Muguet Porcelain by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermès 2016

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Post by Sandra

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The 1st of May has a long history of being a celebration for spring and more recently it has become known as May Day – an International Labour Day. Living here in Europe it gives us a day off and we can celebrate outside with family and friends.

France has a beautiful tradition of gifting a loved one with muguet – lily of the valley – on 1 May. This dates all the way back to 1 May 1561 when King Charles IX of France received a bouquet of lily of the valley as a gift. According to Wikipedia, King Charles IX enjoyed the gift so much that he „decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers’ organisations to sell them tax-free.“ The tradition lives on today with people receiving a bunch of lily of the valley flowers or if one is lucky enough a bottle of perfume centered around the flower.

Just in time for the 1 May celebrations, Hermès has launched the 13th fragrance in the exclusive Hermessence collection – Muguet Porcelain – signed by in house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. Several of his creations are all time favourites of mine and I could not wait to get my greedy fingers on a sample of the Muguet Porcelaine. Looking at the bottle and seeing the stunning green leather around the cap hints at what we are about to experience.

Muguet Porcelain by Hermès 2016

Muguet Porcelain by Jean Claude Ellena

Muguet Porcelain Hermes FragranticaFragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Lily of the valley, green notes

Muguet Porcelaine opens up with a beautiful air of lily of the valley. It is green, fresh and bright early in the morning with dew still clinging to the flowers with a smidge of jasmine thrown in for interest. It is a cool perfume at the start, temperature cool, which I can only assume will be great in the heat of summer. But as it warms on my skin magic begins to unfurl and it is as if the sun has peeked through the canopy of trees to warm up the blanket of flowers covering the forest floor. The memory of sniffing a bouquet of lily of the valley lingers and slowly fades. It is a delicate and elegant perfume just like the flowers themselves– quite gauzy and dewy in feel.

This is my experience with the new Muguet Porcelaine and I have begun to question my nose and my sanity after smelling it with two lovely perfume loving friends who strongly stated “ooh melon and ooh how indolic“! Seriously, I get no melon whatsoever and certainly no dirty, decaying, poo smell at all. Is it my nose or is it my understanding of dirty or sensual? Who knows. I chalk it up to everyone will interpret perfume differently.

Muguet Porcelain HermesHermès

About the perfume’s longevity, my skin devours certain perfumes and unfortunately Muguet Porcelaine falls into the category of „oops – gone in a flash“ perfume. I have to spray generously and on clothing as well.

So, in honour of the tradition of giving lily of the valley on 1 May, I would like to offer one 4 ml sample of Hermessence Muguet Porcelaine to one lucky winner. Please let me know if you are fond of indoles and/or fresh perfumes and if you have ever interpreted a perfume quite differently from a friend.

Giveaway Time sassisamblogsassisamblo

Muguet Porcelain by Hermès GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

The winner will receive:
1 x 4ml Muguet Porcelain by Hermès
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell us if you are fond of fresh perfumes or have you interpreted a perfume differently from a friend

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Saturday 28th May 2016 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Wednesday 1st June 2016 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

53 thoughts on “Muguet Porcelain by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermès 2016”

  1. via email and Facebook

    I love florals and soliflorals. One of my oldtime faves is Jessica McClintock. It’s heavy on the LOTV.

    My nose gets a completely different profile than many comments on Fragrantica for fumes.

    Like

    • Hi Gina. I used to wear Jessica McClintock back in the day. Very pretty! Glad to hear I am not the only one experiencing these differences. Sandra

      Like

  2. If indoles smell like poop, then…no, not a fan. I can’t say I recall having smelled more than one poopy perfume (though I wish now that I could remember what that one was. It was supposed to be a patchouli scent). I do, however, love fresh scents, and plan to revel in them this summer 🙂

    I have often smelled things differently than others. Carrot in la Fin du Monde (ELdO), for example–never got that.

    I follow by e-mail. Thanks for the draw; I’ve been looking forward to sniffing this one!

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  3. Oooh, Hermes! If this is fresh like Jardin sur le Nil I’m in. Fresh is great. And I love the lily of the valley tradition. Follow by email. 🙂

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  4. I follow by email. I occasionally have smelled fragrances differently, but usually that is the result of how much I spray or dab. Fresh perfumes are so lovely in the Spring and Summer where they cool and lift the spirit. I love lily of the valley so I would so love to try this. Thanks for the draw.

