Le Nil opens with a very sharp, strong green mango note. This note was so stong at first spray it was actually a little off-putting. It's like a citrus jolt. Thankfully, I waited until the dry down before rushing to judgement and I'm very glad I did. It dried down to a clean, dry, woody note that was still very fresh. I think most people would gravitate towards this scent in warmer months, but I would use it as a mood elevating, pick-me-up scent during the Winter. I recommend it for those who like citrus and woody, fresh scents.

You can check out the making of this fragrance in an article found in the New Yorker from a few years back (not affiliated)

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/03/14/050314fa_facth

Unique, fresh, clean smell. Like a basket of fresh leafy greens mixed with grass and grapefruits :-)

I'm a huge fan of Hermes Eau Des Merveilles so I was so excited to finally get to try Jean Claude's Un Jardin series. (I ordered a couple of sample vials from perfumedcourt because I didn't have a hermes store around nor do I want to purchase a full size blindly.)
Sadly, sur le Nil was the only acceptable one in the 3 (Mediterannee & Apre la Mousson) that I tried
The opening notes are a blast of fresh unripened green mangoes that instantly took me back to my childhood in SE Asia being surrounded by street vendors filled with all kinds of strange fascinating fruits.
Indeed a very nostalgic opening. However as it simmers down the magic is lost. I get a little spice with the fruit and some green lotus but that's all it is, a generic concoction of sweet aquatic notes. It's clean and fresh for sure but lasts only about 3 hours on my skin. Someone described this as basically Tide detergent. I would have to agree, the dry down is soft squeaky clean much like that of a laundry detergent.
Too disappointing to justify such an inflated price continued >>

If any of Hermes fragrances posseses a 'woodsy' note-it's this one.A green herbal note(probably green mango) comes off strong in the beginning. I then sense a fresh note(the tomatoes). By the time dry down occurs, a note of cinnamon mixed with incense dominates(the incense gives the creamy cinnamon a smoky 'edge'), and notes of lotus and hyacinth occasionally pop up. This is a complex fragrance, definitely unique, but unfortunately doesn't really appeal to me, as I'm not crazy about pure green notes or oriental ones.

I know it's hard to get an accurate read of a perfume through reviews without trying it on yourself, since scents can change drastically on the skin due to a person's unique chemical makeup, but this my go-to scent for the warm months; I've had a few strangers ask me what I'm wearing (not bragging, its a "BUT STILL" for how I'm going to describe the scent). It's just great-- not sweet, with a touch of green, slightly earthy (patchouli), a little more citrusy, but the notes that stand out to me the most remind me of rice or white tea infused with a little fruit. It sounds weird, but it's a very appropriate way to describe it. It's very refreshing after all the in-your-face fruity and flowery perfumes that cloud your head in the balmy July air... Instead, I think it cuts through it like a misting of cool water or the shade of a palm tree.

I spied this while waiting buying other things and decided to try a little on a fragrance card. Without wearing it myself I would have described it as a hesperidic aquatic with some vanilla thrown in. I liked it so much on the card that I had to try wearing it, despite knowing how hit or miss (mostly miss) citrus can be when I wear it. Well, on first spray all the worst things were there. This literally smells like my sweat. While some people's sweat apparently smells like MKK, mine instead smells like unripe mango, lemon peel, and salad greens that are just beginning to turn as they wilt in the sun. After feeling dirty in my "eau de compost" for a while and figuring I was glad I tried it on first I went on with my errands. The good news for me is that this opening note only lasted a short time. Within twenty minutes I was wondering what that difficult to pin down smell was, and what perfume I should have tried instead, and I realized that this perfume on my wrist had blossomed into the most tranquil and surreal aquatic. I will give this scent one thing, it is unique.

I think I am definitely going to buy a full bottle, because so long as you apply this early enough to have moved past the overbearing opening, this is a very clean and unobtrusive scent.

Now that I have thought about it, I don't have any non-soapy clean scents so this probably deserves a place in my collection just for being that.

anyone familliar with Mr. Ellenas work- yes, the answer is-this is his child....it smells like a fantastic burst of citrus, green (not green like Chanel 19 ''green''...but green like green,wet fruit...)mango,lime,leather and the most amazing feeling of dosage the right components to make a swell perfume:))
simmilar to Kelly Caleche, but more fruity and mouthwatering, it seems to me that this one is a fatamorgana type of scent...it is succulent, fruity,harsh even....but so,so,so dry that you could die of thirst...
Nile (Nil)? oh c'mon master Ellena...you can do so much better with this name....
Kelly Caleche fraiche...maybe?....:))
love this scent...it is the most refreshing scent in the world!!!

So ok i am in a fragrance mood these days so was walking down the perfume aisle at Ogilvy's and tried a couple of Hermes perfumes but Un jardin sur le nil is great. It's light yet it lasts forever and have been getting compliments on it the whole week end ! The bottle is classic Hermes and the smell is unique a bit flowery a bit musky ....

This is truly delicious. I find it mood-elevating and refreshing. It's a great scent for hot weather (but I wear it all year round) and has excellent sillage. It starts off with a burst of grapefruit and then "glides" into a lovely floral aroma. I'm almost through my first bottle and will definitely be buying a second one. I tried some of the other Hermes Jardin fragrances and didn't like any of them. But this is a keeper!

I love the design of the bottle, so pretty. I like this scent, I just dont love it. I find that i do get whiffs of 'hamster cage' must be the cedar in this that seems to be the strongest note on my skin. Not an overly feminine scent, I could see this on a man. it isnt sweet or cloying which is nice in warm weather, just not full bottle worthy for me.