Perfume of the Day: Hermes Kelly Caleche

Hermès new fragrance, Kelly Calèche,is inspired by the smell of fine leather. The name comes from the iconic Kelly handbag (”the most coveted bag on the planet”, according to fashion.about.com) and from the original Calèche perfume, but Kelly Calèche is not a new variation on that scent. The original Caleche was launched by Hermes in 1961, and possesses a blend of rose, iris, oakmoss, and woods. Kelly Caleche has notes of mimosa, narcissus, iris, lily of the valley, climbing rose, tuberose, and leather.

Once again, I’m stopped dead in my tracks by mimosa, one of my least favorite perfumery notes.  This scent immediately reads “cedar” on my skin, even though cedar isn’t listed as a note.  The leather does appear and it’s a lovely leather indeed,  not a Cuir de Russie type, but much softer, like delicate glove leather.  Most likely it’s the florals that soften the scent.  It’s thankfully absent fruit notes, so that’s something.   All the same I couldn’t shake the hamster cage notes free.  It can be found for around $40 at perfume discounters online.