Our friend NathanB called to my attention this article in the NY Times by Chandler Burr. In it Chandler expresses his dislike of by Un Jardin Après la Mousson and a feeling of "bafflement" from it:

http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07...sson-by-hermes/

At first he blames it on calone but then he finds out there's no calone in it. My favourite part of the article is the disclosure of synthetic notes and the results from the gas chromatograph analyzing the scent. Despite the fact that our impressions of this perfume diverges wildly, Chandler Burr is my hero for talking about synthetic ingredient smells rather than cloaking them in euphamistic robes. Bravo once more, Chandler!

Notes: Hedione, lime, bergamot, Melonal for the honeydew sweetnees, violet leaf for the ambiguous green, vetiver, and isobutyl quinoline (a leathery/earthy note). I thought I got a hint of leather in it but thought I was crazy. I might indeed be crazy but at least I know it's not because I smelled a leather note!

As a liker of this scent (getting to feel more and more in the minority), I can't help wondering if people really don't like the scent or if they don't like not being able to "get" the scent and resent it for that. However, in the final analysis, the nose is the ultimate judge. If it doesn't smell good to your nose, it just doesn't.

So, how does this article compare to your own opinion of this disputed perfume? IIRC the votes here were mixed, with the majority on the nay side. Chandler is a member here. I hope he sees this thread and chimes in!

I found his bewilderment with the fragrance to be interesting -- he first thought it was a valiant attempt at reinventing the ozonic marine, but then he trips all over himself in befuddlement when he finds out it doesn't contain the Calone molecule. I mean, c'mon -- is it written on stone tablets somewhere that a reinvention of the ozonic marine must contain Calone? What about reinventing the marine without Calone? Wouldn't that be a more suitable challenge for a master perfumer?

I also thought his comment on the lack of overriding vision to be in error. Hermes has just recently opened several stand-alone stores in India, which, to my mind, offers a very clear overriding vision, indeed -- appeal to the Indian consumer! If I find UJALM to be supremely suitable to the warm, humid climate of Maui, I can imagine it's only that much more suitable for the hot, sticky climate in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Nathan, your post just reminded me of something. While down in NJ I was in a mom and pop perfume store in Red Bank, NJ, run by an Indian couple. They had not yet heard of UJALM, although they had the other Jardin scents, and they said they would be ordering it right away. They tested it from my mini and both liked it. I asked them if it really smelled Indian and they said resoundingly, Yes! The lady of the couple said it reminded her of some drink that used to be served to her when she was a child. She definitely picked up on the ginger aspect.

I really like this one. It's easy to wear and interesting at the same time. I don't care what any critic has to say about it. And the honeydew note is what I love about it the most - as well as the clean and tart vetiver dry down. After using up 4 samples bottle is in order.

The melon note doesn't repel me in itself -- I own and love Le Parfum de Thérèse -- but I must say that a sniff on the strip of Un Jardin après la Mousson doesn't compel me to try it. Like Chandler, I did think "Calone", though I remember reading that Ellena doesn't want to use Calone: too overdone.

But I do agree with Chandler's assessment, that Ellena is trying to recreate the aquatic genre. In fact, Ellena has stated himself several times that his ambition was to produce the smell of water.

There's something going on in perfumery with some non-Calone, but similar note: I've been noticing it in lots of stuff here and there, for instance the new The Different Company Sublime Balkiss... It's a fruity molecule, or the combination of fruity and other stuff.

It makes sense: marine-ozonic are still best-sellers, and you'd want to get that Cool Water/ Eau d'Issey public...

I liked this scent very much when I tested it, but not quite as much as I like Sur Le Nil. That being said, I love Ellena's stuff and his point of view as a perfumer. He's trying to bring something different to the 'fresh/fruity' genre...something more adult, more culturally aware.

I like CB's reviews generally, but I just don't think he gets this one.

I haven't been able to locate a tester of this in Seattle, so I haven't tried it yet. I have a feeling that I will like it, though.

I tried it again the other night, and all I got was straight melon. I will try it again.

Carmen, I encourage you to try it on your skin. It's much better that way. I wasn't impressed with it at all on a scent strip. In fact I wasn't too smitten with it in the first couple of wearings either. But after trying it twice I kept coming back for third, fourth, fifth, 20th time. Something I wouldn't do with a scent I don't like.
The fruity cantaloupe, albeit very synthetic (just like Triden't "melon twist" gum), is very well balanced with the other notes and creates a strange effect that I really enjoy and is fun to wear in the summer. It's the most interesting of the Un Jardin series, and the most interesting Ellena scent (from the ones I've tried, anyway).

And yes, Ellena seems to love water. Calone or no calone, many of his perfume smell like water (the Bvlgari teas, Osmanthe Yunnan, Rose Ikebana, Kelly Caleche, Paprika Brazil).

