Bel Ami Hermès 1986 Eau de Toilette

That this fragrance still exists is actually a small miracle, because if one were to take the laws of the market as the sole measure, its production would have long been discontinued.
The expectations that were placed on 'Bel Ami' more than a quarter of a century ago have not been met at all - it flopped from the very beginning of its introduction, and I suspect it has remained a 'slow seller' to this day. The fact that it is still valued at Hermès is evidenced by the simple fact that Bel Ami can still be found on the shelves today - not at the forefront, rather in the second row, or a little shyly at the edge, but still: Bel Ami is still here, which unfortunately cannot be said of some of its contemporaries - just think of Patou pour Homme, Ebène by Balmain, Versailles pour Homme by Désprez, and others.
That this fragrance is still allowed to adorn the Hermès portfolio is revealing, because although it was a flop like hardly any other (measured by the expectations placed on it), there seems to be no doubt about the quality of the fragrance - rightly so, in my opinion.

Blinded by the phenomenal success of Chanel's Antaeus, Hermès felt compelled at the beginning of the eighties to conceive its own leather chypre for men, because who else but Hermès was associated with the finest leather goods - certainly not Chanel. There was already the legendary Eau d'Hermès, composed by the great Edmond Roudnitska, and a leather fragrance of the highest class - but for the hedonistic eighties and their craving for strong, almost raucous scents, this fine 'Eau' was just too delicate, too subtle, too much 'old world'. 'Caléche' and 'Equipage', the glorious successors, both created by Guy Robert, hit the taste of the time and were universally recognized masterpieces. But after the introduction of the famous aromatic fougères like Paco Rabanne pour Homme and Azzaro pour Homme, as well as the great leather chypres Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme and Antaeus, which can be considered the Big Bang in the market of masculine fragrances, Hermès was also called to position itself with a new scent. They hired Jean-Louis Sieuzac, the creator of Opium, Yves Saint Laurent's great global success, in the - not unfounded - hope that he would achieve such a great hit a second time. But it turned out differently, and above all, the new fragrance named after a novella by Guy de Maupassant, 'Bel Ami', arrived a few years too late. When it was launched in 1986, the aforementioned fragrances had already passed their peak of success, and some other fragrances had sailed along in their wake more or less successfully. But the genres (leather chypre & aromatic fougère) had somewhat exhausted themselves in the heated market. The also launched Zino in 1986 marked a somewhat successful attempt to point the market in a new direction, towards rich-oriental - with some time lag, Egoïste and Heritage followed. The real revolution, or rather reorientation of the market, took place two years later, namely in 1988 with the introduction of Davidoff's Cool Water. The birth hour of Bel Ami could hardly have been more unfortunate - a much too late newcomer, as the whole world was already waiting for the next sensation, which promptly arrived shortly thereafter with the aforementioned Cool Water.
If Bel Ami had come to market ten years earlier, thus before Antaeus, it might still be riding on its once resounding success today. As it stands, this has been denied to it, and hardly had it seen the light of day when a new fashion wave swept through the lands, making Bel Ami look damn old despite its youthful age.
Well, as I said, Bel Ami does not deserve that, because I think it can rightly be counted among the most convincing leather chypres. It is peculiar, very peculiar indeed, and all those who repeatedly claim that the fragrance is a copy of Antaeus should clean their noses: if one cannot distinguish between these two fragrances, one should refrain from trying to differentiate fragrances altogether, because they could hardly be more different - admittedly: related. Antaeus: sweet, animalistic, woody versus Bel Ami: bitter, leathery, smoky.
When one sprays Bel Ami, a very complex, rather herbaceous-bitter, than fresh-lemony aroma first rises to the nose. Almost simultaneously, however, the entire Bel Ami cosmos opens up with its breathtaking depth, all the way down to the abysses of bitter vanilla and ash. But initially, coriander, sage, and basil dominate and above all: leather, leather, and more leather. In the top note, in the heart, and in the base: leather. At first herbaceous-accentuated, then floral, with slightly shy floral accords that are hardly isolatable, and finally with smoky styrax, vetiver, unsweetened vanilla, and oak moss. All in all, a bitter, if you will: a masculine aroma - from beginning to end. This is not to say that women could not wear this fragrance, as the few sweeter components come out better on female skin. And when I say: masculine, I do not mean the ultra-masculine fragrances loaded with animal essences to the brink of tolerance like Jules, Yatagan, Azzaro p.H., or Kouros. No, I rather mean the dry-bitter creations like Balafre by Lancôme or the old Monsieur Rochas. Although Bel Ami does not share the strong fougère structure with the latter, it does share this strangely smoky base, which smells much more of cold cigar ash than of freshly lit, aromatic pipe tobacco. Some may shudder at the mere mention of cold cigar ash - rightly so! Because this phase of the fragrance development is indeed a matter of habit, and the smell of cigar ash is hardly present to our modern noses. However, I can still remember well how, in the evenings when my grandfather had gone to bed, I would clear away his marble ashtray with the remnants of a smoked Virginia cigar. Most of the time I didn't like that smell, but sometimes it wasn't so unpleasant to me, and now and then I even smelled it again and enjoyed my shudder.
Hermès once called this fragrance their 'bedroom scent'.... Well, times have truly changed: if a young man today wore this fragrance and lay down in bed with his beloved - she would probably first send him to the shower. For today's noses, trained in the age of ozonic-marine creations, this fragrance is indeed a challenge. And who still proudly shows off his chest hair and likes to smell of cold smoke? Admittedly: I sometimes have such a tendency. Now and then I have simply had enough of all the metrosexuality, all the ambiguity, the blurred lines. Then I need the clear, the distinct, to put it another way: Bel Ami! (Hermès even spoke of 'endless masculinity' in a leaflet that used to accompany Bel Ami)
But I usually recover from these excursions quite quickly.....

It should also be mentioned that the old Bel Ami, in the original, cocktail shaker-like bottles, was somewhat different in nature: the opening was noticeably more lemony, the whole fragrance overall more dissonant - which made it even more intriguing. At some point - for whatever reason - the fragrance was reformulated, the dissonances have largely disappeared, and Bel Ami today not only smells more harmonious but above all more herbaceous. What remains is a very complex, rich, and long-lasting composition, whose individual notes are extremely well blended.

A great and a difficult fragrance. Primarily, however, an anachronistic one, with a bitter masculine charm - one just has to succumb to it!