Fragrance Review: Hermès – Un Jardin Sur le Nil – A Tea-Scented Library

While I do love citrus colognes and perfumes, it’s fun to find different approaches to fresh summer scents. That is the case of Hermès Un Jardin Sur le Nil, released in 2005 and composed by Jean-Claude Ellena. Instead of lemon groves, clean spas or sunny beaches, this fragrance evokes the also refreshing but less expected scenery of a vegetable garden by the river…

Review

The opening of Un Jardin Sur le Nil features a sparkling, tart citrus grapefruit, which stays around as part of the composition - yet, the focus of this scent is definitely green, and curiously, vegetable.

After the grapefruit makes its entrance, a tangy green mango follows, with hints of fresh, watery-sweet tomato and powdery carrots. A cool breeze of lotus lifts the composition, while earthy bulrush grounds the scent, adding the “soil” component of the vegetable garden. Even if light, this earthyness takes Sur le Nil away from the “ultra-clean” style of fresh fragrances, and adds to the realistic impression of its green character. I also get something sweet from this scent - not sugary, but definitely fruity, maybe from the tomato and mango notes (or the base labdanum?).

And, speaking of the base… it is very soft, with resinous, spicy notes that don’t really stand out to my nose. They do give Sur le Nil a sense of depth and nuance, which I apreciate - but I’ve seen people mention how they get the incense and labdanum in this fragrance, and I really wish I did! Oh, well…

Progression-wise, the opening is a splash of citrus, green and watery notes, fresh and a tad soapy. The middle stage shortly follows, with a fresh, realistic vegetable-green floral impression, and the drydown feels soft - maybe too much so - sweet, and delicately powdery, while still fresh in a lotion-like manner.

The longevity of this fragrance isn’t really stellar, I’m afraid, as Sur le Nil turns into a skin scent before a couple of hours go by, and doesn’t last much more than 4-5 hours on me. Still, this can be different for each person, and the scent itself is so lovely, I might let it get away with the poor(ish) performance.

Fragrance Impressions

Conclusion

Un Jardin Sur le Nil is fresh in an unexpected way, and full of nuance while retaining a delicate sense of transparency. I also love the idea of bottling the non-obvious beauty of a vegetable patch’s scent. Plus, it’s powdery, too, always a plus for me!

The fruity-vegetable notes can be a just tad too sweet and sharp, sometimes, but not always (I guess it depends on my nose’s mood? Lol).

In the end, I really like Un Jardin Sur le Nil‘s beautiful concept, natural aura, and general loveliness. I give it proud 4 stars, and can see it sneaking its way into the wishlist. Unique!