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Voyage d'Hermes in stores !

post #1 of 82
3/11/10 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
I just tried the new Voyage d'Hermes which is now in the Hermes stores ,at least at the 2 in Manchester ! They will start selling it on 13th March.The bottle is absolutely beautiful ,quite unlike anything else around , they will be selling refills a bit later on as well.The fragrance is typical JCE , light, fresh, clean not complex ,it is exactly as described a woody musk and has good longevity ,I can still smell it 6 hours on;although I did spray quite a lot on I was also given some samples to take away so will have a play with it over the next few days.Having said all this I am not sure if I would rush to buy it , I love Ellena's fragrances but felt this didn't grab me enough, it is very pleasant but not so exciting to make it a must have, especially at the price asked.The beautiful bottle might make me change my mind though !
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post #2 of 82
3/11/10 at 9:46am
Oakman: what's the price for a bottle in the Hermes store?
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post #3 of 82
3/11/10 at 9:48am
Thanks for the update. I am sure I will try it at some point - I won't be rushing. But "light, fresh, clean not complex" does not usually interest me - cool bottle or not.
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post #4 of 82
3/11/10 at 9:50am
I'm not a huge fan of JC Ellena, but I guess I will have to mosey on down to Hermès this weekend...
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post #5 of 82
3/11/10 at 9:59am
Can't wait to try it - I will try to make it over to Hermes this weekend.
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post #6 of 82
3/11/10 at 10:16am
There's also a new review of it here:
http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scenteds...age_by_he.html
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post #7 of 82
3/11/10 at 1:51pm
I have read the review at Scented Salamander and came away saying to myself...what? I wish the reviewers would review and cease and desist from the flowery discriptive drama.
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post #8 of 82
3/11/10 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by N_Tesla View Post

I have read the review at Scented Salamander and came away saying to myself...what? I wish the reviewers would review and cease and desist from the flowery discriptive drama.

I agree that the verbiage seems overdone. Embedded in all that is the main point (IMO): "it distills a certain dullness."
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post #9 of 82
3/11/10 at 3:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by N_Tesla View Post

I have read the review at Scented Salamander and came away saying to myself...what? I wish the reviewers would review and cease and desist from the flowery discriptive drama.

If brevity is the soul of wit, this review proves just the opposite.
How about this: Ellena always always gets me wanting, but he seldom delivers the goods. Touché!
That said, I can't wait to give this one a try.
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post #10 of 82
3/11/10 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by furrypine View Post

Oakman: what's the price for a bottle in the Hermes store?

The price is £53 for 35ml and £76 for 100ml , and the fragrance is also now listed on the Hermes website . It makes the smaller size very expensive in comparison !
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post #11 of 82
3/11/10 at 4:24pm
53 quid for 35ml?! Holy moly, that's...expensive!!
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post #12 of 82
3/11/10 at 7:37pm
I cherished Hermes' good old classics... reformulated and gone, a pitty.
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post #13 of 82
3/11/10 at 8:59pm
Wow that review on scented salamander is more a tribute to overly considered writing than a fragrance review!
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post #14 of 82
3/11/10 at 11:59pm
Oh my gravy, that bottle is badass. Too bad the scent sounds so dull.

Ugh, Scented Salamander. This is why I wait around for NowSmellThis or Katie Puckrick's reviews. Occasional lapses into floral, abstract language, but grounded by actual criticism. How very!
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post #15 of 82
3/12/10 at 4:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by N_Tesla View Post

I have read the review at Scented Salamander and came away saying to myself...what? I wish the reviewers would review and cease and desist from the flowery discriptive drama.

I agree with you 100%. It isn't painting a picture. It obfuscates the view.
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post #16 of 82
3/12/10 at 9:34am
I'm not a fan of gimmicky flip-top bottles but I'll let the fragrance speak for itself. I'm not excited about the news based on the review so I am ok with waiting until some of you can report on it. In the meantime, I have vetiver tonka that I want to retest to see if my feelings have changed on it.
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post #17 of 82
3/12/10 at 10:05am
Oooo .. now I can finally talk about it. I received a bottle in my office much earlier but was not allowed to talk about it to anyone and it was pure torture to keep mum about it. It pretty much smells like Jardin sur le nil + sweaty socks. A journey from the Nile to India, without the time to take a bath. Of cos, being a work of JCE, this is sweaty socks that is actually agreeable. An interesting fragrance .. not pretty .. but interesting.
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post #18 of 82
3/13/10 at 10:41pm
I have a sample of this, sitting on my desk, as I type this. I will give it a full wearing tomorrow and post my thoughts.

