If the city of Grasse is considered the world capital of perfumery, it is above all because its region is dotted with fields of flowers. Indeed, when it comes to perfume, this world seems inseparable from the scent of a garden.
In 2015, the house of Hermès presented Le Jardin de Monsieur Li. This fragrance, which takes us directly to China, follows 4 fragrances from the house of Hermès's Des Jardins collection. After Un Jardin en Méditerranée in 2003, Un Jardin sur le Nil in 2005, Un Jardin après la Mousson in 2008, and Un Jardin sur le Toit in 2011, Jean-Claude Ellena decided to transport us to Asia. An Asian haven of peace, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li invites us into one of the most beautiful gardens in the world…
Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena and the Hermès Des Jardins collection
Since 2003, the year he became the official perfumer of the house of Hermès, Jean-Claude Ellena has taken us on journeys through gardens more beautiful than one another. With each fragrance, Jean-Claude Ellena tells an olfactory story set in a very specific place or country. A garden brims with different, personal scents, and no two are alike, hence the beauty of each fragrance. With the Des Jardins collection, Jean-Claude Ellena shares his passion for travel. If he chose China, it is because he believes it is the country where life begins, where one starts a garden. Although imaginary, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is nonetheless a true earthly paradise. It makes room for tranquility and leads to meditation. Both green and floral, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li gives off endless olfactory sensations.
Le Jardin de Monsieur Li, between floral scent and greenery
Regarding its composition, Jean-Claude Ellena explains that he remembered the smell of the ponds, the smell of jasmine, the smell of wet stones, that of plum trees, kumquats and giant bamboo. Everything was there, and even, in their pond, carp taking their time to reach a hundred years old. Japanese nature is thus celebrated in this new chapter of the Des Jardins collection. All those who have ever had the chance to stroll through a garden in Shanghai or Beijing have kept within them the olfactory memory of notes of water, flowers and citrus. Le Jardin de Monsieur Li opens with notes of bamboo combined with kumquat. Kumquat is a citrus fruit from the Far East.
With dark green foliage, the kumquat produces edible fruit. In perfumery, the essential oil is used, obtained through cold expression of the zest. Kumquat gives off orangey, aromatic and sparkling tones. The heart of Le Jardin de Monsieur Li combines plum blossom with jasmine and rose, letting a gentle femininity express itself. Then, the base slightly disturbs the tranquility of the Japanese garden with the presence of Sichuan pepper and musks, offering a final touch of seduction. The fragrance is housed in the house of Hermès's iconic bottle, inspired by the lantern of a carriage from times past.