Hermetica is a new niche house devised by the founders of Memo Paris, John and Clara Molloy. Their fragrances are all green, clean and alcohol free, and apparently provide a moisturising texture on the skin. The scents are a combination of natural and synthetic materials. They’re starting in a big way by releasing 12 fragrances and 1 core fragrance named Source1, which can be found as a base and in varying concentrations in the other 12 scents in the collection. Source1 can be layered with the other scents or used as a stand-alone scent.
I recently purchased a discovery set with the 13 fragrances and will run through each scent in today’s blog post. The 13 scents are divided into 5 categories, Dry Waters, Emerald Stairways, The Door, Vertical Amber and Opening Elixir (Source1).
Dry Waters
Rosefire – A combination of rose absolute, floral violet molecule and davana essence, Rosefire is a sweet, jammy rose with a lipstick / candy like accord, that becomes more nauseating as it goes along. Certainly not my favourite from the collection. There’s a stickiness to the scent, that may become cloying in the warmer weather, so save this one for cooler days. Very long-lasting, if sweet scents are your thing, I get more than 10 hours longevity from Rosefire.
Multilotus – Beautiful, watery, transparent combination of lotus, osmanthus and bergamot. Becomes soapy and green as it moves through its phases. Not as long-lasting as the much heavier Rosefire. Longevity on skin is somewhat lacklustre at 4-6 hours.
Megaflower – A very solid orange blossom scent, with notes of amber and vetiver providing body. The pleasant, fresh, floral opening leading to an earthy dry down perhaps makes this one the “Dry Water” scent that could be the most versatile and worn year-round. Again, though it was quiet on skin, with longevity peaking at about 6 hours.
Emerald Stairways
Jade 888 – Very unusual combination of lily of the valley, ginger and green musk. Jade 888 is green, dew kissed grass with a hint of ginger spice and a damp musk. The musk begins to take over as it goes along, but the top and mid notes make for an interesting scent. 8 hours of longevity, with the opening few hours being the highlight.
Spiceair – Notes of oakmoss, cinnamon and green notes make for an enticing combination. The oakmoss is most prominent, but the cinnamon and green notes make for an intriguing mix, and give the scent an airy, transparent, spicy, fresh cut grass feel. Interesting work, longevity was around 6-8 hours.
Greenlion – Greenlion is a disappointment, the combination of juniper, and herbal notes of basil and rosemary wouldn’t be out of place on the designer shelves. Certainly not worth the asking price. The woody dry down is lacklustre. I didn’t notice any of the cardamom or lily-of-the valley. Mercifully short-lasting at 4-6 hours. Unlikely to offend, but I wanted more.
The Door
Cedarise – Cedarise is a well-balanced, well executed scent featuring notes of vetiver, cedar, cypress, musk and woody notes. Shades of Spiceair with the green airy, earthy cypress opening. The cedar and vetiver are the main notes and come into play more prominently as the scent dry’s down. Rooty, earthy, smoky, green and woody, Cedarise is one of my favourites from the collection. Excellent lasting power at over 8 hours.
Sandalsun – Sandalwood in a gourmand setting, with vanilla, myrrh and hazelnut. A warm, nutty, sweet sandalwood with just enough heaviness to make it appropriate for the cooler months. Doesn’t quite work though for mine. Perhaps it’s the hazelnut note that’s just a touch harsh and scratchy. Still, one for gourmand lovers to check out. Another one of the longer lasting scents at over 8 hours.
Patchoulight – Patchouli and rose with supporting notes of violet, iris and lemon. It won’t win points for originality as there are strong similarities to Frederic Malle’s Portrait of a Lady. Having said that its cheaper and of high enough quality to make it worth checking out. Though, I’m only getting 6 hours of longevity from this one.
Vertical Ambers
Amberbee – Delicious honeyed amber with sweet powdery notes, bergamot adding a touch of freshness and woody notes a backbone and balance. I love the blast of energy in the opening from the honeyed amber. It softens, a little in the dry down, but I’d be happy to relive that opening repeatedly. A very accessible amber fragrance that lasts for over 8 hours on my skin. One of my favourites.
Vaninight – Very nicely done dark vanilla, with jasmine flower and almond supporting notes. A dark leather, with a sweet, smoky amber note adding depth and intrigue. Almond adds a creamy nutty touch. Gets sweeter as it moves through the phases but certainly one worth checking out for vanilla / leather lovers.
Verticaloud – No niche collection would be complete without the requisite oud, and Verticaloud doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. The traditional blend of rose and oud is the main ticket item in Verticaloud A raspberry note provides a fruity touch, and a powdery leather note some depth. Clean, accessible entry-level oud.
Opening Elixir
Source1 – Forms the core of many Hermetica scents. A combination of bergamot, woody notes and amber that can be worn on its own or layered, but to be honest seems a little gimmicky. It isn’t distinctive enough to justify the pricing to wear on its own and I generally don’t layer scents so didn’t try adding to any of the other 12 scents. Moderate lasting power at 6 hours.
Summary
A bit of a mixed bag, but certainly enough quality here to warrant your attention. My favourites from each collection were Megaflower, Spiceair, Cedarise and Amberbee. All the scents are very wearable, but longevity and projection is an issue with many, and at this price range 299AUD for 100ml it might be a sticking point. The scents are available in 50ml and 100ml. They are 100 Euro for the 50ml and 150 Euro for 100ml. However, they do have very nicely curated discovery sets that range from all 13 scents in 1.5ml spray samples for 25 Euros, which can then be used as credit to buy a full bottle if you happen to like a scent or smaller 4 x 1.5ml samples from each category. I’d be surprised if you didn’t enjoy at least a couple of scents from the collection.
Have you tried Hermetica? If so, what did you think of them? Did you layer any with Source1?