Hermes • Poivre Samarcande (Hermessence series) • Fragrances

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*TOP REVIEWER* karelin7 on 1/29/2013 2:48:00 AM more reviews by karelin7

Age: 44-55   Skin: Oily, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Another offspring of Ellena's fave, Eau d'Hermes, this is a peppery animalic with some citrus. When I say animalic, here I mean sweaty, but not in quite the salacious way Eau d'Hermes is sweaty. This is more like a sweaty fat guy. In fact, imagine a sweaty fat guy coated in black pepper, but he started the day by putting on a citrusy after-shave. Still, I find it compelling--and I don't find sweaty fat guys compelling, but the sweaty fat note is a no go for me at this price. If it were significantly less costly I'd buy and wear it sparingly.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Wyrmiax on 10/20/2010 4:27:00 PM more reviews by Wyrmiax

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

Smells like aftershave from the 80's (but high-quality aftershave). All the Hermessences have been just a little "off" to me.

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qoo77 on 9/11/2010 11:58:00 PM more reviews by qoo77

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

All I could think of is the body odour effect of cumin. Pretty sad considering how much I love the unadulterated pepper scent without the cumin.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Dagney on 2/5/2010 12:31:00 PM more reviews by Dagney

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Poivre Samarcande to me is neither pleasant nor unpleasant. My skin definitely amplified the cumin note so to me, it's a spicy blend of black pepper, cumin, and woods. The scent itself is quite pleasant to me however, the hot, dry feeling of spices almost gives my nose a singed feeling. Or, it may also be because even after dousing myself, I'm only catching the scent here and there - heavy hitter notes but in a very light formulation.

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*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 4/12/2009 10:28:00 AM more reviews by tessture

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Peppery cedarwood. Almost a cumin feel in the chili, but mostly peppery cedar. Very eh. Nothing much. I guess I'm lucky the cumin didn't attack me. The peppery wood is nice, but very forgettable on me.

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lrueger on 2/13/2009 2:47:00 PM more reviews by lrueger

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

To me, this is sex in a bottle. It must be the cumin!

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*TOP REVIEWER* proximitythe53rd on 5/19/2008 7:35:00 AM more reviews by proximitythe53rd

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

To me Poivre Samarcande is dry, peppery, chili flavored, heat roasted wood, sun beating down, solar bleached bones, dying of thirst in the desert perfection.



Of all the things that people seem to associate with Poivre Samarcande, to me it's a picture of all the hottest, driest, brightest places in the world. It's burning sandstone in New Mexico or Arizona, it's the ruins of an old mosque in a desert battered fortress. It's blinking sand out of your eyes, and the last, less-than-fresh sip of warm, gritty water.

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CathyEarnshaw on 2/7/2008 4:36:00 PM more reviews by CathyEarnshaw

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Brown    

This is one of the finest scents I've ever sampled. I've been looking for something like this for a very long time but never dreamed that I'd find it here.

My review on Poivre Samarkande is nothing like the other reviews here. I get a completely different feel for the scent.

On me, Poivre Samarkande smells of fine quality leather. Usually, leather scents, to my nose, don't smell like leather to me. This does.

Leather and fresh, dry hay is what I get and wearing Poivre Samarkande for me is like being at the stable of a thoroughbred horse farm.
I can't get enough of it. I find it appropriate for day or night, male or female and during any season.
Love it!!!

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*TOP REVIEWER* themeglet on 11/4/2007 12:05:00 AM more reviews by themeglet

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Other   Eyes: Blue    

Oooooo! NICE! This is the pepper I've been looking for. It's not Caron's Clove-dominant Poivre, nor does it have the waxy vinegar-note that goes slightly awry in L'Artisan's Poivre Piquant (if that makes sense...I still like it, just the same.) This is a lemony pepper with a nice woodsy base, and a wee hint of musk that is barely noticeable. It also has a sharp cleanness that I really like... almost like a Mediterranean version of Zagorsk. This may very well be the first pepper (not counting Poivre) that I would buy in decant.

The one drawback: it doesn't last very long on my skin. Then again, my skin ignores anything that isn't musk or smoke.

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ellenf on 10/30/2007 1:13:00 PM more reviews by ellenf

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

I tried this at the request of my Sweetheart and liked it...okay. I bought it as part of a set of 4 Hermessences which also contained my beloved Ambre Narguile. Oddly, I have found myself reaching for it on those days when nothing else seems right...days too warm for winter fragrances, too cool for summer fragrances. It is wonderful for those transitional days, subtle and refined. Elegant.

