Jean Claude Ellena and Christine Nagel photo via Allure©

Never one to rush perfection, French luxury brand Hermes has taken its time to transition to a new in-house perfumer. Christine Nagel joined Jean-Claude Ellena and Hermes in 2014. For three years she shadowed Ellena, even though she was a highly accomplished perfumer. Ellena is one of the 21st century’s most significant perfumers. Over the past year Hermes started launching Nagel’s work but you don’t really get the keys to the house until you have created a Hermessence fragrance. The Hermessences collection was Jean-Claude Ellena’s domain and Christine Nagel now adds her signature to the collection with a resounding five new Hermes Hermessence fragrances.

Hermessence Cuir de Ange by Jean Claude Ellena

Comparing Christine Nagel with Jean Claude Ellena is unavoidable. Ellena’s cerebral approach to creating fragrances always resulted in beauty but his Hermessence fragrances were not always accessible and this left them to be an acquired taste for many.

Photo courtesy of Hermes©

Perfumers I have spoken with about Jean-Claude Ellena’s style often point out his talent for using a large quantity of one or two relatively common raw materials in his formula. He has the rare ability to find new and creative ways to elevate these materials so they are perceived like never before. I’m a big fan of Jean-Claude Ellena’s work and I have always appreciated the way his fragrances reference nature. Synthetic ingredients are essential to his art but instead of being a focus, they are often invisible. He uses them to shape nature, allowing the wearer to encounter nature in an entirely new way. 

Hermès Parfums / Parfum / Christine Nagel via Hermes©

Christine Nagel’s style as a perfumer makes the new Hermes Hermessences feel more sociable. They feel less formal and beg to be worn instead of being revered as art. The fragrances also chart new olfactory territory with exotic oriental notes of dark woods and resins, ingredients that were not part of Hermes’ vocabulary under Ellena’s creative direction.

 New Hermes Hermessences: Myrrhe Églantine, Agar Ébène,  Cedre Sambac,  Musc Pallida and Cardamusc By Christine Nagel (photo Wallpaper©)

Like their predecessors, three of the five new Hermes Hermessences are eau de toilette concentration. Myrrhe Églantine (Ida’s Review here) is a delicate and radiant floral that settles on a dewy rose-like accord softened with clean musk. The name made me expect something darker, more textural. It’s surprisingly light and pretty with a whisper of resinous myrrh. Jean-Claude Ellena famously said he would never create an oud fragrance for Hermes so I was curious to smell Agar Ébène, Hermes’ first oud fragrance. Nagel’s compromise is both respectful and clever. In terms of its composition, Agar Ébène does not partake in the oud trend, which I am guessing was the point Ellena was protesting. Nagel has tamed agarwood’s carnal and aggressive facets so that Agar Ébène stands apart from other oud fragrances. It presents a mellow woodiness that is complex and soft. It has the texture of spiced suede and a plush cushion of musk that accompanies the woody notes to their end. Cedre Sambac also charters new territory for Hermes with an exploration of the exotic orient and its perfumery ingredients. Cedre Sambac is a beautiful contrast between dry cedarwood and lush Arabian jasmine. The result is a narcotic white floral fragrance and dark woods.

Fresco from Egypt annointing with oils via wikipedia©

Nagel continues to surprise with her Essence de Parfum. Musc Pallida and Cardamusc are two new alcohol-free new Hermessences. They borrow from the longstanding tradition in the Middle East of wearing oil-based perfumes. As the titles infer, both have a musk theme. Musc Pallida is musk that is soft like cotton wool. An orris note is overlaid and smells raw, not overworked. Perfumers have access to plenty of great smelling orris-like molecules, which they use to do the equivalent of olfactory airbrushing. I like that Musc Pallida presents a very honest (and expensive) orris. Cardamusc opens with a fresh, green and spicy kick of cardamom oil before evolving into something warm and oriental. I enjoyed testing these two perfumes on my wrist. I mostly wear alcohol-based fragrances and Nagel’s Essence de Parfum gave me a new experience because they evolve on skin in a different way. Rather than projecting off the skin, as an alcohol-based fragrance does, Essence de Parfum wears closer to the skin. The notes smell more compact but there is an incredible tenacity. I can still smell fragrance on the sleeve of my jacket days after wearing these fragrances on my wrist.

The new Hermes Hermessences ring out with the announcement that Christine Nagel has taken her seat as the nose of Hermes. She makes a bold statement, which indicates her vision for the brand moving forward. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

 -Clayton Ilolahia, Guest Contributor and author of What Men Should Smell Like