Beauty & health

How Hermès Does It

First you may notice that their names are unusual and a bit tricky to pronounce. Then, once you pull the cap off a bottle of Brin de Réglisse, Un Jardin sur le Nil or Poivre Samarcande, you'll inhale a whiff, a little surprise, of fragrance, and inevitably your nose will be intrigued -- possibly bewitched. It's hard to stand out in the world of perfumery today, but Hermès manages beautifully. We were curious to know more about the man who has been the company's in-house perfumer since 2004. Meet Jean-Claude Ellena, born and raised in Grasse, the perfume capital of France, where he was surrounded by perfumers, his father among them. Ellena has worked in the industry since he was seventeen and is renowned for making Eau Parfumée for Bulgari, First for Van Cleef & Arpels, Cologne Bigarade for Frédéric Malle and Eau de Campagne for Sisley, among other scents for major houses. Some fellow "noses" think of this elegant man as the intellectual's perfumer, but as you'll discover in the following exchange, Ellena also puts his heart and soul into every composition.

These aren't the kinds of scents that make you say, "Oh, that reminds me of such and such." Why are your fragrances so distinctive? It has to do with the approach we take at Hermès -- an author's approach. This is perfumery as a creatively engaged craft. It's not about choices based on market research or trends; the fragrances result from a process of creative freedom that gives my own inspiration free rein.

[Photograph]: Master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GISEL FLOREZ/STUDIO D

Also, the difference lies in my "writing." I love to tell stories with perfume, stories that are authentic, sincere and full of feeling: this is what gives my scents their unique identities. I don't follow fashion trends, though I do stay tuned in to my era.

What are your inspirations? Do you start with an idea and a piece of paper, or a physical experience, or does it depend? The concepts arise from a scent inhaled, a sentence read in a book, an encounter;

actually, anything can be transformed into perfume. In the case of the Garden Perfumes [Un Jardin en Méditerranée, Un Jardin sur le Nil, Un Jardin Après la Mousson], it's in fact a place and all the things I experience there that inspire me.

When you were just starting out, what were some of your favorite per-fumes besides Eau d'Hermès, which, as you divulge in The Perfect Scent, by Chandler Burr, you have long been obsessed with? I have always liked L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain, No. 19 by Chanel, Aromatics Elixir by Clinique and plenty of others.

You use the word paradoxical in describing the new fragrance Vanille Galante. Why? Most of my perfumes are a play on paradox. Vanille Galante plays on the paradox between vanilla -- a heavy, thick, gourmand scent -- and a floral note, light, transparent, suave. I sought to renew vanilla, a mythical note, by getting away from the synthetic version and using a very beautiful, natural vanilla from Tahiti that is much lighter.

Are there any places you haven't been to yet that you look forward to visiting? Why not the North Pole? The three Garden Perfumes have water as a common thread; ice is another form of water. What a challenge this would be! J.C.

HERMESSENCE COLLECTION

Clockwise from top left:

Paprika Brasil: paprika, iris and wood

Brin de Réglisse: licorice and lavender

Osmanthe Yunnan: tea, flowers and fruit

Vanille Galante: vanilla and flowers

Rose Ikebana: rose and rhubarb

Poivre Samarcande: pepper and wood

Ambre Narguilé: amber, fruit and spices

Vétiver Tonka: vetiver and tonka bean

$235 for a 3.3 oz bottle. Available exclusively at Hermès stores, 800-441-4488.

1. SOAP UP

Don't hesitate to open Agraria's Luxury Bath Bar in Lemon Verbena ($20): olive oil, shea butter, yucca oil and kukui-nut oil add up to a soap that's even more of a treat than its pretty packaging. agraria.com.

2. REVIVE YOUR HAIR

If your locks are lying down on the job, the John Frieda Root Awakening line of shampoos and conditioners ($6.50 each) will wash them into shape by delivering the strengthening nutrient eucalyptus. At drugstores.

3. SMELL LIKE SPRING

We have our warm-weather routine down pat: a sun hat, a tall glass of iced tea and a spritz of Marc Jacobs Lemon ($68), a sparkling citrus fragrance, or brisk, fresh Cucumber ($68). At fine department stores.

4. REMEMBER MOTHER

Even a scrutinizing mom won't find fault with the exceptional scents of the thirteen mini candles in Nest's Luxury Votive Set ($98). neimanmarcus.com.

5. STEP TO IT

Sandal season's just a hop, skip and a jump away. Smooth your soles with Thymes Essentials Foot Scrub ($18), which combines an exfoliating mix of walnut-shell powder and sand with sunflower-seed oil and other moisturizers. thymes.com.

6. STOP SKIN DAMAGE

Zelens Skin Science Radical Defence Serum ($210) comprises a blend of antioxidants that head off free radicals, the skin agers known to cause the white flesh of an apple to turn brown. neimanmarcus.com. NINA J. JUDAR

NEWS FLASH The FDA has approved the first-ever prescription eyelash medication, Latisse (about $120 for a one-month supply), from Allergan. Applied like a liquid eyeliner, Latisse contains a small dose of bimatoprost, the active ingredient in a drug that's used to treat glaucoma and that reportedly made patients' lashes grow longer and thicker. Caveat: 4 percent of clinical-trial participants experienced redness, itchiness or skin discoloration. And bimatoprost can very rarely turn light-colored eyes brown. latisse.com.