H24 Eau de Parfum

(Comparison of the EdT, EdP, and Herbes Vives) Hermes has a bit of an ego when it comes to their flagship masculine perfumes. They style themselves as trendsetters for the market, and have done going all the way back to Eau de Hermes and Equipage, of which there was nearly two decades between them. That’s another mark of Hermes’ approach to their flagship masculines: they take their sweet time. They blew the masculine perfume world apart at the start of this century with Terre d’Hermes, and in general because of JCE’s other achievements with the Hermessence and Jardin lines, and now they feel bold and it high time to have another go. Did they disrupt the masculine perfume world yet again with H24? Well the feedback certainly seems to suggest so, mostly in how divisive and confused many seem to be. So let’s try to clear some of that up at least. The EdT has a hesperidic and floral opening that is completely translucent, as if you are smelling fruits and flowers that are crystal clear. It’s lemony, green herbal, noticeably ozonic, and those greens you pull are no less what is aiming to be narcissus, which is made evident via the heady and honeyed aromas. Into the heart, thanks to the “narcissus”, the sage-not-quite-sage note comes across as sweetened, but this is all likely an effect of this touted sci fi material the brand is certainly not shy of mentioning, sclarene. It is herbal, it is wet, it is sweet, but it has this “incomplete” feeling that makes you think that, again like I mentioned a second ago, that the sage is nearly crystal clear. Glassy with a green tint. The EdP opens with the same cast of characters but is more fruity, more floral, and noticeably but not terribly sweeter as a result. Everything in the EdP is just more, and definitely denser - particularly the narcissus/sclarene material(s) with its heady honey doing a large amount of the lifting for the sweet quality. Of the three, Herbes Vives has more on offer with an opening of watery but rather photorealistic pear, ozonics, and the same cool herbs but made greener, more vegetal, and sharper thanks to a galbanum edge. Needle sharp aldehydes also briefly present themselves here. The heady and honey characteristics of the narcissus are placed a good distance in the background. The heart of the Herbes Vives is drier, somewhere between the EdT and the EdP but more towards the EdT. It will seem drier than this because of the sharper green edges. The narcissus is still there, as is the sclarene, but now we have the addition of Physcool used to provide a cooling effect without clobbering you with a mint note, and it works: the tactile sensation of the perfume on my skin is not “cooling”, but it does have the effect of smelling cool while it works its way through my nose and palate. Neat trick. The EdT ends with a big slug of evernyl that has a damp, only slightly woody, moss-not-moss aroma. The EdP goes heavily dark woody thanks to a dense and slightly sweet rosewood. This is significantly drier than the opening and heart layers. The evernyl is still present but put much further backstage. Herbes Vives errs towards the EdT with a focus on the green mossy qualities but the brighter greens of earlier layers continue to hold on until the end, having this effect of removing all woody aspects before shifting to a green-only piquant and salty vetiver. Note descriptions of all three H24s are necessary and helpful, sure, but this line is equally about texture as they are aroma, to my nose. Particularly in the EdT, there is quite a bit of “Jean Claude Ellena” in its transparency, and light weight lucidity - perhaps a Hermes mandate given how much his signature style drove sales at Hermes counters - but Nagel still sneaks her unmistakable signature on the bottom line. She has this remarkable stylistic ability to texturally evoke glass or cling film - transparent, light, and undistorted but nonetheless impenetrable, like you are kept from truly “getting your nose” into the material and you must observe from a distance. It greatly helps to execute the mandate of a composition meant to blend the natural and the technological very well. The EdP makes it more obvious how Hermes intended to push the boundaries of mainstream masculine perfumes with H24, as this is likely going to be quite challenging for the general consumer. JCE’s stylistic legacy is less apparent in the EdP, and Nagel’s signature is bolder. If the EdT has a glass-like/cling-film-like impenetrability, the EdP is bullet proof glass. It is thick. With Herbes Vives it is more like the EdT, but it’s also with Herbes Vives where the overlap between the three H24s and some of the Jardin line is more obvious and noticeable. Some of the same materials from the Jardin line are used across the H24 line, and, again it wouldn’t surprise me if part of the creative mandate for H24 was to take what made the JCE-era popular - many of those materials and JCE’s easy to wear, light weight, luminous, and transparent perfumes - and just... make them edgy. Push the envelope a bit. They certainly do. I find it unfortunate and unfair how much flack H24 has received. Maybe they pushed the envelope a bit too much too soon or too late. It’s one of Hermes’ best this century, only after Terre and Paddock in my opinion (I can feel the glare of eyes and the raised eyebrows from you Cuir d’Ange devotees, and I might acquiesce on that). Perhaps with more time H24 will find its large deserved devoted following when minds and tastes are better able to wrap around it. I own all three of these in full bottles due to lucking into them, but that is mostly redundant and not recommended for your wallet unless you are the rare bird that find themselves loving all three equally. To my nose Herbes Vives stands out the most by combining the best parts of the EdT and the EdP, giving them a big glinting green edge and adding the interesting pear opening and the Physcool. It seems it has more it wants to say, but that might not mean you want to hear it. So, trying all three before buying is highly advisable because all three are different from each other in polarizing ways, and just plain different and polarizing in general if that is not already obvious. Hermes achieved what they set out to do, and, at least, I’m thrilled to see they are recognizing and standing behind Nagel and H24 for the achievement, and willing to wait it out (thus far). Bravo. P.S. My partner cannot help but think of scorching-summer-hot seat belts from a vintage car when smelling H24, so even our mostly-unified household is divided.