I say give it a try on your skin. Paper never gives the right idea about a fragrance. I use it mostly to make sure I don't spray on a scrubber.

It doesn't matter to me if he likes it or not in all reality.

It's not my kind of scent but if others like it and enjoy it, so be it!

Where might one find this one without visiting an Hermes shop? The closest one to us is about 5 hours away. Sephora doesn't seem to have it yet.

I have been craving a water/marine/fresh scent lately and not finding any that I really like.

I've tried this twice now, and it's just awful on me. Smells like brackish water and decaying plant matter - not what I'm looking for ain a perfume. Like Chandler Burr, from what I'm smelling I can't figure out what he was aiming for, but I'll take your word for it that he was aiming at the Indian market, and I'm sure they have different perfume tastes than your average white American girl. I much prefer Paprika Brasil and Osmanthe Yunnan.

Ayala, I agree about paper strips, and I use them like you do -- or when I'm sniffing many things and trying to decide what to give precious skin real estate to.
I know you love Le Parfum de Thérèse, as I do, so I'll trust you on this one and give it a skin run.

I haven't smelled UJAlM or Melonal. I have smelled Calone, Ultrazur, Scentenal and Helional. There are a number of fresh ozonic watery chems, and it would be easy for a reviewer to assume they were smelling Calone if they weren't familiar with the others.

The odor description for Melonal is fresh ozone melon fresh air sweet clean green

The odor description for Calone is fresh watery clean melon green marine ozone phenolic

Both of them are used for melon notes as well as ozone/watery notes; it seems probable that it's Melonal Chandler is reading as Calone.

I've very much enjoyed Chandler's writing about Ellena's methods, philosophy and working life. He clearly has a genuine passion for perfume and has obviously worked hard to learn all he can about it. I'm always eager to read what he's thinking on the topic.

Leaving aside the merits of the perfume, though, I don't think I'd publish a review while I was still in the bafflement stage with a scent.

Caribou, you are right. He did identify it as Melonal in the article.

I have gone through several stages of bafflement with UJALM as well. The very first time, I loved it. The second and third times, not so much (although it may have suffered because I sniffed it directly after Osmanthe Yunnan -- the latter is so perfect and elegant that it might have been a bit unfair to put UJALM up head to head).

Once the initial melons tarts to fade, I like it very much, with the clean vetiver and hint of leather. I often read descriptions of JCE's work as being watery, transparent, and "bloodless" (according to his detractors), but I find that in many of his fragrances he includes just a touch of the animalic, just enough to make it a live "skin" scent, i.e. something that we mortals wear, rather than the rarefied scent of angels. This seems to be particularly apparent in those scents where JCE presumably had full artistic control (e.g. L'Eau D'Hiver, Divine Bergamote, Rose Poivree, etc.).

I guess the fact that I keep trying to figure out UJALM suggests that I may end up liking it in the end.

while i respected the ability of this scent to take me on a journey from wet to dry - that's kinda cool - it smelled awful on my skin. but for those who enjoy it, good on you.

Uh oh, another bad review from Octavian on his blog. Oh, well... Do you think that due to all the bad reviews, Hermès might pull it from the market or Ellena might redo it? I wonder how the sales are.

http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/

Methinks someone might need to start stocking up . . .

Oh, holy toledo! Here's another awful review on Perfume Posse, and the comments are in agreement:

http://perfumeposse.com/2008/07/26/more-mousson/

Seriously, what I mentioned before about stocking up? You might want to, the way this is going . . . although, I am curious as to how UJALM is selling in the Asian markets.

Not to worry, it is selling like hot cakes

One more proof that perfume blog reviews have not only little impact (so far?) on the actual consumers, but also don't reflect at all the actual tastes of the general market... Hermès and the other big brands don't make their money from perfumistas' wallets, but from the overwhelming majority who just want to smell good and buy the latest release!

Also, I liked UJALM, so there!



From Cosmeticsdesign-europe.com

In accordance to Six, I am just adding my personal opinion that Jean Claude Ellena is a very, very intelligent man and doesn't do anything by chance or haphazardly, no matter if I don't like the finished product.
And the Hermes team are pretty serious in what they do directing the scents from everything I have ever read on them.

Hey, good news, Six and helg!

Nathan, I know most here will stock up if a perfume is discontinued but I don't. If a perfume goes, I move on to something readily avaiable. Bottom feeder here--I only want to wear perfumes easily available on the local market! It's a quirk of mine.

The more I am reading negative reviews for UJALM the more I am thinking it's a perfume that can't be appreciated without some willingness to step outside one's usual paramaters for perfume and explore it with a clean slate. While some people will legitimately just not like it, I think others resent not being able to decipher it quickly.

