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New Fragrance: Hermessence Santal Massoïa

post #1 of 92
10/5/11 at 7:19am
Thread Starter 
From cafleurebon.com:

The tenth fragrance in the Hermessence collection, Santal Massoïa will debut November 2011.

Massoia wood is from a rare, protected species not used in perfumery (Massoia has an odour that is described as sweet, coconut meat).

Jean-Claude Ellena imagines an Indonesian forest, and is transported to those rugged, fragrant tree trunks. Intrigued and seduced by the strange, slightly primitive and raw perfume at once mellow, milky and pungent coming from these trees that look like great sticks of cinnamon; in order to produce an olfactive expression of supple and velvet-smooth sandalwood and massoia.This Hermessence combines the suppleness of milky woods, constituted by the enveloping sweetness and skin-like fullness peculiar to sandalwood; and massoia with its unexpected aspect of resin and the delicious element of dulce de leche and dried fruit.

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post #2 of 92
10/5/11 at 7:30am
Thanks for the info, Joe. Too bad i can't find this line anywhere. I'll look for them next time i travel (maybe going to Paris in the near future)
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post #3 of 92
10/5/11 at 7:30am
That sounds nice!
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post #4 of 92
10/5/11 at 8:04am
Oh boy, I'm in for sample of this for sure. I'm not afraid of a little bit of milky coconut, but I hope it is not too much. If used to add a creaminess to the current harsher sandalwood notes, this could be good.
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post #5 of 92
10/5/11 at 8:11am
Oh wow, this one looks amazing!
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post #6 of 92
10/5/11 at 8:38am
This also looks nice. Scent told me about it yesterday. He said it'd prolly be transparent as are most of the line.
I think it'll be creamy and aerated like Tam Dao not Santal Noble.
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post #7 of 92
10/5/11 at 8:54am
Ooh yes, it sounds lovely!
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post #8 of 92
10/5/11 at 9:58am
Thanks for the tip Joe. Unfortunately, I feel a toothache coming on already, I'm not a big fan of coconut notes.
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post #9 of 92
10/5/11 at 11:01am
Thanks for some good news!

I will be very interested to see how J.C.E handles the sandalwood side of this. The dulce de leche bit has me a little worried, though - let's see
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post #10 of 92
10/5/11 at 11:52am
I have been wanting for Monsieur Ellena to create a sandalwood fragrance for a long, long time. This is thrilling news! And the timing is perfect, November is the month of my birthday.
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post #11 of 92
10/5/11 at 12:49pm
Are these available at the Hermes boutique in San Francisco? Or any other stores? THANKS!
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post #12 of 92
10/5/11 at 1:06pm
Oh yea, this one caught my interest. Thanks for posting
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post #13 of 92
10/5/11 at 1:39pm
Sounds wonderful. Will be looking out for this.
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post #14 of 92
10/5/11 at 5:21pm
2011 seems to be the year of interesting sandalwoods. Le Labo also did coconut sandalwood, Tom Ford's has that cumin, and now Hermes. I'll admit I'm curious.

Does anyone know if one of the fragrance companies has come up with a new sandalwood chemical? Kind of like how the oud explosion happened after Givaudan released it's chemical oud a couple of years ago. That and two simultaneous releases based on mastic has me wondering if that's another new chemical...
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post #15 of 92
10/5/11 at 6:13pm
Which are the mastic ones? I think one was from Sisley, right?
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post #16 of 92
10/5/11 at 7:19pm
Can't wait to try this one out!
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post #17 of 92
10/5/11 at 7:29pm
Sounds interesting, but the price tag take me away from buy even the smaller minis
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post #18 of 92
10/5/11 at 7:32pm
Thanks for the info Joe!!! This sounds good!!!
Gary
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post #19 of 92
10/5/11 at 9:32pm
Not a fan of this line from the start but I'm pretty impressed with Iris Ukiyoe so I'm looking forward to this new scent - well sort of
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post #20 of 92
10/6/11 at 4:10am
This sounds interesting! Thanks for the info!
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post #21 of 92
10/6/11 at 4:59am
Sounds amazing, looking forward to sample it.
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post #22 of 92
10/6/11 at 5:49am
Thanks, Joe. JC Ellena and Sandalwood = I'm highly interested in this one.
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post #23 of 92
10/8/11 at 1:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogalal View Post

2011 seems to be the year of interesting sandalwoods. Le Labo also did coconut sandalwood, Tom Ford's has that cumin, and now Hermes. I'll admit I'm curious.

Does anyone know if one of the fragrance companies has come up with a new sandalwood chemical? Kind of like how the oud explosion happened after Givaudan released it's chemical oud a couple of years ago. That and two simultaneous releases based on mastic has me wondering if that's another new chemical...

