Eau de Pamplemousse Rose Hermès 2009

7.6 / 10 320 Ratings

A popular perfume by Hermès for women and men, released in 2009. The scent is citrusy-fresh. It is still in production.
Pronunciation

Main accords

Citrus

Fresh

Fruity

Green

Floral

Fragrance Notes

Grapefruit Rose

Rose

Perfumer

Jean-Claude Ellena

Ratings

Scent

7.6320 Ratings

Longevity

5.2248 Ratings

Sillage

4.8217 Ratings

Bottle

7.5225 Ratings

Value for money

6.553 Ratings

Submitted by Sani, last update on 06/13/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Concentré de Pamplemousse Rose

Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche

Terre d'Hermès Eau Givrée

Vetiver Pamplemousse Eau de Parfum

Pink Pepper & Grapefruit Eau de Cologne

Paris - Paris

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

09/02/2012

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 8
Scent

Apicius
224 Reviews

Apicius

Helpful Review 4

A Beautiful September Fragrance

If a brand is particular successful with one specific fragrance, who should blame them for using the same concept over and over again? Look at the Parfumo Trends page: there is no other men's fragrance that Parfumo users own and use more often than – Terre d'Hermès!

Small wonder we get flankers. Being a gent's perfume, it is obvious that the people in power at Hermès wanted Terre d'Hermès being transferred into something at least unisex. And this goal was indeed achieved by their Eau de Pamplemousse Rose!

Eau de Pamplemousse Rose starts with the most beautiful grapefruit accord you can imagine. Grapefruit so often stands for an indefinite tart or even acid citric note that is being used in so many mid-priced perfumes. Forget about these unpleasant experiences – this accord smells all natural and cannot be compared with the harsh synthetic notes usually denominated as grapefruit. Here, the appeal of pink grapefruit peel is very obvious.

I find this accord highly attractive – it is more to it than just being citric: besides that, it is a bit tart, but also fruity, and the perfumer found the right balance. I wonder if the rose in the name refers to the flower or specifies the pink colour of the grapefruit (which it actually is). Well, maybe both, at least any rose is not very much present.

For me, the grapefruit opening stands for a summer feeling, yet slightly shaded by the tartness. Eau de Pamplemousse Rose then takes us on a journey from summer to fall: the base note is very much the earthy cedar and vetiver accord that Terre d'Hermès became famous for. Eau de Pamplemousse Rose is a fragrance of transition: from summer into fall, fruityness to earthy notes, airiness to set structure. However, it never completely ends with Terre d'Hermès – an inkling of grapefruit is preserved many hours.

Once the attractive fruitiness is gone, you cannot have it back. Every time I tried to reapply, I only amplified the base note. So, it's like summer – after September arrived, you cannot have it back!

If you ask me which one to prefer – the flanker or the original – my vote clearly goes to Eau de Pamplemousse Rose. It is more complex, and there is simply much more behind it. It is a beautiful September fragrance, it has a wonderful top note, unusual drydown, and it is also Terre d'Hermès made possible for the ladies!

02/02/2012

2.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 5
Scent

Lola82
361 Reviews

Lola82

2

Eau de Pamplemousse Rose

The opening starts with ripe and juicy
note of blood oranges & bitter grapefruit a few minutes later dries down to a note of Black Pepper. the note of Delicate rose hindes benneth
the more Dominering notes of Orange Grapefruit and Black Pepper.

This is an Perfect mood enhancer
next to Lavender perfect for depression
dreary rainy days and dark cold nights.

08/08/2021

9
Pricing 9
Bottle 6
Sillage 6
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Ronin
1 Review

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Ronin

Top Review

Juice instead of power

Ever smelled? Yes ...

