Un Jardin après la Mousson will be the third fragrance in the Jardin series from Hermès, and is expected to launch this coming May. Un Jardin après la Mousson was inspired by “India in monsoon season”, and follows Un Jardin en Méditerranée (2003) and Un Jardin Sur Le Nil (2005).
For the third fragrance in the Jardins series, Jean-Claude Ellena, Hermès' in-house perfumer, traveled to Kerala, in southwestern India, where he was inspired by nature's revival following the region's annual rainy season. The global introduction of the unisex scent, which features vegetal, floral and spicy notes, will coincide with the beginning of the monsoon period in Kerala.
[...] For Un Jardin après la Mousson, Ellena wanted to capture an unexpected aspect of India, so he visited Kerala several weeks after the long-awaited monsoon rains ended when nature had started to spring back to life. Though Kerala is a region renowned for its spices, Ellena eschewed hot spicy notes in favor of cooler vegetable notes such as cardamom, coriander, pepper, ginger and ginger flower. He also included a vetiver accord of his own creation.
Hermès Un Jardin après la Mousson will be available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette and in matching body products. (via Women's Wear Daily)
Other recent launches from Hermès: Kelly Caleche. Update: see a review of Hermès Un Jardin après la Mousson.
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Robin can't wait to try this! Hope it will be launched before May sigh.. patience is a virtue but not my strongest point..;)
Cardamom… And vetiver… Ah, judging by the first two Jardins, I'm almost positive I will like this one. May, hurry up!
P.S. Talk about buying unsniffed:))
This is now on the top of my “want” list — patience is not my strong point either!
I don't believe in buying unsniffed, but I'll probably buy it unsniffed
“Though Kerala is a region renowned for its spices, Ellena eschewed hot spicy notes in favor of cooler vegetable notes such as cardamom, coriander, pepper, ginger and ginger flower.”
…
Dear Hermès PR,
These things are spices.
Love,
Tania
So excited for this release. Probably the only new release (oh, okay one of a small handful) that I want to leap at. Sounds perfect to me. Roll on freakin' spring, wouldja?
How nice, I'm sitting here drinking chai and this sounds like all the spices I've got in my cup! And now that I've sniffed some vetiver (and love it, thanks Kevin for the push!) this sounds so perfect! I'll have to get a sample of this for sure.
*doesn't hurt that the bottle is awfully pretty too!
I found that puzzling too, T.
LOL! I thought that too.
Yes, I've got a small handful too — but this is at the top
Yeah, what was up with that? More “vegetal” than some bark-ish or seedy spices, but still spices, and not very cool….
Definitely looking forward to trying this, though I'm way overdue in adding full bottles of the first two Jardins to my collection, so I'm sure Mousson won't make it to my shelf until it's discounted in a year or so online.
I'm really glad Hermès is spacing out the launch of these: as a house, I think they're really doing everything 'right' in terms of fragrance marketing, not glutting their market and overwhelming the consumer, but still keeping interest up in the meantime with the Hermessences. And I think they really build a great degree of anticipation for their launches of Ellena's creations among perfumistas. It's so nice to look forward to a launch and not feel like yawning.
Having not long finished “The Perfect Scent” I remember CB quoting JCE as saying some spices were cool (eg cardamom) and some hot (eg cinnamon) and I can see how that could be so. But Hermes PR has got its knickers in a twist with the veggie notes teehee! Still, I can't wait to try it and the Iris and Fig Guerlain AA.
A 'vetiver accord of his own creation'?? <> This might have to be an unsniffed adventure. I agree with Joe that Hermes space things out nicely and do things with elegance.
I practically leapt out of my chair when I read this post Robin! SO excited.
I. Will. Buy. Blind.
ooh, can't wait! It is so lovely to have a release to actually look forward to.
Oh God!
I consider Un jardin en Méditerranée my main full bottle mistake, not because I don't like it – the stuff smells wonderful – but because after buying it I realized I love the smell but it's not really me. I like it in a very abstract way, if that makes sense, and I might enjoy it at home, but everytime I'm dressed up and have to choose a fragrance to wear, it never seems to fit.
I bought it on a day when a marvellous perfume shop in Milan was closing forever and had put everything at 30 % discount: so I had to be an immediate choice, I couldn't buy more than one thing and my brain was about to burn or melt when I took it.
Now I think that maybe Un jardin sur le Nil, which initially seemed to me really close, would have been a better choice, but maybe it could be even better to wait for the monsoon to come…
And P.S., does anyone think that Green green green etc. by Miller et Bertaux is nearly identical to Un jardin en Méditerranée?
