Proof that only good things can come from stepping foot inside Hermes, I was at their Fifth Avenue men’s store here in NYC, waiting for the elevator since I was lugging around a 2.5kg Jo Malone candle (bought earlier in the day to perk up my mother!), when I caught a whiff of a vegetal, but somehow sweet fragrance. It was as distinctive as it sounds so I had to ask the woman about it and she told me that she was wearing Un Jardin Sur Le Toit from Hermes. I wasn’t familiar with it so after checking out the John Lobb shoes on display on the fifth floor (the bespoke shoe line owned by Hermes), I headed across the street to get another whiff of Un Jardin Sur Le Toit.
Turns out the woman was ahead of the game because the fragrance (unisex), hadn’t even officially launched yet! It’s the fourth fragrance from their collection of garden-inspired scents and as the name suggests it was inspired by the garden on the roof of Hermes’ 24 Rue Faubourg Saint-Honore headquarters in Paris. The garden has herbs, flowers, and fruits, which explains the sweet, vegetal impression I was left with. How awesome is the packaging? It reminds me of the drawings in the “Le Petit Nicolas” series of books which, by the way, if anyone is trying to get their children to take an interest in French, I highly recommend! I’m also relating to the scent on a personal level because my boyfriend and I are looking for a new apartment and his number one “must” is one with a private garden or terrace so he can grow herbs/vegetables (he’s from California…). I’m guessing finding such a garden in Paris must be as much of a challenge as finding one here in NYC!
The scent is now in Hermes stores and should be online any day. The 3.3 oz eau de toilette bottle is $125 and the 1.7 oz bottle is $90.