MarieLaVie

I have owned two bottles of the original Eau des Merveilles because I was incredibly fascinated by the scent: orange and sand, sea aroma and cedarwood, fresh yet deep... However, there was always something that bothered me about the original. The scent felt a bit too serious and melancholic to me. I never wanted to wear it in sunny weather, but only during gray clouds and rain. Even social gatherings did not go well with the scent. Instead of smelling like a beach party and sunshine, it evoked lonely pondering hours by the dark, cloud-laden sea.

The Elixir des Merveilles was my glimmer of hope to fill the original with sweetness and life. I was tempted several times to get a bottle. The top notes were wonderful, a lovely sweet orange. However, the rest remained sweet and pleasing, and I suddenly missed the depth of Eau des Merveilles.

The L'Ambre des Merveilles also did not give me what I wished for. An absolutely brilliant scent idea of salty orange caramel, I like it. But this version was also far from the original scent.

I have not tested the Eau des Merveilles Bleue, but recently I stumbled upon the new L'Ombre des Merveilles. And there it was - "my" Merveilles scent.
The top notes are sweeter than in the original, thus resembling the Elixir more. However, the dry aroma of the original Merveilles seems to break through quickly and accompanies the scent until the end. I cannot detect incense, but I do sense a slight tea note with a piece of rock candy. At the same time, I recognize the smell of warm sand and stones again, and the sea air has remained intact. Compared to Eau des Merveilles, the L'Ombre does not make me contemplative, but rather feels like a more accessible reinterpretation overall. The edges and corners of the original have been slightly rounded and modernized, the character brightened.

I am glad that with this version I can now enjoy the originality of Eau des Merveilles without being intimidated by its eccentricity. Christine Nagel has created a wonderfully rounded scent!

Expectation
A wonderfully woody violet, slightly powdery, a bit playful with fruit, but by no means sweet. Noble and a complex scent for going out.

What really happened
A violet pastille with fruit syrup spreads across my arm (just one spray!) and takes on nuclear proportions. It is sweet and pulsating. The scent radiates so intensely that all the other scent strips in my hand and test sprays on the other arm are overwhelmed.
The fragrance strangely does not feel mature to me; it smells a bit like children's makeup for little girls. At the same time, it is not youthful and playful, but somehow old-fashioned. This combination leaves me somewhat perplexed, as I cannot imagine who Misia might smell good on.

In the end, I washed off Misia because it just annoyed me. The scent development was quite linear and penetrating - the sweet, pink children's violet in a Chanel costume simply would not budge.

Maybe I would have liked the EdT better, but the EdP is definitely not for me.

A long time ago, I received a sample of Bois de Paradis and found the scent wonderful. A masterpiece by Michel Roudnitska, who supposedly took several years to compose it. The interplay of fruit, rose, and woods has fascinated me ever since and never quite let go. Now, the DelRae fragrances are very hard to find in Europe, but a friend recently took a vacation in California and brought me the scent from L.A. :) My luck and a toast to friendship!

The scent in the bottle surprised me in several ways. First of all: it is even more beautiful and complex than I remembered.
The fragrance starts spicy (cinnamon) and with a note reminiscent of slightly burnt caramel. It smells warm and a bit like dark fruit compote, but not too sweet. Overall, I find the sweetness very restrained. The fig remains somewhat hidden on my skin, while the rose becomes quite dominant - and that's a good thing because it is beautiful! Among the berry compote, a dark but clean rose slowly mixes in, giving the fragrance a noble touch. Very faintly, the scent reminds me of Lyric Woman by Amouage. The base is cedar-heavy and provides enough resistance so that it doesn't become too feminine, floral, or fruity-sweet. Bois de Paradis smells more like an evening in a wooden cabin, with good red wine and dark forest berry chocolate pralines.

The second surprise: I always found the scent a bit too weak as a tester. I attributed this to the fact that I could only dab the scent with the sample and not spray it. Now - Surprise! - the scent is still quite transparent :/ I practically envelop myself in the fragrance, and only in the 1st-2nd hour do I perceive it clearly (but still not intrusive!). After that, it fades significantly, and I have to consciously try to capture the scent veil. Others also only notice it up close.
Nevertheless, the scent is there: I occasionally catch a trace of it, and that trace is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Warm, autumnal, rosewood.

First of all, a little introduction about me and vetiver:
The ultimate vetiver scent for me is Sycomore. You really only need one vetiver fragrance, and that is it: green, woody, clear, smoky, strong, daring, mystical... All other vetiver scents fade in comparison. They smell like vetiver, but somehow... worse.
Aside from that, I was only taken by Vetiver Tonka, but that one is too sweet and gourmand for me most of the time (almond with licorice?) and somehow feels perverse on my skin. Exciting, but not necessary.

But then came the day when Vetyver came under my nose. My first impression was: unmistakably vetiver... but how vetiver + skin? Initially fresh and softly herbal, I soon distinctly smelled labdanum, musk, and tonka, which provided the vetiver with a slightly creamy-leathery base.
I was a bit confused afterward, as the scent did not smell like Sycomore, but also not worse. A vetiver that actually stands out from the crowd?

Wearing it multiple times confirmed: Vetyver is a close-to-skin, contemplative, intelligent-sensual representative of this otherwise too similar fragrance family. For me, it’s not a party scent and also not an office scent. With too much distraction and movement, it gets lost. Vetyver is more of a refuge at the end of the day or Sunday morning; it feels human, calming, and grounding to me.

Having now tried not all, but quite a few vetiver scents, I can conclude: for 99% of all vetiver fragrances, the saying "if you know one, you know them all" applies, as most are not very memorable. However, with Vetyver, it’s the other way around: I know (almost) all and can recognize one - Vetyver simply wouldn’t leave my mind and is now finally part of my collection.

The Hermes fragrances exude luxury (the packaging! Renowned perfumers! Priceless bags and scarves, but thank God for the fragrances!) and yet I find almost all of them boring. The formula for success is: Some citrus note paired with X. Either mango or pear or rhubarb or ambergris or musk or rose or vetiver or leather, ... All of this then semi-transparently intertwined and the cash registers start ringing. Simple and genius, but somehow too flat for me.

Apres la Mousson is different and stands out positively from its Hermes siblings: this is not a typical citrus summer scent. Not typical Hermes. No typical hymns of praise anywhere, in my opinion also not a typical Ellena.
Instead, you smell something sweltering-cool, as if a refreshing breeze is blowing through the warmth with the bursting high humidity. It is watery, almost aquatic, but without the dreaded Light Blue musk. Ginger and cardamom mix into the breeze and from somewhere the scent of a sugar melon wafts. Apres la Mousson is fresh, but with depth. The name and the packaging fit perfectly, and therefore I see the fragrance as a truly coherent and well-executed overall work of art.

I wouldn't want to wear the fragrance all year round; it really only fits in the summer. The longevity is not particularly strong, and it is overall quite special. Therefore, it doesn't get a full 100%. But in terms of artistic implementation and quality, it is top-notch and clearly plays in the upper (niche) league!