Hi there Posse, Way back in 2020 Elena Vosnaki wrote so glowingly about Sunrise in Cadaques and its close to but better than relation to Hermès Eau des Merveilles that I went straight across to the online stores and bought one. She was right, and wrong, but if it’s duping then it is a less understated reimagining. Being a total snob, the bottle of the Hermès trumps the Dali by about a squillion times in luxuriousness and desirability. So then, you know which one stayed on the grab tray and which one has been sitting forlorn and unloved in its box, in another box in one of the perfume cupboards. Yes, correct. But during the 2026 cull fest many wonderful beauties have come to light.
Sunrise in Cadaques by Salvador Dali 2017
Featured accords include:
Top: Elemi, Mandarin Orange, Pink Pepper, Bergamot
Heart: Immortelle, Heliotrope, Jasmine, Iris
Base: Peru Balsam, Labdanum, Patchouli, Musk
That very familiar buzzing citrus opening, of dozens of fragrances over the years, is sweet, bright, refreshing and fun. A really good scented analogy for sunrise, a new day and a feeling of joyful anticipation. Hermès does it sharper, darker, less buoyant and greener. As if Sunrise in Cadaques is aimed at a holiday and Eau des Merveilles a sophisticated life signature. Both are really enjoyable.
The hearts are different too.
Then I got distracted.
Suffice to say: Hermès is the more sophisticated, Dali lasts longer is more fun and is cheap as chips. After the initial fireworks and from arms length they are different. Dali is a smooth as silk resinous shorn patchouli with ripples of immortelle still wafting through, and something green, unnamed. The dry down is easy and soft focus.
Have you tried Sunrise in Cadaques?
Portia xx
Hi Portia,
How enticing. I love the Eau de Merveilles. We are planning a late spring road trip to west Texas. It’s a sequel to our honeymoon. Terlingua and the surroundings are desert black skies intermingled with the delightful promise of the day to follow. The sunset is thirst and warmed skin followed by the Texas Sun and cool wind that swipes the dessert. The entirety of darkness is met with the brilliance of the Milky Way. This sounds perfect for the warmth of desert wood and remnants caught in the lingering of the fire pit. It is truly magical.