Les Colognes Hermes Eau de Gentiane Blanche Hermes for women and men

This stuff smells worse than a hamster corpse being gently caressed by a pair of moist unwiped ass cheeks. To say the least.
Smells like gasoline being poured over potting soil with sulfur. This fragrance smells absolutely offensive.

Does anyone know how one can add notes to the ones offered for evaluation on Fragrantica? For me this perfume has very pronounced notes of carrot seed and raw coffee been, angelica, litsea, curry leaf and possibly carraway and pepper, all of them much more pronounced than orris. I would like to put them out for evaluation to see what others think. I know many would disagree as this has the tendency to register different to anyone. I've had people swear they detect notes that range from detergent to chinese soup. Anyway, it is most certainly an amazing opus, deceptively simple. One way of describing it would be "iridescent soil".
I would love it even more if it had less musk in it but still easily the best mainstream out there as is

Les Colognes Hermes Eau de Gentiane Blanche shocked me, after reading the listed notes I was expecting something quite different. Either way it smells wonderfully earthy, and reminds me very much of the smell received when you tare apart an iris stalk or fan, more so than the flower itself. I am not familiar with gentiana and maybe that is the strong grass like note that I am smelling. Very natural, slightly sweet, crisp, but dark green.
Moderate sillage, and good lasting power.

Gentiane Blache is a truly interesting fragrance. It is a cologne, fresh and refreshing, with no citrus. It is clean laundry, mown grass and clover, and the scent of the spray a bell pepper gives when you split it open. It is summer and clean and layers of green.

I really want to love GB, and at first I do. But after thirty minutes on my skin I just don't want to smell it any more. Like eating too much candy as a kid, I feel I'll be sick if I smell it again any time soon.

I gave my sample to my wife who wears it occasionally. And every time she does, I fall in love again for thirty minutes, then ask her to wash it off.

I am just totally blew away by this masterpiece and it is worthy to buy.


The combination of iris,incense and gentiana is unique,magical but harmonious.It makes me feel relieved that I NEVER expected and the longevity is also amazing for a colongne(Apparently it will last longer if you spray it on your clothes than spray it on your skin).
Actually, the root and flowers of gentiana(It is called “龙胆”in China) are very essential and vital chinese medicine but I never consider it as an ingredient of a perfume.Maybe that's the reason why it is so attractive and complex.


A little opaue problem about it is that afer I sprayed it on my clothes for 3 hours I smelled something like a mixure of mint and chewing gum and it became much sweeter than before.But overall it is a best choice for all the seasons to wear.I highly recommend it.极力推荐！

I would classify this as an esoteric perfume. It's inspiration, the Gentiana flower, is not one I am familiar with, and I doubt most others would recognize it either. My only association with this scent would be vague recollections of wild flowers, grasses and herbs.

Described enigmatically as an "irreverant take on the Cologne style," I imagine it would probably only reveal it's deepest secrets to someone well versed in the history of perfumery, which I am certainly not.

But nevertheless, this perfume has given me a great deal of pleasure. I find myself continually drawn to it, fascinated by it's dark green beauty. It's not a "sensual" perfume. Rather, it seems to stimulate me intellectually, with a verdant clarity.

I don't think most others would enjoy it on me. It doesn't have that sudden burst of light and glory that the perfumes of the Jardin series have. But it does provide the subtle and uniquely personal satisfaction of sharing a small piece of the Jean Claude Elenna's genius.

Personnellement je l’aime beaucoup, elle est délicate et distinguée. Son apparente discrétion cache une ténacité étonnante, et on se surprend à sentir cette eau longtemps après la pulvérisation. Il faut aimer l’amertume et la simplicité. Je la classerais volontiers parmi les eaux "propres", sans en avoir les inconvénients ( elle a du caractère !). Pour celui qui veut se ressourcer, loin des trucs tapageurs et branchés, revenir aux sources d’un monde un peu minéral, semé ici et là de plantes dont le vent et le soleil de montagne libèrent les arômes...
8.5 /10

polished sophisticated elegant..Ellena is one of my favorite artist
where I live the picking of gentiana is prohibit but I remember this excepional smell from my trip
anyway..
It smells like rounded gentiana fresh and bitter: a mountain flower sour
this frag to me talk about the Alps and long trip around these
It seems wearable although Ellena used unusual raw materials
I love this way to build parfumes
niche choice,niche parfum


9.5/10

maybe a far cousin of dzongkha..

