Un Jardin Sur Le Nil

Let me first say before I write this that I am part-Egyptian. I have lived in Egypt, stayed in the countryside, and visited the area near where this perfume was "inspired" by. This is a wonderfully fresh perfume that was inspired by the smell of the banks of the river Nile in Aswan (a city in the south of Egypt). For me, when I smell this I get the impression of reeds and vegetation by the side of a tropical river. I heard that Jean-Claude Ellena wanted to evoke the smell of green Mangoes here, and I get that. This is not a sweet smell, this is a sweet & sour, very tangy aroma of grapefruit, tomato leaf, and carrots. I also get very distinctly the smell of bulrushes, which are the long plants that grow on the bank of the river. I also get a hint of Lotus flower. Lotus is one of the national flowers of Egypt. I have taken a boat on the Nile and it's quite a common sight to see these white flowers floating on the river surface, and they naturally form very beautiful green patterns on the waters surface. The white Lotus was sacred to the ancient Egyptians, who believed that all life was created from this flower at the dawn of time). For me it's very evocative. I also get a little hint of Hyacinth, which adds to the sharp, green and watery vibe here. I notice a hint in the background of Labdanum and Incense, and this also in my opinion gives the fragrance a little character and stops it becoming like any other of the "aquatic fruity-floral" category designer creations. This is a very well-crafted fragrance and one done with a lot of time, effort and care to get perfect. Wearing Un Jardin Sur le Nil is like being transported to a place. For me, it's the smell of the plants and vegetation by the side of an African river, and I consider myself fortunate to have lived in Egypt and experienced the beauty of the Nile first hand. This is why I appreciate what Ellena has managed to achieve here as something truly special. That being said, what you will get out of this is a slightly sharp, green, almost aquatic floral... but done in such a tasteful, natural an refreshing way. It's not fair to really call it an aquatic because that word has been overused and produced very boring fragrances over the years. Here you are smelling a work by Jean-Claude Ellena. I get a very naturally fresh experience which always surprises me each time I wear it (I always notice something new about it every time). It's perfect for hot, dry and humid weather, and so fresh you almost want to drink it. Like a bitter Lemon and Lime tonic water with ice cubes. For people saying projection is bad, I can only say (after trying), that if you overspray this it will overwhelm you. So it does have good projection. I would just say reserve it for the warmer months and enjoy it in the heat. Green, sharp, fresh and tropical... Un Jardin sur le Nil is one of my favourites!

Many moons ago, while shopping for baby clothes at a Ross store (we were in the midst of the adoption process...had no idea if the Lord was going to bless us with a boy or girl, so I was buying every adorable piece of infant clothes on their clearance racks...private adoption is very expensive and hubby was still making a meager salary in the military), I stumbled across a beat up bottle of Pacifica Lotus Garden body lotion, of course on clearance for $3.00. I fell in love with that refreshing scent. It is very citrus, green and floral. I tried finding more at every Ross store I came across (I may have found 2 more bottles. This was way before discovering eBay). I tried being stingy with it under the impression I had found something lovely that had been discontinued. Well, citrus fragrances as we very well know, have a habit of "turning" if not used in a timely manner...especially in lotion form. Just as my last bottle was taking on that rancid celery overtone, I discovered eBay. This is where smart people buy up discontinued fragrances and flip them for an outrageous profit. Oh wow, there was a EDT of my beloved Pacifica Lotus Garden...for $150 for a 1.7 oz bottle!!! Me, broke and sad had to live without it. However, purely by accident, while going over Fragrantica's page dedicated to Pacifica Lotus Garden, I noticed there was a quite large amount of votes under "this perfume reminds me of" for this fragrance, Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil. I went straight away to eBay, cringing all along with the name HERMES, along with $$$$ pounding in my head. I found a seller asking $45.99 or best offer with free shipping for a 3.1 oz bottle. We agreed upon $40 even. It just came in the mail. It is an exact dupe for PLG, but with much better longevity and silliage. Many thanks to Fragrantica for reuniting me with a fragrance I thought I would never have again. Now, when I wear it, memories of a most difficult time, our adoption, ending in the most wonderful day in my life, picking up our 2 day old son at the same hospital I was born in (if that's not destiny, i dont know what is). I was wearing Pacific Lotus Garden the day we picked up our baby. I just put on my Hermes dupe and heard from another room, our teenage son saying, "Mom, what is that smell???it's so nice! It smells so familiar!" 😉

