Kelly Calèche by Hermès

Kelly Calèche is the highly-anticipated fragrance newly released by Hermès this year. It is their first release since Eau des Merveilles in 2004 and was created by the international acclaimed in-house perfumer, Jean-Claude Ellena. In fact, Hermès is one of the few perfume brands that have an exclusive in-house perfumer.

Kelly Calèche (1.6 fl. oz eau de toilette spray for $75; 3.3 fl. oz for $110) is named after two famous icons of Hermès: Calèche, the women's fragrance by Hermès and the classic Kelly handbag. The Paris-based brand was originally a saddlery company since it was founded in 1837. Till today, the company has expanded their business to different lines of design and has been well-known for its scarves, leather goods, ready-to-wear design and fragrances.

The original Calèche was created by Guy Robert in 1961 with a delicate rose and woody base notes. Mr. Ellena was inspired by the Hermès heritage to bring the Calèche floral scents and the fine notes of Hermès leather goods for a floral leather fragrance. According to osmoz.com, top notes are: green notes, lily-of-the-valley, rose and narcissus. Middle notes: climbing rose, mimosa, tuberose. Base notes: iris, woodsy notes, leather accord.

I particularly like the modern and somehow ladylike bottle design. With the inspiration of the Kelly bag, Kelly Calèche is also designed with a silver metal clasp at the neck of the bottle. The metal clasp can move upward and downward to lock (or unlock) the stopper. For me, the fragrance is indeed complex and sophisticated. The first spray is an ethereal sensation! I can smell first smell a hint of grapefruit scent, then it is followed by fruity and floral scents. It isn't too hard to find the scent of narcissus, tuberose, rose and the hidden woody notes. After a couple hours, a soft scent of fine leather starts to appear. Overall, the scents are not overwhelming. The flowery scents with underlying green and woody notes makes Kelly Calèche subtle and understatedly elegant. I personally would wear it for mostly daytime occasions.