Parfum des Merveilles Hermes for women

I just added this to my collection and I am loving it already. If you love the dark chypre nature of Elixir des Merveilles, you're going to love this even more. Of the line, this is the most straight forward. It is certainly a chypre: it opens with the Merveilles orange-ozonic accord then transitions quickly to an orange-amber-patchouli heart. To my nose the dry down is absolutely laden with smooth, clean, well blended patchouli, oakmoss and peru balsam.

IMO this is absolutely gorgeous!

Sillage: 9 feet
Longevity: 8 hours
100% Unisex/Genderless
Overall rating and feel: 10/10 but patchouli and oakmoss haters beware: this is not for you. If you don't love either Eau des Merveilles or Elixir des Merveilles don't bother with this. If you love both, get yourself a sample and try it out because I'm officially going into hoarding mode....NOW! :p

I checked the Hermes hompage and i found this specific bottle listed as pure perfume pendant with refill, but still named as Eau des, not Parfum des - hm, so, which is it, i'm somewhat perplexed, can sombody help ? Thanx !

Parfum des Merveilles (Extrait).

Even if several accords (most of them) folow the Eau des Merveilles structure (they were the two first on the Merveilles line), this second scent by the House is not only deeper, richer, and darker, but less "sparkling" and for that more elegant and yet sweeter including cognac, more amber and warmer woods (exotical tears of Siam, davana, extraict of oak tree) with a hint of vanilla, and even so, it is less sharp but much more earthy with the higher presence of rich patchouli, well balanced with the several citrus notes, perceptible as a whole (like most of pure parfum are) with the orris root, vetiver and floral chords (not listed).

Is (surprise!) much easily to understand and wear than the EDP and the EDT, since the incense is predominant in the first one and the spicy with the accords upside-down in the second one always represent a challenge to our sense of smell. In this one, we have the richness of the original woods, plus more subltle citrus chords of the "flanker", optimal longevity on skin and sillage, a true feminine scent.

Review for 2011 extrait.

Merveilles collection is a masterpiece for me. Each of the fragrances depict a different forest.

Parfum des Merveilles is a mountain forest that you encounter in Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic.
Beside it, normal life goes on. People ski, relax and have fun. But try to make a few steps behind the line of the forest and you will find yourself in a different world. The silence is dense, overwhelming. The snowflakes fall noiselessly. The trees are very straight and tall like pillars, stern, and at the same time - safe. You touch the bark with your cheek, you feel so alive and peaceful. A moment later you feel oddly. Is someone watching you? You make a few steps back, back to life.

Parfum des Merveilles is more similar to Elixir than Elixir to Eau. Oriental, oriental-wwody.

I smell loads of patchouli and amber. I don't know how should peru balsam smell ... but I guess this is the ingredient that makes the scent rounded, warm and ... vanillic? The composition is woody and a bit sweet. Very deep, rich, luxurious, you just dive into it. Lacks citrus notes, but I don't miss them here. It's more bitter and dusty than Elixir.
Transports me to a different dimension.

Definitely not an everyday scent. I actually prefer to smell it from the vial then to smell of it ...
Really difficult to describe, it gives me so many emotions! But I did my best.
The staying power is of course amazing.

One member wrote in the review of Elixir that Hermes chooses its mistresses. Am I conceited to say that I feel one of them?

Big thanks to a lovely member who send me a sample of this perfume ...