The new fragrance by Hermès awakens all the most intimate sensations and envelops us in a mist of well-being and a sense of comfort. The extraordinary oud lies at the heart of this new creation by Christine Nagel.
A few years ago, driven by the desire to overcome her innate fear of horses, the perfumer for the house of Hermès, Christine Nagel, visited the stables of the Saut Hermès show jumping event — which took place this year in March at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris. As she approached the last stable, a chestnut horse approached her and nuzzled her face. Suddenly, her apprehension faded away. For the first time, Christine Nagel, the Director of Olfactory Creation for Hermès Parfums, smelled the primal scent of muscles warmed by exertion, the velvety breath of the animal mingled with the smell of sawdust. A new sensation settled into a corner of her memory, a warm and captivating animal scent that fascinated her.
When Nagel discovered an exceptional oud, a divine essence with warm and sensual notes, the buried memory was immediately awakened. The new Hermessence, with its simple and direct composition, recreates the emotion of her original sensation, blending oud with a natural “petal-like” rose hydrosol and a rose oxide to create Hermessence Oud Alezan. The extraordinary sensory quality of these two materials gives the impression that they have been intimate companions for millennia, made to captivate and complement each other, when in reality, their idyll was born of chance: neither dominates nor stands alone.
The secrets of an object
The lacquered brown-plum bottle is an introduction, echoing the unity between the brown color of the horse’s coat (alezan, in French) and the tones of oud and rose essence. The cap, covered in soft chalk-colored leather and sewn with saddle stitching, a central expertise to the founding craft of the house, bears the signature “Hermès Paris” engraved on a saddle nail.
The bottles of 100 ml and 200 ml are refillable.