Christine Nagel is the second full-time in-house nose in the history of Hermès—following olfactory legend Jean-Claude Ellena, who created 27 fragrances. Here, its best-smelling hits.
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1951: Eau D’Hermès
Edmond Roudnitska, creator of the brand’s first perfume, answered the question: What does Hermès smell like? “The interior of an Hermès bag in which wafted the aroma of a perfume.
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1961: Calèche
The first Hermès women’s fragrance; the name and the woodsy top notes refer to the logo’s horse-drawn carriage.
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1986: Bel Ami
The leather-noted scent was originally created by Jean-Louis Sieuzac and later updated by Ellena.
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1995: 24 Faubourg
The white-flower fragrance—named for the brand’s storied Left Bank Paris address—was composed by Maurice Roucel.
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2004: Collection Hermessence
Olfactory poems” is how Ellena, in his first outing for Hermès, described this series of simple “odes to fragrance,” each with only one or two main ingredients.
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2006: Terre D'Hermès
The house’s best-selling scent, with notes of cedar, patchouli, and vetiver, was inspired by French novelist Jean Giono.
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2010: Voyage D'Hermès
Travel is as much the soul of Hermès as horses and Kelly bags. Ellena’s amber fragrance has an exquisite, refillable bottle created by in-house designer Philippe Mouquet.
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2014: Parfum De La Maison
Hermès’s first home scents were created by Ellena’s daughter, Céline. She describes them as “fragrant sounds.”
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2015: La Jardin De Monsieur Li
A WWD review described the origins of this scent, which was inspired by a Chinese garden, as “intergalactic.”
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2017: Eau Des Merveilles Bleue
Nose Christine Nagel updated the 2004 hit this year, taking inspiration from childhood seagoing memories.
