Hermessence Santal Massoïa

The first time I tried this I was in the worst possible scenario, a hotdog place, full of those sickening smells of fried potatoes and over-the-top seasoning. I opened my brand new box (believe me this is one of the most luxurious and high end packagings I've met) while having hot sausages all around (being a vegetarian that's far from paradise). Still, the moment this touched my skin I felt transported to another world, a very refined one and my heart went pum pee tee boom pee tee boom, I thought it was so elegant, so well blended and definitely what I had in mind when getting a(n)Hermessence. The first thoughts were "this is soooo figgy, amazing use of it... but wait... where is fig in the notes?" Then I felt it leant towards gourmand territory and again... how come a gourmand from the notes? never quite crossing the line though... very velvety and chic. So indeed I had an instant crush on this and I still think this is a gorgeous scent... but not for me. In this case, softly foody again as the other hermessences I've sampled, my caveat is related to its gender. I wear happily all sorts of unisex scents and this could well work well on some men... but you wouldn't believe how it works on women... wonderful!!!! I wound up giving this to a friend and as soon as she passed by having this on her scarf I knew it always belonged to her (to them). It is a soft scent that lingers for a long time and all the things I've read here are accurate, milky, figgy, slightly green, woody... the style is very Jean Claude Ellena indeed. So don't expect a parfum de sillage. Don't miss this scent if you like his style and the VERY discreet charm he weaves.

I usually spray a random scent on first thing in the morning before showering and then a different scent for the rest of the day after showering. Today I decided to revisit Santal Massoïa and it just smelt so good during the school run and gym session. I rarely spray the same scent after showering but today, I just had to keep the Santal Massoïa love going. I was deeply into the Hermessence range a few years ago and bought a bunch of them, but Santal Massoïa was rarely one that I reached for. I'm not a huge sandalwood fan but as with most Hermes frags, Jean Claude Ellena just has a way. He made sandalwood delicious. It's milky and just sweet enough to draw this gourmand lover in. Hermessence isn't known for longevity but I could smell it right through my work day and until school pick-up. Probably leans just that little bit more feminine but could easily be worn by men. I don't find this too heavy and would happily wear it in summer. Just beautiful.

You have to smell this because it’s unique but not extravagant, memorable but not obnoxious. I get all the notes, this is all about the massoïa. Never smelled this wood IRL and if you haven’t either, don’t worry. This is so organic and natural smelling, you will easily pick up that note. The opening is cloudy-woody, how is that even possible? While the perfume was working with my skin chemistry in the first 5 minutes, I start to get resinous dry fruits for a bit, and then the milk! It gets more and more realistic, like a splash of milk. The type of lactonic here is cashmeran, sweet, very well balanced with the sandalwood note. On and off I get some green notes, more like flower stems. I keep smelling and It keeps me intrigued and interested. I don’t want to spoil this for you, give it a try. This is grown, distinguished, UPSCALE. _____ Projection, sillage, longevity : 8.5/10 Originality, presentation : 10/10 Quality, value : 9/10 9/10

Just got a big bottle in a swap and it is understated, meditative and sublime. Very much in agreement with most of the comments around notes, I think the milk note is misleading, to me it’s the creaminess of coconut and perhaps the way it mingles with the sandalwood, sort of round and chewy. Yes, it takes more sprays than I would like, but the sprayer is quite strong and I have found that if you stack the sprays on top of each other, not unlike Caron Pour Un Homme, it performs much better. I can’t imagine paying retail for it as I am sure I will tear through this bottle. I think heat is key for this fragrance as well and I’m looking forward to wearing this all summer. The sun was streaming in the car while I was driving and it just lit it up with all the heat. It’s like when someone is wearing something almost sheer and the sun backlights the fabric and you can see their naked skin underneath. Visible and hidden at the same time...

Whenever I want to feel innocent but strong and elegant in the same time, I always select Hermessence Santal Massoïa for my using fragrance. The gem Hermessence does not make me feel like neither eating dessert nor being a little child, but it reveals my deep other self, which is not worldly-minded. I mean an enthusiastic person who wants to learn new surroundings or experiences all the time. In my mind, Hermessence Santal Massoïa is a high-quality perfume with well-mixed notes between sandalwood (symbol of adultness, elegance and sophistication) and milk (symbol of childishness, naïveness and purity). Longevity: for me, it is 7-9 hours. Sillage: moderate within 1-2 hours and skin scent later :) Score: 10/10, five stars !!!