Jour d'Hermes Absolu

This is the most enigmatic perfume I've ever smelled. I needed 3 trial sessions before I finally saw the immense beauty. I was also off guarded at the first sniff by the famous tart grapefruit opening and thought that this was not a "nice" frag. But the scent lingered on my skin for hours and haunted me for days... there was something so intriguing in this frag. I tested 2 additional times both Jour and the Absolu version and I got the final revelation yesterday. The Absolu is just a hidden beauty who will not reveal herself, nor will she please the masses. She is not created to seduce people from the first sniff and Claude Ellena is a master in making minimalist - and not to confuse simplistic- very sophisticated scents against all trends. I finally discovered that after the grapefruit citrus opening the whole Garden of Eden appears with a shining rainbow on the horizon. It is impossible to detect all the notes one by one, it is orchestrated by the master Ellena that you get only the full painting and not just some brushes of colors and lightning. I detect the most delicate palette of everything and at the same time all the contrasts of floral, fruits, warm earthy notes. And the flowers are also multi-layered : pure green florals of hyacinth/Lily-of-valley maybe, then much warmer jasmin, gardenia and apricot blossom. This delicate apricot blossom provides that warm note of peachy accord, similar to orange blossom but more delicate and dainty. This perfume has so many different facets and is full of contrasts : first the chilliness, triggered by the grapefruit, just to wake your senses. Afterwards the green and warm florals, then the amazing sparkling "fruity" notes which are less present in Jour(apple, rhubarb, grapefruit) finally the warm earthy amber dry down. The dimensions and aspects change every time you wear this beauty, one day you smell more citrus notes, or the green flower notes, other days more the warm flowers : very magical !! The silage and longevity of the Absolu is stunning : it remains min. 8 hours on my skin whereas Jour dissapeared after 3 to 4 hours. It is one of the most vibrant, luminous and complex fragrance I have ever encountered : it is not a citrus cologne, it is not just a floral, it is not fruity nor musky, amber perfume : no it is ALL of that and more and as JC Ellena quoted himself : “In most of the fragrances I do, I try to put a smile” and he succeeded to this with Jour Absolu !

Absolutely stunning. I already worship the first version of Jour d'Hermes, a little gem in mainstream perfumery. This second version, Absolu, is not your average flanker as it is a different fragrance, way more intense, rounded and sexy. And I love it! I came across a sales assistant in Sephora at the time the fragrance was released and thought "well she's wearing something remarkable"; then I wandred around and this scent lingered. So I had to ask her what was that gorgeousness she was wearing. And it was Jour d'Hermes Absolu. I was surprised, because it was totally different than its predecessor! And on me it is also a magnificent fragrance. Forget the opening that is misleading (at first sniff you get the JC Ellena trademark, the citrus-graprefruit accord that you can also find in the various Jardins editions), but this stage last a few seconds. Then it transforms: Deep, warm, sensual with a floral heart flirting with oriental themes. Some minor red fruit (raspberries? perhaps...) some red berries are in there but not the syrupy ones...something fresher and more realistic. Then again, this is not the real spirit of this frag. The very heart is Flowers! I recognize osmanthus, gardenia and tiaré, some jasmin, white flowers. A garden, enchanted. Immerged in light. The base is steady with a chypre-like, musky drydown and woods. It lacks perhaps the fresh greenery and the transparence of the previous Jour d'Hermes, but Absolu wins it all with its roundness and sensuality. I am constantly impressed by the quality of the ingredients, the longevity - after 5 hours the frag is still there, and going strong. Let alone the compliments I get when I wear it! A superb feminine fragrance, luminous and not overly sweet. TO me this is not a summer fragrance, it is so warm I see it more as a winter frag. The bottom line is that this is a drop dead sexy fragrance and a must have in my collection.

