Jean-Claude Ellena’s The Diary of a Nose: A Year in the Life of a Perfumer will be published in English this July. The book originally appeared in French in 2011 as Journal d’un parfumeur (see Cheryl’s review)…
Hermes Santal Massoia ~ fragrance review
Santal Massoïa is the tenth fragrance in the Hermessence Collection from Hermès, and like the others, was developed by house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. Unless you’re new to the collection, you probably already have some idea of what to expect, that is, you know not to expect Santal Massoïa to fit neatly into your idea of a sandalwood (or massoia) fragrance, and you know that this isn’t the place to go looking for the functional perfume to last through your 8 hour workday. I’ve already gone on and on about my take on the collection, and if you’ve been reading here regularly you also know that there’s about a 50-50 chance that I’ll want at least a small bottle of Santal Massoïa, and I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: thank you, Hermès, a million times over, for the lovely little 15 ml bottles.
And I’ll save you time and start with the outcome: yes, it’s 15-ml-bottle-worthy, no, it isn’t going to join Osmanthe Yunnan and Vetiver Tonka in the 100-ml-bottle-worthy category. Given the size of my overall perfume collection, the 100-ml-bottle-worthy category, mind you, is now very narrow indeed, but another way of putting it is that I really like Santal Massoïa but I’m not head-over-heels swooning, although once upon a time I might have said the same of Brin de Reglisse and now I’m in the position of having to replace what I had of it…
Almost carnal
To demonstrate how he develops an idea, Mr. Ellena digs into his pocket and pulls out a small, curved piece of wood. "Fifteen years ago, I came across this marvelous massoia wood, not well known in perfumery and used in Indonesian cuisine. The odor is startling, unforgettable, mysterious, a sensual riot of exotic spices, fruit and milky coconut. It's what I call a horizontal scent," he says. "It's round, supple, almost carnal, lascivious—in a word, feminine."
— Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, from A French Perfumer's Seductive Sense in the Wall Street Journal. He's talking about the new Hermès Santal Massoïa.
It is no longer mine
But his vision for a perfume, he explains, "stops the moment it is put on the market."
"From that point onwards it is a child setting off on its own. Its [sic] is no longer mine to own -- people make it theirs, and that is fine by me."
— Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, from Meet Jean-Claude Ellena, 'scent writer' for Hermes at Yahoo News.
Hermes Santal Massoia ~ new fragrance
Hermès will launch Santal Massoïa next month. Santal Massoïa will be the tenth fragrance in the Hermessence Collection, and like the others, was developed by Hermès house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena…