L'Ombre des Merveilles Hermès 2020

My better half and I like to go on vacation away from the hustle and bustle and too many people. Some time ago, we ended up on the Dutch North Sea coast, in a small former guard house in a fort. Now this was not a medieval fort, but one from Napoleonic times, supplemented by more recent concrete improvements, so that it exuded a rather rough charm. However, this did not detract from the special tranquillity that this place exuded, especially at night. The fort was relatively secluded on the edge of a village with a view of the stormy North Sea and a long beach.

My husband and I rented a room for a few days and were given the keys to our guard's cottage as well as the keys to the fort's entire grounds, including the viewing platform. During the day, the grounds and the associated museum were open for a few hours for the few visitors who still managed to get there during the cold off-season. For the rest of the day and at night, we had the whole fort to ourselves. We strolled around the grounds at dusk, watched seagulls and sunsets and sat on the viewing platform late at night, wrapped up tightly with a thermos flask of tea, gazing at the stars and listening to the sea, which could only be guessed at in the blackness of the night. Apart from the sound of the sea, we were surrounded only by silence and wind.

This is exactly the mood that L'Ombre des Merveilles captures for me. It smells of a lonely, starry night, of the sea, of cool autumn air, but at the same time also of warmth, peace and security. For me, it is above all a tea fragrance, as the black tea stands out very clearly, and I can also smell a slight citrus. I can smell the incense mentioned in the fragrance notes, which has kept me from giving the fragrance a chance for a long time, clearly but gently, and together with a slight sweetness (probably due to the tonka bean) I like it surprisingly well.
I'm really glad that this fragrance found its way to me through a swap with a dear perfumer! It now takes me back to the quiet, peaceful moments on the viewing platform of this fort at any time, which was not originally intended for peaceful times, which gives the whole thing a little hope as well as a certain irony.

I wish you all such a viewing platform, especially now in these times.
Don't forget to look up at the stars!

Happy holidays and a happy new year 2025!