As a newcomer here, I feel like I'm pretty much late to every party when I discover a scent that everyone else has (no doubt) consumed and judged eons ago. But here I go again with Santal Massoïa.
I've not hidden the fact that I'm a huge fan of the House of Ellena. Initially, it was Celine's scents that won me over (Sel de Vetiver and des Sens et Bois will always be in my top 10 lists). About six weeks ago, I started making my way through the Hermèssence line in search of the Jean-Claude frag that would steal my heart. When I initially tried Santal Massoia, I did so alongside Amber Narguilé, Vetiver Tonka, and several others that--in the context of smelling paper strips in a retail store--completely overpower SM and render it comparatively uninteresting. But my curiosity about SM persisted, and thanks to the sinister placement of an Hermès boutique a mere three blocks from my office, I have had repeated opportunities to spray it on and return to my desk.
Not long ago, I posted about the magic of Osmanthe Yunnan melding seamlessly into the skin, how it completely understands how to extend a person rather than engulf a person. I still love that scent, but I don't mind saying that Santal Massoïa is all that and more. Not only does it feel like a perfectly natural extension of my skin, but it has a mesmerizing complexity that some of the other Ellena scents forego. Somewhere, another poster pointed out that SM may have been designed to mimic the olfactory experience of standing in an Hermès boutique. I think this is a fantastic observation. There is a very dynamic interaction of leather, wood, fabric, perhaps even the wispy floral from the print on a scarf. It's hard to pin down because it's in motion, and beyond the "transparent" quality that people are always attributing to JCE, I think the in motion quality is of equal importance here. This doesn't just sit well on the skin. It's stunningly beautiful as well.
I scored a bottle on eBay from Hong Kong for $120, but of course the downside to that is having to wait four weeks for it to arrive. I have been slipping into the Hermès boutique at least twice a week for the last month to give myself a fix. (Pretty sure they think I'm crazy in there.) I am so happy that it finally arrived. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see any single bottle arrive on my doorstep.
I know Tania Sanchez gave Osmanthe Yunnan the jackpot five stars in The Guide. I would have trouble understanding the next edition of that book if it did not do the same for Santal Massoïa. I think it's really Jean-Claude Ellena's masterwork.
I've not hidden the fact that I'm a huge fan of the House of Ellena. Initially, it was Celine's scents that won me over (Sel de Vetiver and des Sens et Bois will always be in my top 10 lists). About six weeks ago, I started making my way through the Hermèssence line in search of the Jean-Claude frag that would steal my heart. When I initially tried Santal Massoia, I did so alongside Amber Narguilé, Vetiver Tonka, and several others that--in the context of smelling paper strips in a retail store--completely overpower SM and render it comparatively uninteresting. But my curiosity about SM persisted, and thanks to the sinister placement of an Hermès boutique a mere three blocks from my office, I have had repeated opportunities to spray it on and return to my desk.
Not long ago, I posted about the magic of Osmanthe Yunnan melding seamlessly into the skin, how it completely understands how to extend a person rather than engulf a person. I still love that scent, but I don't mind saying that Santal Massoïa is all that and more. Not only does it feel like a perfectly natural extension of my skin, but it has a mesmerizing complexity that some of the other Ellena scents forego. Somewhere, another poster pointed out that SM may have been designed to mimic the olfactory experience of standing in an Hermès boutique. I think this is a fantastic observation. There is a very dynamic interaction of leather, wood, fabric, perhaps even the wispy floral from the print on a scarf. It's hard to pin down because it's in motion, and beyond the "transparent" quality that people are always attributing to JCE, I think the in motion quality is of equal importance here. This doesn't just sit well on the skin. It's stunningly beautiful as well.
I scored a bottle on eBay from Hong Kong for $120, but of course the downside to that is having to wait four weeks for it to arrive. I have been slipping into the Hermès boutique at least twice a week for the last month to give myself a fix. (Pretty sure they think I'm crazy in there.) I am so happy that it finally arrived. I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see any single bottle arrive on my doorstep.
I know Tania Sanchez gave Osmanthe Yunnan the jackpot five stars in The Guide. I would have trouble understanding the next edition of that book if it did not do the same for Santal Massoïa. I think it's really Jean-Claude Ellena's masterwork.
