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Hermès

Bel Ami

Bel Ami is the men’s eau de toilette Jean-Louis Sieuzac composed for Hermès in 1986, a nod to Maupassant’s novel. The house classifies it among the chypres and makes it a celebration of leather: patchouli, rich leather and cistus labdanum, over a base of moss and birch tar, in a bottle inspired by carriage lanterns.

Brand
Hermès
Launch year
1986
Perfumer
Gender
Men
Olfactory family
Chypre
Secondary families
Leather Woody
Concentration
Eau de Toilette
EAN
3346130290384 (100 ml)

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Bel Ami

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Hermès launched Bel Ami in 1986, composed by Jean-Louis Sieuzac. The name refers to Guy de Maupassant’s novel, and the house makes it a celebration of leather in its most authentic expression.

A founding fragrance

Bel Ami now belongs to Hermès’ Parfums-Fondateurs collection. In 2014, Jean-Claude Ellena signed a reinterpretation, Bel Ami Vétiver, which takes up the 1986 leather chypre and, as Bois de Jasmin points out, joins the original rather than replacing it.

Olfactory pyramid

  1. Top notesThe first minutes
  2. Heart notesThe heart of the perfume
  3. Base notesWhat lingers

What critics say

Kevin, on Now Smell This, counts the original Bel Ami among his five favorite fragrances: a dark, gorgeous leather, decidedly virile.

Read what critics say

What the community says

LongevityLong
Fleeting2 votesAll day
SillageDiscreet
Intimate1 voteOverpowering

Season

Winter100 %
2 votes

Occasion

Evening100 %
1 vote

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Sillage
Season
Occasion
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