Remember--well not remember because we're too young, but think of operas such as Carmen and La Traviata. When they first came out they were panned by the critics, who were outraged by their lack of respect for the conventions of opera to that time and "baffled" by how a composer and lyricist could deal with such sordid and socially unacceptable matter in the great form of opera. Once people "got it" these operas and others of their ilk became classics of a later time. I hope UJALM overcomes the bad press by good sales and prevails on the market.

I really value FiveoaksBouquet's knowledge and perfume likes...so I ordered a sample of UJALM hoping in a funny way that I wouldn't like it since I'm collecting older fragrances and those with oakmoss, for now. I wore it last night and am wearing it today. I'm really enjoying it.
UJALM reminds me of Chanel's Sycomore with fruit and a sense of humor. I think UJALM has an upbeat invigorating charm. Maybe today I'll discover that it doesn't last on my skin, so I won't need a bottle.

Blackchat, thank you! I think you've hit upon something there mentioning a sense of humour. It is definitely outside the box!

I do find it more fleeting than some other perfumes. For instance, yesterday I wore 24, Faubourg, from an earlier Hermès concept of richness, and realized that it would probably take me a year to use up a 100 ml bottle of edt! The UJALM level goes down fairly rapidly. I would call it more of an edc than an edt. Since June I have already gone through about 180 ml. Of course I am known for applying liberally but with 24, Faubourg, I do not dare apply liberally! a few drops will take one through to the next day! And that's edt!

No, I'm with you on this, Five. I don't think it makes us bottom feeders at all. I think it's about being flexible and open to new experiences.

I think you are all right about this. It's a more healthy approach. I tend to yen, pine and get all nostalgic for things that have been discontinued or are on their way out.

Fiveoakes, 24-Faubourg is indeed much more potent on me than JALM. I've been wearing JALM since 6:30 this morning and so far so good...

It's almost as if, with UJALM, Ellena has become a victim of his own success -- "But I loved this previous one and that later one was superb and this other one was revolutionary, but UJALM? The emperor has no clothes!"

I guess it's easier to believe that a master perfumer has lost his way and is now just turning out uninspired piffle rather than admit that he's intentionally shifted focus to a market that does not include you.

I see the same kind of thing happening when I cruise by some fashion blogs -- the shift of focus to the Asian and Latin markets has left some blog-critics scratching their heads. "I used to love this designer, but (fill in the blank) has lost his/her mind! I would never wear this!" they wail, when it seems quite obvious that the new look is deliberate and designed to appeal to an entirely different consumer.

Can anyone else think of recent examples of fragrances that seem to be designed for a non-western market? I mean, we've been pretty spoiled for a long time in that products have generally been created for our taste-buds alone and if it sold a little somewhere else, then fine . . . what contemporary fragrances can you think of that appear to be the other way around?

I'm thinking that the Escentric Molecules line might be a good example. Seems rather minimalist Asian, to me -- a sort of successor to Comme des Garcons, and if some Westerners buy it, then great, but we're not its primary focus.

Nathan, I've often read that Chanel is a highly coveted brand in Asian countries. I'm guessing that the big bottles of Les Exclusifs are possibly intended for those people who have lots of money and like to display (as opposed to wear) Chanel bottles as a sign of taste and affluence. (Anyone know if and where in Asia Les Exclusifs are sold?)

Actually, I'm having the same reaction as a few others here, who didn't like this, and then grew to like it very much. I'm not at the "very much" stage yet, but it certainly isn't the scrubber I thought it would be.

I first sniffed this from a paper strip that was offered to me by one of the SA's in Saks. I took one sniff, shook my head and told her that I didn't like the melon note that I was smelling. After I got home, Colonia mentioned liking this one VERY much. As is usually the case, I got swept away by it all and ordered a decant. Upon first sniff, my reaction was the same as it was when I smelled it in NY. Even on my skin, I just shook my head and made a mental note to send this off to Colonia, since she liked it so much. A day later, I retried it. Not such a negative reaction this time. I am wearing it now and......I might be liking it.

This reminds me of New West, in a very indirect way. I wore and loved New West for years, even though I know (now) that many here hate it. It does not remind me of Escape which I wore and then grew to despise with a passion.

I'm a fan of Parfum de Therese. It really doesn't bring that fragrance to mind. But I'm not crossing this one off my list yet......

DANG!!

That's cannily synchronous on your part, as I'm sitting here testing out Chanel's new Les Exclusifs Sycamore and thinking that it smells like it was heavily influenced by the Asian minimalist camp. It smells very simple and straight-forward for a Chanel -- in fact, I'm comparing it on one hand against Comme des Garcons Sequoia on the other. They start off boldly opposite, then move towards one another as time passes . . .

The night is young.

That's an interesting take on Sycomore, but then, most of the new Exclusives, apart from 31 rue Cambon, are fairly short formulas, based on materials, teasing out some strands of the Chanel heritage to offer less complex blends.

