Twilly d’Hermès

I met my perfume gal-pal Louise at our local Nordstrom recently – they’ve redone the beauty area and dedicated a lot more room to fragrances, with all the Tom Fords, more Prada and Hermes, the Le Labo city exclusives, a couple of niche-y lines, etc. I am thrilled. In celebration, today I want to talk about one scent on prominent display there – the new Twilly d’Hermès.

The vibe is whimsical and the ads feature a pretty young thing, and it’s clear that this is aimed at a younger audience than your Hermès standard. That bottle is adorable, with a little bowler hat for a cap and a multi-colored cord around the neck, a nod to the thin, pricey Twilly scarf the scent is named after.   Of course, we’re talking about Hermès; the bottle has a nice heft in the hand, and there’s nothing cheap-looking about it. The scent was developed by Christine Nagel, and features notes of ginger, tuberose, and sandalwood. That sounds nice, doesn’t it?

And it is nice; I thought about buying it the second I tried it, something that hasn’t happened to me in ages with a mainstream scent (it’s stocked by Nordstrom and Sephora, among other places.) The top is a spicy burst that seems both gingery and peppery. The tuberose isn’t identifiable as such, more a “white” floral, a little buttery and a little chilly, and it’s subtle, which isn’t a normal tuberose (God knows) but it’s nice. The sandalwood comes through clearly but not so much that it’s overwhelming, and it’s a lovely complement to the ginger, which sadly doesn’t last as long as I wish it did (ginger never does, does it?) but becomes almost citrusy in the drydown, along with a light musk.  It’s not especially sweet, and it doesn’t read as young or girly; anyone could wear it without feeling silly.  I think it’s office-friendly after the first ten minutes or so, and while it’s subtle it’s quite long-lasting, especially on clothing. I caught a whiff on my sleeve two days later; it’s distinctive enough, with its almost citrus-y dry rasp of sandalwood, that I immediately recognized it.

Lord knows I don’t need any more perfume, but I’m thinking about it. It’s $100 for 50ml at Nordstrom, and $79 for 30ml at Sephora, but the Nordstrom purchase comes with a gift, a nifty little 5ml travel mini and a twilly-like ribbon tucked away in the box.

For another take, here’s a link to Robin’s review. It sounds like we got the same impressions of the scent, only she doesn’t like it nearly as much as I do, which is too bad since she bought a bottle unsniffed. Maybe I’ll see if she wants to unload it?  That would be very perfumista of me, taking it off her hands like that…

 

  • AnnieA says:

    Twirly is at the Vancouver Sephora So do check other Canadian cities. It was a high quality girly sugar-fest. Holding out for Cuir d’Ange as the next Hermes buy.

  • You can have it, send me your mailing address!

    BUT, I bought a 15 ml bottle. It is exactly the same as all the Hermes 15 ml bottles. So, no cuteness factor, no bowler hat, no little strap of silk. Therefore might not really scratch that itch 😉

    Nordstrom is charging $100 for the 50 ml. They don’t have the 30 ml, at least, not online. If they are selling it in stores they’re probably just making a price error. At the moment, the only size Sephora has online is the 30 ml, and that is $79.

  • Ann says:

    Ah, darling — great minds (noses?) think alike! I tried this at Nordies last week while in the big city for a mini reunion with some of my old newspaper editors. I liked it too — but should’ve asked for a sample – drat! Fingers crossed that you can get the bottle from Robin without paying retail. And lucky you to have access to the LL City Exclusives! Hugs to you all and hope the school year is off to a good start!

    • March says:

      Hey, you too, doll! I was SO HAPPY to send them out the door this morning.

      Another change to our Nordstrom — empty sample atomizers were everywhere, and knock yourself out. We could do them before, but you had to ask for them, and the SA maybe gave me some side-eye and probably insisted on making it herself.

  • Kandice says:

    I have been wanting to try this since hearing it was being released. I love the note of ginger but am disappointed to hear that the tuberose is so subtle. Just from hearing the notes list with the ginger, tuberose, and sandalwood, I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for letting us know where to find it. I bet the mini version of this bottle is adorable!

  • MMKinPA says:

    I would be tempted to buy it for the bottle! If I can manage a sniff it sounds interesting, but maybe not something I need….

  • Rina says:

    Sephora? Nords told me they have a 3 mo. exclusive and Sephora had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if they’d get it after the 3 months. I really like it!

  • Melissa says:

    I tried it today for the first time too. I liked the opening, but I wanted more floral notes as it dried down. It became a little too woody and musky for me, and it was pretty tenacious. I couldn’t smell the tuberose at all. That bottle though!

    • March says:

      It’s certainly not a big floral — yeah, whatever’s in there is pretty long-lasting for a scent that doesn’t come on so strong. I know, that bottle — and the 5ml mini was so cute I made some dorky sound when I saw it!