When I was at the Hermes shop yesterday and stood in front of the Hermessence fragrances (see picture in the album), I felt
like a 7-year-old boy just before the gift-giving on Christmas Eve. Although I haven't been that thrilled with the Ellena outputs lately... after Vetiver Tonka, I was reconciled again. And when you stand in front of this splendor, your heart truly opens as a perfume lover... wow.
Just before Christmas, I still hadn't had the chance to own Epice Marine... completely sold out... and the 100ml bottle was just too much for me. Now it was finally there, the new one from the luxury line... which is supposed to smell completely different from many before.
Yes, it smells completely different... at least regarding the Hermessence series... there aren't too many men's fragrances in that collection. Epice Marine has a predominantly masculine character for me... at least I find it hard to imagine a woman wanting to smell like this!!
And saying it smells completely different might not be 100% true... because there are similar fragrances that, although very rare here, do exist... but Salina by Laboratorio Ollfattivo goes in the same direction... however, since it leads a wallflower existence here and is also very underrated for me... this direct comparison opportunity is rather rare to encounter... hence this fragrance clearly stands out.
And that doesn't take away from it... simply because EM comes across so fine and balanced. This salty top note refreshes right from the first moment... especially in a scent-overloaded time like Christmas... the time of opulent and tendentially sweeter fragrances is truly a wellness experience for the nose.
EM comes across so wonderfully slim yet intense and substantial... here Salina is sharper and noticeably spicier at the start. Along with this wonderful maritime note, a floral note joins right at the beginning, which stays a bit in the background... giving the fragrance balance... the light whisky note is of the very mild kind... like an 18-year-old single malt but without the typical peat note... it sounds abstract at first in combination with the sea note... but it truly is a fragrance experience... I believe the apparently diffuse scent notes also make EM so extraordinary and fascinating. A subtle cinnamon note with a very sweet and mild vetiver note rounds off this beautiful fragrance wonderfully.
Where Salina develops a sweet pistachio ice cream note over time, EM gets this wonderful floral cinnamon note. For me, EM is an absolute fragrance experience from start to finish... which I enjoy to the fullest... because it simply leaves the well-trodden scent paths... how must it smell when it gets really warm again??!
It has undoubtedly become a maritime fragrance... but the typical sea scent could not be captured for me... I already described the dilemma in Sel de Vetiver by TDC... the sea accord is not just made up of individual maritime scent components... but especially during vacation time, it consists of many emotions... that make a beach and sea visit what it is... see also Jever beer advertisement... it’s the images that come to mind. No perfume in the world can transport these images like that. But this fragrance fits the Jever advertisement like the famous fist to the eye.
