
Maison Hermès fills up his Hermessence Collection with one more unisex and truly exhilarating perfume. Santal Massoïa along with other nine fragrances Ambre Narguile (2004), Vetiver Tonka (2004), Poivre Samarcande (2004), Rose Ikebana (2004), Osmanthe Yunnan (2005), Paprika Brasil (2006), Brin de Regliss (2007), Vanille Galante (2009) and Iris Ukiyoé (2010) make up the collection that needs no words to be described thanks’ to their elegant and sophisticated smell and look.
There are linear, vertical woods like cedar, and others that are horizontal, round, supple and velvet-smooth, such as sandalwood and massoia. With this understanding in mind, I composed this enigmatic, inviting yet distant perfume of milky woods, with its unusual, pungent hints of resin and dried fruit, and familiar smells of dulce de leche and flowers.
Jean-Claude Ellena
Hermès in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena has created the whole collection that resonates with desire and charm. Hermès Hermessence Santal Massoïa is inspired by the Massoïa tree that resembles the coconut smell, along with sandalwood, rich milk and dried fruity accords. Santal Massoïa will become women’s exotic source of imagination. Its finest aroma, natural oils and coconut character will invite you to try it.
Santal Massoia is a woody perfume that is essentially linear in its development. It is smooth, perfectly refined and – for lack of a better word – utterly pleasant. Slowly sandalwood becomes apparent and with it a creamy, milky diffuse sweetness, sometimes hinting at coconut, sometime like caramel.
Top notes: Green fig, resin, dried fruit
Heart: Massoïa bark, coconut, caramel, floral notes,
Base: Sandelwood, vertiver
But while all that sounds heavy and like a gourmand festival, this perfume is certainly not that. Throughout, there is a shimmering, nebulous quality, like strolling through a bare forest in the morning mist.

Hermès Hermessence Santal Massoïa Perfume will be available in 100ml Eau de Toilette for €170 while the bottle wrapped in a luxurious and expensive lather package will cost €410.