Elixir des Merveilles

ORANGE CEDAR-RESIN. Imagine eating an orange in a steam room/sauna made of cedar & orange-wood. As you peel the orange, pith and juice burst from its seams while the oily essence leaks onto your fingers. Steam sizzles from the coals with a faint incense and you smell the tree resin sweating from the woods. Signed by perfumer Jean Claude Ellena, this amber fougere beauty opens with an effervescent burst of orange peel & siam resin that deepens into a caramel woody heart, resting on a cedar-oak base with touches of incense and patchouli. A lightly sweet cloud of balsam shampoo & orange-amber shows itself in the air, while on the skin I get more cedar, oak and incense. This reminds me of a wooden tray made of orange-wood and cedar that I got in Morocco. (Benefits from dark storage after first sprays to really blossom - up to a year). Overall: Well above average performance, this scent has grown on me and my appreciation continues to develop the longer I have this in my collection. It's a love for me. Enjoy! Contrast to Colors de Benetton Benetton 1987 (OG): Signed by Bernard Ellena, these are very different (especially the openings), but the way the amber is done is similar - slightly baby powdery, and appearing in the air more than the skin. CdB smells a little more like Eau des Merveilles and has more aromatic and green touches, and peach instead of orange. As these two dry down, they become even more similar, with that amber that is slightly like balsam shampoo and Love's Baby Soft by Dana characteristic of the range. Elixir des Merveilles has stronger performance. Contrast to Ambre Sultan Serge Lutens: These are different, but the amber is similarly thick and resinous. Ambre Sultan has the standout bayleaf instead of orange peel. Elixir des Merveilles is easier to wear year round imho. Roughly equivalent performance. Contrast to Ambre Lumiere Molinard: These are different, but again the thick, sweet and resinous amber is similar. AL doesn't have orange peel. Again Elixir des Merveilles is easier to wear year round. Roughly equivalent performance. Update 05/02/25: Sprayed this on today. It's developing a nice sweetness, and each time I wear it I notice it's a little sweeter in a good way, although I wouldn't call this a super sweet or sticky sweet scent. It's a unique amber scent, yet there's something classic about the amber as well - a paradox if you will. It's easy to wear now, even in spring or fall, not just winter like some ambers. The amber has a flow to it (more than just an aura) which is enhanced by the caramel, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's liquidambar here. I picture a lava flow of orange-coloured amber. Love it.

Elixir Des Mervielle smells exactly as the name would suggest...as the elixir version of the original Eau Des Merveilles. The same DNA is very apparent with enough differences to distinguish itself from the original. Though if you are someone who wants a very curated collection, having both may be a bit redundant. The original is a bit more versatile while the Elixir is well suited to cooler weather and special occasions. The opening is dominated by syrupy sweet oranges and fresh, green woods. As it settles I start to smell a bit of peppery-ness, though it's not listed as a note. The resins and caramel make the orange smell more like an orange syrup/jam than a freshly squeezed orange juice. I find this fragrance is pretty linear. What I smell on my skin in the first ten minutes is what I smell many hours after application. Sometimes I think this fragrance leans a little feminine and others I find it just a little masculine. I guess that really makes it unisex since I can't decide. Elixir Des Merveilles is one of my holiday fragrances. The spiced, syrupy orange feels very festive without being overtly Christmassy. I only wear this fragrance in cooler weather. I find it too heavy and becomes suffocating in warmer weather. Because of the powerful performance I find not even a light application can be tolerated in the heat. The performance is impressive. It lasts on my skin until I wash it off. Even 24 hours after application it is still noticeable on my skin. On hair and clothes it's presence is even more apparent. It even lasts on dogs for days. I was snuggling with my friend's little pup and two days later she texted me that her pup still smelled like me. Maybe three sprays was too much. I should have stuck with my usual 1-2 with this fragrance. The projection is pretty powerful. Even with a typical application of 4 sprays this can be room filling and overwhelming. I usually stick with 1-2 sprays, especially if I am going to be around others in a smaller indoor space. I love how the bottles in this line are designed. They are fairly simple, but still super unique. The atomizer is smooth and generous without dousing you. I just wish the atomizer had a cap. Hermes fragrances are priced slightly higher that other designer fragrances, but I find the quality of their fragrances justifies that slight difference.