Малко е да се каже, че се влюбих от първи дъх в този парфюм! Влюбих се дори, не усещайки парфюма на своята кожа, а от уханието, което се носеше от ръката на приятелката ми! Този аромат е божествен за моето обоняние! Най-прелестният, женствен и разкошен летен аромат, който съм усещала някога! Една нотка в него изключително много ме привлича и тя е търсена от мен от години, заради спомена от един отдавна изчезнал парфюм от моята младост, споменът за когото не ме е напуснал вече 25 години, а именно митичният парфюм Julia. Jour d`Hermes Absolu е парфюмът, за който най-светкавично реших, че го искам на мига, не мога да живея без него и нито за миг не съжалявам за една стотинка от тези, които платих за него. Той е прелестен, дълготраен и шлейфов точно толкова, колкото да ми носи огромно удоволствие часове наред. Jour d`Hermes Absolu е пролет, лятна вечер и щастие в бутилка! Не знам дали това, което е посочено в пирамидата е основното, което усещам в него, но определено се откроява ябълковият цвят като основно доминиращ. Някъде под него прозира свеж жасминов цвят, гардения не усещам, а всичко това е обгърато в идеална цитрусова свежест, която сякаш идва от прясно настъргана кора на сочен узрял лимон или грейпфрут, или помело, или всъщност от смесените кори на тези три плода, но най-вече помело, който плод аз обожавам и като аромат, и като вкус. Jean-Claude Ellena наистина е магьосник! Творенията му са забележителни! Обожавам парфюма, купих си най-голямата бутилка от 85ml! Бих купила 850, ако има! Надявам се никога този парфюм да не изчезне от света или да бъде реформулиран. Не смятам, че Jour d`Hermes Absolu има голяма прилика с Jour d`Hermes, който с нищо не ме впечатли. Absolu е милион пъти по-красив за мен! Щастлива съм!

I love how apricot-forward this beauty is. It's hard to go wrong with a Jean Claude-Ellena composition, and this is no exception, although it took me some time to 'get' this one. The first few times I smelled Jour d'Hermes Absolu was in passing at airports, etc., and I just couldn't get a good handle on what I was smelling -- it smelled nice, but somehow I couldn't discern its character -- it wasn't overly floral, certainly not sweet (as we've become so accustomed to); there were florals for sure but I could not decipher which ones - yet it wasn't that it smelled boring or lacking in character - I just needed more time to understand this one. Finally, one of the last times I spritzed this on - again at some duty free airport shop, I spritzed with abandon and - aaahhhhh, now I got it -- the apricotty-smoothe suade nature of Jour finally came through and I fell in love. And it lasted for ages!! After slowly testing the waters with this one over a few years, I've finally bought a bottle and am loving how it wears. The apricot really comes through (and it's one of my favorite notes) giving this a peachy-osthmanthus vibe; I don't get gardenia at all, and it is indeed quite tart. It's certainly a unicorn in the era of sweet mass market floral gourmands. If you want something truly elegant, unique and classy, I highly recommend this one!

I don't care about classy, sophisticated-looking perfume bottles; now the fragrance itself, that is a different thing. I'd fancy a classy and dare I say, elegant perfume in a bottle that is fun, a bit odd and even kitschy (cf. Florabotanica and Rosabotanica by Balenciaga). That's how I like to think of myself - classy gal in a trashy packaging. Anyhow, I would never have discovered this perfume if it wasn't for my flatmate at the time who in her turn, liked everything elegant. She had a large bottle of what I now think was Jour d`Hermes and not Jour d`Hermes Absolu; although that is irrelevant since I now love them both and to me they have the same kind of vibe even if they aren't exactly same (slight preference towards the latter though, which is why I'm writing on its page). She kept it on a bathroom shelf right next to the light bulb, what a chump! That made me cringe every time; yet anyway the kid inside me found the bottle to be too boring to contain anything of interest. Long story short, fortunately one day my curiosity prevailed and I discovered what has now become one of my favorite scents. It smells beautiful and has quite a sillage and lasts long on my skin which is rare! I loved Hermes before too, and now they can't even fool me with a boring bottle!