Hermessence Brin de Reglisse

On my nose, the wonderful bombastic blast of sweet enigmatic liquorice is made docile with the herbaceous fleeting note of lavender with an underlying green note of hay. Conceived in 2007 by Jean-Clause Ellena for the Hermessence line by Hermès, Brin De Réglisse is described as: “A fragrance that blows cool and warm, dry and sweet. A landscape in Provence, dry earth, fragrant purple fields, the wind of the mistral... draped in a luxurious coat of mouthwatering licorice. The fragrance opens with the pure light of stylized lavender only to move into the velvety black of licorice.” The ‘provence’ that is France for Ellena is translated into an entirely different entity on my own terms. The scent of lavender and licorice evokes memories of tea and scones with licorice root tea and scones generously smothered in lavender scented chantilly cream. Whilst Ellena’s conception of this was to gauge the South-Eastern aspects of France, I get my own memory-evoking, or ‘memory-reminding’ scent of complacent periods of my life. -And that’s what I find to be most important; Something as a true testament to the Hermessence line and Jean-Claude Ellena’s ability to fabricate something that I adore not just as a product, but as an art form. The composition overall is linear. It boasts the crisp, gourmand scent of upfront anise, which is almost minty and menthol-like in quality in the sense that it cuts through the receptors unapologetically... but I’m okay with that. The lavender quality acts as the softener in the composition, which doesn’t necessarily dampen the anise/licorice quality, but adds that mysterious perplexing quality of many fragrances that requires even more stern sniffing and professional patience. The final note I detect, hay, is more imaginary than real. What I mean is, it’s not that I can’t smell it, but it’s more of a colloquial term used to describe the green note from the fragrance. It’s a bit like how the stem of a flower is usually more bitter than the actual petals, it’s as if Ellena utilized 2 parts lavender bud and 1 part lavender stem; in turn this delivers a mildly rough quality that works wonderfully with the potent liquorice. Furthermore, the green, ‘cut grass’, hay quality has this warming affect, that is concurrently kind of roasted and a tad toasted by the sun (which happens to be Cis-3-Hexenal & 1-Hexanol that is attributed to the intense grassy note). In turn, it gives the fragrance a ‘dirty’ character; but an Ellena kinda dirty...think Terre d’Hermès; that draws out the molasses character of licorice and syrups. Ellena’s fragrances, whilst story tellers, are novellas, not novels. A message is still received but in a shorter, sweeter amount of time. This is the case for Brin De Réglisse. The EdT carries the cost of an EdP, but philosophically makes sense, seeing how Ellena is the master of understatement and a particularly close sillage. My new signature, 5/5.