For now, I'll offer this:

- It smells like bits and pieces of one of the Jardin de Nils...I can't put my finger on which one yet.
- The musk note I can smell (which I was surprised, since many musk notes I cannot smell) and the musk note is quite agreeable.
- The bottle is even more adorable in person, than it is in the pictures.
- According to the SA at Hermes, not only will it be sold in a small and large bottle, but they will also sell a 100 or 125 ml (I can't remember which) refill bottle, to fill the bottles which have screw off atomizers, which makes sense for a travel-oriented fragrance.
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post #19 of 82
3/15/10 at 11:35am
Would love to hear more about this one.

Anyone else picking up the flint/mineralic notes mentioned over at scented Salamander? Or maybe the 'concrete iris' note? That makes it sound quite good to me - industrial and abstract. But the juxtaposition of cumin to add a human element seems like an odd pairing of notes.
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post #20 of 82
3/15/10 at 12:17pm
Wearing it again this afternoon...

The other Hermes scent, that it most closely resembles IMO is Un Jardin de Mediteranee. That wispy transparent fig note is here, almost like coconut but not sweet. It shows up right when you spray it on and sticks around for the first few minutes before it fades. I do not smell much a flint/mineral note, nor do I sense cumin. The animalic/musk element is more like that slightly urinous accord certain grapefruit scents smell like - but with a bit more 'white fuzziness' to it. I keep wanting to say it's a tomato leaf accord (again, another JCE scent has a prominent tomato leaf accord, Eau de Campagne) but then it morphs again and I'm not quite sure if it's my mind or my nose that smells that.

When I apply, from the tiny glass vial, I sprayed about 12 sprays on (no kidding) to get this to 'stick'. Even at this dosage, it's still almost imperceptible at certain moments - in the typical JCE style we have come to know.

It's nice. I'm definitely not wowed over it and I really would have liked for this to have smelled different from other Hermes fragrances (like Hermessence Vanille Galante and Un Jardin Apres la Mousson did)...but it smells very familiar and it's hard for me to get excited when there's this strong sense of familiarity.
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post #21 of 82
3/15/10 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

According to the SA at Hermes, not only will it be sold in a small and large bottle, but they will also sell a 100 or 125 ml (I can't remember which) refill bottle, to fill the bottles which have screw off atomizers, which makes sense for a travel-oriented fragrance.

Hey Mike, curious if Hermes will be selling the travel bottles empty so one can put whatever "Hermes" scent they want in it? A beautiful, high end, refillable, travel atomizer is such a great gift idea.
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post #22 of 82
3/15/10 at 2:16pm
Can't wait to try this, sounds brill! I'm becoming a big fan of Hermes...
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post #23 of 82
3/15/10 at 2:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

Hey Mike, curious if Hermes will be selling the travel bottles empty so one can put whatever "Hermes" scent they want in it? A beautiful, high end, refillable, travel atomizer is such a great gift idea.

No. But that's a great idea.
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post #24 of 82
3/15/10 at 10:24pm
This is in all Hermes retailers already?
or only in hermes boutiques for a while ?
Chicago's Hermes boutique is closed on sunday...
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post #25 of 82
3/15/10 at 11:26pm
The bottle does look nice!
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post #26 of 82
3/16/10 at 5:38pm
So I was at Holt Renfrew today and I tried it, the SA seemed a bit surprised I even knew about it! Apparently they are doing a 'soft launch' at the Yorkdale HR.

The opening is sharp and somewhat spicy, pleasant and slightly generic even. It then morphs into a rather weird and simple smell which must be the musk, and finally the dry down is an amazing, clean, woody scent. The dry down will be brilliant on a hot day, once in a while I get a very brief note of dried coconut. 1 spray and 3 hours later I only smell it if I smack my wrist to my nose, I guess this will be one you've got to really apply well.

However, at $105CDN for 35ml this fragrance just smells a bit cheap in the beginning and is not smooth enough...for $124 (at HR) you can buy 75ml of the Terre d' Hermes parfum!

