Un Jardin Sur Le Toit

A lot of people say this starts off like Sur le Nil, but to me they're nothing alike. This opens with an unmistakable aroma of fresh green apple skins, a watery and realistic pear juice in the background. It's as sweet as the real thing, but it's not sugared up to go down the well-trodden fruity gourmand path. Which is good, because I hate that path and don't want to be dragged down it kicking and screaming. The magnolia that comes knocking on the door is a tad earthy, and the plus-one it brought to the party is a sharp, chlorophyllic green grass note. The sweetness of the pear and crisp apple skin is a lot quieter with these two stern guests present. On me, the pear actually turns around and leaves entirely. Perhaps there was an argument. The other attendees don't arrive in a particular order come the drydown. What is listed as rosemary but smells a bit basil-ish to me adds an aromatic, much-needed herbal tone to elevate Sur la Toit from being a standard greenish fruity-floral, and a waxy rose note that is straight-up charming even though I flipping hate rose. I hate it! What witchcraft is this, Ellena? Explain yourself, sir, because I despise rose and you've made me love rose HOW HAVE YOU DONE THIS Anyway. Everybody at the olfactory party mingles, zipping in and out, chatting and having a good time - but there is one final attendee. They spend almost all their time lurking in the kitchen, but sometimes they poke their head out, and the party stops. The compost note. It's real. It exists. We were all having so much fun that we forgot it was on the guest list! Vegetal rot that infrequently wafts up from your skin and makes you go "?!", then vanishes before you can string a thought together. "What just happened?" we ask ourselves. This is a perfect Your Mileage May Vary note. To me, though I rarely catch it, it's what secretly grounds the fragrance and holds it back from being *too* sharp, *too* lively, just plain *too much*. Without that note, this perfume would become faintly nauseating over time - overly floral and sweet. Despite my initial confusion and distaste, I need this note or Sur la Toit would honestly not be wearable to me for longer than 20 minutes. I see you, compost, and I get you. Projection decent, longevity poor, personally wouldn't consider it an office scent but... YMMV. For me, it's a date perfume - a fraction more feminine than unisex, a touch bolder than the other Jardins, not trying too hard to allure. And if they ever think they smell compost, they'll lean closer for a second sniff and only find the beguilingly innocent face of Sur la Toit.

Un Jardin Sur le Toit is another of the aromatic symphonies that Jean Claude Ellena gave us during his relevant time at the Hermès house and is my second favorite of the "jardins" collection, (No1 is Sur le Nile Although I don't know if influenced the fact that it was the first one I tried and it was an immediate crush) I feel that both compositions have their similarity and share a certain chord, at least in my opinion, and that is that I feel that the entire collection is linked by an invisible aromatic thread that tends to be aquatic but not the typical blue or marine, but the fresh waters of rivers and ponds and lagoons surrounded by exuberant vegetation. This beautiful eau de toilette is another perfect wonder for those warm spring-summer days (in my country all year), it is sensorial, crystalline and aromatic. At the start, the note of grass is quickly detected, which feels humid, like weeds that have not been pruned for a while, accompanied by apple and pear, both juicy and fresh with the natural sweet spot of ripe fruit, nothing artificial or sweetened, everything this with a fleshy but shy magnolia that does not steal prominence at any time, this initial stage is quite lengthened moderately projected, little by little it loses that fruity chord and on that crunchy green grass a powdery rose appears (I find this note recycled because the rose feels almost identical to the one used in Kelly Caleche edp) which together with Rosemary monopolizes the attention until the end of the life of this fragrance. For many, this is one of the most "successful" jardins because it has a perfect balance and although it is unisex like the entire collection, I feel that like Sur le Nile they can be seen as slightly feminine due to their floral part (although I don't think the fragrances have a gender and my profile demonstrates it well), it is much less exotic than the latter, more bohemian and simple but at the same time very chic and classy.

JSLT, why have I waited so long to review you? Yes, grass, yes, apple. But the sum is more than the parts. Elegant, carefree and casual in its simplicity. You're eating a crisp green apple - not too sweet, but very juicy - and catching wafts of freshly cut grass while getting spritzed with a cooling mist in a light breeze. There's rose but this is not a rose fragrance. Not to me, anyway. If you've ever been to Palm Springs in the angry dry merciless heat of summer, every restaurant has their misters on outside on the awnings all day long and as you walk underneath you can feel the cool mist on your face, evaporating immediately in the desert aridity but so, so refreshing for that moment. This scent is like that feeling. It's a mister of grassy fruity cool freshness. What this fragrance is perfect for is riding a subway in the summer. Spray it inside your shirt on your chest (be generous, it's hard to overspray) and when you're hanging on for dear life in a stifling underground car with your face next to the armpit of someone who not only forgot his deodorant but also apparently had a lot of garlic for dinner last night - and of course he's wearing a tank top, bless his heart - close your eyes, cover your nose with your shirt and breathe deeply until your ride is over. Thank me later.

I have 200 plus scents and always trying more everyday. I have everything from designer, Niche, down to Arabic. I will start with Hermes is always known for fresh, citrus, green, lovely scent. Normally they are not to harsh and probably don’t have huge longevity due to most of them being summertime scents. I have read some of the reviews in here about how it smells generic, artificial, and no depth. Well they are nose blind or just don’t know a unique scent when it smacks them in the face. This scent starts out green, fresh, and a light juicy apple scent. Then it dries down to an absolute beautiful fruity green fresh smell that lingers on your skin making you want to smell yourself over and over. I don’t think I have anything to compare this too, it’s that unique. I feel like a super blue fresh scent made love to a yummy green scent and had this at birth. If you want a blue scent, and love green scents as well, this is your scent. I like blue scents that don’t have a heavy woody base and this does not. I highly recommend this if you want to be fresh with a slight fruit hint and be unique. It’s safe in all scenarios, office, date night, casual, and too good to waste at the gym. I hope this makes sense for all, it will not disappoint!

La Vie en (Rooftop-Garden) Rose... A tribute to seeing life in rosy hues, this is a unisex green & fruity orchard/garden rose scent at its core - inspired by the rooftop gardens at Hermès. I get roses in a orchard/mixed-garden (with grass, apple, rosemary) at the opening, but rose is the velvety substance that carries & projects the rest. I agree that it's fairly linear, but the longer it's on the skin, the more larger-than-life the rose becomes. This doesn't have the popular jammy or vintage vibes that feature in many rose scents, but instead, it's an orchard-garden, fresh & green rose. In addition, this has the Hermes DNA but puts a rosy spin on it. With slightly above average performance due to the rose, this is the perfect scent to wear in the early flushes of new love, or on a trip to Paris in the spring. Edith Piaf would be proud. It's a love for me. 10/10. Enjoy! Update 07/07/24: This really shines in warmer weather. The rose is still really prominent for me, but the Jean-Claude Ellena white-florals are coming through beautifully. It's listed as magnolia but I'm also getting a blurred jasmine. Love it most in the summer.