My first review on fragrantica and I picked this fragrance because this is my signature! It's a hobby where I've been through over 20+ bottles and many many more decants. Hermes was not a house i was looking at, I've smelled tdh in 2018 (when I was much younger) and thought who would like this stuff? I did get a sample of H24 EDT back in 2021 and same thing... Why would anyone buy this? But over the years I've gotten older and my nose has matured... All those sickly sweet and woody fragrances no longer interest me... And enter H24 line! This one is just so unique, there's nothing like this on the market! And i like that it's a love it or hate it scent, so i smell more unique! To me this one changes with the seasons... In the winter i get more green and fresh vibes, and when there's more humidity in the air i can really see the steam effect! To me this one smells green, a bit like being in a backyard garden. But also metallic, so not exactly like being in a forest. I've owned this bottle now for over 6 months and a been through a quart of it. Since I've had this I've lost interest in the rest of my collection. I still keep seeking new scents but i shouldn't bother... I've tried 12+ decants since i got this bottle and nothing has come close, so i just ordered herbes vives instead. I'm really leaning in to this line... And Hermes in general. There's something to be said about a brand that doesn't do focus groups and market research to product the same scent everyone else is already producing! Christine Nagel has free range to create unique fragrances and i can't wait to see what comes next in the H24 line! One thing for all of you... If a scent is love the first time you smell it, try living with it for 6 months and then see how you feel! For me H24 line was ok at first sniff but the more i wore it the more i loved it! Finally my signature!

Hermès' master perfumer Christine Nagel gets some criticism that sometimes borders on misogynistic. Think about such accusations as she cannot "understand" male scents, where the author confounds his – always "his" and not "her" – opinion with some sort of universalist view that is so ridiculously easily proven wrong by the fact that there is a high number of men enjoying her male scents. I think H24 Eau de Parfum is a great example of a relentless creativity that nods heavily to iconic male scents such as Pour Un Homme de Caron, and especially early, timeless fougères from houses such as Geo F. Trumper and Penhaligon's. This is, however, a very modern pseudo-barbershop, pseudo-fougère scent – a modernist and novelty approach that will always be unappreciated by some. It is easy going, brilliant for work, and for the attentive nose it can also be really intriguing. It is probably the one I receive the most compliments for, at least of this everyday kind of green daytime scents. However, I find it also well suited around the clock as well as the year, for quite many occasions. In the opening, I am led to think of the Austrian niche house Wienerblut's release called Klubwasser – a very green, "healthy gourmand" that adds a perfectly balanced sweetness to aromas of a well blended lunch salad that includes an abundance of green herbs. But H24 EDP quickly reveals oakmoss and the sclarene's lavender-ish qualities turning it in a different direction – towards the barber's in fact. Lunch is still hours away in that respect. Later on, the oakmoss lingers throughout the workday for me. Performance is therefore very decent I find, and well suited for any closed environment. It is also very available, and sensibly priced often.

Year round worthy, plain & simple. A bit richer and slightly more dense than the OG but, in a good way. Herbaceous, vegetal and with the twist of the Oakmoss, it adds a bit of a classy vibe to the overall composition as if paying homage to the classics of yesteryear such as Chanel P.E., Drakkar Noir, Kouros, Macassar by Rochas and a few others that escape me without having the semi astringent lavender and soapy characteristics of those aforementioned fragrances. Clearly not as green and pine like to neither of them but, more up to date and certainly more modern/contemporary in the mainstream today. Still has the clean steamed note that I actually like which still gives it the versatile tag for any situation, dressed up or down. H24 eau de parfum does not fall inline with the dizzying line up of blue fragrances or the atrociously syrupy sweet concoctions that quite frankly are more suitable in a spice rack than in a gentleman’s fragrance collection. Hermes created something both different and bold. While still being close to the edt, it has become more masculine, sophisticated and yet casually refined. I prefer the eau de parfum because of that classic throwback vibe while increasing its strength and longevity on my skin. The green like cleanliness in the drydown is superb and unlike anything out there that is available today. You want different yet smells manly and well put together, H24 Eau de Parfum will fit the bill quite nicely. If you want shower gel blu, pancake syrup stickiness or exude a Vanilla Coke and Cinnamon Roll like aroma, steer clear of this juice. Gentlemen need only apply. Let the haters hate.

While the EdT, or original H24 didn't really catch my attention for some reason - maybe because it was too weak on my skin - this one for sure did. It is a rare occurrence these days, an aromatic fougere-like scent released by a renowned designer house. Hermes made a perfume centered around oakmoss, or some well-chosen substitute at least. This perfume is similar to the scents of yore, with not even a glimpse of sweetness within. It starts off with a steamed shirt vibe lots of people mentioned, but later it calms down to a mossy, vegetal scent of our favorite lichen, with some carefully chosen molecules and aromatics to back it up. If you told me that there is some sort of sage in there, I would firmly believe you, but can't say I identified it myself. So, a rather simple, linear, yet effective scent, with very decent projection for an EdP and a double digit longevity. Naturally, with these notes and composition, H24 is likely to intrigue older and/or more experienced crowd. If what one's looking for is more in line with modern perfumery, then, by all means, he can skip this one, but I would still suggest a try, because, who knows, maybe we can reverse this trend one person at a time. In my opinion, h24 would work good in all seasons, but this period suits it the best. Also, at least a touch of formal attire is a must, this is really not a sweatshirt scent. All in all, a solid 8/10 for me, and chapeau to Hermes for releasing this one in 2020s.