Is there a chance Hermes will reprice all its perfumes to this same level?
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post #27 of 82
3/16/10 at 6:04pm
This is as good an excuse as any to head up to The Bal Harbour Shops tomorrow.
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post #28 of 82
3/16/10 at 7:51pm
I forgot to mention that when I brought Ray with me into the Hermes boutique, the very first thing he said when he saw the bottle was, 'That looks like one of those things you see on a horse saddle' to which the Hermes SA said 'Yes, that's exactly what its patterned after'. I was a bit surprised, because I (just like many on Basenotes) myself thought it looked like a cell phone the first time I saw it.

Oh and reading todays review of this over at Now Smell This, I realize that this does have a tiny bit of cardamom (ala Declaration by Cartier) in the middle notes. I don't know how I missed detecting it, but as soon as I smell it now, my nose zeroes in on the cardamom clear-as-day.
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post #29 of 82
3/16/10 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

I forgot to mention that when I brought Ray with me into the Hermes boutique, the very first thing he said when he saw the bottle was, 'That looks like one of those things you see on a horse saddle' to which the Hermes SA said 'Yes, that's exactly what its patterned after'.

Almost everything designed by Hermes makes reference in some way to their heritage as harness makers. The references are sometimes so obvious that they go right over one's head. BTW, that thing that Ray was referring to is called a stirrup.

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post #30 of 82
3/18/10 at 1:00pm
Ahh! I'm so excited because the nicest friend ever surprised me today with a visit from the fedex man and a package containing:



The bottle is so cute. I also love how the packaging mimics the cloth slip-covers and bolduc ribbons that Hermes uses. It's like the bottle is wrapped up in a dust-cover for safe traveling in my suitcase.

I agree with Mike about the fig/coconut note and relationship to Un Jardin en Mediterranee. From my first sniff, I'm intrigued! I don't smell the dirty socks that someone mentioned, but I did for a moment think that I was picking up some cumin. I was getting the suggestion of human body, in any case.

The "concrete iris" imagery kind of works for me, too. A dusty, concrete iris...
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post #31 of 82
3/18/10 at 1:05pm
So has anyone actually seen this in a store yet? And if so, which store?
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post #32 of 82
3/19/10 at 8:19pm
I received my tester today and I sprayed a bit tonight and my initital impression is Un Jardin En Mediterranee with some added spice notes. The cardamom in the middle rang out and at least this first time around I felt like there was some cumin in the drydown which was reminiscent of Ellena's Declaration for Cartier.
This is a very classic Ellena perfume employing minimal notes. I will be testing most of the weekend and I'll talk more about it as I experience it a little more and more heavily applied.
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post #33 of 82
3/19/10 at 9:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Somerville Metro Man View Post

I received my tester today and I sprayed a bit tonight and my initital impression is Un Jardin En Mediterranee with some added spice notes. The cardamom in the middle rang out and at least this first time around I felt like there was some cumin in the drydown which was reminiscent of Ellena's Declaration for Cartier.
This is a very classic Ellena perfume employing minimal notes. I will be testing most of the weekend and I'll talk more about it as I experience it a little more and more heavily applied.

It seems like everything he touches has been influenced by declaration. Declaration is like the "where's Waldo" of the JCE creations.
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post #34 of 82
3/19/10 at 9:37pm
Perhaps someone should compare it with the combination of Un Jardin en Mediterranee and Declaration.
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post #35 of 82
3/19/10 at 11:43pm
I also got a chance to try this today... and first impression was... Hmmm I can't smell anything! Ok I did smell something but honestly I thought this was the most disappointing hermes to date. I mean if I have to spray 20 times just to be able to smell it myself then why bother? as for the notes, well... I did get hints of Philosykos from Diptyque and I did think it's very AIRY and a bit spicy but fresh and did i mention LIGHT? I can't describe much since it's very hard to detect it unless you stick your nose to where you applied it!

to me this is not worth the price at all, I left the store without even BOTHERING to ask for a sample!
*2 thumbs down*
if you are going to TRY this one I suggest you wear no perfume at all and you test it by itself (I mean this should be the only fragrance you will try that day) and ask the rep to spray at least 5 times!
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post #36 of 82
3/20/10 at 5:35am
I hate Un Jardin en Mediterranee but love most of Ellena perfumes. So it's interesting will I like Voyage d'hermes
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post #37 of 82
3/20/10 at 7:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

So has anyone actually seen this in a store yet? And if so, which store?

Right now it is Hermes boutiques only but it will be at the department stores that carry the Hermes line in 4-6 weeks, in the US.
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post #38 of 82
3/20/10 at 10:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

So has anyone actually seen this in a store yet? And if so, which store?