Many perfumers develop their ideas further. Once implemented, they are the starting point and source of inspiration for further perfumes. This applies to ideas that give it to offer delightfully new with a different accentuation. Jean-Claude Ellena also works in this way. The starting point of the "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose" is unmistakably the "Terre d'Hermès" and its grapefruit start, which appeared three years earlier.
Implementing grapefruit is not easy perfumery: for the characteristic scent of the natural fruit decisive are tiny amounts of a sulfur-containing compound that is unstable in formulations. This is why perfumes with natural grapefruit peel oil often develop unattractive off-flavours in the direction of sweat and mustiness after only a short period of storage (this seems to be the case with "Citrus Paradisi" by Czech & Speake). In order to achieve a controllable, stable grapefruit impression, it has to be "reconstructed" accordingly. Jean-Claude Ellena solved this task with "Terre d'Hermès" by combining orange oil with the rhubarb fragrance Rhubofix. The result is a very naturalistic grapefruit scent despite the simple formula. This grapefruit magic trick found - especially since "Terre d'Hermès" became a bestseller - many imitators and grapefruit as a top note became trendy.
Ellena himself probably thought that from here the path to a citrus-fresh cologne would be an easy one. And so it has been: almost the same components, shifted in proportions, determine both fragrances. For "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose", the top note was emphasized, the cedar-vetiver base dimmed down. In addition, the Iso-E-Super concentration was massively lowered. This has two effects: on the one hand, a sillage that takes up a lot of space and a long shelf life are not good for a cologne that should be able to be topped up from time to time for refreshment; on the other hand, Iso-E-Super takes away juiciness. "Terre d'Hermès" is supposed to reflect dryness: Dust, sand, flint, warm ochre soil. That's why so much Iso-E-Super was added that the grapefruit top note was strangely alienated: dry, but not like shriveled fruit, while remaining tartly fresh. For "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose", on the other hand, the fruit can and should be plump and juicy. Freshly cut grapefruit, and when you bite into it heartily, the juice drips from the corners of the wound. Refreshing, cheerful, bar any serious austerity.
The restrained floral heart of "Terre d'Hermès" around the lacy, slender rose geranium became a soft, full rose for "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose" - presumably through the addition of Damascon and rose oxide. This supports the juicy overall impression. But even in this fragrance, the heart is brought out just enough to allow the pun "rose" = pink or rose. The cedar-vetiver base familiar from the model is tolerably intact, but very, very restrained. Hermès has earned a reputation for squaring the circle with its colognes - offering colognes that noses can constantly re-spray to cool down without gasping for air, while also exhibiting profound longevity. This is achieved by composing them in such a way that they quickly retreat close to the skin, but maintain a constant presence there. "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose" falls into this category only to a certain extent: compared to its successors, the longevity is significantly reduced. That's not a bad thing and not impractical for summers in the sunny south. If you still want to increase the shelf life, try the following: place the bottle of the "Terre d'Hermès" fragrance over the back of your hand so that only half a spray lands on the skin. Distribute this generously and layer with about 6 sprays of "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose". In this ratio, the juicy character is maintained, the durability is increased and the sillage is not encroaching. So quasi an office and public transport compatible "Terre d'Hermès".

Without that booster, "Eau de Pamplemousse Rose" ends abruptly. As does this comment.

02/02/2024

6
Sillage 7
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Pollita
252 Reviews

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Pollita

Top Review 39

Sunday breakfast

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day according to nutrition experts, is actually the one that we humans pay the least attention to. At least from the start of our careers. For some, it's when they start school or university. Everyone is stressed in the morning, the hectic pace spreads and there is usually just enough for a coffee or tea and a roll to go, if breakfast is eaten at all. At least that's how it was in my parents' house.

Quite different on a Sunday. The day never started without a hearty breakfast with all the trimmings. In addition to fresh bread rolls and pretzels (a Swabian specialty made from pretzels), there was always an egg for everyone and half a pink grapefruit to spoon up. I loved it.

A spray of Jean-Claude Ellena's Eau de Pamplemousse Rose brings it all back for me. A juicy, pink grapefruit. Beautifully fruity and refreshing - and then, put the spoon in and enjoy. I can't believe that a grapefruit fragrance can be so beautiful. Yes, especially a grapefruit fragrance, because this note is not always so easy for me in perfume.

