H24 Eau de Parfum by Hermès

Hi posse. The other week I was sniffing in our premier department store David Jones city with my mate Michael. We stopped by the Hermès concession and the SA was so lovely we stayed for about 30 minutes just chatting and sniffing random things like the L’Ombre Des Merveilles, a new Twilly, H24 and reminding ourselves of the Jardins.

As we were about to move off she became quite insistent that we take some samples each. It was a lovely surprise and reminiscent of perfume shopping last century. I’d smelled H24 before. It wasn’t something I was interested in owning. The SA gave me a sample and said to try it out of the perfumery section and in the wild. Honestly, I was a little internally eye rolly but I dutifully took the carded sample. It made her really happy. So inside I felt like my good deed had been done for the day.

H24 Eau de Parfum by Hermès

Hermès gives these featured notes:
Clary sage, Oak moss, Sclarene (a metallic wood with camphor’s undertones)

Christine Nagel has been lauded and loathed since stepping into JCEs shoes. They were always going to be hard to fill. Also she arrives at a time when many of the perfumistas who can still afford to shop at Hermès are jaded and blasé. What JCE did was astounding and as he grew, we did too. So it was like a journey towards oily citrus minimalism. My view is that Ms Nagel is also doing lovely work. Part of me wishes I could smell them as a perfume newby. Imagine coming across Violette Volynka, H24 or Eau de Citron Noir with a fresh nose?

You can smell the JCE Hermès history from the very first waft. The opening is like an homage. It very quickly veers cleaner and less petroleum. That the citrus is so fleeting and moves effortlessly but noticeably into herbaceousness is all Nagel. My nose is telling me there are florals, peony, narcissus and maybe lily of the valley. Plus a whiff of fresh cut fruit, melon-ish but maybe unsweet strawberry. I’m also getting gentle reminders of old Eau Sauvage, maybe…

The H24 woods are in a log pile and been there for a month or so. They’re cold and don’t really smell of much until you move them. The oak moss is not the fuzzy green of walking through damp bracken filled woods but a much more crystallised and spacey offering. This could very easily be a by product of the Sclarene, a note I’ve never smelled solo. Dry down is a metallic leafy, torn twig wash that smells fantastic to the very last gasp.

Projection and longevity are above moderate. Made for men but hardly macho masculine. Wearable by anyone.

The question I have been asking myself both wears is “Do I want to smell like this?” The answer is yes. I can easily imagine H24 becoming an easy spritz. It fills much the same niche as CHANEL Boy while not smelling anything like each other. They both smell thoughtfully produced, under the radar beautiful and go with any mood or activity. A pair of jeans or suit, gym or dinner. Perfect fit every time.

Sound like a win for you?
Portia xx