Myrrhe Églantine is one of the five new Hermessence fragrances from Hermès. They're the first additions to the series from house perfumer Christine Nagel, and before you go complaining about the five, don't forget that the Hermessences debuted under Jean-Claude Ellena — way back in 2004, a kabillion perfumes ago! — with four: Ambre Narguile, Poivre Samarcande, Rose Ikebana, Vetiver Tonka. And, happily for me, I'm only going to worry about three of the new ones, since two are expensive perfume oils I'll probably never manage to get my hands on. As for Agar Ebène, Cèdre Sambac and Myrrhe Églantine, I bought those unsniffed right away, in the (swap-bait) 15 ml travel sizes. I'm starting with Myrrhe Églantine, largely because I was curious what Nagel would do with it, given that there's already a rose in the series.
Hermès is a luxury house, and they do luxury press jaunts to match,1 but they're not known for providing the sort of persnickety details that perfumistas adore, like say, a list of notes. So what we know is basically the name, which references myrrh and rose. Here is what little more I can add, courtesy of Wallpaper magazine:
'Myrrh is a difficult material to work with and hardly ever used today, though it’s one of the oldest perfume ingredients,' Nagel says, and you can sense that she’s enjoyed the challenge of balancing her disparate ingredients to make a harmonious whole. The myrrh adds an extra note of resinous sweetness to the scent, extending the evanescent smell of this lightest of rose perfumes. (In practice, eglantine’s simple, five-petaled flowers yield no viable amounts of perfume oil, so Nagel has had to recreate its scent using a skilful blend of other ingredients.
Wallpaper also notes that the rose in question is the wild dog rose, rosa canina.
Ok then? If you want more background on what Nagel is up to with this set, do see Persolaise's review of Cardamusc. What I can tell you about Myrrhe Églantine is that it's quite different from Rose Ikebana, although I can see where a person who didn't care about roses, or didn't care so much about perfume, might find the distinctions relatively unimportant. It's quiet, as are most of the Hermessences, and it appears to have a little dash of citrus, softened by some rounder, fuller fruit. So, soft, nothing like the slap of sparkling grapefruit and tart rhubarb in Rose Ikebana — not that Rose Ikebana ever goes much above a whisper, either, and for that matter there's a bit of a tart thread through the opening of Myrrhe Églantine.
Thirty minutes in, I'm realizing that I never noticed just how peppery/spicy Rose Ikebana is; the Myrrhe Églantine has its own (soft!) little kick of spice but next to Ikebana it feels comparatively calm, just a lovely little fresh rose on a pale, warm, sweetish but not too sweet, base. I don't think anybody will smell it and think ah, myrrh!, but you will notice that simultaneously dusty-earthy, sweet and resinous base if you apply generously and then press your nose right up to your skin. (It would probably help if I had the proper humid weather that might make it sing, but alas.)
As is often the case, Hermès chose the perfect color to match the juice: that pinkish-terracotta looks just right. And, as is often the case, Myrrhe Églantine is not hardly a powerhouse of longevity.
Verdict: It's not my favorite Hermessence or even my favorite from this trio, but I'm charmed. In a million years I would never pay for a large bottle, even if I was still buying large bottles, and I'm not even sure I'd have bought it in 15 ml if I was buying a set after spending more time with the three. All the same, for the moment I'm quite happy with my little bottle. I think I'll keep it.
Myrrhe Églantine is not yet on any of the Hermès country sites that I can find. It is apparently for sale in Dubai, and possibly other places? Do comment if you know. I will update with prices when it appears in the US. It will probably be sold in the usual sizes, which are 100 and 200 ml Eau de Toilette with optional leather cases, or in gift sets with four 15 ml bottles.
1. If you never saw it, do pull up the video for the press launch of Eau de Rhubarbe Écarlate and Eau de Néroli Doré, and skip to about the 2:20 mark.
They are widely available in Russia for some time.
Myrrphe is nice, however, I’m waiting for your review of Agar, as I don’t smell any oud/wood in here, just the beautiful smooth leather!
Thanks!
Don’t know if you saw the comments under the fragrance announcement, as I understand it (or don’t understand it) they are saying it is not oud, it is uninfected agarwood, which as I understand it has very little smell. So don’t know what all that means but agree it is leathery, although to me, leather in perfume is a woody smell, yes? Anyway it’s quite nice, I like it better than Galop.
Robin, it makes me so happy to read that you still blind buy! ????????
????
It is sort of cheating — I am always happy to blind buy a 15 ml Hermes because I know it will be easy to swap away if I hate it!
And the last “big” blind buy I made, Cartier Panthere, I was lucky enough to swap away also.
In other words, I am not good at blind buying!
Shhh, relatively speaking, it was a smallish large sample ????
Exactly!! It was well smaller than some of your samples, that’s for sure
Thanks for the review! Eager to try these.
If Myrrhe Églantine is “quite different from Rose Ikebana”, might there be another scent it’s similar to or is it that unique?
Love that bottle color.
To me nose the closest one is Nasomatto Baraonda.
Floragal, I hope I was clear — we are talking about differences between light, fresh roses. So “quite” is relative?
I would say if you hated the grapefruit in Rose Ikebana, try this one.
Also, if anyone ever used the old Eglantine soap by Crabtree & Evelyn, this did remind me of it, in the early stages at least. (I went through tons of those bars many years ago.)
Are these available in the US? I do not see them on the website
Yes, ditto! Went on the website looking yesterday after the Persolaise post and did not see anything. And it sounds like Cardamusc won’t be available in smaller sizes?
