Hermès imagines the fragrance of a garden on a lagoon. Perfumery is a vast universe that does not merely invent scents but rather aims to send our imagination wandering.
Un Jardin sur la Lagune: Hermès offers us a maritime nap in the shade of a tree
In this year 2019, Hermès decided to expand one of its most famous collections: the Jardins d’Hermès. Indeed, the house has made it a habit to take us to plant-filled territories, always inspired by a lush nature typical of a region of the globe. From Réunion to Venezuela, India, or simply the Grasse region, nearly every territorial zone of the planet is represented. This time, Hermès has placed the emphasis on relaxation and ease, as though offering us a nap in the shade of a tree on a beautiful sunny day, letting ourselves be carried along by the sound of waves. A closer look at the composition of Un Jardin sur la Lagune.
The sweet, sun-kissed flowers of Un Jardin sur la Lagune
At the heart of this new fragrance, flowers occupy a prominent place. Un Jardin sur la Lagune thus places great importance on femininity. Yes, but not only that… Here, the flowers serve above all to bring a more sun-kissed, radiant brightness to Hermès’s formula. Gone is the traditional rose or the nobility of iris; this time, the emphasis is on a spring-like, Mediterranean freshness. Hermès intends to carry us, with a single breath, to the heart of a beautiful sunny day, and this is achieved above all through its lush, seductive bouquet. This bouquet is built around three different plants: lily, magnolia and pittosporum. The choice of lily is particularly surprising. Indeed, it is a mute flower whose extracts cannot be directly introduced into fragrances, but whose scent must instead be recreated artificially by perfumers. Here we find its peppery facet paired with an undeniable elegance. The lily then becomes more vanilla-like and slightly lemony on contact with the magnolia. Well known in fine perfumery, its sweet essence is considered one of the most suave materials in the entire perfumer’s palette. Finally, pittosporum further enhances the overall brightness. Drawn from a plant typical of the south of France, it gives off an orange-blossom scent redolent of the Mediterranean.
Un Jardin sur la Lagune, a fresh, woody contrast
To complete this floral trio, Hermès chose to play on contrasts. While Un Jardin sur la Lagune is a particularly harmonious fragrance, it does not hesitate to combine opposing scents. Thus, the aquatic freshness of the marine notes gives way to the warmer depth of the woody notes. Suddenly, it is a little as though the ocean were crashing onto land, giving rise to an explosion of flavors. From then on, Un Jardin sur la Lagune gives off a breath of driftwood, warm and rounded, while being refreshed with water and carrying a certain saltiness, as though gathered straight from the waves.
This new fragrance is the work of the talented Christine Nagel, exclusive nose of the house of Hermès.