Hermessence Muguet Porcelaine

[Feb. 2023] The Hermes store staff has been kind and patient. Upon purchase of another travel set, included a 7ml sample of Ambre Narguile, a Tonka fragrance in green, and a copy of Le Monde d'Hermes inside a large orange bonded-paper bag. The store's attention to the graphic arts, lighting, and texture is some pleasant thing I like to think about. My favourites from the Hermessence line were Ambre Narguile, Muguet Porcelaine, Cedre Sambac, and my near-emptied Osmanthe Yunnan. Nagel and Jean-Claude Elena intend this line to blend well with each other-- layerable-- to make each experience with their creamy-light and watercolor fragrances a unique experience to each wearer. So far, I love pairing my Muguet with Sambac and Yunnan. It's a nice contemporary asiatic bouquet and turns heads. (At one point, some at the elevator quietly huddled closer to the scent.) Hermessence Muguet has a pleasant aldehydic soapiness similar to the high quality aldehydes found in Amouage Dia or Frederic Malle's Iris Poudre. However it does -not- at all smell skanky, animalic, or "grandmotherly" aka dusting powder and Nivea. Muguet Porcelaine is as sweet and tart as a real green apple and has a similar light creaminess to the rest of the Hermessence florals. There is yet again no hint of smoke, ambroxan, iso e, or greens to distract from its purely floral experience. I give a "love" to this fragrance (though yes, its tartness may cross in an especially hot day), because its drydown is a nice creamy rendition of a lily of the valley. Unlike my first niche purchase: Penhaligon's Lily Of The Valley, the Penhaligon had no feeling of indole, or lactonic impression and was vetiver-sharp. Porcelaine works well to match the other Hermessence line's watercolor impression and never crosses me for its balance of notes that remain true to an idyllic take of lily of the valley, except this smells like a real flower that I had never seen in life before because none of this smells synthetic. In abstract, the colors are similar to the gradients found in Japanese pastel bokehs of a Canon EOS camera picture. So if you prefer a more concrete rendition like that from a Zeiss or nostalgic atmospheric blooms of a Fujifilm, this floral may not be for you but regardless: Wedding-worthy floral.

The lily of the valley fragrance I love most is the vintage Diorissimo Parfum by Dior. It is an incredibly realistic soliflore of lily of the valley. In contrast, Muguet Porcelaine expresses the flower through an entirely different approach, which I find fascinating. The fragrance opens with a fresh, fruity scent that reminds me of melon, pear, or even cucumber. Soon after, a leafy coolness follows, accompanied by the scents of jasmine and neroli. And deep in the background, I detect a faintly animalic nuance... almost like civet. Each element is elegant and transparent, yet they each assert themselves clearly. What intrigues me most is this: When I isolate each component, it doesn’t smell like lily of the valley. But when I take a step back and perceive the scent as a whole, it somehow conjures the image of lily of the valley. To me, this is like a lily of the valley painted in an impressionist style. Given the name “Porcelaine,” perhaps it’s not a painting on canvas, but one delicately painted onto white porcelain. Where Diorissimo is realism—like a photograph of fresh blossoms— Muguet Porcelaine feels abstract, like an impressionist painting. Up close, it's nothing more than strokes of paint in subtly different shades. But from a distance, you see the form of lily of the valley emerge—nostalgic, and quietly beautiful. It is not the scent of a real flower, but of a lily of the valley you once saw, somewhere, in a distant memory. A hazy, ethereal impression of the flower. To express lily of the valley not through straightforward imitation, but through such an imaginative approach—what an incredible talent that is.

I have a sample spray that I've been testing. It's beautiful! I don't smell cucumber or melon or watermelon or bubblegum. Note: I love Ellena's Jardin series, so if you don't like Ellena's style, our opinions may diverge. I do like the transparency and sheerness of his Hermes fragrances and I like them in this one. I've smelled Muguet Porcelaine shortly after smelling real lilies of the valley growing in a garden, and it is quite true to the flower though perhaps a little more watery, as if the flowers were wet with dew or raindrops. One small spray lasted for two hours on my wrist, though it remained light and green. I'd love to experience Muguet Porcelaine in a parfum concentration.

Beautiful, delicate, fresh dewy lily-of-the-valley. It is sublime. I love the light wateriness of Hermessence Muguet Porcelaine. It is so sweet and fresh and pretty and light-hearted, and makes me feel soft and gentle and very very feminine. It's absolute bliss in a bottle for me. I adore it. Also, it lasts incredibly well on me, for such a light perfume; it's still there quite noticeably after 16 hours! Amazing. Very amazing. It is one of my favourite, gentle perfumes. I adore lily-of-the-valley, it's one of my favourite flowers, and notes in perfumes, and this one is superb. I love the transparency. It is heavenly. Truly heavenly.

I can't believe I am discovering this one just now. LOTV is one of my favorite smells in the world. I can't find anything pungent in here, the drydown is a bit musky but that's all. Very much linear LOTV, fresh, clean, and green in the opening, turns sweeter and juicier after a while. Long lasting (all day), moderate sillage. Mood boosting, appropriate for everyday wear on spring or early summer (not too hot) days. Imo absolutely feminine. It's definitely not everybody's cup of tea, if you are a LOTV addict, give it a try. I'm adding it to my favorites.