Cardamusc and Iris Pallida are more oil based and they only come in 20 ml bottle (for 325 euro!)
See the last paragraph above — I did not find them on any of the Hermes sites.
Oh I can wait to try these! I just bought a tester of Iris Ukiyoe on Ebay for just under half-price. I would not rule out buying a travel set with these three and some Osmanthe Yunnan.
This one honestly sounded like the one I would like least but only because it sounds somewhat boring.
Well, I’d say I probably will end up liking it least too. It is, indeed, not immediately striking and I meant it when I said it probably would not have made my buy list. But it is quite charming and I am not sorry to have it.
And, I do not think I will be quite as enthusiastic about these as some of my favorites, like Vetiver Tonka or Osmanthe Yunnan.
oh my heart just swelled up, I do so miss the C&E Eglantine soap. I also liked their heart-shaped tea rose soap.
Thank you for the review, so exciting to read what’s happening at Hermes. And that video is over the top!
Hope to give ME a try, the other new ones too of course. I do not love the grapefruit in Rose Ikebana so this may be a winner, though there are a number of recently released rose perfumes that gave me migraine. Galop was one such scent, so if ME dips from the same vat of aromachemicals this may be a no-no as well. I look forward to sampling liberally before buying.
That was a GREAT soap. So, if you remember it, do smell this and see if I’m crazy and just influenced by the name, right? I always thought that soap had just the right hint of the bright fruity / / apple-y leaves of the rose, and I think there’s a hint of that here too.
And, the video is probably nothing compared to other Hermes events. I think for this one they flew the press to Marrakech.
Interested in trying Cardamusc, but 325 euros for 20ml ????????????
Yeah, I think for that reason I am not even interested in trying it. Not fond of oils, anyway. And if it’s really a silicone gel, which many “oils” seem to be these days, I would be suspect of its shelf life.
????♀️ Ridiculous
Meaning the price & shelf life
Well wait, to be clear, I don’t know anything about the shelf life or what the oil base is!
If the Agar Ebene is leather, I will definitely sample, and sooner or later I’ll find a small sample of Cardamusc.
Please tell me more about this silicone gel that’s in may perfume oils now? I wonder if that proprietary “Perfume Oil Diluent” (the one intended to substitute for perfumers’ alcohol) has silcone, too. Gaah!
It’s most definitely leathery.
I can’t tell you anything definitive about silicone gel, only that many “dry oils” are silicone based, and I don’t find that silicone based dry oils retain their scent well over the years. But possibly I’ve just had bad luck! And, I use products VERY slowly.
Oh, yes, those dry oils definitely have a silicone feeling. I wonder if silicone is one of the things would have to be disclosed in perfume labeling.
No idea. But will add that I’ve complained about them here many times before, and nobody else has chimed in, so maybe it is really just me! But no way would I pay that much money in any case so I’m not going to worry about it.
Thanks for the review, Robin! I feared that it would be soft and hoped it would be more myrrh centric. In that it’s not, I think my wallet has breathed a sigh of relief????
Ha, but better try it first and make sure you agree!
Have you tried Jo Malone Myrrh and Tonka? You have to like myrrh and tonka and the longevity is outstanding!
That press launch of Eau de Rhubarbe…????
I wonder, can a person still (is he / she allowed to?) write an honest review after an event like that? Maybe if the food was not of three Michelin star quality ????
Well, the people who attend events like that are not generally people who are expected to write honest reviews.
Yeah I kinda figured an event like this is not for serious reviewers.
I wonderif those invited are pressed by Hermes or have to commit to write a positive article/blurb.
I know nothing about how the system works, but I rather doubt it. If you look at most magazine articles about perfume, they’re not really “reviews” at all and they’re not meant to be, and there would be little point in saying anything negative. Ditto with Instagram, which is where much of the action is now.
And the editors need content as much as the brand needs the coverage.
If Hermes flies you to Marrakech and then you write nothing, you probably wouldn’t get invited next time. I would imagine that might be enough inducement.
The one time I was invited on an expensive press jaunt involving transatlantic flight, there was no stick involved, only carrot. That trip was mostly for bloggers, and I did not go, but based on the coverage I saw afterwards, mostly for bloggers who did not write negative reviews anyway.
Yeah true, they need each other in their own ecosystem of beauty and fashion PR
On a sidenote, I really dislike most Instacelebs.. its all product placement, advertising. Or maybe I am just too old for that
stuff ????????????
I am too old for all of it!
Myrrhe Eglantine sounds like something I’d like well enough, but I still have my hopes up that someone will make a perfume that actually smells like eglantine roses. Eglantine leaves as well as the blossoms have a very interesting scent with a strong note of green apple and just an edge of what most people would think of as a conventional rose. Dog roses are rather dull in comparison.
Well, do try it — it is not worth worrying over the horticultural specifics here since it is an accord in any case! As are nearly all rose fragrances, really.
Well, yes. I’m not that interested in horticultural specifics, but just wishing that something smelled like eglantine which is really nice. As far as I know, there’s nothing out there that does. I can understand that marketing something called Myrrhe Dog Rose might not sound especially appealing.
I bought a 15ml of this one (and three more actually ) from the Hermes in Barcelona airport. It’s a lovely scent, good silage too.
For some reason, some of the hermessence that sound perfectly fine on paper , smell like gasoline on me (Cuir D’Ange, Epice Marine, Paprika Brasil) or fade away too fast (Rose Ikebana and generally the florals of the line) so I’m weary of buying them unsniffed. This one is a keeper. probably one of my favorite in the line and trumps Rose Ikebana in my book