When Luca Turin damned Elixir des Merveilles with faint praise (3 stars and a revue en bref: "bon chic, bon genre,") I assumed it would fade into oblivion once the industry moved on to the next trend. Revisiting this Jean Claude Ellena creation a decade on, I can't help but think that Turin was being uncharitable in his assessment. This is a remarkably good and unusual fragrance! First, it must be said that Ellena has toiled for years in this territory--working with weightless, novel citruses supported by atmospheric synthetic bases (Terre d'Hermes, Eau D'Orange Vert, Eau de Pamplemousse Rose, Hermes Garden series, and even the old In Love Again and Sisley Eau de Campagne). So if there was a "bon chic" effect at the time Ellena released Elixir des Merveilles, he certainly earned it! But Elixir des Merveilles is much, much more than a trendy throwaway. It accomplishes some things that are notable in the history of perfumery: 1) The sticky orange note is one that Ellena has mastered, but it is in other fragrances all too fleeting. Here, he manages to sustain it from beginning to end. When was the last time you smelled an orange (or any citrus) for 8 hours? More to the point, when was the last time you *wanted* to? 2) The transition into the base is, well, a "wonder." The orange note remains, but is slowly enveloped in a kind of sensual musk that smells like the naked body of a beautiful woman. This is a scent for afternoon love-making if ever there was one! Leave the curtains open, refrain from alcohol or any substance that will dull your senses, and wallow wakefully in her beauty. 3) The overall density of the composition is unusual in that it is simultaneously "thick" and "weightless." There is nothing cloying or suffocating about Elixir des Merveilles, but it manages to envelop the wearer in a plush cloud for hours upon hours. I kept expecting it to turn sickly sweet and ambaric, but it remained perfectly balanced from start to finish. Of course, this is Ellena's signature, but it is impressively done here, even by his lofty standards. 4) Finally, it is just "pretty." I mean that as a high compliment. Not all modern fragrances can claim this. Overall rating: * * * * * (masterpiece) Highly recommended, especially for men.

This will be a long review so here's the takeaway: I love this scent and it'll always be in my collection, but it is one of those idiosyncratic, peculiar scents that will change from paper to skin. I've had this perfume for a year now, and I've gone on quite the journey with my opinion of it. I first smelled this scent on a blotter at Nordstroms and the initial blast of notes were very gourmand, a dark and almost sugary orange with a little bitter rind. The bitterness is enhanced I think by the resins, and amber notes and the sugary part kind of dissipates smoothly away to a very resiny, strong cedar, and citrus with a strong patchouli background. I loved it, bought a bottle, and later trying it on my skin, I hated it. On my skin I get the resins and patchouli immediately and it is bitter and a bit sour too. Then the orange rind, but it takes a good 10 minutes for the orange to smooth out into a very citrusy with the tiniest bit of caramel note but still with an intense wood/resin/bitter patchouli. The intensely bitter and sour opening notes really bothered me. I tried for 6 months to like it and ended up returning it to Nordstroms (which, FYI, Nordstrom seems to be the only department store that will 100% refund you for an opened bottle of perfume). I couldn't stop thinking about this perfume and how some days I liked it, and other days I hated it. I ended up later sniffing it *again* at Nordstrom on paper so re-purchased a travel size of it. This time it was summer, and I don't know if the heat just opens up all the gourmand notes much more clearly, but every time I wore it I would receive compliments, and I also now love it. This was last summer and now after rotating this perfume around on different times /days I really love it and couldn't do without it. I'm not sure why I had this experience; if it's my skin chemistry or if the gourmand notes aren't as strong unless it's warmer weather despite the fact that these type of notes usually signify a cooler weather kind of perfume. In any case, as Hermes is a luxury brand and carries a high price tag, I strongly recommend trying this scent on your skin before purchasing. Longevity and sillage are medium to strong.

As a longtime admirer of Hermès fragrances, I was keen to finally try Elixir des Merveilles. Composed by the inimitable Jean-Claude Ellena, this is an unusual yet wearable scent that is all the better for Ellena's signature light touch. It is very similar to the original Eau des Merveilles - but this warmer, richer flanker is my preference. Perfectly unisex, it is an unusual composition with a traditional chypre drydown, featuring rich, caramelised amber. The opening is rich and warm, dominated by tart, spicy orange notes. It is briefly reminiscent of spicy candied citrus at Christmastime, but develops into a slightly sweet ambery phase with a hint of caramel and/or burnt sugar. It remains softly spicy. As the citrus subsides, it becomes more earthy, with incense and resins coming to the fore as it develops. It is softly smoky with an aromatic undertone. It is salty and musky too, which adds a subtle sensuality. EDM becomes chypre-like at its drydown stage. Deliciously woody and mossy, it becomes curiously cool in contrast to its warm opening. In this way, it is unusual and counterintuitive in its development on the skin, the opposite of how most fragrances tend to develop on skin with body heat. The opening of EDM is more like a typical drydown, citrus aside. Deceptively light and airy despite a plethora of rich ingredients and unusual accords, this scent is an acquired taste. More oriental than gourmand yet with chypre characteristics; airy yet rich, EDM is an intriguing, addictive contradiction. Sillage is strong and longevity is moderate, and it garners compliments. Made with the high quality ingredients typical of Hermès, combined with Ellena's skill, this scent is something special. Orange-amber goodness, this is one of my favourite amber scents. A marvel. 4.5/5.