Déclaration 
Cartier (1998)

It s now in my top 3 fragances list. I love it. I feel like a king when i use it 🤴🤴🤴🏻
I used essence, eau de toilet. My next buy is the parfum....

Cumin isn't listed as a note but that's what I get. To summarize, this feels like a combination of the cumin base of Terre d'Hermes Eau Tres Fraiche and the cardamom from Voyage d'Hermes.

I smelled this five years ago and it didn't really capture my attention. This has gone under the radar and it feels underrated even though it has stood the test of time. With all the new Hermes flankers, this one becomes buried and forgotten. Now I'm returning to this after my initial smell and I should've appreciated this a bit more.

This is masterfully blended. It's light but layered well with citruses and light spices. There are times when Eau Tres Fraiche becomes a bit too overpowering with the cumin but this balances the orange, cardamom, and pepper perfectly to give it a clean and elegant cumin effect. It totally makes sense that Jean Claude Elena was the mastermind behind this scent because it feels similar to the Terre d'Hermes line. There's transparency and airiness and a bit of an uplifting vibe.

Perfect signature scent but go light on the trigger during the summer. Do not blind-buy this since some people are getting a body odour vibe from the cumin. I actually prefer this over all the fragrances in the Terre d'Hermes line and that is saying a lot.

Bitter orange and dry woodsy bliss.

I wore Declaration Essence quite often during 2009, and you can read my review here on Basenotes. I always wanted Essence to be a bit more substantial than it was, but never got around to trying Declaration at the time.

I now have a bottle of Declaration and love it!

Everything about Declaration is more opaque and substantial: the bitter orange is mor bitter, the woods are dryer and smokier, and the cardamom weaves everything together perfectly.

I don’t remember noticing the resinous piney note in Essence, but love what it adds to Declaration.

Declaration is quite linear, which suits me fine. Longevity is good and projection is moderate.

For me, this is a 9.5/10 fragrance, and I am only leaving the 0.5 for wiggle room in case I discover something even more beautiful.

Ellena is some kind of magician. The way he weaves together ice and fire is quite remarkable. This is a skillful blend of powdery sweet and bitter spicy; Gin & Tonic and black masala tea.
There’s no denying it’s impressive (and influential) ... but it doesn’t move me. Like other of his works it feels synthetic, intellectual, lacking heart and soul.
I can see the greatness behind it though, and, putting aside the fact that I’ll probably never wear it, I’ll give it a weak thumbs up.