These are among my favourite fragrances ever: and, good news, they’re true classics! Here’re my favourite classic unisex fragrances from Hermes, Commodity and Jo Malone!
First, I adhere to the ‘you do you’ school of thought when it comes to applying gender norms to beauty. You like it? Wear it. I know people of all sexes using Le Labo Rose, I used to wear Chanel Allure Homme for a while back in the day – and honestly, where is the sense in saying that only women can wear iris scents? Or rose? Vanilla? Or oud? Or musk? (You see where this is going.)
I, personally, absolutely love wearing colognes. (Which were unisex in the beginning anyways, and then were switched somehow, at one point, when they signiefied MAN – and gave cologne houses a broader market suddenly. Why have only one product when you can sell two, right?) In the end, all comes down to marketing.
Anyways, funny you mention colognes, because all three classic unisex fragrances mentioned below have that in common: They’re colognes, which means light, fresh, citrus-y, and usually meant for men.
Fun fact No. 1: “Cologne is usually an umbrella word for masculine scents in North America, but eau de cologne is actually the term for a very light concentration of perfume oils, usually 2 to 4 percent, (…)” – NYT
Commodity, Gin (Eau de Perfume)
Official notes
Top Notes: Bergamot, eucalyptus, watery notes
Middle Notes: Jasmine, leather, white woods
Base Notes: Musk, sandalwood, patchouli
Perfumer: Olivia Jan, 100ml for 135€
Sorry, no gin. It’s Tonic Water. Open a bottle, inhale the bitter, fizzy, slightly sweet scent – and yup, tonic’s the first impression when you spray Gin. It strangely lacks the juniper that’s the main ingredient in gin, and still manages a faint G&T approximation in the dry-down. I absolutely love it after the tonic water approximation has faded: the eucalyptus is still there, but slowly some woodiness, a bit of leather and just a hint of jasmine (a very clean jasmine) emerges.
This wears very close to the body, and in the later stages is only perceptible when you hover your nose over the skin.
Fun fact No. 2: tonic water was initially used to treat malaria due to the quinine content from the chinchona bark used to brew it. Due to the quinine that’s still in it – although in low concentrations – it actually glows in the dark! (Wikipedia)
Jo Malone, Wood Sage & Sea Salt (Eau de Cologne)
Official notes
Top Notes: Ambrette seeds
Middle Notes: sea salt, mineral notes, grapefruit
Base Notes: sage
Perfumer: Christine Nagel, 30ml for 62€
Usually, Jo Malone fragrances are diaphanous things, with difficult to distinguish notes in the usual fragrance pyramid. In my experience, they come to you all at one, enveloping you in a very soft cloud of scent. (Nothing to be afraid of, projection or ‘throw’ is very, very close to the body.)
Wood Sage and Sea Salt has the musky, clean-skin-like thing going on that people often associate with clean laundry. Now add to this a salty note, and the sage, and weirdly, the effect is that of a walk in the dunes near a grey sea on a windy winter day.
After six hours, it’s gone.
Fun fact No. 3: Ambrette seeds (mostly from Martinique) from a plant called Abelmoschus moschatus, are used in perfumery for their musky, sweetly floral scent. (Wikipedia)
Hermes, Voyage d’Hermes (Eau de Toilette)
Official notes
Top Notes: Cardamon, Amalfi lemon, spices, juniper berries
Middle Notes: Tea, green and floral notes
Base Notes: Woods, musk, cedar
Perfumer: Jean-Claude Ellena, 35ml for 90€
It’s Ellena, and that should tell you already a lot about this. (If you’re stumped right now, I recommend Chandler Burr’s book The Perfect Scent – Ellena was Hermes’ in-house perfumer for years, and his perfumery language is distinct. Reviewed here.)
I love the slightly unusual top notes that pair the usual citrus notes with spices and juniper, and I love the floral green tea dry-down. And (you might’ve guessed it) I love the base notes. Again, after about six hours it’s gone, and projection is minimal.
If this one sounds like the most boring cologne of all three, it’s not. For me, it’s the epitome of the genre. Let me say it this way: you’ll get a classic cologne with this, but while it may seem familiar, it still manages to surprise you.
I usually don’t comment on packaging because I simply don’t find it important, this one is ingenius: simply swivel it around and throw it into your bag – no risk of lost caps and co.!
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
