The magic of perfume is that it can transport you through time and space, evoke memories and remind you of loved ones or take you right back to your childhood.
In rare occasions a perfume takes you back in more than one place as it evolves. This happened for me when I tried Galop d` Hermès, released earlier this year, as a sample in the Precious Perfumes discovery box of The Perfume Society. The fragrance created by Christine Nagel for Hermès is housed in a beautifully unique bottle and features notes of saffron and quince on top, osmanthus and rose in the heart and leather and musk in the base.
Back in November I traveled to Thessaloniki and in our garden we have a quince tree that was full of fruit ready to be harvested. Enormous quinces, aromatic, tart and a bit spicy got picked and carried home so they could be transformed into delicious sweets and marmalade.
This is exactly where Galop took me when I sprayed it on my skin. Saffron is also noticeable and adds a warm spicy feel to the fruit. As the scent started revealing more of its layers I got sent back to another time and place, the first days of school, when every year I’d be thrilled with the new school supplies I’d get and the sweet rosy leather note of the perfume exudes a rubbery note that smells exactly like the Faber Castell erasers I used to have in my childhood.
Very soon however this note disappears and I what remains is a sweet, soft leathery rose, very delicate, wrapped in suede like leather with a hint of spice, a reminder of the juicy quince and a cloud of musk.
I really enjoyed wearing my sample as it’s a perfume very bright and happy true to Hermès’ history and heritage.