Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Hermès Kelly Calèche



Every once in a while, a fragrance sneaks up on me very slowly, very quietly, very subtley and in one fell swoop, one breathless moment of clarity my sensibilities progress from moderate interest to full-blown infatuation. Hermès Kelly Calèche is one of those fragrances. Its release eluded my radar this past summer. When I came upon the atomizer sample in my Sniffapalooza goodie bag just a few weeks ago, I thought, "Hm. Maybe I will like this a little. I have enjoyed Hermès fragrances in the past but have no true loves. Eh. I'll sample tomorrow." So began the slow, quiet and subtle process. Eventually I did sample and that day I experienced the enjoyment to which I alluded, but nothing more. Interestingly, I sampled again the next day. And the next. And the next. That fourth day was when Hermès Kelly Calèche truly inspired me. I finally "got it" - the raison d'être for the fragrance. I had no specific knowledge of the reason, or even the perfumer. I just knew. And I was captivated.

Hermès Kelly Calèche was created by master nose Jean Claude Ellena in honor of Grace Kelly. Her image of iconic style which ultimately inspired the Hermès bag has also inspired this fragrance, in beautiful stacked fashion - the woman inspires the bag inspires the fragrance. He was also inspired by a book called Jean Le Bleu by Jean Giono. It is in knowing these details that the wearer can experience what I did on that fourth day. It was as if I had stuck my nose to the bottom of a very soft leather bag (and for our purposes it is an Hermès). Lingering on the soft leather are very subtle remnants of a beautiful ladies' perfume, a soft floral, perhaps a Chanel. In addition to the perfume remnants there is the smell of lipstick and the scent of the woman who carries the bag. This luxurious combination compels my nose to inhale it over and over on my skin and it leaves a very soft, beautiful trail behind me for others to take notice as well.

I wholeheartedly agree with Robin's break down of the notes here, so rather than repeat what has already so eloquently been said, I will remain quiet on those. This scent is an experience to me. And it is one that I do not want to forget. Hermès Kelly Calèche is so beautiful, so subtly floral, with a smattering of notes that elude to very soft, expensive leather that I would love to wear it to work. For night time I might layer it with a more seductive leather fragrance to multiply that aspect. Santa, if you are reading I would love a full bottle of this delightful, beautiful and exclusive fragrance.


Hermès Kelly Calèche is available at department stores such as Neiman Marcus. A 50mL retails for $75 and 100mL bottle retails for $110.

Ad for Hermès Kelly Calèche courtesy of mimifroufrou.com. Image of Grace Kelly courtesy of google.

4 comments:

chayaruchama said...

Kelly Caleche is great with your skin chemistry, I'm not surprised !

It doesn't like me, goes sour and strident-
But classic Caleche and I are very friendly !

More for YOU, my dear...
Kisses !

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Yup. All those white flowers just love me. Classic Caleche doesn't work for me (too chypre) so at least each of us has an Hermes to call our own!

Kisses to you!

Perfumeshrine said...

I really found this one very pretty and said so. It is grossly underrated, mainly because it was advertised as a leather, when in fact it is a floral (and a very elegant one at that) with just a slight hint of leather in there.

I predict it will be fully appreciated by perfume circles in 3-5 years' time.

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Interesting prediction Helg! I agree, the leather is not prominent and the florals are truly gorgeous. The advertisement is WAY misleading. That whip, the boots, the leather pants does not personify the fragrance at all. Grace Kelly carrying an Hermes bag does. :-)