Collection Hermessence

Ambre Narguilé Hermès 2004

Bottle Design Alnoor Design

8.4 / 10 823 Ratings

A popular perfume by Hermès for women and men, released in 2004. The scent is sweet-gourmand. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
Pronunciation

Main accords

Sweet

Gourmand

Spicy

Oriental

Fruity

Fragrance Notes

Amber

Roasted sesame

Perfumer

Jean-Claude Ellena

Ratings

Scent

8.4823 Ratings

Longevity

8.1658 Ratings

Sillage

7.4643 Ratings

Bottle

7.8586 Ratings

Value for money

6.5196 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 09/11/2024.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "Collection Hermessence" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Oajan

Dolcelisir

Il Capriccio del Maestro

Farah

Ambre Tabac Eau de Parfum

Angels' Share

Statements

15 short views on the fragrance

BertolucciK 4 years ago

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9.5
Scent

So delicious! Apple pie with cinnamon and caramel/honey. In the drydown, I get a moist tobacco, rum, vanilla, tonka. Perfect gourmand scent.

6

Georgeman 2 years ago

Gourmet - artificially sweet, honey and cinnamon, candied with a hint of retro and incense

3

Cumulnimbus 3 years ago

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

A masterpiece. Only Jean Claude Ellena could do a gourmand seem so elegant as this one is. That is why it is being copied to exhaustion.

3

MrLawman 3 years ago

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 8.5
Scent

A trendsetter in gourmand perfumery

Ambery, warm, sweet apple pie perfume that wears elegantly.

Luxerious scent bubble

Ellena's touch

3

Gorin 1 month ago

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

A classic. Inspired half of our favourite modern gourmands. Excellent perfume. More designers need to take note of Hermes's creativity.

2

Aromazeal 8 months ago

7
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 10
Scent

Truly ahead of its time, and still the nicest cinnamon amber. Most balanced out of Angel Share and Oajan

2

Jbl775 1 year ago

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 9
Scent

This smells like Orbit bubblemint

2

AngeloMani 1 year ago

the last note pyramid edit was a mistake - the Hermés website states more notes (honey, tobacco, etc.), also Cinnamal is listed there too.

2

RisingChaos 3 years ago

7
Sillage 8
Longevity 6
Scent

Honey, heavy cinnamon, and an apple vibe. Less apple pie, more apple pie-scented candle. Pleasant but somewhat waxy and artificial.

2

Elkay 3 years ago

7
Bottle 8
Sillage 8
Longevity 8
Scent

Very rich tobacco-cinnamon-honey. It could be a cloying nightmare but Jean Claude Ellena knows what he's doing. Would love this on a man.

2

More statements

Reviews

24 in-depth fragrance descriptions

04/27/2014

7
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

WRoth
154 Reviews

WRoth

Very helpful Review 5

Hermessence Ambre Narguilé

This fragrance opens with an accord I cannot describe but gourmand. I smell cinnamon, caramel, vanilla and stewed fruit altogether, reminding me very much of home-made Apfelstrudel. Once the whirlwind of gourmand notes has settled, a high-pitched but not unpleasant vanilla note leads the other notes in a linear development that lasts for many hours. As the fragrance progresses, the pastry image fades and it becomes clear that everything was an olfactory illusion made of inedible spices, flowers and resins. This fragrance has excellent projection and — although a true comfort scent and undoubtedly exceedingly pleasant — should be applied sparingly.

04/02/2012

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 10
Longevity 8
Scent

aoe
24 Reviews

aoe

Very helpful Review 4

Pleasureful Plum Plentyness

Rum, coumarines, labdanum, and tonka beans for some - for me this enchanting gourmand smells particularly of the plum dishes of my childhood - mushed, fried, with dumplings ...

One Austrian specialty, actually probably originally Hungarian, is Powidl - plums slowly cooked for many hours, according to some recipies up to a week, in an earthen pot, spreading a heavenly aroma of caramelised fruit. This is what I'm getting from Ambre Narguilé, together with a dash of the appropriate spices - cinnamon, a few cloves, cardamom and a whiff of wintery incense complete this wonderful Ambre.

To me, this is a holiday scent with the power to brighten the darkest of days.

03/16/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

Very helpful Review 3

Nice, but way overpriced

The opening of Ambre Narguile is all about thick, balmy honeyed resins and Oriental notes of tonka and spices, bringing in a feel of dandified powderiness à la Jaipur Homme, just blending it with the golden, boozy and sweet warmth of the rhum-cinnamon accord. Musky notes on the base. No amber to me, but it does have a warm smoky feel which may remind that smell. And... well, that’s it. Quite a simple scent, basically a gourmand-powdery-spicy galore, much linear and fairly heavy, which to be really honest becomes quite soon a bit boring to me. It smells “quality” for sure – and I mean good quality, not “interstellar quality” - and both tonka-powder fans and resins-gourmand fans will probably like this, still I feel something is just missing here. It’s... nice. And nothing more than that. Too “simply” nice, too generic for that incredibly expensive price. Think of any Oriental powdery-spicy scent, that will be likely a good alternative to this. A really decent “hippie bourgeois” fragrance which may easily fit Les Néréides or Boucheron range and similar brands (which I deeply respect; but they cost a fraction of this).

6/10

01/05/2012

10
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 8
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Very helpful Review 3

Sumptuous Labdanum Amber

This is my second felicitous testing encounter with AMBRE NARGUILE (made possible by a generous fellow fragrance traveller), and my enthusiasm has not abated in the least. I was struck by the Tom Fordesque quality of this composition back when I first wore it, and I feel the same way today. Thick, golden, and viscous, this sort of elixir is right up my alley! The labdanum and benzoin lusciousness of this composition pull me right in. Is it too sweet, as some maintain? Well, not to me. Maybe I've sniffed too many celebrity orientals of late?

AMBRE NARGUILE is not the spiciest amber perfume around, and I do not believe that it contains ambergris—this seems to me to be labdanum amber, not the petrified concretions expelled from the intestines of sperm whales (which in any case figures in very few perfumes today, as far as I know...). But this is a shimmering layer of gold! It's clearly time that I acquired at least a purse spray of this wonderful composition. Great longevity and detectable but not obnoxious projection.

12/22/2017

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Smora
155 Reviews

Smora

Helpful Review 4

Golden Autumn

To me AN is one of the most charming scents ever. It warms up my heart during the fall and winter. Beautiful apple pie saturated with cinnamon. Honeyed narghile tobacco.These are the images AN presents me. Lovely, sweet, oriental, soft, calming and comforting. It really reminds me of Brecourt - Haram (Farah). Unfortunately too expensive for me at this moment.
Atypical, J.C. Ellena's charming work made to make the autumn golden.

Rating: 9/10

More reviews

Charts

Images

20 fragrance photos of the community

More images