Eau des Merveilles Hermès 2004 Eau de Toilette

Eau des Merveilles (Eau de Toilette) by Hermès

Bottle Design Serge Mansau

7.6 / 10 680 Ratings

A popular perfume by Hermès for women, released in 2004. The scent is woody-spicy. It is still in production.
Pronunciation

Main accords

Woody

Spicy

Citrus

Fresh

Resinous

Fragrance Notes

Ambergris

Bitter orange

Woody notes Benzoin

Benzoin

Elemi resin

Perfumers

Ralf Schwieger, Nathalie Feisthauer

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.6680 Ratings

Longevity

7.2499 Ratings

Sillage

6.4491 Ratings

Bottle

8.2505 Ratings

Value for money

7.4187 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 03/19/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Eau Claire des Merveilles

L'Ambre des Merveilles

Nuda Veritas Eau de Parfum

Elixir des Merveilles

Ayurveda

Sunrise in Cadaquès

Reviews

20 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/26/2012

3
Scent

Awesomeness
247 Reviews

Awesomeness

Top Review 6

A minority opinion -- Skip it & sample the flankers

Eau des Merveilles opens quite nice, nicer than I remember in fact. I get a bit of pepper immediately and sweet florals. Pretty for about 15-30 minutes. Then, Eau des Merveilles presents herself as what she is ... a boring, sweet woody.

Inverted? Maybe. I'm picking up citrus about 2 hours out, provided that I close my eyes and think real hard. But at this price point, I was expecting a lot more. A lot.

I know that Eau des Merveilles is loved in the fragrance community, and perhaps its a good entry point into the Hermes range for many. However, I am a dissenter. On me, EdM is a boring, sweet woody that wears like any dreadful little thing in the mass market. There's plenty of fragrances at a third of the price that already have charted this territory.

I generally love Hermes for its uniqueness and it quality, and I own a good handful of full bottles of Hermes scents. I don't believe Eau des Merveilles is among Hermes best work. However, some of the flankers in this are "Must Sample" - the Elixir & L'Ambre, both by JC Ellena, immediately come to mind.

Check out the flankers in this line.

04/15/2013

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 7
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Helpful Review 10

Salty-Sweet Orange, Amber-tinged Cedar

It's easy to see why so many people love Hermès EAU DES MERVEILLES. It's citrus without being acidic. It's complex without being complicated. It's simultaneously gorgeous and subtle. It is also completely appropriate for any and every occasion and is fully unisex.

The orange scent is less insistent that this house's ORANGE VERTE cologne and concentrée versions. It's also a bit sweeter than those. Rather than a bright green orange, this orange is more ripe but without being sugary. At the same time, there is a decidedly salty quality to this composition. It reminds me of the taste of salt on one's lips after having swimmed in the ocean. Or better yet, imagine pulling up a chair at a beachside cafe for a cold glass of orange juice right after a swim. The saltiness adds just a touch of taste to the orange as it crosses your lips. Another possible comparison might be the salty-sweet quality of kettle corn, although there is no corn scent here whatsoever ... and there is unmistakable orange!

The cedar is the most dominant wood scent in this composition, and happily there is no overwhelming blast of aromachemicals here. Sure, there are aromachemicals present, but they are judiciously measured so that the orange and the cedar really do shine through from start to finish. Not only that but they have a sparkly quality, just like the design on the super nice bottle, which is covered with specks of silver, giving off the impression of light.

All in all, a quite likable creation, more so than most of the JARDIN series, to my nose. I have to admit, though, that my favorite of this series is the ELIXIR, which is much richer, living up splendidly to its name. Of course, EAU DES MERVEILLES is also well-named, because this really does feel like an eau. In fact, it's perfect for hot weather for that reason, although it can be worn any other time as well.

Anyone who is scared off by blindingly bright citrus colognes might want to give this a try to see how else orange can be done.

11/23/2014

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

Helpful Review 8

The upside-down fragrance...

Eau des Merveilles by Hermès is a lovely fragrance, if not slightly unusual in that it has an upside-down note pyramid! You start out with the woody notes, which Hermès calls the "The Spirit of Wood", consisting of resins, balsams, woods (cedar and oak) and vetiver. Then comes the heart of the fragrance (which Hermès calls "The Memory of the Ocean") consisting of Ambergirs... that wonderful material which comes from the belly of a whale and which smells salty, musky and sweet all at the same time! the perfumer here, Ralf Schwieger, wanted to create a fragrance which centred around this note... and I must admit it smells beautiful! It smells of the sea, with the salty air and also has a musky quality which blends really well on skin, almost like a "second-skin" type of scent. Then finally the dry-down (called "The Sparkle of a Constellation"), a sweet pairing of lemon and orange, followed by a spicy mixture of cardamom, black & pink pepper. This is a very unusual ending for a fragrance, but it somehow lasts a long time on skin, blending really well.

My impression is almost like someone sitting on a beach eating an orange. I really like it actually. it's also very unisex (no flowers are involved in the composition), but it is also quite feminine at the same time! Apparently this was the last fragrance made before Jean-Claude Ellena arrived at Hermès (although he later made the flankers to this one, including the Eau de Parfum).

I would say that anyone could wear this one, it's a very "happy" fragrance (the name means "Water of Wonders"), and there is something quite happy and magical about it, like fireworks in a bottle. I would say this version (the Eau de Toilette) is perfect for summer and the warmer months, although it could probably be worn at any time of year, but just sitting closer to the skin. Pure sunshine and fireworks in a bottle! If you like casual, happy, but unique or "different" smelling perfumes... then give this one a try!

10/06/2017

Anthology
18 Reviews

Anthology

Very helpful Review 2

Pleasant and elegant

The perfume opens with fresh, sweet citrus, accompanied by sweet spices. It is a fresh, sharp smell. It takes your breath away in a pleasant way.
In the middle of the composition there is violet, a sweet one, full of spices. It is a spicy fragrance. St this point I get a soapy smell. The smell is fresh and clean and it gives a sort of purity to the perfume. It is a rich and elegant fragrance, full of spirit and personality.
The base is sweeter but it still has a soapy hint.
This is a great fragrance for work. It can’t disturb anyone. Is nice, clean, pleasant and elegant. You can’t go wrong with it. Everyone should have in its wardrobe this kind of perfume.

05/20/2014

10
Scent

Funwon
3 Reviews

Funwon

Helpful Review 3

Happy Skin Scent

It opens with a blast of Orange. A very happy orange scent! Within fifteen minutes, it settles into a lovely skin scent: sweet, salty, happy. A beautiful scent for any season.

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