Hermessence Epice Marine

More than meets the nose. A solid offering from the Hermessence line by Jean-Claude Ellena. Once again, I cannot speak from experience – I seem just a bit too young to recall any serious fads in fragrance and I can merely read up on previous events. In the mid 90’s it was all about the ‘aquatic’ and funnily enough now in 2014 we have the Oud obsession. ‘Aquatic’ sprouts much unneeded fear and trepidation in the hearts and noses of many fragrances fanatics and connoisseurs all around the world. I just missed the early to mid 1990’s rage for L’Eau D’issey, CK One and Acqua Di Gio – So I guess I consider myself blessed, or something like that. The colognes/EdTs laden with citruses, watery notes and calone with the distinct scent of melon and sweet fruit turned from something supposedly new age, vibrant and rejuvenating to a rather offensive waft of fragrance impetuously worn and sprayed on without consideration of others. There’s a sickly sweetness from the aromatic aquatics that sets it apart from citrusy colognes, making it invariably overbearing upon an overly generous application. Whilst the inescapable goal of aquatics is to smell like... well to smell like sea and salt water (duh): being all blue, salty, green, mossy, driftwood-y, seaweed-y and all that jazz, it is also important to keep those notes down to a minimum. The goal for a fragrance to smell predominately like sun-touched skin from a Mediterranean sun, a towel-dried body with a fine layer of sea salt or just plainly the ocean can often be a little quixotic or just unrealistic. I feel that shouldn’t be focal point in this style of fragrance, but merely an idea to improve upon; and I’ll even say it myself – even nature is imperfect or more enigmatic than what you once may have thought. Épice Marine is... I guess a specific sort of aquatic. It would be unfair to call Épice Marine an aquatic because I cannot detect any melon or tropical fruit vibe at all in the mix, so the framework for the typical aquatic is not fulfilled – nevertheless this merely contains a smidgen of calone, the default aquatic note. It opens freshly, vibrant and awakening. It has two distinct features from the opening few moments: It delivers a beautiful briny punch of bergamot and orange freshly picked and squeezed with the warm gourmand hit of toasty cumin and cardamon. Only the slightest aspect of cumin’s sweaty character is revealed and the bittersweet pungency floats along in the opening already rejecting the aquatic model. If you smell sternly a beautiful honey-hazelnut whisky note comes through with all of the complexity still attached. The facets of wet wood, charred casks, sweet grass and peat all make an appearance ultimately making you swoon and shiver in rapturous pleasure. Considering this, this is exactly what you can expect from a collaboration between the master impressionist Jean-Claude Ellena and the three Michelin starred spice king Olivier Roellinger. The inspiration for this fragrance is steered in a direction stemming from mutual respect for each other’s craft and the olfactic delights each entail. Born from an encounter in Cancale, Brittany, the admiration for what the location contains ultimately lead to this fragrance. The aroma of the sea, the meddling tones of blue and grey in the sky and on the shore with the nasal perception of spice (èpice); the cold sea almost contradicting the warm spice transported by the pirate trade with the intriguing smell of rope, rotting wood, sand and shingle fusing together to create a deep, storytelling fragrance of adventure, trade and time. Anywho, I am certain there is a virtually innumerable amount of rare and exotic spices in the mix and rightly so. The sweet roundness of cardamon and the woody roasted character of hazelnut deviates from some of the grassiness of the vetiver in the blend. The smell of toasted sesame seeds adds a level of comfort whilst the merest amount of oakmoss provides depth and realism. So I guess, by the term ‘aquatic’ you wanted to provoke the smell of the sea, evoke the grit of sand and pebbled shorelines and the scent of sweet brine and wave smashed wooden ships then this is the best you can get. I’m going to label Ellena ‘Master Teleporter’. Smell and you shall see why – this time we go to a cold and grey sea shore. 5/5