I can't wait to try it (as I sit here drinking my chai tea). I've asked a few of my perfume contacts to give me a call when it arrives. I am really looking forward to this one! Good news on a rainy San Francisco Friday.
I adore vetiver, and for that matter, all those other notes. Need this one
So agree — they're not flooding the market & I appreciate it.
Yes, I'm looking forward to the new Aqua Allegorias too!
Hmmm — I can see describing cardamom as cool & cinnamon as hot, but ginger? pepper? Ah well, what do I know. I'm going to buy it regardless
LOL — the vetiver accord grabbed me too
So will lots of us, I'm sure!
Yes, isn't it?
Sounds fantastic – ginger, cardamom, vetiver! Only problem – I think we have to wait until at least May given the PR copy. Monsoon season in Kerala runs from either mid-May to August or June-September depending on the websites Google brings up.
Give it to me and give it NOW! I absolutely adore both Jardins and I love nearly all Ellena's creations.
It'll be one of my summer purchases this year and I'm also going to buy it unsniffed. I trust you, mr. Ellena:)
Delfina, I had almost the same experience Re: Un Jardin en Mediterranee; I like it, but never feel like wearing it.
Still, I'm really looking forward to this, Robin! Especially when I read about JCE's vetiver accord. Might be an unsniffed purchase..
Hmmm…I don't remember the M+B scent being as cedary or figgy as the Hermes, but perhaps I should try them together. Offhand, would have thought Sur Le Nil was closer to Green, green?
I like it too, but wear Sur Le Nil about 100X more often.
It is good news
Perhaps the NY Hermes will get it in late April? I'll keep my fingers crossed.
2nd all of that!
Arr…looks like there's a high possibility that I'll end up buying this AND sur le nil this summer (in that case, can i make an excuse to buy Nil now?)
my only worry is if it'd smell foody cos I am not a fan of Indian food.
Any word on where it will be sold first? Hermes boutiques, Saks, Neiman Marcus? I want to get the first bottle!
Since I did not particularly like Jardin en Mediterannee I will wait and try this one first before a purchase. I have this feeling that it will be quite a green scent with the spices to spice it up a bit. A different kind of green, not the northern green.
Hi Delfina
Sur le Nil is my absolute favourite, and to me, it's very different from Meditarranee, somehow I smell smoke in the latter which I don't like.
Like your point about matching perfume with outfit, gosh, I have never thought about it. I am such a lazy person and wear the same fragrance every day whatever I wear. Now that you mention it, indeed my Kelly Caleche seemed to match my outfit better than Sur le Nil (which i happen to run out of) — i am a black dress/ skirt girl. But then I like green notes (am ok with floral/ wood but not vanilla/ amber-ish), sometimes I wonder if I am just incapable of smelling sexy no matter what i wear
Don't know about Green green green though~
Uh, yes, get the Nil now!
No word, but it is usually the Hermes boutiques. Last time I ordered from them unsniffed right at launch time, surprisingly, NY was not the first to have it, but now can't remember who did — maybe Boston?
I'm sitting at the edge of my seat! Can't wait to try the new jardin.
No, no! I'm supposed to be finished!
I yelled out “Oh. My. God!” quite loudly while reading this, making my husband think something shocking had happened on the political scene….
Kerala is a big tea-growing area, I'm surprised that isn't included in the notes.
Going to visit husband's family in Kerala this fall. Bottle will tide me over from spring until then!
Hi Bittergrass,
I didn't exactly mean that I pay all that attention to matching clothes and perfume. What I meant is more that when I wear a fragrance at home, generally while I'm working at my pc, I tend to be more abstract in choosing perfume. As if perfume, in that case, weren't something to actually wear, but a good smell to sniff and my office a small unrelated smelling lab. When I dress myself to go out (even very casually, jeans+ sweater) instead I find myself thinking more in terms of wearing a fragrance and not just of sniffing it.
Oh, I can't wait. It looks like the season of new interesting fragrances starts…. Spring will be here soon.
Very green will be fine with me!
Finished? Never!
Perhaps it will have tea, who knows? That doesn't sound like a complete list of notes.
I hope spring will be here soon! I'm quite done w/ winter all around.
I would so welcome very green! There are not that many great greens that I know of apart from EdCampagne and Relaxing Fr..
I've been to Kerala. The smells that come to me are some of the cool spices mentioned but not the ginger. But not all coolness: I smell chili from the fried fish I ate there. I also conjure up the wonderful smell of ylang ylang and medicinal smells from the warm oil used in an Ayurvedic massage I had in an Ayurvedic pharmacy. I would think a scent focused on Kerala couldn't possibly leave out the smell of coconut milk.
