Amazone by Hermès (1974)

It's hard to imagine that a non-niche perfume for women would be released today that smells like Amazone. It's not girly enough (some readers on Fragrantica thought it was for men), and it is something of an acquired taste, even for me.

When I first put it on, I mistook the herb-y vetiver in Amazone for coriander, and just as I was wrapping my head around it, I caught hyacinth underneath its earthy scent, as well as the clean-green scent of galbanum and an initially surprising warm berry sweetness from black currant. Jasmine, lily of the valley, and rose bloom in a bright, fresh way alongside those notes, balancing them with some conventional perfume femininity.

Top notes: Hyacinth, galbanum, cassis (black currant), bergamot

Heart notes: Jasmine, lily of the valley, orris, rose

Base notes: Oakmoss, cedarwood, vetiver, amber (Perfumer: Maurice Maurin)

I love the smell of vetiver, which imparts a dry-grass, herbaceous note. (It actually is a tall grass, originating from India.) When it's in feminine fragrances as a predominant note, as it is in the 70s floral-green chypre Amazone, it connotes a can-do woman, earthbound, grounded, and maybe even tomboyish in an elegant way.

Herbaceous, floral, and dry (yet shot through suddenly with lush, juicy fruit), Amazone reminds me a little of Weil's 1945 ode to the savanna, Antilope. (The latter had galbanum, farnesiana, acacia, and oakmoss — surprisingly, no vetiver, but a dry grass/hay smell nevertheless.)

Neither girlish nor womanly, Amazone's persona is in keeping with Hermès's attempt to construct gender in fragrance around the idea of a particular class of woman, the "horsey" Parisian set whose wealth and femininity are anything but conspicuous.

So how does Hermès signify this complex class attitude into a perfume? Conventional feminine perfume notes (jasmine, lily of the valley, rose) + prominent conventionally earthy "masculine" note (vetiver) +  classical, a little reserved, mature fragrance family (bergamot/oakmoss chypre structure) + a touch of  sensuality (cassis/black currant) et voila — a woman who's a bit above it all. She doesn't really have to care.

The last time I was on a horse, he was leading me around; I'm not particularly aspirational, especially when it comes to being "understated" so as to signify a particular class; and I like a more outré scent that dares to be tacky for the sake of being original. Although I like Amazone's warmth and restraint, where would I wear it? Maybe to go to the library? Or to a museum? Or to bed, as I'm about to? Yes, that sounds nice.

(Grab a vintage mini from the nice folks at Miniature Perfume Shoppe.)

Comments

[[email protected]]

Hello!

I've only just discovered your blog, looking for reviews of Crepe de Chine by Millot. What a fantastic array of vintage perfumes you've sampled - am looking forward to delving into the archives and comparing notes. Thanks for sharing your impressions!

Best wishes
Emma

[Kristy Victoria]

Oh this sounds fabulous! I am a huge vetiver freak. I love to wear Encre Noire layered with Sycomore and some CdG Vettiveru for the maximum vetiver experience. Another new scent added to my "to sniff list!" :)

[Perfumaniac]

Welcome, Emma! Glad you found me. Do come back when you're moved to comment! Have you tried Amazone?

[Perfumaniac]

Kristy, If you like vetiver then you should definitely give Amazone a shot. Luca Turin damns it with faint praise in Perfumes: The Guide. (Hermès tends to be lauded for their high-quality ingredients but dismissed for their lack of creativity.) This is his withering assessment: "A beautifully done and deeply uninteresting woody floral, notable only for the fact that the competition is so bad these days that Amazone enables you to appreciate quality in its pure state..." Hmmm. I wouldn't go that far — Amazone is beautiful and understated.

[Mals86]

A significant number of the fragrances that Turin likes, I HATE. (Insolence springs to mind...) It's not a foolproof system - after all, he does give my much-adored Le Temps d'une Fete five stars - but quite a number of things he "damns with faint praise," saying something is quality but boring, I enjoy. Climat is one shining example.

That said, I'm not a big fan of vetiver unless it's quiet (No. 19), so I don't think Amazone is up my alley. On the other hand, I once thought Silences was shrieky, so I could be wrong.

[Perfumaniac]

Mals: Tocade is one of the lauded Turin/Sanchez fragrances I anticipated with bated breath — only to hate, and I mean, hate it. I thought it was chemical, obnoxious and unfortunately tenacious. I tried it again and again, only to return to my initial conclusion. Say what you will about objectivity in perfume sniffin' — you can't make yourself like something, and beauty is subjective.

[[email protected]]

Thank you :) I'd never even heard of Amazone until your review.... Vetiver's a note I'm learning to love: not as a star, but as a supporting act (e.g. Mahora. Yes, I actually like Mahora)! Combining it with blackcurrant and hyacinth sounds like a challenging combo to me - but SO Much more interesting than 90% of modern releases.

As expected, I'm really enjoying your reviews very much - your take on Colony, L'Heure Bleue, Ma Griffe, and on No. 19, which is fascinating. I really need to wrestle with No. 19 again - I find it has sharp thorns.

Happy sniffing! - Emma

[Perfumaniac]

Thanks, Emma. And I'm going to have to take notes on the contemporary perfumes you like — pretty sophisticated!

[Limony]

I've worn Amazone Light for many summers but I've outgrown it a little. It is beautiful. I'm ready to take on a more serious scent and I'm in the process of trying Amazone. So far, it smells much more sparkly on paper than on skin. I got a boozy/syrupy blast as if from an SL fragrance to start with, but it settled down to be... not particularly interesting but pleasant. Not as dry as I expected.
I've just had another sniff at the paper and it's doing Amazone Light! Perhaps someone pre-sprayed it before I picked it up?

Thank you for the Antilope reference, it is much more affordable and I might order that first before committing to Amazone.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi, Limony. I love vintage Antilope, and I don't think it's that hard to obtain in a mini. It's an unusual and wearable scent and smells like a warm savanna plus berries. Come back and tell me what you thought if you try it!

[Andre Moreau]

Hi Barbara,
I finally succedeed in performing a gas-chromatography on a Vintage Amazone EdT, and got results, analysis and discussion.
What a find, to discover REAL rose, jasmine, narcissus in one of my favourite perfumes!

http://raidersofthelostscent.blogspot.it/2014/04/gcms-amazone-edt-hermes-1974.html

cheers, Andre

[Perfumaniac]

That is so cool, Andre. Looking forward to reading and sharing this!

[Sherihan]

Do you think the new version has changed from the old one? I purchased it in the early 90's but didn't like it,and I don't remember how I got rid of it. But it sounds strange as when I remember the smell now(and I quite do clearly) I just fall in love with it. Do you think it's in every Hermes shop now? And did you have similar experience with other perfumes.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi, Sherihan. Thanks for the question. If you loved Amazone when it came out, and a subsequent formula wasnt as nice, it was probably reformulated. It happens all the time....get a vintage version on eBay!

[Carrie Joyner]

Am desperately seeking said parfum...I wore it 30 odd years ago and NEED to find it again. I have contacted Miniature Perfume shop because I couldn't find it using their search engine...hopefully they'll gte back to me with the good news...100mls on EBay is AUS$300 odd!!! (sorry - I love it but a little beyond my budget)..Hoping you can help me if M.P. shop can not......