Reviews of Hermèssence Ambre Narguilé by Hermès

Purely divine!

An olfactory delight. Hot cinnamon apple pie. Just WOW!

I'm not a fan o this one, I find it very obvious and boring. Ellena was too literal on his reference, I would expect something a bit more intriguing from him... Maybe he could have explored the dirty and salty aspect of amber to compensate the cinnamon and the apple note. I really dont get why people get so excited over this.

Just smells like apple pie. a charming sweetness. The only problem is it is very expensive.
Longevity: 10/10
Projection: 10/10
Scent: 9/10
Overall rate: 10/10

I think it may be the best sweet scent ever made. Incredible. Smells like apple pie, but damn this is just addictive. Sometimes it makes me hungry, as it transcends the perfume realm.

We can't deny that this gourmand amber from the luxury collection Hermessence is delicious and "baroquely decadent" (namely not just agreeable in a linear way but also well structured and multifaceted) at once. The buttery amber/benzoin features an olfactory twist of honey (beeswax), sugary almondy molasse, rum, bergamot, fruits (apple/peaches jam), and incense (a touch of tobacco or tonka? Or may be eliotrope?) that is rich and full of texture. Yes the juice is "food" but not just that, it's also old castles, heralds, chandeliers and tapestries. The role of the spices is a starring, especially nutmeg and cinnamon, some labdanum (also galbanum?) provides viscousity while a touch of ginger imprints a cool fruity aroma that marks with fresh stripes the middle of a rich warmth. A golden elixir and another example of noir lusty decadence.

Mmm, this fragrance is simply amazing. It opens up with a sugary sweet blast of honey and cinnamon(which stay all the way to the drydown) which is very pleasing, gourmand lovers will really like this. As the fragrance matures, you start smelling more amber(I think the amber in this one smells like rum+raisins and it has kind of a gummy feel to it, very pleasant), and you also get some sweetened tobacco, along with some other dessert spices. This one isn't easy to label, as it starts as a gourmand, and ends as an oriental

This isn't an overly complex cologne, but it's the best blended one I've ever had the pleasure of smelling. It is thick and the longevity, projection, sillage are superb, but it has a quality transparency to it where it doesn't become cloying. This is the best comfort cologne in my opinion. It's also very sensual and evokes feelings of sitting in my comfortable blanket, eating an apple pie in the middle of a frigid, Canadian winter.

You might think that it sounds silly to pay $235+ to 'smell like an apple pie', but it really does feel like an otherworldly experience to me, and is worth every penny. 10/10 scent, a masterpiece.

Tried liking this so many times, but it's sweetness is such a negative point that it overwhelms any of the good aspects. Very dense and rich. Smells a lot like an apple pie which is the big selling point. Problem is that I don't want to smelll like an apple pie. Very feminine and I would actually love this on a woman. Hermes needs to come out with a bacon fragrance for men which would be the perfect companion to Ambre Narguile.

This is a lovely juice...Sweet,warm and very,very long...Enveloping...Although after about 10 hours I do get a bit tired of it.

Ambre Narguile opens with a sweet cinnamon apple pie accord that many have mentioned. It uses honey as the key sweetener to my nose, with hints of ginger, incense and amber. The amber of course grows and becomes the star of the scent, retaining the initial sweetness and spice throughout to the point of the scent being a straight baked goods gourmand with a mild tobacco undertone. Ambre Narguille is a very smooth linear minimalist scent that is natural smelling and well-blended. Projection and longevity are both above average.

This is my favorite scent from the Hermessence line, but that is not saying much. It is very pleasant smelling, and gourmand lovers (I am not one) should certainly try it out. I am disappointed personally because Jean-Claude Ellena is capable of so much more than this overly simplistic creation. I know he is the master of minimalism, but at the price tags this whole line go for I expect so much more than this (and like I said, the others in the line I like even less). Good but not great, and highly overpriced, IMO. I give Ambre Narguile a "good" rating of 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5, but a 1 out of 5 for value. Definitely try this one first before shelling out the dough for this pricey apple pie.

What is not: for me the word narguile implies that I should expect something smokey and/or Turkish which I don't at all.

What is: instead to me it creates an olfactory illusion of stepping out to the first morning of spring in Paris at 08:30 am.

A slight change in the temperature of the city's morning air that welcomes you into the new day, the indoors and outdoors temperatures are more in balance and the whole city feels like a cosy living room where you don't need to carry around all the extra clothing of winter with you. But as you step into the shadow of a building you notice the quick change of temperatures and the sudden cold breeze makes you realize that it is still spring.

