Hermès will introduce Barénia, a new pillar fragrance for women. Barénia is billed as the brand's first chypre fragrance.*
Barénia was inspired by a rare calfskin leather of the same name, and reportedly perfumer Christine Nagel has been working on it for the last 10 years. The notes include bergamot, miracle berry, butterfly lily, oak wood and patchouli.
Hermès Barénia is available in refillable 30, 60 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum; the bottle was inspired by the brand's Collier de Chien bracelet.
(via elle, bloomberg, vogue.fr, douglas.it)
* Perhaps because they call Calèche a floral chypre?
The bottle looks like one of the many Chanel Chance bottles.
I hope the bottle is prettier in person.
From the side and top it looks quite different, I think.
Hermes modern Chypre! Very interested to sniff this!
For Hermes generally, what do people find to be their favorite of this brand? The Eau de Mervielles which I know a lot of people like, I seem to be a little anosmic to – I got basically nothing from the sample I had. Maybe I had a bad sample but really, it smelled about as much as water….
Let us know if you try it.
I was a little anosmic to Eau des Merveilles for a few years. I kept trying it anyway, and this year I suddenly was able to smell it and loved it. In fact, I am wearing it today. At the moment this is my favorite from Hermes. However, I also love Hermessence Violette Volynka and Myrrhe Eglantine.
EdM is very strong for me, but the EdM Eau Claire sample I tried was very faint and watery. Noses are so interesting. 😊
I adore 24 Faubourg which is probably the most expensive smelling perfume I own. It does get called an “old lady” perfume though, be warned. It’s like a scent bomb of white florals with some patchouli and vanilla and sandalwood–It’s beautiful and elegant. I don’t think anyone could be anosmic to it! I think many people also like Caleche. It’s a classic and also very beautiful, more toned down than 24 Faubourg. I’d recommend giving those a sniff when you have the chance!
Thanks for the suggestion, as I seem to be liking florals more and more.
24F is my most expensive smelling perfume too.
The first Hermes perfume I found FBW was Eau de Neroli Dore. But I have been stalking a bottle of Kelly Caleche for several years now. That one is a lovely floral leather.
I am SO excited for this!!
Good! Hope it lives up to it.
I can’t wait to try this. I loved Galop. If Christine Nagel spent ten years on it, I bet it’s good 🙂
I hope so…10 years is a long time.
I’m cautiously optimistic 😉
I’m not quite optimistic but I am hoping I don’t hate it, ha.
I know it’s exciting, a new Hermès pillar, perhaps it will have a following. Perfumistas beware, this one is a bit directionless 😵💫
yay! yay! yay! and yes to Hermes! 😍
I’m excited to try this one. Chypres often smell very dry or harsh to me, and patchouli can be a sour-ish note on my skin, so maybe the miracle berry will make it work.
Oh, good thought! I had to look it up (thanks for the link, Robin!), and was wondering how the berry that produces this particular taste phenomenon would be used in a scent.
Definitely interested in sniffing!
That is, by far, the ugliest bottle and packaging Hermes has ever put out.
Absolutely agree.
I think it’s a callback to the Parfum d’Hermès extrait bottle from 1984: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1392737520/parfum-dhermes-12-floz-15-ml. Simplified, modernized, but with the same DNA.
Now that’s a really cool bottle! If that was some of the inspiration, they really missed the mark for me. I’ll still give it a sniff, of course, but not with high hopes.
I am always excited to try a new chypre! But I agree with others who dislike that bottle. It is too minimalist for my taste, but also metal studs have been so widely used that I don’t think they evoke an Hermes-specific design.
I was trying to browse perfume on the Hermes site, and they blocked me. Either they thought I was a robot, or they thought I wouldn’t really buy anything.
This has to be the best designer release of 2025, for me. It’s a rich blend of florals, bitters and woods. I was ambivalent the first few times I tried it, but recently noticed that it blooms in the heat. Wonderful!