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.
Kevin, on Now Smell This, counts the original Bel Ami among his five favorite fragrances: a dark, gorgeous leather, decidedly virile.
What critics say
Now Smell This, March 2014
Reviewing Bel Ami Vétiver, Kevin returns to the original, which he counts among his five favorite fragrances. He describes it as a dark, dramatically grained leather, with sticky resins, shot through with floral glints and smoke.
The old version seems to him gorgeous and frankly virile; he nevertheless distinguishes it from the current formula, which one reader finds less macho.
More perfumes from Hermès
Also composed by Jean-Louis Sieuzac
- FahrenheitChristian Dior
- Opium Eau de ToiletteYves Saint Laurent
- DuneChristian Dior
- OpiumYves Saint Laurent
Similar perfumes
Similar notes and family, from other houses.
- Cuir CannageChristian Dior
- Cuir de RussieChanel
- Leather OudChristian Dior
- MetropolisEstée Lauder
- Parfum de PeauMontana
- AventusCreed
- AntaeusChanel
- Habit Rouge Eau de ToiletteGuerlain