Concentré de Pamplemousse Rose (2011)
by Hermès

Light bright vetiver. Opening minutes have a fresh grapefruit zing along with the so familiar Hermes thing that’s common to the Jardins series. Fine if you like that. Grapefruit is good but brief; no match for AA Pampluna. Only the faintest trace of rose in the woody vetiver. That vetiver is the main event here: light and bright and good as it goes but too whispered and fleeting for a neutral rating.

La danse (I) by Henri Matisse 1909

One downside of some members of Hermès Les Colognes is a very short duration on the skin. As the aromas are refreshing, delicate and rich in its nuances their scents are just limited to a maximum of 2 hours, which today is something that few expect and even desire, thus more concentrated versions are required even for refreshing ideas and the challenge is to maintain the coherence of the original version and to make it last on the skin.

For Eau de Pamplemousse Rose, one of the first of the new members, Jean Claude Ellena chose an interesting way to make a Concentré version, exploring in the base a contrast that is present in some synthetic materials used to create a Pamplemousse accord. Ellena emphasizes the vetiver root nuances that can be extracted from a synthetic construction around a Grapefruit idea and so almost makes Concentré version a kind of Eau de Vetiver Racine, suggesting aspects of root and earth of this aromatic grass.

Focus of Pamplemousse works between the freshness of a little bitter grapefruit and a musky base with nuances of grass and woods. Depending on your expectations or aroma image of a rose it can be challenging to find it here, as its most green and dewy aspect is explored over the more fruity, honey and silky flower side. The rose for me here plays the role of a connector between the slightly bitter freshness of output and woody and musky base, keeping the theme in a modern citrus cologne.

It is good to note that despite being a perfume called Concentré, this version still retains the more minimalist aura that Hermès often use in their perfumes, so that the initial goal is reached, maintaining the delicacy and consistency of the idea with a better duration and just a little bit more of intensity. This makes it an ideal Cologne for use in daily life or for very high temperatures where it is expected a freshness that can last more than 2 hours.

Concentree version: it does what it says, and it does it terribly well. Basically, nearly the smell you’d have on your hands after having pressed grapefruit to make a juice, with just a thin, subtle and irresistibly classy aroma of flowers, which is almost unperceivable and more than an actual smell of flowers, gives just a bit of weight to the citrusy-grapefruit notes, together with Ellena’s signature light woody base. Most of all it’s grapefruit, though, which smells zesty, lively, quite realistic, invigorating but rich in Hermes' “transparent refinement”. A subtle scent, but decently persistent. Classy and versatile, a solid fresh companion for summer nights out. Decent price, too.

7,5-8/10

Here we have a lovely, juicy pink grapefruit. Delightful! Good enough to eat.
This softens into a very translucent light wood note, which sits close to the skin.
There are the merest hints of grassy vetiver, but the scent stays true to its name. I don't get much (if any) rose note. I think the longevity is acceptable, even good, given that this is a citrus-based scent.