If you observe my writing for quite a while you probably know that my relationship with Hermes is like a sinusoid. One moment it goes up – like when I fell in love with Le Jardin de Monsieur Li or Agar Ebene from Hermessence collection. Other time it goes down – for example when I smelled Eau de Citron Noir. Despite such opposite thoughts I continue to be curious when Hermes releases something new. Their newly introduced addition to Le Jardin collection had a wonderful sound to it.
Un Jardin sur la Lagune has a fantastic opening in which a lot is going on at the same time. First whiff brings forward a gorgeous magnolia note – it’s lemony, watery and silky at once with the addition of shy green leaves rustling in the background. The scent is warm & solar from the beginning but becomes slightly more creamy when lily joins the composition. After a couple of minutes this floral aspect becomes less defined and blurred. I smell dusty sweetness, maybe that’s the pittosporum? Later on a salty breeze from the sea arrives, surrounding the wearer with a marine breath.
Un Jardin sur la Lagune felt fresh at first but with the arrival of sea note things started to fall apart. The fragrance was getting more and more soapy, like a cheap bar of grey soap that is stale on top of that. Woody notes smell very artificial here, making this new Hermes kind of mushy, musty and suggestive of body odour. I wonder if it’s the same aromachemical as in Eau de Citron Noir.
The beautiful inspiration of a hidden garden behind stone walls somewhere in Venice is, in my opinion, completely mismatched with the perfume Christine Nagel created. Un Jardin sur la Lagune doesn’t have a charm or anything magical about itself. To me it’s just one more fragrance that I will not remember in a couple of months. It’s a shame because there was a potential to compose something that would be super wearable in the spring and summer season. But not this time…