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    • Hi Ellen. You make a good point – there can be a huge difference in experience with dabbing or spraying. Spring and summer are wonderful seasons for fresh perfumes. Sandra

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  5. Hi Sandra,

    I am a big lover of fresh florals and soliflores too, matching what’s in season. Lily of the Valley is one of my favorites. Ours have long since finished blooming, but in early May, when we were having a mini heat wave here, the scent of our bumper crop of muguet blooming off the back deck was almost overpowering!

    My husband (I think he qualifies as a friend too) and I have a totally different take on several fragrances.

    I follow by email and Bloglovin’.

    Azar xx

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    • Hi Azar. I am so envious that you guys have muguet at home by your deck. There is a young girl at the elementary school who would come in every morning when the bushes were in bloom and she would rub the flowers all over her face and hair. I loved to watch her joyful face in those precious moments before school. If I had a deck with muguet I would probably be taking her lead… Sandra xo

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  6. Hello and thanks for the opportunity. I follow by email.

    My strangest difference in fragrance ‘opinion’ is probably Thierry Mugler’s Angel. It is beyond horrible on me – metallic, inhuman, sob-inducing Hell. On my friend, who is an elegant, beautiful, gentle woman – I smell nothing at all, and it is her signature.

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    • Hi Sue. You made me laugh with your experience with Angel. I would love to be able to pull Angel off – just can’t do it. Sandra

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  7. Lovely to get your take on this new Hermessence, Sandra. Too bad it’s short-lived on you but sounds lovely while it lasts. I’m not big on LotV but really want to try it now to see if I get any melon or indoles!

    Good luck to everyone in the draw.

    Like

    • Hey there Tara! Thanks for stopping by, I would love to read what you think of Muguet Porcelaine. Sandra xo

      Like

  8. I so identify with this post – when I was growing up in the Midwest states of the U.S., May Day was the day we brought flowers to our moms. At school we made construction paper holders with little handles, then picked flowers on our way home from school. (We didn’t raid gardens – back then small flowers grew mixed with lawns!) There were always violets and muguet – the great prize was bluebells, which were much more rare, but the muguet gave the bouquet its scent. How lovely to think it goes back five hundred years, though I can’t guess how it got generalized to mothers!

    I love fresh perfumes, and one of the big differences I had back in the beginning was with my sister. She introduced me to Annick Goutal in the mid-80s, and she adored Eau de Ciel, which to me was just rose, and cloying rose to boot. It’s got so many things I love in theory, but was just a scrubber on me. Camille was my signature scent back in the day …

    I follow by e-mail.

    Like

    • What a beautiful tradition you had Empliau! I love it when kids pick wild flowers for their moms. I can just imagine the bluebells. Beautiful. Camille is so pretty. Sandra

      Like

  9. I love fresh perfumes, sometimes. I really like to have a choice of perfume te wear according to my mood, the weather, what I´m going to be doing. I love Odalisque which is heavy on the LOTV.
    I follow by email.

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  10. Follow APJ by e mail and Facebook and twitter.Love all fresh perfumes and also Jean Claude Elena creations especially Un Jardin series for Hermes.Have them all in my collection.

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  11. Love, love, love lily of the valley. I love fresh if it is the green/spring air type of fresh (which is what this sounds like). Hate with a passion the screamy and harsh detergent fresh type of scents. I follow via e-mail

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  12. I follow by e-mail.I like a lot of fresh perfumes, but not the ones with a certain type of white musk.

    I often interpret scents differently from friends, Cuir d’Ange is one example, not soft enough leather on my skin and some of the other notes simply didn’t register with me. A generous sample from Val was passed on to a friend who absolutely loved it and found it soft and elegant.