Has Jean-Claude Ellena ever visited Cape Cod? I imagine not, but Épice Marine gives me that "dunes of the cape" sensation, sans piña coladas. This has the ozone of the shores first and foremost, reminiscent of jaunts to Chatham or P-Town in the summertime. Of course, peel that layer away and we do have the cumin and cardamom that we all know and love from Cartier's Declaration, but it's more refined and mingling with the other moving parts here. A savory, toasted sesame seed quality, almost reminding me a bit of freshly baked bread (I believe this might've been intentional from what I read regarding the concept), contrasting with this mineral-like quality in the heart, a bit salty and cool. It's sort of like lime and vetiver combined together creating this effect. It was certainly a courageous move on Ellena to endeavor such combinations that would in less disciplined hands (see Beaufort London with Lingum Vitae, review coming soon) resulting in something jarring, even nauseating. Here, it is so round, smooth, and makes sense to my nose. Of course some may think that this is too similar to Declaration or even more so to Roudnitska's masterpiece Eau d'Hermes, but I would hazard to say that maybe these are cursory conclusions, as Épice Marine pushes the template into new and compelling territory with the edition of maritime and vaguely gourmand elements. I wouldn't blame one for not going full bottle (as with all from the Hermessence line) unless they find an eye-catching discount as I had with my own. Be that as it may, I am sure lucky to have a good quantity of this delicious juice with which to lavish myself.

The Hermessence line, a collection of Hermès-themed olfactory watercolours by Jean-Claude Ellena, are consistently good, but they tend to be likes rather than loves for me. Epice Marine is what it says on the tin - a spicy marine scent. I don't typically choose marine scents, as I find that they can veer close to window cleaner territory, but EM is one of the best I've tried. The aromatic spices marry beautifully with the salty marine accord, making for an unusual, artistic scent that manages to be wearable without it descending into an unfortunate dinner-like scent. Due to M. Ellena's talent and signature light touch, EM is a marvel. EM has a surprising light, boozy opening, paving the way nicely to the spicy accord. Led by cardamom, it is peppery and warm with a slight nutty undertone, bringing it to gourmand territory. Cinnamon follows, rounding it out with its warm sweet-spiciness. The salty undertone keeps it breezy and fresh, giving the warm spice a lift. There is a light lemongrass edge, adding herbal freshness. As it dries down, a light chypre base comes to the fore, with soft mossiness emerging thanks to the oakmoss note. Alongside the marine accord, it gives EM a seaweed effect, perfectly on-theme. Soft woody notes round it out to perfection, and it fades to a salty, musky skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. A perfectly unisex warm weather scent, EM is a masterful marriage of spicebomb and marine, making for a creative, cohesive, high-quality scent that makes perfect sense. Excellent. 4.5/5.

Épice Marine is beyond any doubt work of a genius, to begin with. Its similarity to Declaration, mentioned by some reviewers, is vague and superficial only. In side by side testing, Épice Marine shows way more finesse, depth and much higher grade of complexity over Declaration. So much so, that perceiving these two as the same or similar, might suggest anosmia, partial one at least. In fact, it’s like comparing old Fiat Bambino with a brand new Bentley – they both have something in common, like four wheels and the ability to drive. But that’s where the similarity ends, and the rest is two different worlds! I personally am not, nor ever have been a fan of aquatic compositions. In fact I sincerely and uniformly hate them. However, Épice Marine is a wonderful and welcome exception that I happened to discover by accident. The first whiff of this multi-faceted gem had brought back some wonderful memories. It instantly transported me back to one of my most favorite places on the coast of South Africa. Place flooded with lazy afternoon sunlight, filled with salty smell of the ocean mixed with the relaxing atmosphere of the nearby tiny seaside restaurant. What a perfect, perfect illusion! And that’s precisely what a good fragrance is supposed to do! Evoke feelings, emotions and revive memories. To me, it doesn’t get any better than this, so...I walked out with 200 ml bottle in my hands, and I’m so glad I did!

Because of the aquatic notes I was sure I wouldn't like this, but Jean-Claude Ellena managed to surprise me again! Rose Ikebana is one of the only rose perfumes I love, Vanille Galante made me love lily when I was more into oriental or spicy perfumes, Un Jardin Après la Mousson showed I could adore melon in a fragrance... But I didn't believe I would like a spicy aquatic perfume, even from Ellena. I was so wrong. This is my favourite Hermessence! I couldn't decide before between Vanille Galante, Rose Ikebana and Ambre Narguilé, but Epice Marine is so strange and addictive that it immediately became my favourite. When I first tested it I thought "oooh cardamom, Kenzo Jungle l'Eléphant !", but with a salty note, and a masculine feel. I wore it during summer, in Japan, and while it's a very spicy and peculiar perfume, it never feels strong, it manages instead to feel fresh and it's not projecting very much, which I really appreciate. I love curry and while you can immediatly smell the cumin and cardamom, this perfume does not feel foody to me, in fact it feels quite abstract with the aquatic notes. The evolution on skin from the top notes to the dry down is amazing, this is probably my favourite perfume on a humid summer!