Le Jardin de Monsieur Li

The house calls it floral and green: delicate sambac jasmine, tangy kumquat and sparkling bergamot, set side by side in a harmonious accord. At launch, mint and sap completed the list of announced notes.

Robin of Now Smell This perceives a tart orange in the opening, round and soft, quickly fading. The jasmine, soft and watery, reminds her of lotus; a glimmer of green accompanies it, and the base is made of very pale, clean woods, with a faint reminder of wet stones.

Thomas Dunckley of The Candy Perfume Boy describes a zesty orange lifted by bitter grapefruit, a transparent, waxy jasmine, and a base of musk and soft woods where Ellena’s mineral accord returns. Persolaise smells a peppery citrus, closer to yuzu than to bergamot.

What stays out

Mandarin, neroli, hedione and white musks, cited by some pyramids, are absent from the house’s description. For its larger sizes, Hermès also publishes a detailed ingredient list that declares Iso E Super, bergamot, patchouli and orange peel oils, and menthol.

What the label declares

The most common ingredient list includes three UV filters, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane and ethylhexyl salicylate, an antioxidant, BHT, and allergens: benzyl salicylate, limonene, hydroxycitronellal, alpha-isomethyl ionone, linalool, hexyl cinnamal, citral, benzyl alcohol and benzyl benzoate.