Melted menthol pastil covers roses and Patchouli One perfume more which was a random sample for me and I didn't know anything about it before trying it for the first time. Because of that it surprised me with the powerful opening and the overall feeling of uniqueness which, however, subsided a bit after a few wearings. The reason why it's so unique to me is, that this kind of scent profile is not for me and therefore I haven't tried so much perfumes in that category. The only perfume which I love so much and which has menthol like feeling is Figment Woman by Amouage but it's nothing like this though. When I spray the scent immediate cool and fresh menthol like feeling fills my scent receptors and it makes me curious as to how the scent will develop. It truly feels like I have Vicks VapoRub under my nose and that scent is not for everyone for sure. I'm thinking all the time that product, not some fancy perfume. After it settles a little bit down it's easier to understand that the green, a little bit mint like fruity scent is created by Blackcurrant buds and it just comes out so strong because of the Ambroxan and Galbanum which boosts a bitter green nuances in it. Other than menthol as a creator of a unique feeling this is Rose Patchouli scent pumped full of Ambroxan and that's why all the notes lives longer. Personally I tend to dislike fragrances which has that or other similar aroma chemicals but here its characteristic smell is well hidden under the menthol aroma and earthy Frankincense. It's not so much woody nor ambery here either. Rose is not so realistic like is not Patchouli but the combination is enjoyable and it differs how it's done in so many perfumes. One note which I see for the first time is Geosmin (GSM) which is a molecule which can be found for example in drinking water and it has earthy and musty odour. All accords which are relevant imo: spicy, synthetic, fresh, woody, floral, but especially the "fresh" accord has its own meaning in this fragrance thanks to the menthol. The scent is quite linear as well because all the notes support that association. If you love a lot that scent or feeling this perfume is definitely for you. Honestly I don't have any idea where people get "aquatic" and "Amber" has to be one because people see the note Ambroxan. Anyway the scent doesn't have characteristics of Amber, at least on my skin. Thank you for reading, I hope you liked my review. I would appreciate if you follow my IG: @ninamariah_perfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗
Opens as a lovely peppery rose, and dries into a woody acquatic floral. A very light damp earthy Petrichor supports.
After some hours the darkness of the aquatic settles and the rose appears again.
Lovely scent, akin to a lighter ADP with more floral.
The overall profile of Hermann is deeply up my alley: damp earth with green elements (galbanum, black currant, vetiver), an unusual rose oil, incense, and a mysterious sheer, glassy, watery quality that’s obviously synthetic and hard to describe. Like a lot of ELdO scents, it’s challenging and paradoxical: it smells simultaneously very natural, even dirty (wet soil, decaying leaves, crushed and wilted rose petals) and like a strong “fresh”-scented soap (Ivory or Irish Spring). The rain accord reminds me strongly of the patchouli-heavy mirrored wateriness of Le Labo's Baie 19 (which I love), though without the juniper, and also of Perfumer H’s Rain Wood (and even a little bit of their Ink, since Lyn Harris loves to lace a touch of rose into her green and woody fragrances). Jorum’s Rose Highland is a similarly sharp, salty rose—herbal, rocky, marine, very masculine and redolent of chilly wind and cliffside herbs. And Aesop’s Rozu, which is supposed to embody the whole life cycle of the rose, from soil to bloom to decay, is probably the closest analogue I can think of. But Aesop, Jorum, and Perfumer H all feel very natural and organic and Hermann is much weirder, using synthetics (like Pepperwood and Geosmin) in a deliberately provocative way; rather than evoking mystery through meditative quietude, it achieves mystery by confusing your senses. (I think Baie 19 does something similar, though it’s more restrained). There are facets of this that I find really off-putting—I think one of them might be the aquatic Calypsone note, though I’ve never smelled that chemical before, so who knows—but I find 80% of the scent intoxicating. It feels polarizing to me, partly because it’s also pretty strong and definitely projects, but it also perfectly hits a mood that I love: shadowy, poetic, and enigmatic, green and earthy combined with sheer and ghostly. It’s both melancholy and mischievous. At the end of the day, I think I prefer a more natural, subdued version of this, but I appreciate that Hermann provides a thrill (and it has great longevity). Will definitely be getting use out of my sample.
Maybe it's my nose, I think it is, but when a perfume contains ambroxide, I can't usually get past it, with one or two exceptions. Sadly this falls into the broader category of aggressive ambroxide nightmares. I can see why it might appeal, and it's certainly less obnoxious than Sauvage, but it has the heacachey, chemical mire I've come to detest in designer and niche fragrances alike.
Just to say I think the reviewer below was smelling something different to me, I get no rose or patchouli in here? I'm a fan of Ambroxan for the record, although obvious and seemingly flavour of the month at the moment, it's a versatile base for fragrances to go in any direction. It can be clean and masculine, the base for a citrus/aquatic (as it is here) or even warming, underneath more oriental notes. I'm also a fan of ELDO because of the quirk they seem to get into most of their creations, but in all honesty, this is less unique. Herman opens with a big clean fruity/floral vibe and a generic aquatic type feel. It's kinda exaggerated in the opening which is obviously what the house were going for but I'm afraid after that it's a little flat, fading back to a nice fresh skin scent. Personally I like it, My girlfriend liked it too, commenting that it's something she would wear, rather than me and I think she's right there. It seems to last okay but very low in the mix, which after quite a loud and pronounced opening, seems disappointing but perhaps isn't? The thing with ELDO fragrances is that there's always a jarring note or a twist in the tale and unfortunately, I was waiting and it just didn't come. I'm still somehow satisfied with Herman...in it's rawest essence I like the smell...simple.
Futuristic, masculine cold damp earth and rose done in a clean, modern way.
A bit peppery with a little synthetic sweetness in the opening. Quickly a slight grayish, mineralic, damp earthiness appears, casting a kind of veil over a fairly prominent rose and a cold, slightly plasticky incense note in the mid. A synthesized patchouli derivative woody base with ambroxan. This is a fairly linear scent with many interesting aroma chemicals and futuristic synthetics.