Elixir des Merveilles

Elixir des Merveilles is an oriental fougere for women, composed by Jean-Claude Ellena for Hermès in 2006. Orange peel opens it bright and slightly bitter, and then everything turns sticky and warm: caramel and vanilla sugar against Peru balsam and Siam resin, sweet but resinous rather than edible. Amber, patchouli and sandalwood sit underneath with a thread of incense, and oak and cedar keep a dry frame around all that syrup. Rich and unusually cohesive. It lasts a long time and projects strongly, and it suits autumn and winter, day or night.