LOL ! There was a huge clue in the topic heading that it was actually in the stores now , which is why I started the thread !!!If you read the first comment I did say I tried it in the Hermes store. Or were you just referring to stores in the USA not the RotW.
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post #39 of 82
3/20/10 at 12:11pm
Tried this today on a paper strip. To me this is dead ringer for Eau de Merveilles, the feminine that many say ought to have been unisex. Voyage does not remind me of Terre at all--it is not dry like Terre is.
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post #40 of 82
3/20/10 at 12:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davedude11 View Post

Voyage does not remind me of Terre at all--it is not dry like Terre is.

To be fair it's not like Voyage is a flanker of Terre. It's completely separate, so it's not gonna smell anything like it.
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post #41 of 82
3/20/10 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smeghead View Post

To be fair it's not like Voyage is a flanker of Terre. It's completely separate, so it's not gonna smell anything like it.

That is true, but at least on Now Smell This's review it talks about Voyage having a mineral base reminiscent of TdH.
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post #42 of 82
3/20/10 at 2:19pm
Tried this yesterday in Brown Thomas in Dublin. I actually think it's lovely! Very reminiscent of other JCE fragrances for Hermes, but it's still very much its own beast. It just screams summery freshness, but has a lovely warm drydown too.
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post #43 of 82
3/21/10 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by oakman View Post

LOL ! There was a huge clue in the topic heading that it was actually in the stores now , which is why I started the thread !!!If you read the first comment I did say I tried it in the Hermes store. Or were you just referring to stores in the USA not the RotW.

I believe mtgprox05 was referring to the fact that this IS available in Hermes stores and since it IS NOT yet available in regular department stores, when will it be. Seems like Somerville Metro Man just answered that above, though.
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post #44 of 82
3/21/10 at 9:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

I believe mtgprox05 was referring to the fact that this IS available in Hermes stores and since it IS NOT yet available in regular department stores, when will it be.

Brown Thomas is a multi-brand store in Dublin, sort of like a Bergdorf Goodman, I've been there - see Riverwide's post. So I guess it is already available outside of the Hermes boutques.
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post #45 of 82
3/22/10 at 3:21am
Eager to hear more comparisons from those who tested it.
Is it really just a voyage thru a variety of Hermes scents, and that is why we get some saying un Jardin Mediterranae, some saying Eau De Merveilles, some saying Terre D'Hermes ?
Do the Hermes boutiques have the larger bottles yet?
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post #46 of 82
3/22/10 at 8:02am
Thread Starter 
The Hermes boutiques have both sizes in stock , there is also a deodorant available . The refills are not for sale yet , a few more months before they become available , the refill is in a pressurised bottle that will fill the original bottle after unscrewing the atomiser pump , as opposed to swapping the bottle from the metal holder.
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post #47 of 82
3/22/10 at 8:22am
In UK, excluding the Hermes boutiques, its currently exclusive to Harrods. When i was in there yesterday if you bought the 100ml you also got 2 smaller(full) versions of the bottle free (in a nice bag) which also seems to emphasise the travel motif - they were small travel size bottles abut 5cm high but have the same construction with the metal sleeve & were very cute (& refillable also).
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post #48 of 82
3/24/10 at 5:50am
So I've had a few days of wearing Voyage now and I think it is a combination of three fragrances from Jean-Claude Ellena's past.
The top is reminiscent of the Un Jardin Series both en Mediterranee and sur le Nil. Voyage has the sheer sort of bright citrus opening both of those Jardins have. It doesn’t follow up with the aquatic aspect both of those fragrances have. Instead it heads towards the territory mined by Ellena in Cartier Declaration and the flankers. In particular Declaration Eau Genereuse which marries a stronger citrus with a more in control cumin. In voyage the cumin is controlled by the addition of cardamom and ginger. The base is as described in Now Smell This all of the mineral aspect of Terre D’Hermes but you need to spray a fair bit on to get that. If you use a modest application the end just feels sort of woody. A healthy application gets that earthy mineral feel you get from Terre D’Hermes.
I think this is going to be a big hit as it combines a number of Ellena’s most successful themes into one fragrance.
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post #49 of 82
3/25/10 at 3:24am
Altough I'm not a fan of Ellena's work, this one disappointed me a lot ... what I don't understand is how and why such a house as Hermès releases a fragrance like this: it doesn't at all reflect the spirit and the roots of Hermès; their aim is to make easy and quick money with an expensive fragrance made with cheap raw materials
The head is very synthetic, very plastic-like neither fresh nor citrussy nor spicy and then it evolves toward a typical Ellena's mixing some notes from TDH some notes from the new Hermès' colognes and other from previous works of Ellena; as usual in Ellena's style it doesn't evolve a lot and is self contemplative
It seems that Hermès' travels are no longer horseriding, with leather luggage, taking time to admire the landscape !
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post #50 of 82
3/28/10 at 6:20am
I tried it at Saks. I found it to be a light, fleeting version of Cartier Declaration. A big disappointment to me, and something I will be passing on.
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post #51 of 82
3/28/10 at 6:31am
By it pour it out and keep the beautiful bottle !
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post #52 of 82
3/29/10 at 4:07pm
For those of you in Canada, Holt Renfrew, even the ones without Voyage d'Hermes on their shelfs, have some bottles stashed under the counter.

