I am swooning here. All because of the newest scent from <a href="http://www.hermes.com/" target="_blank">Hermès</a>: <a href="http://www.voyagedhermes.com/" target="_blank">Voyage d'Hermès</a>.

I didn't expect to fall in love with this one. After all, it's unisex. And I've been known to prefer more <a href="http://beautyeditor.ca/2010/04/22/editors-picks-my-top-10-natural-and-organic-beauty-products/">obscure, unusual scents</a>.
<p style="text-align: left;">But this is a triumph—truly!</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">If you live in a town with an Hermès store, you may have noticed it, along with this beautiful artwork, in the windows:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://beautyeditor.ca/wp-content/uploads/Hermes-Window2-vert.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8162" title="Hermes-Window2-vert" src="http://beautyeditor.ca/wp-content/uploads/Hermes-Window2-vert.jpg" alt="" width="617" height="896" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">These pictures are by French artist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraud" target="_blank">Moebius</a> (a.k.a. Jean Giraud), and they're meant to evoke what Voyage d'Hermès is all about: travel. (Like all things Hermès, they're actually so beautiful that my friend C., a beauty editor at <em>Flare</em>, even went so far as to have the ones in the press kit framed for her new house, and they look AMAZING.)</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">But back to the travel theme—the whole point of this scent, designed by Hermès in-house fragrance maestro <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Ellena" target="_blank">Jean-Claude Ellena</a>, is to evoke the emotions surrounding a journey. Check out the ad (filmed by<em> National Geographic </em>photographer Eric Valli):</p>
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The scent itself is woody and citrusy, but not too much so. If you're concerned about the unisex factor, don't be. It never veers too far into masculinity for me—it's really quite light and fresh. And then when it dries down, it's very soft; really what you'd call a skin scent, actually. And that's the great thing about Ellena's creations: they never overpower and they're never common. (The notes, if you're wondering, include angelique, white musk, juniper berry, Australian sandalwood and cedar.)

The bottle is also worth mentioning, because it has this cool swivel mechanism that reminds me of a USB key. But, of course, it's MUCH nicer—shiny and silver and utilitarian in an expensive, Hermès way.

Plus, I can't help but point out the enormous cachet that will instantly be yours when you wear this and people say "Gosh, you smell SO good!" And you will nonchalantly shrug and say, "Oh, this? It's Hermès..."

<em>$105-$145; available now at Hermès boutiques in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
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