This one definitely deserves testing!
Not like any other already known freshness in the perfume industry (in my experience, that is.. :)
Gentiane Blanche is a bit of a niche scent and absolutely well wearable.
I love it, both for its originality and its quiet-go-lucky vibe.
Well done, 8/10!!

It's a strange scent without any citrus and if you want a special , interesting perfume choose this one.
I can say Gentiane is a surreal composition as the color of the bottle suggests (first time I sprayed it I immediately thought of Dali's paintings and the movie The Crow with legendary Brandon Lee...they are beautyful but make me sad...)

Eau de Gentiane is very earthy (still clean) which part is common with Un Jardin Sur le Nil but it's not been smoothed with fruits and vegetables or light flowers.
Perhaps only iris (I have never smelt real encian ) there is here which lighten a bit this unusual scent.
I can't smell any sweetness in it...but it's mystical and enigmatic.
Almost transcendental...
I always detect something undefined "swamp or seaweed-like" in the background of Gentiane.
You have to know this scent is not a "happy-feel-good" fragrance.
It's not for any occasion...
But I love it,that's sure :)

Ohh and I think Gentiane so masculine (on my skin) that I wouldn't take it to unisex category.
But I know everyone's skin is different...

Esto no es un perfume.
Es un fatal experimento fallido.
Un ambientador para farmacias.
J.C. Ellena nos esta tomando el pelo.

To answer teedee - the gentians are a family of wild, flowering plants. I only know the yellow gentian (a very tall plant) which grows all over the European Alps and Jura mountains, and which is used in herbal medecine; and the tiny, blue gentian which is such a delight to find in little clusters when you are walking in the Alps in summer. I have never, knowingly, come across a white gentian. The yellow and the blue do not have perfumed flowers, so it is perhaps the root that is used in perfumery. I would verymuch like to try this scent from Hermes.

One day I'll buy it without doubt, without test again.
I think it cleans the world! It's cleanest perfume I've ever sniffed. So pity that its longevity is super weak.
I don't know if its perfect smell is from encian -which color is my favorite blue- or not, so must check the incense. But it's an absolute springy aromatic odor.
I've smelt it once but definitely I'll buy it. Wish its longevity... ah! Everything has a weak point.

Eau de Gentiane Blanche requires a lot of getting used to. It's not what you might expect. In fact I'd go so far to say that it's one of Jean-Claude Ellena's most unique compositions.

I initially wanted to test this fragrance because the blend of iris and incense intrigued me. Well, there are hardly any floral notes in this fragrance, let alone iris. Apparently the gentian flower gives off a strong odour of wet earth, and I must say that Eau de Gentiane Blanche does smell very earthy and vegetal.

The smokiness created by the incense note is really fascinating alongside the strange, wet earth smell. When I first applied this fragrance to my skin, I was left wondering why on earth I thought that wearing this would be a good idea. It smelt like celery and homemade vegetable soup, not particularly what I wished to smell like.

I stuck with it, determined not to scrub it off, and eventually I began to respect it. The strong earthiness dimished slightly and the scent became a touch powdery, with a distinguishable calamine lotion scent. At this point I was enjoying wearing something so alien and odd.

Supposedly Eau de Gentiane Blanche is a cologne, yet this fragrance is lasting so well on my skin, almost like that of an EDP. The sillage is rather good too. I sprayed it lightly on my wrist and then read one of my favourite books. I kept getting this beautiful waft everytime I turned a page.

