Hermèssence Paprika Brasil by Hermès, 2006

An interesting but vaguely unsatisfying perfume. On me, Paprika Brazil kicks off with regular old dinner-table black pepper mixed with bright violets. There's a nose-tickling red pepper smell in there as well that I think must be the paprika. This stage is actually quite clever. The interplay of the bright perfumey florals with the woody pepper is the kind of thing that makes J.C. Ellena famous. This eventually dries down to a peppery iris mixed with a woody vetiver, which is what I actually smell for most of the day. Smelled up close, it lasts into the evening, but the projection is extremely weak, almost like the concentration was intentionally left very thin. To really get anything out of it requires a fairly heavy application - thank goodness these Hermessence samples are huge.... Overall, Paprika Brazil is nice, but it never really sings thanks to the low concentration. You could do better with Van Cleef's Bois d'Iris, which is similar but much stronger, though it lacks the clever violets at the start. I'm still giving it a thumbs up, but with some hesitation.

Underrated scent. Unique, yet simple. Smells like paprika and florals smothered in sequoia's. Longevity and projection are both stellar.

Raid floral

I am a huge fan of JCE, but did like this one. Sour and dry on me. Just not for me. But I would stop short of giving a thumbs down.

Hello?! Anyone home?! I mean.. seriously.. This is possibly the most impalpable fragrance I've ever tried.. And it's a shame because I think this would be not bad at all if you could actually smell something 5 mins after applying it..

Paprika Brasil comfortably sits between all other fragrances of the same line (Hermessence), with its thin and minimalistic structure. Peppery spices and woods pleasantly balanced to create a traslucent and very gentle smell. Nice and well executed but I expected a little more from a supposed"exclusive" line by Hermes. A serious contendant if just half priced.

One of the weakest scents from the Hermessence line. Basically a dry-pepper fragrance layered with a rooty iris and a faint wood base. You have to keep your nose very close to the place where you applied it, because the scent has zero projection throughout the evolution. It does last, but it's so faint that it gives you an impression that disappearing after 30 minutes on skin. Not a bad scent, but you'd expect much more for 200 dollars.

In my opinion, the name of this scent is quite misleading. I don't find it reminiscent of Brazil in any way. I know the "Brasil" bit refers to Brasil wood but I would have named it different.

I sniffed the cap before spraying and -call me crazy- but I detect a light floral smell similar to that of Violetta di Parma EDP.

I sprayed it on my wrist and got suffocated by an intense cloud of Szegedi Paprika, the hot kind. This doesn't last long but is enough to keep me intrigued.

After this I got the aforementioned green violet note.

Then: beautiful, soft, dry, elegant and refined iris wich starts mingling with leather while keeping the impression of transparency all the time.

The drydown is iris-y and leathery and much colder in feeling than the initial capsicum blast.

Staying power is decent, about 5 hours. I don't find it has a lot of sillage, it stays close to the skin

I did enjoy this very much and I almost bought a bottle . On me, it begins very spicey and then morphs into a gentle true iris velvety scent with tons of Iso E Super. It lasts thought as with all jean Claude Ellena's work, it's sheer like silk nylons and transparent. Though it did last through a good hot shower so longevity is surprisingly good.
Haiku scent this is . It's elegant, crisp and neat. Got to be in the mood for it though.

Hard to believe that this is as expensive as it is. Its basically a collection of some capsicum-related spices and a green (and a not-to-impressively green at that) accord. These uninspiring notes are eventually followed by a demure wood drydown. I dont know what else to say about it except that it is a pleasant scent without a strong sillage. Paprika Brasil boasts average longevity. If that is worth a couple of hundred, go for it. Ill pass