As for the fragrance itself..... it's basically Jardin sur le Nil, but with the creaminess replaced by Terre d'Hermes' mineral accords. It's nice. I like it better than Jardin sur le Nil and Terre d'Hermes... but it leaves me a bit cold.

I much, much prefer the Hermessence line. Each fragrance is so subtle, and yet so deep. You can easily over-spray any of them and not feel overwhelmed, while at the same time, you can spray just a little and feel like it's enough. I really think they're genius. It's funny how Jean-Claude Ellena keeps re-releasing varying forms of Declaration for the mainstream public (eg. TdH, Jardin sur le Nil, Voyage, Bigarade Concentree), while his less popular fragrances are where all the creativity and magic is.
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post #53 of 82
3/29/10 at 4:16pm
As for the fragrance itself..... it's basically Jardin sur le Nil, but with the creaminess replaced by Terre d'Hermes' mineral accords. It's nice. I like it better than Jardin sur le Nil and Terre d'Hermes... but it leaves me a bit cold.

I much, much prefer the Hermessence line. Each fragrance is so subtle, and yet so deep. You can easily over-spray any of them and not feel overwhelmed, while at the same time, you can spray just a little and feel like it's enough. I really think they're genius. It's funny how Jean-Claude Ellena keeps re-releasing varying forms of Declaration for the mainstream public (eg. TdH, Jardin sur le Nil, Voyage, Bigarade Concentree), while his less popular fragrances are where all the creativity and magic is.[/QUOTE]

I agree......If you want a good Modern Hermes...Hermessence is the way to go!!! Voyage is too fleeting and pale!
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post #54 of 82
3/29/10 at 4:18pm
Sorry L'aventurier I try to quote what you said...Im on my work phone...and its retarded!
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post #55 of 82
4/6/10 at 3:11pm
I finally tried this today, and I'm loving it. The opening notes scream Déclaration to me. OK, it's so soft, they whisper it to me; it's that same woody cardamon note, for sure. What's different is the nice dollop of grapefruit. I also get something that smells suspiciously to my nose like civet, it only becomes detectable to me when the top notes are gone. It may be the musk or the cumin that I'm smelling, but there is something funky going on here. I also get the reference to Eau de Hermes. Great stuff for the summer. I'm giving it another trail run tomorrow.
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post #56 of 82
4/6/10 at 3:53pm
O.K.Well ,so many opinions guys.I have smelled on a strip.I like it.It is very woody musky.The opening is a light greenish ,i think,not citrus because it is sweet enough for being grapefruit or orange.I detect fir and ambergris.It is manly ,i wouldn't wear it as an unisex one.
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post #57 of 82
4/7/10 at 8:26am
Have to say I gave it a little snifter this morning , it was OK but really nothing spectacular
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post #58 of 82
4/8/10 at 10:11am
I have to agree. It is a pleasant enough fragrance but nothing really special. When Terre d'Hermes was launched, it really grabbed you and made you want to try it again but this one just seems OK. As an aside, why is it so difficult to get hold of Bel Ami from stores in the UK. Both John Lewis and Fenwicks stock a range of Hermes products and can order in others like Rocabar but Bel Ami appears out of reach. Very Frustrating!
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post #59 of 82
4/10/10 at 7:51am
Tried this today. Very odd, not sure if I like it. The opening reminded me of pickled ginger you get with sushi. Incredibly similar IMO. Not gotten to the drydown yet.
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post #60 of 82
4/10/10 at 9:39am
Tried it a few days ago. Found it boring.
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