This Is A Test

I enjoyed this writeup by Lee Wallick in the Spring/Summer ’09 issue of Man About Town. I’m glad that one of my favorite scents was finally recognized as it should be.

For the amount of fragrances poured onto the consumer landscape, there are surprisingly few that actually strike the right balance. Terre d’Hermès is precisely one of those. Granted, it’s not new but its exquisitely crafted blend of bitter, bespoke sparkling citrus, matte mineral (gunflint), the vegetal and, of course, earthiness rise vertically above the rest.

Legendary alchemist and in-house perfumer for Hermès, Jean-Claude Ellena describes his creation as one that “belongs to a rather abstract family of olfactory expression, one which rests on an allusive and contemporary view. I’m not describing a landscape. I’m not expressing an actual material. I’m transposing feelings.” And yet, for all its seeming complexity, the scent is in many ways absolute – much like many of its wearers.

His inspiration started with a journey through the elements, but takes in touches of bodies after lovemaking. “I like putting something human into perfume. Nowadays, a lot of perfumes smell clean, as if they were at war with the smells around us,” he explains. This is a fragrance for a man with ambition and creative vision but whose feet are firmly on the ground. But most importantly, it’s for a man who can seduce. “Terre d’Hermès was made for seduction,” Ellena concludes. “That’s what makes perfume a wonderful human invention.”

Obsessed. I use this as a perfume for myself as well as my room. Best birthday present ever.