Date:07/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/07/stories/2008080756990400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Brand Kerala has its fragrance too

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

Hermes Paris, the well-known French perfumes, has captured the scent of the State with its new fragrance ‘Un Jardin Apres la Mousson.’

Photo: S. Mahinsha

Hard sell: ‘The perfume blends the freshness of ginger and the sweetness of Kahli ginger flower with the spontaneity of cold spices and the subtlety of vetiver.’ —

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bottling the perfume of God’s Own Country? Hermes Paris, the world’s best known French perfumes from the design house of Hermes, has done Kerala proud by capturing the scent of the State with its new fragrance ‘Un Jardin Apres la Mousson’ (A Garden After the Monsoon).

The perfume is the third in the Jardin series proposed by Hermes and created by in-house perfumer Jean Claude Ellena. It was inspired by the nature’s revival following the arrival of monsoon in the State.

Mr. Ellena, an in-house perfumer with Hermes for the last four years, holidayed in the State to capture the unexpected aspect of the country.

He arrived for a week first to discover the place and followed it with a 10-day holiday, during and after the monsoon, to live, experience and to write the perfume.

Cooler notes

Though Kerala is renowned for its spices, the perfumer eschewed hot spicy notes in favour of cooler notes such as cardamom, coriander, pepper, ginger and ginger flower in the scent.

Mr. Ellena also included a vetiver accord of his own creation.

“Glowing and serene, invigorating and soothing, Un Jardin Apres la Mousson blends the freshness of ginger and the sweetness of the butterfly-delicate Kahli ginger flower with the spontaneity of cold spices and the subtlety of vetiver’, says the promo in the carton.

The fragrance’s heavy glass bottle’s graduated green and blue colour recalls the clouds of a monsoon and the vivid green of the nature reborn. The outer carton, designed by artist Karen Perossian, is a playful take on nature, featuring elephants and monkeys taking refuge under umbrellas.

The advertisement shows an elephant’s trunk shielding the fragrance from monsoon raindrops from a leaf.

The eau de toilette is available in sprays and the fragrance’s ancillary line includes a body lotion, a bath and shower gel as well as a body mist and dry oil.

“It is a big revolution for the destination as the Hermes has so far come out with only a perfume about the flowers of Egypt. Kerala Tourism has started exploring whether joint promotion can be undertaken with Hermes,” Secretary, V. Venu told The Hindu. A gift set containing a 100 ml fragrance and a tiny book by Sarina Lewis, published in eight languages, including Malayalam, is being sold in Hermes boutiques for 115 euros. Un Jardin En Mediterranee and Un Jardin Sur Le Nil were the earlier fragrances in the series.