an unsweetened vanilla (though naturally sweet), slightly herbal, rubbery, cooling, and medicinal fragrance, very unique but doesn't jump off the wall, because it's quite subtle. A must try though for those looking for a different type of vanilla. JCE proves that there can be vanilla fragrances that aren't syrupy, overly sweet, or cloying. Even if you hate vanilla, ya may wanna give this one a try.

28th August, 2010. (Last Edited: 9th April, 2011.)

Floral vanilla ,quite densely long lasting on me. I much prefer the spciey scents of Parika brasil and Poivre Samarcande.

27th August, 2010.