جزو معدود عطرای من که هرگز حتی در اوج فقر و فاقه به فروشش فکر نکردم و شاید بتونم بگم هرگز هم بیرون برای کس یا کاری نپوشیدم و مثل دونا از برند لورنزو ویلورسی خودم شبا تنهایی می پوشیدم و می بوییدم و یاد مادرم و بچگی ها و غذای قورمه سبزی و مراحل پختش(اونوقتا که اسم ارگانیک رو نشنیده بودیم چون چیزی غیرارگانیک نبود و همه چیز طبیعی و ناب بود و این عطر هم تمام اجزاش طبیعی و ناب)می افتادم جالب نت هاش فقط سبزیجات خشک و لاوندر و شیرین بیان زده اما نه تنها تمام بوهایی که تو امژایر فوِق بنگال در بخش نت های سبزی ها و گیاهان خشک معطرش با دقت میکروسکوپی کشف میشن اینجا با وضوح تمام سربرمیارن بلکه بوی لیمو خشک عمانی وقتی ریختن تو قورمه سبزی یا چای بهمراه بوی وتیور(بله واقعا) در کنار بوی تمام سبزی های ناب ایرانی که زمانی تو غذا میریختن و بوش صدکوچه می پیچید و الان تو عطاری ها هم نمیشه پیدا کرد و آویشن و جعفری و حتی سبزی خوردن..تک تک میاد و عجیب اینکه دهها نت به ترتیب گویی یکنفر داره میده دستتون بو کنید بترتیبی که برای من یاداور مراحل پخت قورمه سبزی مامانم بودش(از شما چه پنهون من بچه بودم مثل گدا گشنه ها و گربه های محل دامن مادرمو میگرفتم و باید هربار از اون بالا یه تیکه پرت میکرد دهنم و عجیب هم بدون اینکه بگم چی میخوام و حرفی بزنم دقیقا مثل گربه های خونگی مامانم میدونست چی میخوام و اعتراضی هم نمیکرد چون بهترین زمان برای نشنیدن جیغ و واویلای من همین ساعات پخت غذا بود) درعین حال راستش هرگز متوجه بوی لیکرش یا همون شیرین بیان توش نشدم شاید تصورم با بویی که توی نیکولای کویغ کوبااز شیرین بیان داشتم مانع درکم شد(اونم بخاطر رگ و ریشه های کردی من و خاطرات کودکی مشقت بار گربه وار منو یاد روغن کرمونشاهی میندازه و همون روز اول که از عباسی پرفیوم شاپینگ خریدم نوشتم این بوی روغن کرمونشاهی میده و البته کویغ کوبا جزو بهترین عطرای عمرم) هرکی این کار هرمس رو واسه فروش داره من باکمال میل خریدارم

Hmmm.. both underwhelmed and a bit impressed if that's possible? I finally plucked up courage to enter the intimidating Hermes shop today for a long awaited test. As a huge fan of Caron's Eau de Reglisse I wanted a comparison. Brin de Reglisse is certainly LOVELY, soft, warm, comforting, gentle.. but, it seems to have no sillage whatsoever. You would have to spray this really generously to smell it on yourself and possibly spray it continuously for somebody else to get a whaft as you pass. It's gone in an hour. At £150 a bottle that is not good. The only capacity in which I see this this working is to save it for when you are going to get close up to someone. It's scent is very much like a soft natural body smell and in that way it's very sexy. But really, is there anypoint in getting this little fragrance for £150? Sadly, I think not. Though if I ever win the lottery I will consider an hourly dose.. ps. I've just read some of the other review on here and I absolutely agree that it had a pleasantly 'salty' element. I wonder if that's why it is reminiscent of the human body/skin smell?

Brin de Reglisse is such a calming scent. Beautiful, and never too much. It's very much my favourite of the Hermesscence range, followed closely by Paprika Brasil. Paprika Brasil is a soft spicy number something found in a city restaurant, but Brin is... well, it's an intimate morning on a cool farm. I don't detect coffee beans, but working in a cafe must make me anosmic to it outside of the cafe (I'm beginning to hate it). It contains soft, soft lavender and a strong hay accord. The licorice comes through in such a lovely fashion. This reminds me of a very soft, not so spicey Eau Noire. Don't shoot me... I adore both. The Hermes range has been anything but hit and miss for me, consistently getting to me and striking my heart and making me feel great. The Hermessence range is a natural set of scents, ranging from the city to the seaside to the country on a farm with horses and leather. The main lines contain some very special ideas, but the Hermes dna is consistent with them all. Hermes is a very special house and Jean Claude Elena is... so helpful and his ideas are inspiring.