For me it is perfume about light, temperature and taste. Its “sunny light” is bright and radiant but the sun hasn't fully risen. The temperature is warm when you are under its olfactory sun but you feel the breeze when you step into its shadows. And then it is the illusionary “taste”, like honey on a cold dollop of fresh, thick, unflavored white yogurt. Full bodied, sweet, and mellow but also clean and light.

I have this fantasy that the last moment of my life when I will sum up my story, I will remember 4-5 smells that capture the most significant moments of my life. I have a sense that Elena's Parisian radiant, cool, sunlight will be one of them to bring me feelings of joy and gratitude before stepping into something new.

I received a sample last week, and used two tiny dabs to test. It developed nicely as I was dressing; smooth, sweet with something familiar in the background. At first I thought it might be myrrh (my nose is not so precise yet) but after reading the reviews I understand it is tobacco I smell. What a surprise! I always avoided perfumes that had tobacco as a note for fear of smelling like a "smoker". I now realize this is a sweet, rich smell and have a bunch of new scents on my wishlist!

Back to the review. Ambre Nargile is unlike anything I've tried before, warm, delicious and amazing strength and silage. Two tiny dabs from a sample vial under my clothes and my husband (who can never seem to smell my perfume) asked me, "are you baking something?" he thought maybe cookies. He loves the scent, though I think he was hopeful for a dessert at the moment. He's never commented on any scent I wear without prompting, so that's a big deal. Now, will he part with the money for a FB? That remains to be seen. Maybe I better go bake some cookies...

Ambre Narguile is a delicious, fascinating scent. Right out of the gate it smells pretty much like a gummy bear. I get a lot of intense, sweet fruit - peach or apple. It's not a fresh fruit smell; I'm going to call this the “stewed fruits” that other people have mentioned. There's a slight boozey finish I'll attribute to the rum. It doesn't smell like apple pie to me - I'd need cinnamon for that - but it is strongly fruity and sweet. The sweetness is not sugary but rather richer and headier, more like a brown sugar or molasses sweet. This lasts for quite a while before I get a lovely cool iris over woods. Perhaps this is incense, cause iris is not listed as a note. I don't get much amber; if it's there, it registers as iris/warm woods to me. I don't get any tobacco either. Regardless of what the notes are actually supposed to be, this is a lovely, unique fragrance with good silage and longevity.

One of my all time favorite fragrances, it smells like a mix of boss bottled and Tim mcgraw southern blend with a slight hint of tobacco and some transparent honey. On my skin this one lasts for at least 15 hours plus.

As other people have stated, this is a very soothing fragrence.

Immediately I can appreciate the candied apple-cinnamon, caramel, honey and dried fruit (figs?), but then it all tones down a bit converting (for me) to a sort of tobacco / rum scent that just stays there without imposing.

After a grace period, it dries down and you're left with the wonderful tobacco / rum-scent that's warm and friendly.

I can't detect much of a vanilla-scent going on, and the sweetness gives way to something more akin to "warmth" in my book.

Sophisticated without being shouty - sweet but not intrusive and just generally grown up feel-good.

This reminds me of a buttery rich tarte tatin with a wonderful glass of Sauterne - delicious and indulgent and to be enjoyed sparingly. The sweetness is more interesting and sophisticated than many of the sweet gourmand fragrances that are so prevalent at the moment - A linear fragrance- I sprayed this on my wrist in the morning and it lasted long into the evening not changing much throughout - I can imagine that this could turn into a comfort scent - the fragrance equivalent of comfort eating- I liked this a lot but would only wear this very occasionally if I owned a bottle as it seems so indulgent and there are so many more on the list . . .

This is my second felicitous testing encounter with AMBRE NARGUILE (made possible by generous basenoter Twolf), and my enthusiasm has not abated in the least. I was struck by the Tom Fordesque quality of this composition back when I first wore it, and I feel the same way today. Thick, golden, and viscous, this sort of elixir is right up my alley! The labdanum and benzoin lusciousness of this composition pull me right in. Is it too sweet, as some maintain? Well, not to me. Maybe I've sniffed too many celebrity orientals of late?

