THE HERMES COLOGNES

Fragrance and raw material

With the Colognes collection, Hermes expands a territory of olfactory expression distinguished by simple refinement and authentic responses, and inaugurated back in 1979 with a first eau de Cologne, later named Eau d'orange verte. Generous figurative expressions of immediate pleasure, the Hermes Colognes offer a series of olfactory snapshots steered by the raw material.

Constructed around Eau d'orange verte and two new creations from Jean Claude Ellena, perfumer to the House, the Hermes Colognes collection now offers three different fragrances. All three composed on the basis of a raw material and a colour which refer back to his sources of inspiration, they form a new and still evolving collection.

The Colognes

EAU D'ORANGE VERTE (view here) :Intense and invigorating freshness, woody signature. Orange, lemon, mandarin, buchu, mint.

Eau d'orange verte is conceived as an explosion of citrus notes. Orange plays the principal role, expressing its different facets in all their variety: vigorous zest, sensual blossom, green leaves... harmonised with mandarin and lemon, and underscored by a balance between mint leaves and the fruity nuances of blackcurrant buds. It reveals all its complexity in a unique lasting presence tinged with oakmoss and patchouli.

EAU DE PAMPLEMOUSSE ROSE (view here): Sparkling and deliciously sharp freshness, floral refinement. Grapefruit, range, rhubofix, rose, vetiver.

The citrus theme, incarnated here by grapefruit with a range of tones that are as spirited as they are mouth-watering, takes on added sparkle when combined with natural rose. In a perfect alchemy of raw materials, the fruit dictates the colour in delicious complicity with a flower used as a veil of light. Rose-pink grapefruit or grapefruit and rose, the subtle nuances in the words shift in the twinkling of an eye and... of a nose, the better to reinvent a form that has endless different resources.

EAU DE GENTIANE BLANCHE (view here): Muted freshness and delicate bitterness, sweet musky nuances. Gentian, white musk, iris, incense.

As complex as it is sophisticated, the unexpected gentian displays its various facets - bitter one minute, mellow the next - in a white, almost dry vapour of elegant musks. These musks are a contemporary expression of fresh tones striving for a degree of sweetness without resorting to trite sugariness, and they provide a refined olfactory counterpoint for the gentian. Nestled in the subtle weave of an unusual variety of this plant, together they compose a new score whose freshness balances between sweetness and edgy character.