Eau de Pamplemousse Rose
Hermès (2009)

Meh, what can you say? Beautiful grapefruit topnote, one of the best, doesn't last as long as peeling the fruit yourself.

[b]Eau de Pamplemousse Rose by Hermes[/b]
[b]Category[/b]: 2 Eau de Cologne type
[b]Rating[/b]: 4/5
[b]Longevity[/b]: 2/5

These early eaux from Hermes are all pretty admirable, with realistic citrus tops and a soft, mossy base. This one opens with a tart grapefruit, supported by a barely detectable rose, providing mostly structural support. After 10-20 minutes, the grapefruit is just a flavoring added to the blend. Finally a mossy/woody bade peeks out, and this is where it all lands. Its ultimate drydown strongly recalls 2015 Eau Sauvage.

Refreshing grapefruit drying down into delicate rise. Simple but no less artful for it. Slightly feminine - not much bass - could be great in the heat.

Hermés Eau de Pamplemousse Rose (2009) is as it sounds, a grapefruit eau de cologne with a hint of rose, and that's all there is to it on paper. Jean-Claude Ellena's oft-cited ode to grapefruit should be a surprise to no one familiar with the perfumer, and I do appreciate its consideration as a reference grapefruit scent, I just have a hard time appreciating something this simple. Ellena's extension of the Eau de Cologne/Eau d'Orange Vert (1979) is admirable, but this particular entry just feels like padding to me.

The opening and duration of Eau de Pampelmousse Rose is a ruby red grapefruit, juicy and fresh. People who love a mostly unadulterated grapefruit note need look no further. There is a speck of orange to tie it in with the series, but Eau de Pampelmousse Rose stays in this lane for all of its 3 hour max wear. I don't really get any noticeable rose, but I do get some dry woods/Iso E Super for skin retention and for what sillage is present, but nothing else. After shower, at the beach, or before bed are times to wear Eau de Pampelmousse Rose, for any lover of grapefruit.

Sometimes less is more but in this case, the focus isn't my cup of tea. I can appreciate single notes if I enjoy that note, and I walked into Eau de Pampelmousse Rose expecting at least half rose in the progression but instead got none. Simple and effective as a grapefruit eau to freshen up, Eau de Pampelmousse Rose just doesn't satisfy outside of its very narrow target, but I get why people appreciate this in the way I might look to a rose soliflore. This one is a neutral to me and this is likely one of the shortest reviews I've written. That's all folks.

Tried my sample sprayer a few times, then gave it away. I can like the smell of grapefruit, if blended well with other notes, but this is just grapefruit pure and simple. Bitter and sulphurous, and lasts for about five minutes. The best grapefruit scent to my nose is actually Hermes Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate, where it seems blended with rhubarb and rose.

Gold standard grapefruit.
Jean-Claude's reference haiku,
His most cited work.

Thumbs Up for a fresh, crisp, true-to-life grapefruit scent! The drydown is also quite fresh and clean. PERFECT for the office: My office perfume Grinch proclaimed it agreeable, and he's a hard one to please! :)

(Thumbs Down for a VERY quick fade out....After 2 hours I could barely smell on my skin at all.) For a Hermes scent with Hermes pricing, I expect a bit more, even from an EdT.

This will be a great summer scent though....perfect for nights out. I have a Scentbird travel spray bottle of this scent, so I can refresh as needed.

I find that I really enjoy most anything of JC Ellena's creations that I come across...This is a beauty!

You get a blast of grapefruit when you first try this on. For me it's a bright, pleasant, uncomplicated scent. Reminds me of eating breakfast before work on a sunny, summer, early morning. Unfortunately it only lasts about as long as it takes to eat breakfast, not even that long, and then it's gone. So short-lived, it's untrue. I wouldn't buy it again, for that reason, but apparently there is a concentré version, which I might try.
I bought a bottle of this blind at Schiphol airport, but I had to use so much of this to even get it to last half an hour on me, I decided to give it away to someone who I know loves very subtle citrusy scents.
June 2015

Red grapefruit is the star here. It is an ingredient that is deserving of the spotlight as it creates a confident opening and can be smelled all day without giving the wearer a headache. The tart and sweet are balanced and enjoyable. I found that the fragrance did not evolve much throughout the day, however it is a pleasant smell so I did not get tired of it. It did fade by late afternoon and is now barely detectable on my skin. I also would have liked there to be a savory or woodsy note.
The Good: Grapefruit done well and balanced.
The Bad: The intro and the outro are very similar and not far apart.
Overall: If it lasted longer and had a savory or woodsy note I would be a big fan.

Eau De Pamplemousse Rose by Hermes This really smells like a typical Hermes fragrance. A grapefruit citrus opening that smells like your typical "eau de cologne" backed by peppery earthy grassy mineral notes. If you've smelled Terre d'Hermes, Voyage and even Orange Concentree Vert, you've practically smelled this one as well.

At the beginning i smell a sheer bergamot/grapefruit accord which is dominant throughout, along a sort of trip in which the rose is barely detectable in the central stage and the dry down expresses a plain vetiver feel with a touch of soapiness. The main note in my opinion is neither the rose nor the vetiver but a lemony grapefruit finally flanked by a woodsy/spicy undertone. I'd have preferred a touch of ambergris in the base. A decently crafted formula anyway yet runned elsewhere in such far better ways.

An opening like somebody popped one of those little oil-containing bumps on the surface of grapefruit peel right infront of you, then followed through by rubbing some rose petals on your chest. Sharp fresh and green, it's there and then its gone, leaving a meek little woodsy-rosy base. Will last almost an hour, so take small divided doses throughout the day!