Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate

Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate was made for Hermès in 2016 by Christine Nagel, and no family is recorded for it. It is built around one idea: rhubarb, green and mouth-puckeringly sour, kept tart rather than stewed. Red berries add just enough sweetness to stop it being austere, lantana gives a faintly herbal edge, and white musk is all that holds it down at the end. Simple and deliberately thin, in the way of a cologne. It does not last long and stays close to the skin, which suits it to hot spring and summer days.