Weekend - back to basics

This weekend I made a point of wearing two perfumes that I actually own. To call this post 'back to basics' is possibly an insult to Hermes Terre D'Hermes and Gucci Pour Homme, as neither is basic or simple really. They are both, to my mind, examples of what can actually be achieved in the mainstream perfume market. What makes me rage inside, sometimes, is why more of these sorts of perfumes aren't released. I think what I mean by back to basics, is returning to something I usually take for granted, and shouldn't.

I've owned a bottle of Terre D'Hermes for about four years now. I wrote about Terre a couple of years ago and mentioned that I seldom wear it these days due to a negative association I have with the fragrance. It isn't Terre's fault - I wore it on a day when I was very stressed, going for an important job interview and every time I've worn it since, it reminds me of that stress and tension. As time passes, those association are fading and I was able to wear it this weekend with some pleasure, and realised all over again what a great fragrance it is.

Why, you may ask. What makes Terre so good? I can think of a number of reasons, but one simple reason is that it smells like no other perfume on the market. As simple as that. It doesn't smell generic, it doesn't smell like it has been done before. For me, that is enough to state that it is one of the few modern mainstream men's classics out there. In simple terms, it smells of orange, mineral vetiver and bleached woods, but it goes together so well.

What about Gucci Pour Homme? Well, sadly it is now discontinued. The one Gucci men's fragrance that I actually like, and I bought the very last bottle at Hoopers, one of our local department stores. I'm sure it can still be had at certain fragrance discounters, but I imagine it will become quite scarce over time. Gucci Pour Homme is essentially a calm pepper, woods and incense perfume, with some sweetness in the dry down from the amber accord, but I would call it a very woody smelling perfume. While I wear it happily in the day, whenever I spray it on, it feels like it should be worn out for the evening. It just smells sophisticated and complex enough for a special occasion. 

I know both of these fragrances are for men, but irrespective of gender, I would seriously recommend you try both if you haven't before. Terre is easy to find, and a best seller for Hermes, but you may need to search a little harder for Gucci Pour Homme.

Hermes Terre D'Hermes

Terre D'Hermes is a perfume I own. A whole bottle. Which is a relative rarity for me. My wife gave it to me for Christmas in 2007, so it is a fragrance I am well-acquainted with, as you might imagine.

The unfortunate thing for me concerning Terre D'Hermes is that I developed a negative association with it shortly after receiving it. I've mentioned this in one of my much earlier posts last year. I associate the smell with fear. The fear of failure. By this I mean that I wore it when going through a tough time during a big career change, with a lot at stake. It might seem silly to those of you to whom this hasn't happened before, but believe me, this really can happen. I should say one thing though - I like Terre D'Hermes. It is a very good mainstream perfume, possibly one of the best offerings for men in recent years, up there with Dior Homme and Guerlain L'Instant, in my opinion anyway.

So, what about the perfume itself? Well, the notes include grapefruit, orange, flint, pepper, pink pepper, geranium, patchouli, cedar, vetiver and benzoin. One thing is not in doubt - Terre D'Hermes at one level or another is all about citrus, orange in particular. The genius though is that this is also so much more than citrus. There is a wonderful earthiness that at times really does smell flinty. I wanted to use the term minerally, but thinking about it, flinty sums it up better. As many of you probably are aware, Terre was created by Jean-Claude Ellena, and if you are familiar with his work, you will recognise his signature very clearly across this fragrance. What I find interesting about Ellena, and in particular his work for Hermes, is that despite his creations being sheer, transparent and light (or so the general label goes), they actually have extremely good lasting power, and in the case of Terre, significant sillage too. This is by no means a skin scent. On more than one occasion someone has complimented me when wearing this and it lasts a long time. Case in point - I sprayed it on at about 8 this morning and I can still smell it clearly at 9.30 tonight, as I'm typing this. I think this is partly where Ellena's genius lies, in that he has an almost freaky ability to create perfumes that create an illusion of lightness and sheerness, yet they still pack a punch, albeit a subtle one. Or maybe it's just my skin chemistry, which has never swallowed up his fragrances. 

Terre D'Hermes has been reviewed so many times by so many people that I am not going to go into a detailed review of the actual progression myself. Despite Terre's clarity and sparkliness, it is actually a very complex perfume, in my opinion, and it is temperamental. It performs variably on my skin in the sense that sometimes it turns a bit sour on me, when the orange notes intensify and become ever so slightly cloying. On other occasions the orange, flint, woods and vetiver combine wonderfully to work just right, and then I feel truly happy that I own a bottle of it.

As for gender, should I need to mention it (well I just have), I think Terre D'Hermes can definitely be worn by either sex. It is marketed as a masculine, but I don't see why a woman can't wear it with confidence.

One final thought. Despite my up-and-down relationship with Terre D'Hermes, I still find it even now to be totally distinctive. Yes, anyone who has any experience of Ellena and Hermes in particular will recognise little tell tale traits and similarities to others in the stable, but Terre is still very recognisably Terre. I can identify it from a mile away. Now, depending on your point of view, this could either be a good or a bad thing. For me its a good thing, because in an increasingly bland and banal masculine perfume world, Terre is one of the shining beacons of individuality and proof that men's perfumes can be unique and interesting.

Image credit - http://www.scentworld.co.uk/