ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE
HERMANN A MES COTES ME PARAISSAIT UNE OMBRE
2015
PERFUMER
Quentin Bisch
black pepper
blackcurrant
galbanum
incense
geosmin
rose absolute
vetiver
patchouli
ambroxan
Early on in my fragrance journey I won a bottle of Hermann in a giveaway. The most important thing about the scent is the ‘after rain’ smell, for which they use a chemical compound called Geosmin.
I was afraid that this would smell like wet mud (like Amouage Figment Man), wet cardboard (like Molecule 05) or concrete (like Tom Ford Noir Anthracite), but it doesn’t. It smells like the after rain air, maybe in a forest or at a pond, but it doesn’t have the pungent quality of the aforementioned fragrances; it’s clean.
What works wonders here is a minty touch, that some have described as VapoRub. And I get that description, but it’s not the sole scent in this composition, it just lifts up and invigorates the ‘after rain’ scent. Add to that a hint of rose and you get a zen-like experience. There’s a burst of pepper in the opening, but not throughout the fragrance, and I also get a lot of citrus (maybe lime), although that’s not listed (you can mainly smell the citrus from the bottle).
Overall it’s a green-ish earthy scent, but it’s a fresh, clean, almost aquatic green that’s easy to wear, even for someone like me who doesn’t love those types of fragrances generally. The aquatic quality might come from the load of ambroxan that’s in here, which has that connection to blue fragrances. It does smell very synthetic overall and some wafts I get a hint of a plasticy, latex scent that I don’t find to be all that pleasant.
In conclusion, this is a really clean, relaxing fragrance that could easily be worn to the office or be a signature scent contender, because it’s so versatile. I’m going to have to give it a couple more wears to see if I like it enough to keep in my rotation, but for people who are more into this scent profile, this should be an absolute winner. I personally much prefer Bisch’ other ELDO, Experimentum Crucis, which does feel like a more vibrant, rose-tinged sibling to Hermann.