I like to perceive grapefruit as sweaty. There are perfumes where I can almost no longer recognize the fruit as such. Instead, I'm mentally in the gym on the cross trainer and my deodorant is slowly starting to fail. Yes, this is what happened, for example, with Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune by Guerlain, which is loved by so many people.

But not so Eau de Pamplemousse Rose. This is a childhood Sunday breakfast spray. It makes you happy, without any sport or sweat. Definitely a treat on hot summer days or on vacation. Delicate, fresh, juicy, wonderful!

Oh yes, I can only guess at the rose. So don't worry rose skeptics. I'm one of them from time to time.

Many thanks to Schoeibksr for the testing opportunity

12/03/2019

10
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 8
Scent

Pinkdawn
67 Reviews

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Pinkdawn

Top Review 13

After the summer rain the forest smells spicy, earthy and invigorating

Summer is versatile. So are summer scents. Even such close relatives as the EdT Pamplemousse rose and the Concentré of the same name. And this, although they are also very similar. "Conventional grapefruit fragrances" can be quite pleasant and refreshing - but, and this is the difference to the two Hermés fragrances, they don't go through any transformation, so they don't take you on a varied journey, but rather give you the feeling of being a walking megagrapefruit yourself. But who wants that?

Hermés approaches this subject more discreetly and subtly. In this sense, the EdT is a "slightly different grapefruit scent" to once again put a strain on this annoying sager. But the grapefruit really seems much more complex here. Perhaps because she has taken a congenial companion with her: the orange, whose sweetness attractively contrasts with the bitter grapefruit.
For me, the EdT is a scent for hot days. He brings cooling "in citric" and immediately catapults me into a shady forest. It's a forest in southern Europe. Coniferous trees - cedar, pine -, Mediterranean herbs such as vetiver and oakmoss give the fragrance a bitter spiciness. The earth is still damp from the last rain and smells aromatic. I'm wearing a plain white cotton summer dress. Slowly the first cicadas begin to chirp again. In the forest the coolness stays longer. Of course there's the grapefruit. She has risen in the sky like a grinning full moon and wraps the scene in her lovely scent, which is sweet and bitter at the same time. Herbs and grasses, woods and mosses provide the finesse. And a sweet little wild rose just opening its light pink leaves. It is not a proud, lush rose, densely filled with a hundred leaves that smells beguiling. She is tender and wild, born free so to speak, a child of nature.

The melange is unique and balanced - except for similarly structured Hermés scents like the Concentré or the Orange verte.
The citric chord, however, is amplified by orange.

The fragrance is now already 10 years old, but still topical, because it looks very natural. The lively freshness immediately after spraying brings wonderful cooling. You can't get enough of it on hot days. But also the following scent phases can be smelled. The rose is genius here. It reduces the citrus spiciness, although it is not unpleasant at all, and brings something "impressionistic", delicate, transparent into the coniferous forest with its herbs. Well, Ellena halt. He can do something
Unisex? Yes. Compared to the darker and earthier tinted Terre d'Hermés, this EdT also looks ladylike. Its astringency is sweeter, more flowery, fresher, but still so good to feel that the fragrance does not become a harmless grapefruit water.

As far as the - hardly existing - durability is concerned, which has already been criticized in many comments, I am slowly beginning to wonder whether the perfume manufacturers might not want to persuade us that noble, fresh fragrances have to be short-lived. I can't imagine. Unfortunately, Hermés is one of the leaders in terms of durability and sillage. As EdC, I could still afford this ephemerality. But I expect more from an EdT of a luxury brand.
After the double test I opted for the more intensive Concentré, because it lasts a bit longer and seems a bit more subtle or stronger. Maybe they learned here from their big brother and 2 years later brought out an improved form? No, this is going too far. I can well imagine that in everyday situations I would resort to the short-lived EdT more often - should it ever find its way into my collection.

The bottle is, of course, beautiful again - noble, stylish and simple. That's how I like it.
For me, the EdT is a typical summer scent, which is lively and in a good mood - an ideal companion for everyday life, leisure, holidays, travel, bath, excursions and beach party.

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