distillation in the 1500s via wiki
“Hermetica is a collection of molecular fragrances inspired by the ancient practice of alchemy, which sought to transform basic metals into precious materials and to find the ultimate elixir of life.” ~ HERMETICA website
Wegreenourworld.com
One finds, these days – that it’s not always Easy Being Green. Just ask John and Clara Molloy, the founders of Memo Paris, whose love of discovery and wanderlust has recently led them into new olfactory territory: collaboration with the celebrated global producer of fragrance and flavor Symrise. They have employed perfumer Aliénor Massenet of IFF (Mme. Massenet created all the fragrances in their Memo Paris line) once again in the creation of their latest endeavor, Hermetica – a line of eaux de parfums intended to be clean, green, alcohol-free, moisturizing, refillable, long-lasting and cruelty free, combining both synthetic molecules and natural components, among other things.
Codex via Hermetica
The Prima Materia (as Hermetica refers to it) is a base accord named Source¹ described as a citrus oriental which includes bergamot, dry amber molecules (best supposition would be Ambrocenide, listed in Hermetica’s Codex) and fresh wood (referred to as Driftwood at Sea in Codex). Source¹ is also sold as an eau de parfum all by itself. It’s a form of olfactive leitmotiv which underlines all fragrances in the line and is Very Potent. Soyons bref – you will recognize its presence in each of Hermetica’s 12 scents; consider it Hermetica’s signature DNA. Transparency has been known to take the form of ruse, serving to obfuscate rather than enlighten. Not so here: to its considerable credit, Hermetica provides a user-friendly “Codex” which enables anyone to determine what’s in a particular scent in a single click. Now that’s transparent.
Rainforest Huaorani tribe girl Getty Images
Hermetica Jade 888 seeks to evoke the Amazon rainforest – lush, dense, moist, exotic. It opens with a brilliant surge of blinding bergamot accompanied by florals which conjure fresh vegetation skewed sweet – lily of the valley and violet. A lovely ginger CO2 extract accents them, imbuing crisp piquancy and tonic effect. All of this is charming; I wish it continued apiece with this lilting tone. Hermetica Jade 888 moves rapidly to a pronounced tenacious woody/amber base which veers towards the aquatic. Although tendrils of greenly floral notes still hover, delicately poised – that which lingers feels relatively synthetic to my nose. Please bear in mind that you may not find it so. I have noted that this particular sort of base is very much loved and has been utilized by many perfumers of late, so much so that it seems like a trend – clearly it is popular, and I am probably in the minority. Jade 888 is a well-executed perfume, long-lasting and as moisturizing as it claims: when you apply it your skin feels silkier, smoother than it was pre-spritz. Its packaging is brilliant; the gilded cylinder peppered with dots somewhat resembles the smart speaker Amazon Echo Plus (if it were in gold). The flacon within is colored vivid stained-glass-window emerald green: tall, columnar and impossibly elegant, crowned with a heavy gold cap. The whole thing is just plain gorgeous. Both the Memo Paris and Hermetica collections bear the imprint of Clara and John Molloy’s vision as interpreted by Mme. Massenet: one smells it from the get-go.
Key Notes: Ginger Extract CO2, Lily of the Valley Molecule, and Green Musk Molecule.
Many thanks to Europerfumes the US Distributor of Hermetica for my tester! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor
~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief with Ida
Hermetica Jade 888 via Hermetica
Thanks to the kindness of Europerfumes we have a 100 ml tester bottle of Hermetica Jade 888 for one registered reader in the US only. You must be registered here. To be eligible, please tell us what appealed to you about Ida’s review of Hermetica Jade 888 and if you are familiar with Hermetica perfumes. Draw closes 3/29/2019
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