Bring the garden with you! A walk through a lush vegetable and flower garden with your lover or friends during a cool summers morning. The sun beginning to heat up the dew from the night on the green leaves and powdery floral pedals. Laughs are had, memories are made, and as always: Life is good. As soon as you spray this on you are smacked in the face with a juicy, freshly squeezed grapefruit over a medley of freshly picked, dewy, and green vegetable leaves, the most prominent being the tomato leaf and this earthy, slightly musky carrot accord. Wow. As it dries down, the green/vegetal notes and citrus co-star with these super clean and powdery florals. What an underrated summer gem! Super refreshing, uplifting, and intriguing citrus green scent that dries down really nice and powdery. It really does smell like my aunts backyard during the summer, as she used to grow veggies and flowers to give as gifts during the summer. Really blown away this doesn't get more hype than it currently does. Great freshie that I will 100% cycle into the weekly rotation for the upcoming hotter months. First time I wore this I compliment too, so take that as you will. Very very good projection for the freshie profile, respectable performance as well. Hermes fragrances typically stick well on me though so take it with a grain of salt. 9.3/10. Signature Scent Worthy. Song vibe - Slide by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos EDIT I have worn this so much that it’s kinda astounding. It’s so refreshing and green that it just puts a smile on my face every time I wake up. One of my top fresh fragrances of all time, and easily now a 10/10

I love the Jardin line. They provide a transportive, abstract experience, and wearing them is like a guided meditation; it connects you to a time and a place, in the most ephemeral, fleeting, sheer way (ephemeral because the perfumes in the Jardin collection lack longevity on the skin). I bought this scent because I searched for a replacement for my beloved, long gone Mon Jasmin Noir, which was my first real perfume, at age 17. They are almost the same. The grapefruit is the same, and so it the undisclosed mango note that was in Mon Jasmin Noir. But Sur le Nil is in someway better, because it instead of sending me home in nostalgia to the comforts of Mon Jasmin Noir, it sends me, through a guided mental tour, to the surroundings of the Nile, to an exotic place I've never been to. It's romantic almost. In terms of sillage and longevity - this is the best the Jardin line has to offer. if you overspray, sillage is great and lasts for exactly 4 hours. Ellena's grapefruit (which is the same on that exists in other creations) is such a refreshing scent; but if you live in a truly humid and hot environment, mind you that the mango as well as a cinnamony note that is there in the background can get a bit cloying and almost too sweet at times. I love it. In three words I would describe it as: Refreshing; Romantic; Tropical.

I wish I had a discerning nose that can detect different notes, but alas, I'm stuck with classifying scents into into categories of good, neutral, and bad. This is fragrance is GOOD! Fruity without being sticky, like unripe fruits forming on a tree. It's clean and fresh in the same way a flowing river is. Enlivening and refreshing like shade or a breeze. I agree that is disappears in cold and dry climates. I have been working through a second-hand 50 ml bottle have finally finished it! I never found the carrot or tomato leaf note, but I've also never smelled a tomato leaf. I can look for the carrot note in my mind, but I think I'd be making it up if I identified it. Anyways, the fragrance does not last long at all, maybe 1-2 hours and certainly does not last on clothes. I think for second hand pricing (~$30 for nearly full blind-buy), the value isn't bad when having to reapply throughout the day, especially for something so well composed. Perfect bag and travel companion. At this moment, I shall not repurchase simply because I want to try more of the Un Jardin line and work through the other fragrances I have already.