Whimpy Rhubarb & Hermessence Sniffing Trip

*Current Fragrance: Ocean / Eternal Return by CB I Hate Perfume
*Currently Listening: Golden Years by David Bowie

It is time for my husband to return from Dallas (which he is on Monday)! I am getting stranger by the hour...you'll see! ;-)

In its chemical structure, is rhubarb really that fleeting and quick to break apart!?!? Every time I hear of a rhubarb note in a fragrance, I get excited and crave its ruby tartness; then I sniff and am disappointed when the rhubarb notes lasts for around 0.350823543 seconds. sigh...

I dealt with this when I went to my local Hermès boutique to sniff the Hermessence line on Wednesday. It strolled around  the upper half of Newbury St. and around the Public Garden (which is where the Hermès boutique is) between finishing up Mother's Day Shopping and meeting the Reed Making Warrior for dinner. It was a rainy and gloomy day in Boston, oscillating between warm and muggy & cold and damp. Not exactly the kind of weather than screams, "let go sniff fancy & expensive things in a fancy and expensive place," but I went nonetheless. In the end...quite glad I did!

I got there about 10 minutes before they closed up for the day. I told the sales associate what I was looking for and she showed me the way to the Hermessence case, then went back to folding scarves. I spent the next 10-15ish minutes sniffing to my hearts content.

Sadly my heart was not made content by the lack of rhubarb in Rose Ikebana. Once again, the rhubarb lasted for all of  0.350823543 seconds. The rose that was left behind was honestly a little bland to me. Given the following description, I was hopping that it was have a bit more "green" to it than the parts incorporated with the fleeting rhubarb. OK, I'm going to quit harping on the rhubarb.

Moving on! There were three standouts in the Hermessence collection to me:

1) Vetiver Tonka - Snugly Freshness is the best way for me to describe Vetiver Tonka. The vetiver in it was a bit greener and less smokey than I've come accustomed to. The tonka was snugly and comforting with out bordering on vanilla-y sweetness.

2) Iris Ukiyoe - Water-logged iris, but in a good way. I really feel like if there was a fragrance to go with Monet's Water Lillies, I'm sure Iris Ukiyoe would be a very strong contender. I've been on the hunt for an "aquatic" scent, and this is just lovely. There's no hint of beach, sea, dune grass or anything like that. Just a very beautiful "watery" iris. I didn't try it on my skin, but I'm afraid my skin would gobble it up.

3) Ambre Narguile - This one's just yummy! My purse smells of it now. It's very Christmas-y to me. It's like going home to fresh baked goods on Christmas Eve after going to Midnight Mass. A little smoke a little spice, some nondescript baked good. But you better have an artificial tree, cause there's ZERO pine in this Christmas story!

Have you sniffed Hermessence? Agree or disagree on my thoughts? What are your favorites?

Happy, happy weekend y'all!

*Currently Listening: Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker) by Parliament