First time posting. I really enjoy the blog!
Dana Cerise
How exciting – I can't wait! Love the other two Jardin fragrances.
Hi Dana, and welcome! All of that sounds wonderful, we'll have to see what Jean Claude Ellena does with it
I can't wait either
Dearest Robin…I 'll start rambling now
I really liked Mediterranée but I liked better sur le nil… Let me explain why… Mediterrané reminds me strongly of Life Essence by Fendi(not an Ellena creation to my knowledge), which in turns reminds me of aftershaves people used on the early 80's (at least here in Argentina) and as someone describes in basenotes on the Life Essence page…it has a “green, coniferous accord” I smell exactly the same accord in mediterranée.
And a very similar thing on one of the hermesences that I got to try in Sanfran.. I can't exactly recall which one… it seems Ellena is fond of this accord and as he explains in his article with Burr, he uses few ingredients to create broader “images” of smell while still being minimalistic. I found the note YET AGAIN on Terre de Hermes, and I dare you smell Terre and Life Essence and tell me that they are not similar (of course LE is greener and does not smell half as expensive as Terre, but yet).
So, FAR FAR FAR from calling Ellena a one trick pony (that would be pure unadulterated envy) let's say he has an aesthetique that he likes and he sticks to: in some circles that is called Style.
I like him most when he goes the way of adventure, like in the thé vert series or in the Nile.
That is why I am VERY exited about this (I have been looking for at least a clue about the next one of the Jardin series, but surely they kept this baby under tight wraps) but at the same time I'm afraid it will have some of his stylistic trademarks, that although great, I am starting to feel a little boring.
Well… the rambling stopped! I hope I do not sound pretentious, as this was not my intention at all, just feeling verbose today
I hope you don't mind… regards
P.
p.s.: a little something extra that i just remembered… are you aware that Chandler Burr mentioned NST on one of his blog-reviews on the NYT? cheers!
Yes kaos.geo I mentioned the very same about Chandler Burr to Robin!:-)
And Robin you've got some extra reading to do then..
P, I don't know if I'll be able to find Life Essence, but I'll try! I know many people find JCE's minimalism & his coverage of similar themes dull — I'm just not one of them. If anything, to me it adds to my fascination, although I'm not sure I could explain why. But certainly he seems to be taking a bit of backlash from perfumistas on that subject lately.
But related to that — he has one of the most identifiable signatures in perfume, and that strikes me as enviable. I can think of only a handful of others whose scents are so recognizeable (Bertrand Duchaufour springs to mind).
Anyway, I like JSLN better than JEM too, and hoping I'll like this one as well.
I did see the link from CB — to a comment here, so not really a “mention” in the usual sense
thank g-d someone else noticed that. when i think of hot, back-of-the-throat flavors or scents, pepper, ginger, and coriander happen to be right up at the top of that list.
seriously?
I love JCE' scents and the way they tend to morph as time passes. The scents may be subtle – but you'll never be bored! I adore Kelly Caleche and am waiting to get a full bottle of Nil…and now I can't wait to try this new one!
Agree w/ all of that
I'm amazed at how different skins launch different sillage. Jardin Sur Le Nil has a fleeting moment of citrus and green on me and then falls into a profound lotus and dry papyrus. I've grown to love it, but it is not one shred of green on me after the first ten minutes. Papyrus is tan, I've made paper out of it, i know it's smell. Miller and Bertaux is a different leaf from a different climate. To me, it smells nothing like Jardin Nil.
I will surely be adding the new one to my collection! Probably unsniffed. Damn, not again!
Guessing this will sell quite a few bottles before anyone has a chance to smell it
R. if this will be woody spicy then I might pass. Still can't wait to try it!
Hmmm I look forward to trying it, but I hope it isn't too overwhelmingly spicy.
Doesn't sound like it will be, although it would be hard to be too spicy for me
Dear kaos.geo. I too love Sur la Nil much better than Mediterranee but mainly because I can't wear fig. I love fig on everyone else but on me it's just too blah. Un Jardin Sur la Nil is my very cold, very expensive glass of French Champagne with a dash of Midora and a squeeze of lime. I love it and can hardly wait for Apres to be released. After reading C.B's The Perfect Scent, I have been waiting patiently. Speaking of JCE being adventurous, I must say since reading the wonderful review & discussion on this site, I tracked down Rumba by Balenciaga. Wow. Now that's an adventure every time I wear it. I'm hooked. JCE's best complex scent. Probably one of the best I've ever worn.