Featured Fragrance Review: Un Jardin Apres La Mousson

I'll admit it, I am a huge Jean Claude Ellena groupie/fangirl. He is one of my very favorite perfumers. He can usually do no wrong by me. I have never tried a fragrance created by this man that I did not like, some maybe more than others but I have never disliked anything his hands have touched.

Un Jardin Apres La Mousson is the third in a series created by Mr Ellena for Hermes featuring a garden theme. The first fragrance was "Un Jardin En Mediterranee" released in 2003, the second was "Un Jardin Sur La Nil" released in 2005, and this is the latest release. It came out last spring, 2008. It is described on the Hermes website as "a serene expression of nature's rebirth after the rain, somewhere in India. A vegetal, floral, spicy eau de toilette." The very name can be translated to "A garden after the rain". Nice concept right? I'll admit, it really appealed to me on reading the description. The notes certainly do, being listed as : cardamom, coriander, pepper, ginger, ginger flower, vetiver accord. I love spices and I love Jean Claude Ellena, what could go wrong? After hearing reviews of this with strong melon notes mentioned, I steered clear of it. I normally detest anything aquatic or melony. It is the antithesis of my fragrance tastes. I much prefer softer and more sensual skin scents. I still dream of owning a large bottle of Mr Ellena's Ambre Narguile for Hermes. This is one of my all time favorite scents. It pretty much says "me" when I wear it but it is a winter scent and I bid it farewell for a few months every year and turn to another Ellena creation, L'eau D'hiver as an alternative when I want my Ellena fix.

That said, I am shocked to be completely in love with this fragrance. It was a gift from a very special gentleman who picked it up for me in Paris. Maybe this is why I genuinely gave it a fair shot even more so than I would have if I was spritzing away at Sephora where I would have been trying 4 other things with it and written it off. I gave it my undivided attention and I am happy to say that I am loving it. At first, it seemed to be a scrubber. Anything even remotely aquatic is the kiss of death for me with a fragrance as I am highly sensitive to this characteristic. Initially, there was an aquatic blast that is usually my signal to run from a scent but after a few minutes that dissipated and it was replaced with a bit of duskiness (the vetiver) and the most refreshingly real watermelon I have ever smelled. Watermelon is not something I ever like in a fragrance but this smelled like watermelon with salt and there was a clean, rounded quality to it, a softness that seemed almost impossible to me. Watermelon anything usually makes me think of Bath and Body works cheap fragrances and immediately gives me a headache. Mr Ellena seems to have managed to make watermelon elegant as I never imagined it could be. This is not at all harsh or jarring. It is soft and refreshing. The spices are not really pronounced, I definitely get the coriander which I love, it gives it a lemony, dusky quality along with the earthiness of the vetiver, and the cardamon gives it a bit more interest but it's not something I would really notice if I didn't know it was in the composition. I also really like the slight soapiness which is hovering a bit deep into the drydown. I realize that Watermelon, soapiness and spice sound like a disaster but trust me on this, everything seems to really work beautifully together and it comes off very nicely. I don't want to peg this as a watermelon only fragrance because there is more going on here and I want to point this out to you. This is definitely a unisex fragrance and could be worn by a man or a woman. It straddles the middle of the road beautifully and is neither too masculine or feminine. I would love to smell this on a gentleman as well as on myself.

I went from timidly spritzing on my wrists in a cautionary first try to now covering my neck and chest with this and wanting more. I'm finding this addictive, the more I apply it the more I want. I was also gifted the body lotion and I am looking forward to my shower tonight and indulging in this as well. This is a truly addictive summer fragrance that I am extremely surprised to love so much and I happily add to my large collection as something that is nothing like anything else I already own. for me, this is a second cousin to L'Eau D'Hiver, a fragrance which I adore with all my heart. I like to think of fragrances in terms of the feeling they give me or the mood they create. I would never call either of these fragrance beachy or tropical in the slightest, but moodwise I can say that whereas L'Eau D'Hiver is lounging about on the Riviera, Un Jardin Apres La Mousson is kicking back on a beach in the Caribbean. Both of these scents have that same watery, soft feeling for me. It is a testament to how well done Un Jardin Apres La Mousson is for a person with my finicky taste in scents to appreciate it and enjoy it as much as I do. Lasting power is average and just right for a lovely summer fragrance. Re-applying is s pleasure.

I highly recommend at least trying this one even if you normally do not like anything aquatic or melony. Hearing of those qualities in this before I tried it kept me from discovering this one earlier. You may be just as shocked as me to find yourself truly appreciating and loving this one during the sticky summer months!

That's all for now! :)