There is a short window during the year when Brin de Réglisse calls me. It's during those dog days of Summer around harvest, an innocent child's playtime. Hiding away laying on a bale of hay dried from the blistering sun, dusty from the ground and infused from inside with gentle flower petals and the scent of wooden twigs. The mouth cheekily full of sweet and chewy aniseed and liquorice bonbons straight from the paper bag. Forbidden delights and moments all to myself cause Mother to anxiously look out from the balcony waiting for my anticipated return for family lunch. The warm breeze carries sweet herbal flavours across from the nearby lavender fields, which melt with the liquorice to form a fine layer of slightly salted caramel on the outside, delicately burnt and bursting with rich aroma. As I close my eyes, for that short moment, the world seems a homely place, even many years later.

if there is any heaven or somehow and somewhere must be a heaven then this"Heaven" alongside its master(well, i mean what people called God) and along with all its elements and components and its inhabitants should smell like this perfume that is gathered in the bottle of Hermessence Brin de Reglisse Hermes. Don't forget that firstly, the notes of this perfume are many times more than what is mentioned above, and secondly, the performance of this perfume is very poor in terms of distribution, durability, longevity and sillage. But the quality of the scent and the clarity of the notes and its changes are surprising and stunning. A pure masterpiece that reminds me of cooking a traditional Iranian dish called "Qorme Sabzi" as if it was cooked in heaven with heavenly elements by our mothers.Long live all the mothers and their heavenly smell.

This is the first fragrance by Hermes that actually works on me..and I adore it. I am a huge liquorice fan anyway but the mixture with lavender makes Brin de Reglisse extraordinary and special. The lavender comes first an adds a comfortably touch to the whole composition, then liquorice appears like a strangely beautiful black butterfly. It is not the typical sweet candy liquorice odour but rather edgy, salty-bitter and nonchalant. There is no dramatic sillage and unfotunately no extraordinary longlivetiy, rather subtle. Might not be everybodys cup of tea but if BdR is your type, it could grow to be an addiction.;) A quite unusual and enchanting perfum.

Aaaaaah, man, this stuff is fantastic! What a perfect mix of herbal and soft. The notes are so perfectly balanced, and what freakin' genius to pair such simple ingredients for such an amazing, minimalist fragrance. This is exactly what I was looking for when I originally began looking for a licorice scent. It's so natural smelling! Now...the idea of paying $225 for a TOILETTE blows my mind. It makes me think of that Macklemore thriftshop song where he talks about getting "swindled and pimped." I'd easily pay a hundred for a full size of this eau de toilette, and *maybe* the two-hundred for a parfume of this. But what the fuck? Why is it THAT expensive?

A burst of fresh lavender, neither too cologne-y nor too sharp, blends seamlessly into the scent of black licorice. Exactly like black licorice. I love scents with black licorice or anise, so I really love it. The licorice has a salted aspect like salmiak candy. The drydown incorporates coumarin, which ties the slight gourmand of the licorice to the herbal lavender. A very unique cologne. I love it. It's just so heart breakingly fleeting. (And to the reviewers wondering who would want to smell like black jelly beans - ME :) )

One of the best scents ever (!) made. The simplicity of it, the transparency, the absolutely beguiling combination of lavender and licorice, combining salty, sweet and herbal notes, in perfect, perfect harmony. It's a true work of art. Even the fact that it is a fleeting fragrance, to me, adds to its appeal. I would wear this every day, if only I could afford a bottle ;-(

I love this. This might seem strange for some as the other reviews note as this is different from many other perfumes, but this is lovely and very wearable for me. It smells very soft and warm and I love wearing this when I don't want to smell like I'm wearing a perfume.

♡ one of my favorite gourmands. 3 interesting notes make up a very simple perfume. Almost salty. Longevity is the obvious complaint, i spray 16 times and it lasts 3-5 hrs ̄_(ツ)_/ ̄ if you like long lasting fragrances hermes isnt the best place to start

Love this. Deeply aromatic and very calming to the senses. More warm liquorice than lavender yet still, a bit of lavender purity peeks through. Reminds me of root beer and soft fluffy marshmallows. Comforting & a great scent for nighttime or for bed.

Lavender and licorice, a sexy sleepy caramelised morning cologne. Dig into your neck later in the day for a clever dried apricot accord. Bravo.