    Like

    • Hiya Ingeborg. Cuir d’Ange smells amazing on Val and I get plasticky harsh notes. I really wanted to love that one. Sandra

      Like

  13. I am not the biggest fan of florals, but I love fresh and green fragrances, and I love almost everything from the Hermessence line, looking forward to try this one out, followed by e-mail 🙂

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    • Hi Norbert. I hope you like it when you get to try it. The Hermessence line has lots of beauties. Sandra

      Like

  14. I actually like Fresh perfumes but only those that are well done. So many free perfumes now are nothing but acquatic mess. I think my idea of fresh perfumes is still the classics. Vintage eau sauvage is arguably my signature though it is usually between it or vintage cuiron that is in another category. But the other day I was wearing a 10-12 year old Acqua di Gio and it gave me a cooling sensation that modern acqua di gio doesn’t give. I follow APJ through email.

    Like

    • Hi Fazal, my sister loves Acqua di Gio and she wears it so well. I love the cooling sensation of some perfumes in summer. Sandra

      Like

      • I can def. imagine how men acqua di gio may smell even better on some women than women version. its the same with eau sauvage which in older days was frequently stolen by women!

        Like

  15. I follow by email and I love fresh scents. I am a big fan of fresh and fruity scents, I love Gucci Flora eau Fraiche its so refreshing and happy.

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    • Hey there Nelle. I have never tried Gucci Foora eau Fraiche. A perfume that is happy is always welcome in my books. Sandra

      Like

  17. i follow by email.i love fresh smells.i am finding lily of the valley too much for me in some perfumes at the moment,so i am really interested to see if ellena can make it appealing to me again.

    Like

  18. I have worn this a few times now and every single time get the same thick melon/jasmine opening. It softens of course but remains a potent lily. I don’t get the gawzy and dewy bit. It’s quite lovely. ?

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  19. I love lily of the valley, in the garden and in perfume. Whether it’s the fresh and simple Yardley or the oh so beautiful Diorissimo. And then there is my true love, Gucci Envy.

    That said, I am fond of indoles, including the camphoraceous (mothball) type that I find often in jasmine or lily (not of the valley).

    Happily following by email. Thanks for the draw.

    Like

    • Hi Lindaloo. I tried a tiny bit of vintage Diorissimo a while ago and loved it. Shame it is so hard to find. Sandra

      Like

  20. always wear fresh perfumes .. many hermes titles. jarden sur le toit, sur le nil , pamppalouse etc ..
    I have not heard of this variation so am very curious .

    follow my newsletter and Facebook.

    Like

  21. I do like fresh perfumes. Lighter fragrances are perfect for every day wear. Thanks for the opportunity to try this. I like Lily of the Valley so would be interested to see how this plays out in this fragrance. I follow via email.

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  22. I love fresh, green perfumes, and I don’t mind a bit of indole. I adore the Hermessences. I follow by email. Great review Sandra.

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  23. Hi Sandra,
    Lovely review.
    I appreciate both fresh fragrances and can usually handle indolic ones with the exception of heart and base stages of Fracas and Carnal Flower. They just don’t like me… yet.
    I interpret perfume differently and the recent example was Mark Buxton’s Devil in Disguise. I tested on my skin after reading Portia’s review and I got strong oily citrus notes with incense which were not listed. This maybe due to skin chemistry as much as our scent association/experience.

    I follow by email and thank you to you and APJ for the lovely giveaway.
    Cheers,
    Tim

    Like

    • Hi Tim. Thank you. I still have to try Devil in Disguise. Good fun name for a perfume. Thank you for sharing your experience. Sandra

      Like

  24. I like both fresh perfumes, as well as indoles – what wins out depends on my mood, the weather, and the occasion, plus probably a bunch of other indefinable variables! And I’ve *definitely* experienced a number of fragrances differently to friends.

    Thank you for the draw; I follow by email.

    Like

  25. I like all sorts of perfumes. One I absolutely did not like was L’Air de Rein by Miller Harris, which a lot of people wrote fabulous things about. I too have noticed that a couple of reviewers really didn’t like this one. Hard to imagine how inoffensive lily of the valley could be so horrendous! I follow by email. Thanks for the draw.

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  27. Oh, this one sounds so lovely. I adore fresh green scents, I adore Ellena’s work and my birthday is on the 1st of May 🙂 I wish the Hermessence line had better longevity. The ones I’ve tried so far were gone too soon. I wish this one were different…thanks for the giveaway.
    I follow by email.

    Like

  28. As you know I’m one of those who gets all the indol (plenty !) and just a little bit of LoV. Reading your review I’m missing a lot, sigh.

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