Un Jardin Apres La Mousson by Hermes

We've been engaged in a rather lively discussion of Un Jardin Apres La Mousson over at the Perfume of Life (POL) forum. Here's a sampling from some of the reactions:

1.) "The scent itself is nice enough...but it kept reminding me of an extremely high quality fruity shampoo . . . flat, featureless, boring."

2.) "I find the longevity of Un Jardin Apres Las Mousson maddening: I love the fragrance, but I need more of it."

3.) "It was like I was at the beach just lying on the warm sand with the sun overhead. (Though) It's not a beachy-suntan type scent at all . . . I have to say, this is one of the more interesting scents I have smelled so far this year . . . a day at the beach -- warm sand under my feet and that salty air breeze with a little bit of something fruity."

4.) "It doesn't move. There are no layers to this. To be honest, it feels like Bath and Body Works could have created it. It doesn't feel like a finished statement."

5.) "On me it evolves in stages: melon, floral, spicy, earthy-rooty. My favourite stage is the spicy stage, which seems to also linger in the air in my apartment and I love walking through it."

6.) "I wasn't so keen on the first twenty minutes, but then it settled down into a supremely pleasant reference of a cool, tropical breeze. 4 hours later and it was smelling even better -- a little warmer, floral but extremely subtle about it."

The perfume's creator, Jean Claude Ellena (featured in Chandler Burr's 'The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry'), has developed a reputation for minimalist perfumes -- sheer, subtle fragrances that lay close to the skin, creating a fine aura around the wearer rather than filling a room. His style has both its fans and its detractors, and I'm not certain he's raised the profile (and/or profits) for Hermes fragrances the way they had hoped when he was hired on as their permanent In-House Parfumeur, but Un Jardin Apres La Mousson suits the House of Hermes well with its subdued charm and simple grace.

Ellena seems to have taken the concept of today's dime-a-dozen, overly fruity florals and classed up the joint -- resulting in a perfume that's so subtle and understated that you almost don't notice how clever and unusual it is: a little bit of ripe melon, a few ginger flowers, a lot of humid salty air and cool wet leaves. This is a melon perfume that's for the adults, not for teenage girls chewing bubblegum at the mall.

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson was ostensibly created for the burgeoning luxury markets of Asia by referencing the scent of the air after an Indian monsoon. Hermes just recently announced that it would be opening its first stand alone boutique in India, and it would be interesting to know how the sales figures for Un Jardin Apres La Mousson line up with the intention behind its release.

Below is a video clip (in French) of an interview with Mr. Ellena: