Refresh Yourself With a Dash (or Two) of Hermès

   Back in 2006, Hermès debuted Terre d'Hermès, a crisp, flinty, masculine fragrance created by the label's celebrated in-house perfumer, Jean-Claude Ellena. We here at Fashion As a 2nd Language were practically present at the birth of Terre (you can read our account of it here), so we perked up our ears when Hermès announced the arrival of a sibling with a strapping big name: Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche. Translated loosely from the fullsome language of French perfumery, that simply means "refreshing water from the realm of Hermès." Refreshing water, indeed –– with a delicious smell.

   Having written about fragrance ad nauseum for many years (including the general cheapening of many formulas, and the lamentable rise of so-called "celebrity" perfumes), we now make it standard practice to discount press materials that attempt to conjure olfactory poetry. Instead, we apply the simplest and most basic of criteria: Does a perfume (or cologne, or eau de quelquechose) smell good? In the case of Terre d'Hermès Eau Très Fraîche, the answer is, yes, it smells very good. Even better, it smells distinctive –– a bit like its brother, Terre d'Hermès, but with bursts of grapefruit, orange, something woodsy, and, best of all, something salty, like the warm skin of a man at the beach. If you still need a Father's Day gift, this would make a nice one. And, if a bottle happens to find its way onto your bathroom vanity, so much the better. As always, we suggest visiting your nearest fragrance shop and trying it for yourself. Happy spritzing!

Photograph by Mark Grischke

Each and Every Day Should be a Day of Hermès

Jean-Claude Ellena is the creator of some remarkable fragrances, including Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, for Bulgari; Osmanthus, for The Different Company; and Terre d'Hermès, for Hermès (of course), where he's currently the in-house "nose" and resident perfumer. His style has an element of nouvelle cuisine about it, eschewing hearty traditionalism for the transparency–and zest–of fresh-from-the-garden fare. We mean that literally: his latest scent, Jour d'Hermès, conjures up not just flowers, but an entire kitchen garden planted just beyond the windows and basking in the sun. So, while a quick first spritz of Jour d'Hermès suggests lily of the valley (along with the sharp, vegetable tang of tomato stems), followed by gardenia, rose and (perhaps) hyacinth, there's also a tenacious presence (with hints of cucumber, sage and even olive oil) that grows stronger and stronger as the other notes dry down. Gradually, a familiar, soap-scrubbed personality takes shape, and you realize someone else is in the room–perhaps a parent, sibling, grandparent or spouse. Ultimately, it's the smell of warmth, love, cooking and the comforts of home. In other words, chez soi.

Photograph by Noël Sutherland

Polaroid Echoes and Perfect Perfume Memories

Ben Gorham, the creator behind Stockholm-based Byredo, is a compellingly contemporary young man. He's tall, dark and handsome, but also heavily tattooed; his father is Swedish, his mother, Indian, so he grew up around the world; and he's a guy's guy who played professional basketball but then turned from that to dive into perfumery. FA2L was also happy to discover he's a smart conversationalist who enjoys discussing anything except his fragrances, which he generally prefers be allowed to speak for themselves.

Gorham's most recent creation is La Tulipe, which smells exactly like its namesake. There are notes of freesia and vetiver (providing a tenacious base), but the clarion call at the perfume's heart is as sharp, green and pretty as a bowl full of bright Dutch stems. This is no small feat: few, if any, fragrances are based on tulips. Not everyone will love it (soliflores, built around a single flower, are notoriously difficult to wear) but those who do will fall hard. Which is precisely what makes perfume so compelling: like Anthony Philip Festa's polaroid, it resonates in the memory, plays tricks with time and hints at moments, however fleeting, when you felt beautiful, witty or blissfully happy.

Photograph by Anthony Philip Festa.

The Smell of Spring: Blowing Bubbles on the Lawn

With Spring finally here, and Easter just around the corner, FA2L suggests setting aside the schoolbooks and having a little fun. Les Bulles d'Agathe (Agatha's Bubbles), from the otherwise rather serious Maison Francis Kurkdjian, hold plastic wands and sophisticated soap bubble solutions that smell like mint, pears or freshly-cut grass. Order them from Paris, if you wish, or find them at stores like Bergdorf Goodman. Then slip some into Easter baskets or use them as favors at wedding rehearsals, baby showers and birthday parties. You may even want to share a few with your kids...

The Scent of Norway, By Way of New York City

Fragrance has a language all its own, with so many personal associations it's a marvel we find ways to describe it at all. Some men loathe heavy scents, others live for amber and musk, and many people–Americans in particular–obsess about smelling soapy and clean. At FA2L, we're always looking for something special and, perhaps, a bit disconcerting. We like colognes that remind us of warm skin (not vanilla-laden crème brûlée), and Kristiansand New York does that. The press kit mentions olfactory building blocks like white lavender, mandarin and clary sage, but we smell a hot sauna, fluffy towels and warm white sheets. Add snow, and you've got Scandinavia in a bottle.

Beth Terry's World of Tea & Olfactory Sympathy

She's just 5'7" in Azzedine Alaïa heels, but Beth Terry is huge in Japan. She's also celebrated by secret consumer societies (i.e., fragrance fanatics) around the world. The core of her business–a scent known as Té, combining smoky green tea, spicy cardamon and fresh celery–was launched in 1995, making it almost 15 years old. Yet it's likely the average shopper has never heard of her.

Terry's approach to perfume is deeply personal. She left a career in fashion because her acute, almost "burdensome" sense of smell, plus persistent childhood memories of drinking tea with her grandfather, literally compelled her to start a fragrance company. This passion sometimes crested the novice perfumer slightly ahead of the curve, from creating the scent (a tea-based fragrance seemed radical; Jean-Claude Ellena's Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert débuted in '93 but hadn't yet found its audience) to anticipating luxury's stealthier side with simple bottles and minimalist packaging. Fortunately, Terry had influential early champions, including Kate Betts (then Vogue's fashion news director), the Pressman family at Barneys, and buyers chez super-cool Paris boutique, Colette. Té was followed by Mare, a breezy, day-at-the-beach combination of sea salt, avocado and ginger lily, and Terry's aptly-named company, Creative Universe, expanded rapidly.

For all her success, however, Terry maintains the cachet and integrity of a niche brand, albeit with global appeal. The reference to Japan is no joke: she has a worldwide following, including die-hards seeking rare bottles of discontinued scents (even Té, once encountered, creates a strong urge to re-experience its heady combination of deeply satisfying and slightly disturbing elements). Of course, the fragrance landscape has changed since Terry forged her way across it; there are many niche brands but fewer original ideas, so fans are eager to see what this savvy woman unveils next. FA2L suspects they won't have long to wait.

www.luckyscent.com
Photograph by Ron Reeves, www.ronreeves.com

Weather Report: Mediterranean Sunshine in NYC

The Zegna family does not do things in a small way, and that includes the launch of a new fragrance. On a recent Tuesday evening, Anna Zegna hosted a cocktail-fueled "unveiling" for several hundred of her nearest and dearest New York editors at the company's sleek Fifth Avenue flagship store. Flutes of Champagne, iced vodka drinks and platters of bite-sized Italian delicacies were passed around by waiters so good-looking, they may well have been flown in from Milan; and Anna, whippet-thin and beautifully turned out (in soft trousers and a jacket cut to hug her ribs) moved like an elegant standard-bearer through the crowd.

But the real star of the evening was Zegna Colonia, a bright, fresh addition to Ermenegildo Zegna's fragrance collection. Invoking the masculine glamour and ease of la Dolce Vita, the cologne layers neroli and Sicilian bergamot (small citrus trees cultivated in southern Italy) over hints of iris, on a base of musk, benzoin and cedar. The result is familiar and comfortable, rather than bold or distinctive, and brings to mind another generation's "toilet waters" and the straightforward smells of old-fashioned barber shops. In the company's own words, Colonia is meant to be worn like a linen suit, in that dressed-down summertime realm "between confirmed elegance and affirmed casualness." Tuesday night, with Memorial Day just around the corner, this formula seemed especially appealing: men left the party with a certain swagger, probably realizing they smelled better going out the door than they had coming in. It's a good thing for all concerned that New York City doesn't have a Trevi fountain!

www.zegna.com