I am a big fan of Jean-Claude Ellena. If I organize my fragrances by nose his fragrances represent by far a plurality, maybe even a majority. I've been less fond of his recent perfumes, though, perhaps because he has reached a stage in his career where his work consists on tight variations on a single theme, namely a particular (and very good) vegetal/mineralic theme in a stripped-down key. For better or worse, two of his recent works for Hermes are again a return to this theme.
Un Jardin Sur Le Toit is the newest in the Jardin series. It is a good fragrance, no question, but if you have any of the others this will not be new to you: swap out the mango in Jardin Sur Le Nil for bright, tart apple and et voila. If you're unfamiliar with the series then this is as good a place to start as any but I can't say this evokes strong emotions. The danger of Ellena's brand of stripped-down directness is that it can sacrifice beauty for simplicity. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but at a certain point one wants more to eat than just a well-plated appetizer.
Jour d'Hermes fares better. It's a feminine fragrance in the modern style which Ellena himself had a big part in creating: limpid and serene, the floral equivalent of a freshly scrubbed face with no adornment. The notes are seamlessly blended; individual flowers can't be discerned. On the floral fragrance axis with soliflores on one end, Jour d'Hermes defines the opposite end. Ellena's vegetal base again makes a welcome appearance here. How much one likes this will be a matter of taste: if you prefer Ellena's style to the bolder florals of classic French perfumery then you most certainly will want this. As for me, I like my florals to be grander, along the lines of Amouage's massive Honour Woman; but I certainly wouldn't turn it down if someone gave me a bottle of Jour d'Hermes.
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