All in all, Eau de Gentiane Blanche is perhaps more masculine than feminine, however wearing it myself didn't make me feel like questioning my gender. It's a strange scent that will either repulse or captivate its wearers and the people around you. I'm glad that I gave this fragrance a chance.

My favorite fall fragrance.
Also it reminds me 2009 xmas i spent in Deutschland.
Fits to wear in a journey, IMO.
Very special, but i like compositions made by Jean Paul Ellena. They are like little stories written by different scents about main one.

I really like the fragrance however it only lasts for thirty minutes on my skin.doesn't last long enough to buy.

I wanted to like this one, as I love almost everything Jean Claude Ellena has done, but it just doesn't work on my skin. The drydown is a salty musk with an oily quality like unwashed hair that skank lovers may enjoy, but I wasn't a fan.

testing this scent was full of pleasant surprises.

First of all, good for me, I dont know what does the name of the perfume means. I dont have any idea what is 'gentiane'.

It starts abit strange on me: mix of earthy something. The scent was so familiar, yet I couldnt recall the name. And so it went by and reveals more aromatic side of itself...Soft sweet earthy cologne with hint of woods. that accord in the beginning comes and goes very faintly. i smelled hint of wet moss and it all rounded with soft musk

I totally enjoy this scent. Only when I reached home i remember... Gentiane blance has somewhat slightly similar top notes with Hiris!

One thing...this is a cologne, so it doesnt last very long. May be it is a good thing...as I can re-apply and enjoy the whole experience as many times without worrying of overdose :D

hm...not so good for my wallet thou...as with most Hermes fragrances, they are lovely and price is...ahem... not the most economical fragrance around.

It works perfectly on my skin and I am a woman...;) But it is definitely a scent for summer. With the sun on your skin, it develops into a bitter-herbaceous scent of a medow in the Alps.

This is definitely a masculine scent; despite the unisex designation. It is an earthly scent with musky green undertones.
Sophisticated in it's simplicity, this scent will call to those who are confident in their skin.

Am I the only one here who cannot understand the beauty of this perfume?

To me it smells like cooked vegetables...Like you've been cooking and your clothes smell like...

...artichokes actually!

i looove it!! it smells wonderful! i think this one is deffinitely male parfume. i would never wear it, but i would love my fiancee to smell Eau de Gentiane Blanche !

love the clean musk. frankly this is probably my fave winter scent i will always use.

This scent makes me feel so good. There is a slight reminiscence to the original Orange-Verte, but this scent created by Jean-Claude Ellena is another exercise on understatement.

Citrus and green in the beginning, that warms slightly to cedar and incense like notes. I haven't smelled the Gentiane flower before, but really there isn't anything floral about this scent.

Longevity is about 4 hours on me as a very subtle scent, but most of its strength is gone after the first hour.

I love this scent a lot. It gives off an air of sophistication and understated luxury. An expensive eau de cologne at $125USD, but I would think it a wiser buy if it was an Eau de Toilette at the same price.

Very nice, bitter and fresh and elegant and so on... but also very musky like good quality white musks like ethylene brassylate, ambretolide or something else
More interesting and novel than the pamplemousse rose in my opinion. See rose ikebana or terre from the same brand with very similar grapefruit notes

I love this. My skin is hospitable to many of JCE's minimalism masterpieces.

A PARADOX-gentiane blanche begins and ends with a sweet slightly powdery note. Its a transparant, layered iris, no gentian (which is very astringent in its pure form.)the sweetness and creaminess of orris lingers, with earthy nuances playing peek aboo.


Which critic claims there is no such thing as individual chemistry?

Interesting! Green and earthy right from the start, no citrus. A bit aggressive at first, but then the flower notes start to develop and the fragrance becomes much lighter and more transparent. The earthy note disappears fairly quickly, too. The musk is kept very light and all in all, this makes for a very elegant heart. I also seem to get an aniseed note, which I find very enjoyable. Well-made, original and, I think, worth trying...