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*TOP REVIEWER* julieolivia on 10/29/2006 12:16:00 PM more reviews by julieolivia

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

Only tried it on a card - so, this is not a great review for how it would be on skin, but....
Starts out GREAT - I love pepper scents, so long as they behave properly. I think ideally I like a drydown to leather or patchouli, not sure how to describe it. Anyways. Starts out very expensive smelling, elegant, unique. Next stage - cumin. Pure cumin, borderline B.O - very unpleasant. This dried down to something much nicer, the ambery leathery something that I like with a pepper scent, but very quiet and soft. It lacks the added ooomph that would justify the price, plus the cumin stage was an unpleasant surprise. I suspect on my skin, the cumin or whatever it was would have been even stronger and perhaps not passed me by, but stuck around, so great - that saved me LOTS of money.

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TheresaDiMoan on 10/4/2006 2:47:00 PM more reviews by TheresaDiMoan

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

Roasted bell peppers, musk and spices. This is a strange combination but it plays right. This is spicy, warm and sexy like no other from the Hermessences. Very expensive but worth every penny paid for!

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*TOP REVIEWER* Joseybird on 9/4/2006 3:04:00 PM more reviews by Joseybird

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Sharp, black, scintillating--like particles of crushed onyx scattered over a wooden floor so smooth and soft and subtle that it barely impinges on the consciousness at all.

Discreet, elegant, crisp, and serious. This is a perfume meant to be worn with an impeccable black suit. Exquisite.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ayala on 7/25/2006 11:35:00 AM more reviews by ayala

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

Poivre Samarkand, the second most intriguing scent from this line in my opinion, marries spices with wood and musk, and the result is interesting and different – yet very classy and with a subtly bold, masculine presence. Szechuan black pepper and dry chilli pepper are not as pungent as you may expect, and lead quite naturally to the more conforming notes of cedar and musk. It all dries down to a subtle skin scent, just barely peppery, woody, slightly mossy - and musky enough to be smelled only by those who are not anosmiac to musk…

Notes: Black pepper, Chilli pepper, Oak, Cedar, Musk, Chinese Moss

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*TOP REVIEWER* amhirst on 2/7/2006 7:25:00 PM more reviews by amhirst

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Green    

Thank goodness I ordered a sample of this first. I was excited to try it because I love Amber Narguile so much. Unfortunately, this is wayyyy to strong for me and smells like a big, fat, greasy pepper steak. I guess I'll give it two lippies for being unique, but this is one perfume I actually wish faded a little faster.

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mysticaldeath on 1/4/2006 1:10:00 AM more reviews by mysticaldeath

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

incredible, reminds a lot of the Commes des Garcons incence line in concept, execution and result...smoldering & sophisticated with dry cedar and lots of pepper but crazy to spend 180+ on anything less than a perfume in a crystal flacon. doesnt even include Hermes Leather case, for that price it better.

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*TOP REVIEWER* dinazad on 10/7/2005 5:00:00 AM more reviews by dinazad

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Dry, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

So you get a blast of pepper? Strong, spicy? Oh, ye wonders of individual perception! When I apply this, I get...... nothing. Then I apply some more, and yet more, and even more, and I get the faintest whiff of something, as if somebody two apartments down had just added a dash of pepper to his food. A small dash. The spice disappears very fast, and for a while there is nothing, followed in about half an hour's time by the slightest hint of leather (as if I had brushed by a new leather handbag on the street). It grows a mite stronger with time, a very genteel, extremely light, very discreet leather. Nice enough, but a bit weak-kneed and unremarkable for the price. And considering the amount I have to apply to smell anything at all, bottle would last me no more than a week anyway, and that makes it definitely too expensive to buy!

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*TOP REVIEWER* BasiaS on 8/23/2005 7:49:00 PM more reviews by BasiaS

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This is a rather blah pepper/cedar fragrance. It's not bad, mind you, but I've had in on my wrist for a couple of hours and I've only had the desire to smell it maybe three times. The pepper is subdued, kind of wimpy compared to some pepper fragrances I've tried (not altogether a bad thing), and rather wearable. Underneath hides a thin whisper of cedar and spice notes. After about 30 minutes, it all mingles into leather, pure and simple. Nice, but considering the price, it's too light, too underwhelming, the lasting power is shamefully weak, and the whole thing is definitely not worth the money.

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norwegiangirl on 8/8/2005 11:03:00 PM more reviews by norwegiangirl

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

Salty black pepper cigarettes.

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wolfie13 on 7/21/2005 4:32:00 PM more reviews by wolfie13

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Eh - another Hermessence scent that I'm just not that excited about. At first it's VERY black pepper on me. Then, despite it not being listed as a note, I get a lot of leather. IT's sort of okay at this point, but it begins to fade very quickly and the drydown is like a generic leather-note containing men's cologne. Again - 2 lippies for the inspiration, but this is just not working for me.

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