By Dane
I adore lavender. Licorice...not so much. I don't hate it, but I can't say I love it either. If you smell a good quality lavender, a few notes you might notice are burnt sugar, eucalyptus, camphor, and of course, a dash of licorice.
Jean-Claude Ellena pulled the old perfumer's trick of highlighting one ingredient with something else it shares structures with. Upon first whiff of BdR, I was amazed to think that something in the Hermessence line actually had some gusto...of course, the big topnote recedes quite quickly and you're left with a transparent, simple formula that fits in perfectly with the rest of the line.
I actually quite like Brin de Reglisse. For something so off-putting at first, it's surprisingly wearable. I'd take a stab in the dark and say it's not the biggest seller at Hermes, but for anyone who loves lavender or licorice (or both), it's worth a shot.
Year: 2007
Perfumer: Jean-Claude Ellena
Notes: Lavender, licorice
I dislike lavender, love licorice, and love this one. Much to my surprise.
ReplyDeleteMy main worry with such a Elena confection, is the way he uses synthetic. The good natural compounds are fading very fast, and Elena rely to much on synthetic to ground the formula in time (though still in a minimalist way), so I offen feel like wearing something generic after 5mn.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's a problem with a "exclusive" price tag.
I liked "ambre narguilé", but I complain it easily border on the harshness of plum.
From above, I don't like Elena's minimalist, I see though it a kind of perfume anorexia (always less flesh, and a suspicious behaviour toward smells that leads to somewhat see-through bone-apparent perfumes).