I have been very pleased with the direction that Christine Nagel has been taking as she begins her tenure as in-house perfumer at Hermes. The earlier release of Eau des Merveilles Bleue this year has shown Mme Nagel imparting her sensibility on the brand as she diverges from the previous style of Jean-Claude Ellena. Through her first set of releases it appears she will retain the minimalistic aesthetic that has become synonymous with Hermes fragrances; refined over M. Ellena’s time as in-house perfumer. With the latest release, Twilly D’Hermes, it also appears she is going somewhere different as she has designed something unabashedly fun but which manages to retain enough style to not be dismissed as a trifle.
Hermes Twilly scarf on a Hermes Birkin bag
The name Twilly D’Hermes refers to the narrow Twilly scarves sold by Hermes. Those Twillys have been used to wrap the handles of Birkin bags. They have also been tied into bracelets, hair ties and other fashionable accessories. It is the versatile Hermes scarf that lends itself to being interpreted in lighthearted ways. That sense of fun is one of the things Mme Nagel is trying to capture. The other is she states this is a perfume for a younger person; a young girl. I can almost see a subliminal label of “My first grown-up perfume” underpinning all of this.
As I was wearing Twilly D’Hermes I thought about what that would mean if you were aiming to introduce a young girl to perfume. You would keep it on the floral side you might add a fruity partner and finish with a light woody note. This is meant to be an enticement to add perfume to your day to a young woman who hasn’t done that.
As I wore it I also reflected on whether it was so facile that it wasn’t enough to hold my interest as I am very much not the target audience. What I want is a solid floral keynote paired with some interesting companions. I never found it so slight that I didn’t enjoy wearing it.
Christine Nagel
Twilly D’Hermes has three listed notes ginger, tuberose, and sandalwood. When I saw tuberose on that list I thought that is just going to be too intense. What I was greeted with when I applied Twilly D’Hermes is a fresh slightly buttery version of tuberose which has only a tiny amount of the more confrontational indoles. It is that choice which exemplifies how smart Mme Nagel is. If you scrub the indoles out completely it becomes insipid. Give the indoles too much play and the young girls will shove it away as smelling like old ladies. The choice here is to keep them here but they are like the purr of a contented kitten coming from within the soft floral moments. The tuberose is so light I expect many are going to think orange blossom is the central floral note. As I wore it there were moments when I thought the same. The ginger used here is different from how it is usually presented. Most of the time it adds a kinetic presence lifting the notes underneath it. Mme Nagel doesn’t need any lift what she needs is an atypical fruity note which is what the ginger provides it reminds me a bit of the smell of ginger ale. The base is a sandalwood where the sweeter creamy aspects are amplified and dovetail with the creamy nature of the tuberose. It is another intelligent choice.
Twilly D’Hermes has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
I can’t really speak to whether this is going to be appealing to young women. I know I will be watching with interest and I suspect it has a chance to do well with the desired demographic. There doesn’t seem to be anything which should be off-putting to them. From my perspective wearing this during the summertime was ideal. It was a light tuberose floral that wasn’t too strong. The ginger and sandalwood provided pleasant accompaniment to the tuberose. I found it to be the fragrance equivalent of a Twilly scarf; not as rich as a full Hermes scarf but a fun versatile thrilling frill.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample from Hermes.
–Mark Behnke
LOL! I can't decide whether it's 'faint praise' or a breathtakingly direct review of what the marketing brief must've been – and, for what it's worth – I'm fine with either of those! Not every perfume can be Doblis, nor should it be. A perfume for a younger demographic, well-done, is much needed!
xo