AMBRE NARGUILE is not the spiciest amber perfume around, and I do not believe that it contains or claims to contain ambergris--again, this is labdanum amber, not the petrified concretions expelled from the intestines of sperm whales (which in any case figures is very few perfumes today, as far as I know...). But this is a shimmering layer of gold! It's clearly time that I acquired at least a purse spray of this wonderful composition. Great longevity and detectable but not obnoxious projection.

So, you see, J.C.: I really have nothing against you at all! It's just that I'd rather wear perfume than meditate in your gardens.

I really really don't like this one. Tooth achingly sweet, it starts off with that burnt caramel and marzipan notes and dries down into something that smells to me like vanilla essence. Obviously expensive materials, made to smell cheap.

I've decided to give up on the gourmand genre. Anything sweeter/more edible than Musc Ravageur is repellent to me.

Ambre Narguile when smelled on the spray mechanism of the bottle has a definite tobacco smell - it's sweet, but definitely present. However, once sprayed on, the perfume becomes a warm, beautiful apple-cinnamon-amber golden scent that wafts around incredibly beautifully. This is a scent i wear when I'm in an intimidating work situation like a high pressure meeting as it supports me and comforts me. It is not at all "sexy" but is grounding, beautiful and makes me feel strong and positive.

It lasts and lasts, I can smell it a good 15 hours after it's been sprayed, but it is never overwhelming. I can always smell it the next day on the cuffs and neckline of the tops I have worn which I love. If I could only wear one scent for the rest of my life, I think it would be Ambre Narguile as it is just such a satisfying scent.

Ambre Narguilè, belonging to the luxury collection called Hermessence, from Hermes, begins with a strong aroma of honey with a touch of cinnamon. SENSATIONAL!

Over time, honey decays giving space to a slightly incensed tone, with a dominance of a note not mentioned, tobacco. Again ... SENSATIONAL!

And so the scent lasts for it's entire lifetime (which by the way is huge).


It is a fragrance that looks much like Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, but without the vanilla giving the gourmand touch, although the honey in here, is always present. A fragrance that is more like a food than a perfume itself, in my opinion! A warm, rich aroma, perfect for low temperatures. A real masterpiece from Jean-Claude Ellena.

Apple sauce with a pinch of cinnamon at the top is totally addictive and intoxicating. I love it, and I wish this wonder would last longer.

The dry down isn't bad either, though. Full-blooded oriental gourmand, which however never goes too sweet nor over the top.

Glowingly warm, almost roasted base with crisp caramel, honey and dried fruit keeps on flowing flawlessly for a long time. To me it smells more feminine than masculine, but I would still recommend to gents as well, at least to try out.

Cozy and extremely pleasant fragrance.

First impression - Incredibly unique gourmand with a rich, creamy cinnamon note that is among the best I've ever sampled. Status: Must Buy.

Second impression - Come to think of it, smells eerily like the dry-down in FM Musc Ravageur; how did I not notice this before? Status: Might Buy.

Third impression - Reminiscent of the sugar dust at the bottom of an almost-empty box of Apple Jacks cereal. Status: Won't Buy.

l think this works beautifully as a gourmand for those who prefer something more transparent & non-cloying, but l agree that this is not really an amber-centric fragrance. l like the opening best; a distinct tobacco note followed by a little spice, wood & incense. l don't get the dried fruit notes, but a sweet, vanilla pastry with a pinch of cinnamon in the heart.The base is more tonka & benzoin to me than amber, & seems rather flat. The sillage is decent, this is a nice winter comfort scent & l will enjoy using up my mini, but l won't be shelling out for a full bottle.

Off-Scenter is right on. Ambre Narguile is about food, not passion… not sex… It does food extremely well – it smells delicious. It's linear and has good sillage. It is not a disappointment to me because I wasn't expecting much (Not a big Jean-Claude Ellena fan here). My thought about gourmands in general and Ambre Narguile in particular is that it is not enough for niche gourmands to smell like savory food: There should be a more challenging intermingling of fragrance notes than this one exhibits; after all, if I really wanted to smell just like food, there are much cheaper ways of doing that. I own and love several what-I-consider gourmand fragrances (including Arabie and Body Kouros), and they all do more than simply smell like food. This is a pretty and pleasant but non-intriguing designer fragrance, and after a few hours of smelling it, it's just plain ... there. If it were a cheaper fragrance, I'd give it a thumbs up even though I personally don't find it very interesting... its lack of complexity and development beyond the food notes are at odds with my expectations for an expensive fragrance.

Rich ,dense, thick tangy and abit raw ambery . Not my favorite Hermessence .