Terre d'Hermès (2006)
by Hermès

So this is yet another fragrance that I blind bought, and I was incredibly excited about this one. Having read and watched several online reviews, I had a feeling that, as a man in his mid-thirties who works in a corporate office environment, Terre d'Hermès would be a perfect fragrance.

Just got it today and I am wearing it as I am writing this. What can I say, really? This is everything I expected and then some. I fell in love with it instantly.

It's dirty and it's clean...it's heavy and vibrant...it's sweet/fruity and woody. It's paradox in a bottle, basically. And the true tour-de-force here is that Hermès made this all blend together and work so well. Damn, this 100% lives up the hype!

It is no breaking news that notes of orange and vetiver stand out in this one. Oddly enough blended together to create something that has both a hint of old school cologne and plenty of fresh, vibrant old orange smell.

Those that describe this scent as "dirty orange" probably sum it up quite accurately, although to me this doesn't feel dirty at all...not even rugged...it smells clean, strong and super manly. I was not familiar with the vetiver note, but I can tell now why it's mostly associated with men's fragrances...it's a very interesting note to my nose, and I'll sure look up some more scents featuring it.

Thus far, I find this to be relatively linear, although the orange and vetiver notes do switch seats through the drydown, with the orange note taking the passenger seat and vetiver taking the wheel...the grapefruit, patchouli and cedar notes are constants, sitting in the backseat, and hold this somewhat unusual combination of powerful orange and vetiver notes together, but more importantly, keep this scent fascinating from the moment you spray it on to a few hours later.

I literally can't stop smelling my wrist right now. I am seriously impressed with this product, which is an instant favourite.

Also, this has a niche aspect to it, without the steep price tag. Really, I can't say enough good things about Terre d'Hermès. This also performs quite impressively.

Phenomenal scent.