This is possibly due to the Asian market but also possibly to a general shift in tastes for more straightforward, transparent scents for the "I don't want to smell like perfume " crowd.

Also, short formulas are easier to produce and their ingredients are easier to source and control because there are less of them. This has been JC Ellena's stance since the 80s (Octavian from 1000fragrances told me about the articles JCE had written for professional journals at the time). He, in turn, derives it from Edmond Roudnitska's aesthetic research : shorten the formulas, create the maximum effect with the minimum of molecules.

I agree, a swift reformulation might be in order, in which case you would want to stock up. I remember when Armani Prive launched Cuir Amethyste, the reformulation happened in mid-launch, within the first 6-8 months.

this happens in music all the time - a band hits it big with fans with one musical style then dares to do something different with its next album - leaving its original fans annoyed.

with regard to this latest one from hermes - my question is, if you're gonna go after a whole new market, which in this case (we assume) is the asian market, then why don't you just say so, and only market the product to its intended audience, instead of spreading it across markets where it might not appeal? are you afraid to commit to that market? do you hope to catch a few others in your net, even though you're using bait for a specific fish?

it may be hard to keep your old fans while you're seeking out new creative ground, but it can be done.

Caz, if you mean reformulation of UJALM, I don't think it's in order but was just wondering if they would be tempted to do it because of a number of negative reviews. If sales are up, however, as indicated above, it's probably safe. I like it just the way it is!

I seriously doubt bloggers and forum member have much of an impact on something as big as Hermès, especially if the fragrance is selling well. I'm actually pretty sure loads of people love it -- connoisseurs like you, 5O, as well as people who like their perfumes fresh and not too strong.
Like I said earlier, I've only smelled it on the ribbon and recoiled from the melon, but now I really have to test it on skin to know what all the fuss is about, one way or the other...

Bingo!

They have the marketing budget, so they may as well promote it across the board. Any Western consumers that bite are frosting on the cake, and there's bound to be a significant enough percentage to make it worth their while, just not the numbers that rack up for the likes of D&G Light Blue.

In Radha Chadha and Paul Husband's book The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia's Love Affair With Luxury (a great book, by the way), the authors talk about how, even though a good portion of the newer luxury collections and goods are aimed at Asian markets, they're still marketed using Western models and celebrities because that's the allure -- the success, wealth and glamor of the West.

So companies are pretty much obligated to splashy Western marketing campaigns even though the target audience may be halfway across the world -- the image of Western glamor has to be maintained in order to generate interest among Asian consumers. This won't always be the case, but for now it's standard operating procedure.

I tried this for the second time today. I want to like it, and I think I have a mental block on the Kerala setting this is supposed to convey. It doesn't ring true for me. If it supposed to be evoke anywhere else, I'd probably be fine with it. And even so, I still don't want to pay full price for it.

So true. One need only gaze upon the horrifying LV Murakami bags to find support for this notion. I mean, some are kinda cute, but then there are these monstrosities:



Definitely not aimed at the Western consumer.

Oh Diva, and the even more horrifying thing about those excrescenses is the price! Eeek.

That is the perfect example of what I was talking about, cuz I don't get it, and I'm quite certain I was never intended to.

The goofball in me wonders whether Hello Kitty should stamp a few random LV logos on their lunch boxes and pen cases, and see how well that goes over.

I finally got around to testing it today. I smelled some kind of spice, some unknown green-ness but none of it smelled good on me. I can forgive minimalism but something which smells bad on me.

When I first spray on UJAM, there is a note that reminds me of cantaloups that is just at the overripe stage when it is going soft and mushy just before it starts to rot. Perhaps that sounds awaful but I have to say that I find that scent very intoxicating in its lusciousness and ripeness just verging on decadence but somehow still refined. The scent does smooth out and become more sedate at some point but I am hooked on those rich initial notes.

Today I used both Jardin sur le Nile and UJAM which toned down those rank notes. But I do like those rank notes.

UJAM is one of the most puzzling and intriguing perfumes I have encountered in recent years.

Nice new profile image Katy, you look great in Chinese costumes!

That's exactly what drew me in to this fragrance. It reminded me of a cantaloupe that was abandoned on the cantaloupe patch and having warmed in the sun for too long is just about to start rotting but is not non-edible yet... It's interesting to see cantaloupe treated in a "warm" way rather than the cool calone and swimming pool bleach attitude it usually gets in modern perfumery.

now, now.
LV gets a great amount revenue from Japan !!!
I think the little characters are cute.

Anyway, I think the best description of UJALM is the "spice with some unknown green-ness"
I am loving my samples.

Oh, GG--one woman's "cute" is another woman's "disturbing!"

(Thanks! It was fun!)


And I love your description of UJAM!