I've just added Hermes's new fourth fragrance from the collection of garden-inspired fragrances Un Jardin, named Un Jardin Sur Le Toit (a very charming, very Hermes name "A Garden on the Roof") to my perfume closet.
The inspiration: The garden on the roof of the Hermès flagship at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. The new unisex fragrance is the fourth in the garden series that already includes Un Jardin en Méditerranée (2003), Un Jardin Sur Le Nil (2005) and Un Jardin Après La Mousson (2008).
Like the others in the series, Jardin Sur Le Toit was developed by Hermès house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, and is sold as a fruity floral. The notes feature apple, pear, rose, green grass, basil, magnolia and ...compost.Review by Bois de Jasmin: "There is something joyful and vivacious about this fragrance. The essentially reads as a crisp, sheer rose on the skin. The first few minutes are all about the effervescence of green and aromatic notes. Then the initial sparkling freshness of basil leaves and grass slowly turns into the juicy impression of a green apple and pear. The fruity accord is rendered as an abstract idea, rather than as the photorealistic fruit salad. I find that its fruity-floral orchestration oscillates between sheer petals and tart fruit flesh--jasmine becomes a green apricot, rose turns into a lychee and violet suggests raspberries. I find it unexciting to wear and lacking the comparatively strong character of the previous Les Jardins. Moreover, as time goes on, Un Jardin sur le Toit loses its charm. While the fragrance gives its wearer a pleasant aura, it is quite ephemeral. After a couple of hours, I cannot detect much on the skin other than a whisper of musk, moss, vetiver and tart fruit. Die-hard fans of Jean-Claude Ellena’s crystalline style will find it lovely."
Review by Now Smell This: "Jardin Sur Le Toit starts out grapefruity-citrusy and sharp — it almost recalls Jardin Sur Le Nil — but only briefly so, then it’s crisp apple and pear with plenty of green. It’s bright and tart, and the green notes add a decent bite. It’s young and spring-like and fresh. The fruit gives way to the flowers: a rosewater and magnolia blend that vaguely recalls Kelly Calèche. The base is a pale gentle musk, more vegetal than animalic, with just the slightest suggestion of warm soil.
In keeping with the rest of the series, it’s a transparent fragrance that lends itself to liberal application, and it’s probably better suited to warm rather than cool weather. I found the lasting power to be just so-so. Do I love it? I do not. I found it quite easy to wear, and there is something cheering about it; it made me smile, but it does not captivate me."
Review by 1000 Fragrances: "Like a poem written on the lightness of clouds, where the fresh colours of an aquarelle are mixed by the wind, Un Jardin sur le Toit speaks about the tender quality of fresh green fruits. The perfume opens with an explosion of green notes where apple and pear are mixed with the odor of grass, lemon and grapefruit. Jean Claude Ellena seized the ephemeral scent of the early spring magnolia flowers with their strange note of decomposing fruits, watery herbs and macerating tea. The sparkling quality of the perfume, after the short transition of the obvious fresh fruits, suggests the quality of champagne and white wine. A delicate litchi note, a bubbling butyric aspect suggesting "lie de vin", the acidic freshness of the pomegranate and delicate rose-violet notes, like those found inside the elder flower, contribute to the unusual effect. I appreciate the early moments of the scent but I would like also that it had more character, and more tenacity on the skin. After less than 2 hours, a generous splash on my skin becomes a very faint odour that could be any Roger & Gallet cologne.