Great choice for insomnia soothing. Very mild herbal cloud sit close to the skin. Also very well blended. The only down side is its longevity.

after a while, this might become the best hermessence

I get a blast of licorice upon the opening of Hermès Brin de Réglisse, with the lavender soon joining in and forming an alluring and harmonious duo : the licorice is dark and sugary, yet it's somehow lightened and elevated by the aromatic, herbal characteristics of lavender, as if the black root shimmers under the Provençal sun; the lavender is stripped off its dirty and rough edge, yet the woody, bittersweet nuance of licorice brings in another dimension and prevents it from being 'disinfectant' clean. However, the intensity and the sillage of the fragrance drop rather abruptly after about 40 minutes, even though it's already relatively soft to begin with. It then becomes a sheer veil of salty caramel with woody undertone. This salty-sweet interplay actually makes a very sensual skin scent, if only I don't have to press my nose so hard to my arm to smell it. The silage is very soft especially after about 1 hour, and the longevity is around 4 hours, which is rather poor as most fragrances last reasonably long on my skin. I usually prefer lavender paired with gourmand elements, Brin de Réglisse is thus right up my alley. Moreover, its pairing with the woody, relatively dry licorice also makes it different from a few creamy gourmand lavender that I tried before. The translucent interpretation of the usually heavy licorice also makes it very wearable while still being an unusual combo. I think it definitely worths a try, but I'd strongly suggest testing before buying as the performance is rather weak, especially for the comparatively high price.

Brin de Réglisse is a straightforward, linear accord of aniseed and lavender. On skin, there is also a note of lightly roasted coffee, as other reviewers have noted, which tries but doesn't manage to impart much depth or complexity. There is also not much in the way of sillage, so you wear this for yourself. In this way Brin is almost antagonistic to the idea of a perfume, which might appeal to some, but being such a simple, overly gourmand fragrance, it fails completely to blend, to become part of the wearer. Throughout its short, linear life, I feel as if I am walking around with a sachet of lavender and aniseed in my jacket pocket. Sounds not bad until you recall the 170 dollars you paid for the privilege. Hérmès and J C Ellena call the Hermessence line olfactory haikus, but they are merely sketches, no flesh, no life. The upside of which is that great results can be had by layering if you have the inclination and the cash. I tested Brin de Réglisse with Poivre Samarcande, a black pepper and wood scent that works wonderfully on its own, and the result was much more powerful than either achieves alone. In fact, the pair smells so wonderful together, like smokey, spicey licorice tea with an undercurrent of salty skin, I'd wear it regularly if not for the 300 bucks it would cost me for a bottle of each.

Although my previous review was well received, I had to redo this one as my impressions have changed over the years. I tested this scent expecting a big emphasis on lavender. And if that’s what one expects one would be quite disappointed with this scent. The lavender in this is soft and powdery, and adds an aromatic touch but it is far from a lavender centric scent. What I find this centers around is the licorice note. This is a smoking licorice whip and cool frosty breath in a an empty barn, on a fresh bale of hay. There’s something so chilling about this scent, like a Halloween night. You’re alone in this barn, there’s snow on the ground, and you're eating black licorice by the light of a lantern, or a Jack-o-lantern, take your pick. As it dries down the lavender reappears, it’s even more powdery than the opening, until that’s all that’s left. By 3 hours in this scent is little more than a baby powder puff, warmed by the skin and the ice has melted away as the magic fades into the night. I’m not sure that this scent is worth the price at full retail but I got mine for a steal, waiting patiently until the price dropped on eBay, and it was worth the wait.

I smell sweet dry pipe tobacco mixed with a warm tasty licorice and rounded out by a natural lavender. I really enjoy this fragrance, it’s unusual and beautifully balanced: not too sweet, too herbal or too gourmand. The ingredients are few, and they each play the best versions of themselves. The herbal element is soft and dusty and plays a musk like role. The gourmand licorice has a snap of burnt molasses on its base The lavender, when I finally smell it hangs in the background, naturally sweet flowers complimenting the licorice, yet the herbal edge is not lost. Really good stuff.