Hermes - Iris Ukiyoé

I´ve so many interesting fragrances to write about, that I sometimes don´t know where to start. But, now it´s maybe about time to tell you a little about Iris Ukiyoé that I bought about a month ago in Stockholm.


Iris Ukiyoé is the ninth and latest addition to Hermes Hermessence line, a line of exclusive fragrances all created by master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. I´m not a 100% fangirl of Jean-Claude Ellena´s work, some of his scents is much to light, subtle and aquatic to suit me well. But, i also have some big favorites among his work, such as (also for Hermessence), Ambre Narguile, Bois Farine for L'Artisan and also the two kind of similar, L'Eau d'Hiver for Frederic Malle and Paul & Joe´s Blanc.


Anyway, Iris Ukiyoé was love at first sniff for me. It IS aquatic, but it´s like the water have it´s very own, dark turqoise color. And iris fragrances in water color, but watercolors that is strong, bold and colorful. the opening is very citrusy, but also accompanied by something with a slightly plastic scent, but plastic in a good way. I do occationally like some plastic notes in fragrances, probably because it reminds me of the scent of a newly opened barbie-or other plastic doll (I loved to smell them right out of the box), a scent filled with joy for most little girls and a scent that stay in our memory for a long time.


No need to get panicky though if you don´t like plastic notes, it´s only there for a very short while. in a copple of minutes it´s transforms to a soft, caressing and pleasant floral scent. A dense, but still airy floral scent, like the scent from thousands of fragile, velvety petals. People that knows the scent of real iris, says it smells like this. I have no ide, but I think it´s a very unique scent, not earthy/rooty as some irises or violet or powdery as others.


Iris Ukiyoé is very happy, spirited and moodlifting kind of iris scent, when trying it in stockholm I become happy every time I sniffed it on my hand...


A strange thing is the scent of caramel/fudge that occurs after about an hour. One of the participants of the perfume meeting said it smelled like caramel/toffee on me. But that was when I was eating a fudge brownie so we belived it was because of that.


But the strange thing is that I´ve noticed that toffee note over again. It has almost made me mad. Have I some left overs from a vanilla-or gourmand scent still lingering around on my wrist or on my top? Or, do Iris Ukiyoé really smell like caramel on me?


It IS Iris Ukiyoé! Now I have showered, and put on a clean top and even clean jeans (after all i can always spill a drop or two when I decanting) and yes, the vague fudgy note is still there. I can´t find any notes responsible to this scent, there is no vanilla, no amber with tonka beans and definitly nno cheap synthetic caramel notes in Iris Ukiyoé, still I discover a faint note of milky fudge. Maybe it´s easier to get if I tell you that I discover some closeness to Bois Farine in Iris Ukiyoé?


No wonder why i like this one so much. :) In the drydown I get (besides the fudge) a soft, delicat rosy scent. Pale and perfectly soft petals and that small hint of caramel. Just perfect! Iris Ukiyoé has good lasting power, about 6 hours on me and good sillage. A must try for everyone that´s found of Jean-Claude Ellena´s perfume making and also a must try because of it´s unique and different take on iris.


Those of you that have tried Iris Ukiyoé, is there anyone out there except of me, that get´s that weird (but good) caramel note? Apart from that, do you have any favorite among the Hermessences? Or other fragrances created by Ellena?




Pic: June Rollins

Frederic Malle - L'Eau d'Hiver

A snowflake on the tounge that melts away in a few seconds. Ice cold cherries covered by a thin layer of hoar-frost. A small childrens winter pale skin, but with bright red cheeks. Lovikka-mittens. Dried flowers in washed out colors, brittle as old paper. The sun, small and dirt-yellow on an enormous greyweather sky.

Frederic Malle´s L'Eau d'Hiver (Winter water) takes me on a winter trip. It´s strange that such a subtle scent can make such a large impression. It´s like the perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena have manage to take every single accords smallest smellable part and turned it into a perfume. On em, L'Eau d'Hiver is so discrete that I can´t smell it if I don´t sit with my nose up close. Still, it´s surprisingly longlasting. I kind of expect that it would fade away and dissapear as quickly as a snowflake on warm skin, but no, L'Eau d'Hiver is going on for at least 6-7 hours on me.

The topnotes are a little sweet, with some cherry (heliotrope) and citusnotes. In the heart notes I can detect almond, something milky and a dash of vanilla. Sublte but very soft floral notes comes and go, I can´t really tell what flowers, on me they become a very well blenden vague floral note. There is something in L'Eau d'Hiver that reminds me of Bois Farine, but much more subtle.

L'Eau d'Hiver is that kind of scent that you can wear when you shouldn´t wear any perfume at all. It is so discret, that it is that kind of scent you wear mostly for your own sake. I doubt anyone can actually figure out that you wears a perfume, if you haven´t drenched your self in it...

I do like L'Eau d'Hiver, even though I generally prefers perfumes with a little more power in it. For me, L'Eau d'Hiver would be a great bedtime scent, really comforting to sniff at when I try to sleep.

pic: Sjöfartsverket

Hermes - Un Jardin

Almost as much as I love perfumes I love gardens, flowers, herbs and lush flowerbeds. I am also the outdoorsy kind, and love being out in the nature, to see the small changes in nature each day, when I am walking my ordinary round together with my husband and our dog. When a flower I´ve planted are about to bloom for the first time I am following the event from the little green bud until the fully evolved flower. The patchouli seeds that I´ve planted some time ago, aren´t really coming along that good, one tiny plant has come up, but after all I only need one to get me my own patchouliplant.

Even tough I love flowers, floral perfumes aren´t usually among my favourites, even tough there is exceptions. I was hoping that the Hermes Un Jardin-perfumes would be such an exception.

The names get my imagination going. Un Jardin En Mediterranee, Un Jardin Sur Le Nil and Un Jardin Après la Mousson, they are all created by grand perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, in house-perfumer at Hermes. But, none of them is created for me.

The first among them that I´ve tried was Un Jardin Aprés la Mousson, a garden after the monsoon and I was hoping for wet greenery, stunningly beautiful lotus flowers and other oriental flowers, but on me Un Jardin Aprés la Mousson smelled liked pickled cucumber (commonly served to hot dogs in Sweden). In my imagination a garden after the monsoon smells nothing like a swedish hot dog wagon, but what could I know, I have never been in a monsoon garden.

There after I tried Un Jardin En Mediterranee, and it should contain some familiar scents since I´ve at least visit the mediterrean area. And yes, here it is dense, spicy greenery. Like mediterrean herbs in the late summer after surviving the heat of the sun during a whole summer, and tomatos and feta cheese! No, actually no feta cheese, that´s the only thing missing to get a really jummy greek salad. Un Jardin En Mediterranee makes me hungry, and I realise that I have everything I need for a good salad at home, except of the feta cheese, of course!

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil become my favourite among the three. It is an auquatic, fruity and adorable floral scent. It is both sheer and strong at the same time, perfect right now during hot weather. Even tough it has notes of carrot and fruits, it remind me more of a beautful garden than of anything I would like to eat. The only among them that actually makes me think of gardens... Unfortunatly I don´t manage to feel that Un Jardin Sur Le Nile is a perfume for me, even tough I like it. It is rather a suitable summer perfume for those of you prefering white summer clothes and rosé whine (as refering to yesterdays post).

Now all I could wish for is to smell Un Jardin Le Cercle Polaire (pardon, my bad french!). Yes, I know I am nagging about that, but I do miss some nordic inspired perfumes!