Hermès will launch H24, a new fragrance for men, in February.
H24 was developed by house perfumer Christine Nagel and inspired by the ready-to-wear collections of the brand's creative director of menswear, Véronique Nichanian. The "backbone" of the new fragrance is clary sage; additional notes include narcissus and rosewood. The synthetic molecule sclarene is used to recall the "warm metallic steam" Nagel smelled in the tailoring rooms at Hermès — the scent of "applying damp cloths onto wool suits before pressing them with a heavy metal iron".
“I think it is part and parcel of the way Hermès sees things” says Nagel of the fragrance. “Very discreet, elegant, an attention to the world.”
Hermès H24 will be available in 100 ml Eau de Toilette, and presumably other sizes as well.
(all quotes in second paragraph via ft, inset quote and additional information via sharpmagazine)
I like the green and the name, that’s it. Am I shallow?
I was just thinking that I hate the box. I’ll join your club.
I’m always interested in sniffing a new Hermès. Very much a masculine bottle, though. There’s something off putting about the bottle and packaging, but I can’t put my finger on it. It does sync up with the notes, though.
Nagel uses the word “botanical” in her discussion, I do think it fits with that too.
I don’t like the name. I think Hermes should stick with french names. This name makes me think of Halson Z-14. I’m also going to bet that the molecule Sclarene smells like ambroxan, lol.
Well, presumably they also want you to think of 24 Faubourg…I think they use the 24 number on some menswear items as well.
I didn’t think of that at all! Lol at myself 😂
On the plus side though, it also made me start thinking of Kiefer Sutherland in 24😍
& that, like Faubourg, the name IS in French, and pronounced as such. “H (phonetically, “ahsh”) vingt-quatre”
Doesn’t sound overly exciting to me. The bottle is almost like DKNY Men I had when I was younger.
I’m excited to see a new masculine! But can you imagine following Terre? I don’t tend to like contemporary masculines but I’ll give it a shot.
Also don’t love the name….
The name and box reminds me of a series of mens’ fragrances at Zara 🤣 Also rosewood, clary sage and narcissus have ALL been challenging for me in the past (aside from the rosewood in SMN’s Vetiver.) Ditto with metallic…. However, it’s altogether possible that I’ll be besotted with the scent!
I’m struggling to think of what’s elegant about the smell of damp wool and hot metal irons. Guess if you have a butler or tailor on hand it’s elegant, but for most of us, ironing is just another chore. (Obviously I hate ironing.)
Isn’t sclarene derived from a type of pine tree? That’s much more appealing!
I googled it this morning; I think somewhere I saw that it was derived from clary sage? But I don’t remember where I saw that and don’t know if it is accurate.
I’ve haven’t met an Hermes I didn’t like, so I’ll certainly be seeking this out for a sniff, although the name and packaging don’t appeal to me at all. Terre d’Hermes was always going to be a tough act to follow, but they aren’t doing themselves any favors with this generic presentation. Hopefully the juice speaks for itself.
Anyone else finding it hard to believe that Terre d’Hermes came out 14 years ago?
i’m very eager to sniff this! after all these Hermès still manages to be more of my top houses (though, admittedly, a few of the recent releases didn’t do it for me). i agree the bottle & box look rather drab & like they belong at discounters, not in luxury boutiques. but maybe they will look better IRL…
No-one is releasing a new pillar fragrance with big marketing campaign that doesn’t smell like Ambroxan these days (if I research sclarene my suspicion grows). Everyone wants a piece of the cake and EdC du Citron Noir and the Jardin sur la Lagune probably made the accountants taste blood.
Plus, this is a moderately priced mainstream release (funny how the comeback of the 1990s is now also showing in packaging design). Considering the high price for decent Narcissus material I don’t expect much.
I just discovered Christine Nagel’s Archives 69 for Etat Libre d’Orange, which would be delicious on those guys who probably run to buy this one.
Of course it is totally dubious of me to be so critical before smelling…