Hermessence Poivre Samarcande Hermes for women and men

Great cuir notes well blended with spice, wood and smoke notes. Waw. Thanks Ellena!

An understated fragrance of pepper and a spicy wood. You love it when you first apply it. Then an hour later you wonder if it is there. Trust me it is there. I put it on after the morning shower, went to work. I thought it was gone by 11am. I went outside to my car for lunch, and suddenly I smelled the fragrance envelope me again. At the restaurant the server said, "you smell very nice, it smells expensive, what is it?" I go home at the end of the day and my wife says, wow! do you smell good, what is that? Gee, do I need to say anything more?

Hermessence POIVRE SAMARCANDE offers to my nose in undulating waves a very fine Assam tea scent which morphs into a light incense scent ever so often, along with short excursions through a dark forest in between. The pepper is low-key and serves more to darken the composition than to spice it up. I find the overall effect unexpectedly complex, and very beautiful, albeit subtly so.

Although some have complained about poor longevity, POIVRE SAMARCANDE apparently likes me, for it clings well to my skin, and I am able to smell it for several hours. It is very low sillage, though, and definitely not a big statement maker. I do think that, all things considered, the overall effect of POIVRE SAMARCANDE is more that of a black tea than a woody fragrance.

It occurs to me that almost the entire Hermessence line wears like underwear. Only a select few people will ever know if you are wearing any and those that do won't see you in them for long. Poivre Samarcande is no exception.

On my skin, Poivre is a really dark and interesting blend of black pepper, baies roses and charred wood. On first spray it is easy to imagine you are a dark skinned Indian courtesan perched on a pillow. Or maybe a black garbed Parisian dodging traffic, roasted marrons in hand.

Too bad then that sillage is nonexistant and staying power is less than an hour— it wears close to the skin like tasteful black lingerie, for better or worse. And like that pretty black teddy crumpled at the foot or your bed, it is ridiculously overpriced.

Poivre Samarcande is a bit like watered-down Terre Hermes.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice scent... but about 100 euros overpriced. Me thinks Hermes wanted to make an exclusive line for its uber-wealthy clients when it created the Hermessence Collection.

Skin! If skin had a perfumed scent this is what I imagine it would smell like. Smooth, soft, warm comfort. For me I smell the caraway the most, with subtle woods.
Great for men and women. Skin scent, with great lasting power.

one of my favorites...just sort of sneaks up on you, a very discrete surprisingly more masculine to me.too bad it is so pricy..when you are spending this type of coin for a fragrance there are lots to choose from, but always a compliment getter for me.

The best one (next to Vetiver Tonka) from the Hermessence collection. Cant get everyone to stop asking what im wearing or that I smell sexy! :) worth the price!

I have it, I like it but it really is more of a masculine. Similar to Voyage D'Hermes with a STRONG dose of black pepper.

Yay, pepper! AH... AH... ACHOO!

Sorry, damn pepper makin' me sneeze. If you like DRY, black pepper that you sprinkle on your eggs and steak, then here's your true calling. Pepper heaven.

Got a sample from the extremely generous greenfaerie in a swap of Mandragore for Fracas (just love Fracas)

Anyway, I dabbed a little on.....waited...and it Really bloomed into something unexpectedly wonderful in the warm weather. Pepper, spices, yes...but I got the creamiest incense out of it as well (refined, non-churchy incense) and the scent wafts closely to the skin but is very warming and sensual. I LOVE it. This one is more refined that the heavier frags I usually go for.

Thanks Greenfaerie!

Poivre Samarcande's opening with pungent spicy pepper and woods brings to my mind of countless perfumes I smelled in the past 10 years. It's pleasant but lacks in personality. Same story for the drydown that is surely refined but still not so interesting for me. HPS is a nice scent, no more, no less. It could be enough if just half priced and composed by some anonimous perfumeur, but it costs 200 bucks and it's by JC Ellena. Unacceptable.

A good option could be to include it the travel set available at a cheaper price with 4x15ml vials at your choice form the hermessence range.

Rating: 6.5/10

i hear a lot about this being a more masculine scent, but it makes me feel very feminine (not to say it wouldn't smell great on a man though...)! I love to dab just a tiny bit on my wrist in the summer when it's really hot, it smells amazing then!! During winter, i wear it layered with havana vanille. It might sound weird, but you have to try it, it's amazing (well, i like it anyway...)If you do, let me know what you think about it!!

Burning pepper softened by mellow wood.Green,fiery pepper,hint of chili,enveloping woods(oak and cedar).The best seller from Hermessence Collection since 2004.

Poivre Samarcande is by far my second favorite of this line until today (the first will always be the gorgeous gourmand that is Ambre Narguile). The first minutes on skin are a blast of a dry, salty, peppery aroma, without the animalic touch that some peppers have, as Cologneist mentioned above. Them, the fragrance seems to fade to a cedar and musky base, masculine, simple, not so strong, but not so shy on me too. What impresses me is something like a subtle green note, slightly green, milky, tea-ish, which reminds me of the smell of mate tea before you boil it. It fits perfectly the minimalistc aesthetic of the line, and maybe this will make some think it`s not so good or not so worthy the price. I like how the elements are perfectly juxtaposed to produce a true peppery wood fragrance. This is something that i`d wear daily for work, that would please me without bothering anyone.

One of my favorite evening scents to wear. I've found myself layering a lot of JCE's fragrances and the outcomes are very pleasant. I can definitely smell the peppered notes in addition to a leathery-"something." Great sillage.

Ingenious interpretation of understatement. The scent is rather linear, but its subtle trail lasts a long time. Be careful, however. Its strength cannot be increased by spraying more of this scent. I think there are "olfactory blockers" in the scent, so if you spray more, you won't smell the scent at all! Less is more in this case.

All I get is a sort of peppery wood scent. It's okay, but there's not a lot of layering on me and the complexity is lost. For a brief moment, my interest was peaked by something approaching chili or cumin, but it faded down under the peppery wood. Not bad, but not something I would wear.

Drydown is very similar to L´Artisan Timbuktu.

The Sensuous pepper of Poivre Samarcande it gets entirely lost on me, from the smidge of caraway and the green peppercorn faint scent, a smooth and earthy affair, that had to be more dense for beeing really enjoyable. Another Jean-Claude Ellena dissapearing act!

This is a great composition.Spicy and woody.I love it very much.