I was thinking the same thing. IMO the Santal Blush by Tom Ford also has a 'coconut/fruit' vibe to it, although not as prominently as the Le Labo. I also feel there is a similarity to the sandalwood in these two and two other recently released fragrances: Wonderwood by CdG and John Varvatos 10th Anniversary Fragrance.
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post #24 of 92
10/8/11 at 2:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by arwen_elf View Post

Which are the mastic ones? I think one was from Sisley, right?

Yeah, I was thinking the new Sisley and the CGD Airborne one.
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post #25 of 92
10/8/11 at 7:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogalal View Post

Yeah, I was thinking the new Sisley and the CGD Airborne one.

Thanks, rogalal!!!
We can always count on you
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post #26 of 92
10/26/11 at 12:21pm
Less than stellar review from Octvian ... longevity an hour and a half , he says !!!!
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post #27 of 92
10/26/11 at 2:46pm
I am dying to smell this, I might pop over to Hermes this weekend to see if they have it.
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post #28 of 92
10/26/11 at 4:44pm
Octavian bugs the s*** out of me and I usually disagree with his reviews. It'll be released in Nov. 1 in Europe and for the "third world" highest GDP countries a month later LOL
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post #29 of 92
10/26/11 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pour_Monsieur View Post

Less than stellar review from Octvian ... longevity an hour and a half , he says !!!!

I don't rate his opinion all that much. Very keen to try it...
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post #30 of 92
10/27/11 at 1:11am
As soon as samples are available I was told I would get one. I'm very interested in Obi-Wan's latest creation!
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post #31 of 92
10/27/11 at 2:55am
I love the bottle and the description sounds smooth as well.
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post #32 of 92
10/27/11 at 5:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scent View Post

Octavian bugs the s*** out of me and I usually disagree with his reviews. It'll be released in Nov. 1 in Europe and for the "third world" highest GDP countries a month later LOL

For those who can't wait, it's already out in Hermès boutiques in Paris, saw it a few days ago.

To my nose, it's a smooth transparent unisex semi sweet woody fragrance lol, with hint of a creamy anis/réglisse note
I like it, it's actually pretty nice, (from a sample dab), need to try it more, I forgot about the drydown,
for longevity, I think it's average.. I mean it's not something like Ambre Narguilé for sure.

Waiting for the experts to break this one down, I'm sure they'll do a better job
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post #33 of 92
10/27/11 at 5:12am
Its already available to order from Hermes.com
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post #34 of 92
10/27/11 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ã* l'improviste View Post

For those who can't wait, it's already out in Hermès boutiques in Paris, saw it a few days ago.


I don't know when it will arrive in the U.S. I was at an Hermes boutique on Sunday and they did not even have a tester. They will call me when it comes in.
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post #35 of 92
10/27/11 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by arwen_elf View Post

I don't know when it will arrive in the U.S. I was at an Hermes boutique on Sunday and they did not even have a tester. They will call me when it comes in.

I was told November 11th at Hermes boutiques in the US.
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post #36 of 92
10/27/11 at 10:04am
*Dons trench coat and binoculars and stakes out local Hermes boutique*


I am also thrilled that Ellena is going a sandalwood, and I think coconut will be a very good complimentary note. The longevity certainly won't be that bad. Most of his scents last quite well on me, but many seem to be anosmic to them, or just aren't accustomed to their subtlety and sparse construction.

Side note: This is the scent Chandler Burr talked about at the end of his TED talk. He likes it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxoXFjisuc
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post #37 of 92
10/27/11 at 10:48am
Even though it might not be released until November, sometimes Hermes stores have a mini tester so you can at least smell it. I hope mine does.
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post #38 of 92
10/27/11 at 11:36am
I popped into Hermès today to sample this. It's all dry wood once the top has faded. I honestly don't remember what the top smelled like... Kind of creamy wood? Not my kind of thing.
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post #39 of 92
10/27/11 at 12:42pm
I wonder if it has the coconut angle of my real massoia bark essential oil? Hard to imagine what Ellena would do with such a rich, opulent material . . . which I'm assuming he is not using in its normal state due to IFRA restrictions. Pretty soon they'll outlaw perfumer's ethanol and we'll have water based juice a la Christopher Brosius.
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post #40 of 92
11/10/11 at 11:58am
Any updates? Anyone sniffed this yet?
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post #41 of 92
11/10/11 at 12:33pm
Called the NY flagship boutique just today. Said arrival is imminent possibly on Saturday, so we'll see.
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post #42 of 92
11/10/11 at 1:29pm
Unavailable in the Dubai Hermes boutiques.
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post #43 of 92
11/10/11 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cello View Post

Any updates? Anyone sniffed this yet?

cello,

You already read my initial impression. I wore it a couple of days ago as my SOTD. It starts with something green (bergamot?) and what I initially thought was a very dominant violet leaf note. Later on that note kept reminded me of something else, and sure enough it is the same (or very similar) dominant fig tree note (or accord) from Un Jardin en Mediterranee. A sweet, faint accord comes in during the heart. It reminded me of a rice pudding my mom used to make when I was a child. It smells sweet and milky. After a while that accord smelled to me like a Bath and Body Works Fig and Brown Sugar shower gel I used long time ago. This was just a quick impression. It has unbelievable sillage, or so I was told at work, which is very interesting, because SM seems so transparent. In my estimation it was very linear, did not change much and the drydown is more of the milky sweet accord. I have not been feeling very well these last few days, so my perceptions may be inaccurate. I will give it another try next week.
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post #44 of 92
11/10/11 at 7:32pm
Thanks for the heads-up.
Will drop by at local Hermes boutique this weekend to see if it's here yet.
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post #45 of 92
11/10/11 at 8:21pm
Ooh that description doesn't sound good at all arwen...thank you. Hope you feel better soon, please repost any additional impressions if you can.
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post #46 of 92
11/15/11 at 11:10am
Thread Starter 
A review from Bois de Jasmin: http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/20...me-review.html
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post #47 of 92
11/15/11 at 1:36pm
On French blogs some people have pointed out that it smells a bit like L'Artisan Bois Farine.
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post #48 of 92
11/15/11 at 7:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reminiscent View Post

On French blogs some people have pointed out that it smells a bit like L'Artisan Bois Farine.

I like L'Artisan Bois Farine so that sounds promising.
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post #49 of 92
11/15/11 at 7:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

A review from Bois de Jasmin: http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/20...me-review.html

Thank you Joe. We seem to have similar impressions. However, it lasted on me for many, many hours and it has a huge sillage.
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post #50 of 92
11/15/11 at 8:28pm
Hmm... creamy woods? When I think of creamy woods, I think of CN 21. I just happen to be a fan of CN 21, so I shall keep my fingers crossed.
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post #51 of 92
11/19/11 at 8:51pm
Is this worth getting if I already have Bois Farine, I wonder...Still trying to decide on a sandalwood fragrance.
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post #52 of 92
11/21/11 at 7:49am
Doesn't sound very sandalwood prominent, at all.
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post #53 of 92
11/26/11 at 8:28pm
My partner tried this the other day , I was smothered in other test sprays !! On him it seemed the most transparent , light fragrance JCE has ever done , after an hour we struggled to smell it , certainly the other end of the scale to Tam Dao !! Kind of disappointed but will grab a sample and give it a proper testing next week.
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post #54 of 92
11/26/11 at 10:30pm
I have worn it half a dozen times, it's very nice, smooth, creamy woods etc. as mentioned. It has a transparency, no clutter and a lot of space. I find it slighlty aloof, buttoned up - not visceral or tactile at all. No sandalwood in sight but I sort of expected that so no burst bubbles here, take it as it is, sort of thing. I like it but doubt I would want to own it, maybe come back to it in summer. Hermes have used suede instead of leather, for a change, for the top and optional case thing.

It is a very, very nice piece of work, I can see this appealing to a lot of people.

P.S It makes me think of new acoustic guitars (of which I have had a few). It's what I would call a light, warm, transparent woods - I don't perceive the creaminess as coconut but that's probably just a matter of personal taste / scent association.
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post #55 of 92
11/26/11 at 10:36pm
Still waiting for this to appear in boutiques in the US. Hopefully soon.
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post #56 of 92
11/27/11 at 6:04am
It's more woody than sandalwood. But nonetheless very appealing. I may add it to my collection.
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post #57 of 92
11/27/11 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hedonist222 View Post

It's more woody than sandalwood. But nonetheless very appealing. I may add it to my collection.

Already out in the UAE?
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post #58 of 92
11/27/11 at 7:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hednic View Post

Already out in the UAE?

Yes sir. I tried it too. Here is a picture I took a few days ago at the Dubai Mall Hermes.

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post #59 of 92
11/27/11 at 7:13am
double post
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post #60 of 92
11/27/11 at 7:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by oakman View Post

My partner tried this the other day , I was smothered in other test sprays !! On him it seemed the most transparent , light fragrance JCE has ever done , after an hour we struggled to smell it , certainly the other end of the scale to Tam Dao !! Kind of disappointed but will grab a sample and give it a proper testing next week.

I could smell it on my arm clearly 7 hours into it.

Projection is acceptable. Will test it again.
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