Bel Ami by Hermès

Greetings to J.A.M. for his note on Bel Ami. I logged onto the site thinking of the person who recommended it and led me to purchase, as a gift, a huge bottle of Bel Ami almost forty years ago. The curious thing is that he wasn’t a bank manager, but an Italian banker, the father of a friend. That good man knew of my interest in perfumes and said he wore a very elegant… yet aggressive fragrance, which projected a misleading image of my personality. It didn’t stop there; that same week we went to his perfumer to have them create the night and summer versions of the same scent (today we call them ‘flankers’), and so that house provided them to me for a very long time, until I left Rome. He enrolled me in the world of niche perfumery and I remain faithful to it, although it is difficult living in America, in a charming city with a wonderful climate but very, very provincial. I try to travel to Europe once a year to stock up on many things, mainly my perfumes. I bought a version from the 90s online about seven years ago, very expensive as it was already half-used, but it was worth it for the universe of memories it brought back to life with just a sniff. I continue to explore the always less imaginative world of perfumery, hoping young people could glimpse just what my generation knew before advertising and promotional videos circumscribed perfumery to what it is today: a meagre cube within which there is only a labyrinth of mirrors.

A masculine aromatic chypre and balsamic. It sparkles with spices, herbal notes, and a light leather. It portrays that classic masculine perfume without giving all the protagonism to the wood, but rather constructs a much more diverse, spiced, and calming aroma. Although it doesn’t resemble it, it achieves that effect of comforting laundry scents and something traditional. It is a concept similar to Chanel’s Antaeus, being much lighter and oxygenated, without that punchiness of Chanel. It is historical masculine elegance from Hermès that still works today for noses that enjoy slightly woody, spiced aromas and that take pleasure in leather.

It is not a fougère; it is a leather chypre. This is the several times I have noticed this error of confusing or not differentiating the two families. The chypre and fougère families, while sharing a time period and some ingredients, differ enormously from one another. They consist in turn of two primordial combinations of ingredients: Chypre: Bergamot, Labdanum, and Oakmoss. Fougère: Lavender, Coumarin (a chemical compound derived from tonka bean that smells of dried herbs), and Moss. Likewise, they possess secondary nuances more easily distinguishable: Floral notes such as rose, jasmine, and carnation are more akin to the chypre family, while the fougère family rarely uses these ingredients, dispenses entirely with rose and carnation (and also almost always with jasmine), and has geranium instead. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that there are perfumes that do not belong to one family or the other at first glance, such as Lapidus Pour Homme and Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui. Representatives of both families: Chypres (Woody, Leather, etc.) Antaeus, Polo, Bel Ami, Eau de Vie, Eau Sauvage, Aramis, Gucci PH 1976, Creed Aventus, etc. Fougères (Aromatics) Azzaro, Drakkar Noir, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, Lomani Pour Homme. I hope this is of help to you. Blessings.

I acquired the reformulated version after testing it in a shop in Brussels; it was love at first sniff. To be honest, I had never heard of it, and I cannot comment on the version from 40 years ago, but this EDT is undervalued. It is a masculine fougère (very masculine) with a skin that, without being invasive, says: here you are facing a man, not a boy…

I had been chasing this fragrance for a long time and today I received it after seeing it in tester format online at a very good price. I am amazed. It is not a scent for the young, but it radiates class, elegance, and formality. It is a fresh and citrusy aroma that turns into woody, without losing the presence of vetiver, carnation, and bergamot, on a vanilla base. Personally, I do not detect the leather, at least the leather scent I am accustomed to in my collection. It smells like a businessman from the 80s arriving at his office freshly groomed, ready for a day of work, including lunch, in a provincial capital by the sea.

Many thanks, Josesan, for letting me try this great perfume. Personally, I prefer Equipage, but one cannot deny the beauty of this aroma. It is not easy to classify and requires a broad olfactory path to be appreciated as it deserves. Fantastic the aura and the vibe you have; it tastes of good and old times, when friends were truly friends and it was customary to share everything. Those who had a car would come to pick you up despite living very far away, just for the pleasure of sharing time, dreams, and chats. Bel Ami speaks of this, of what will never return but was really important. It is citrusy, floral, leathery, very complex, and long-lasting on the skin, despite having a normal but present trail. It is an adult fragrance that smells very good and is mainly suitable for autumn and winter, when it envelops you and makes you travel through time. A wonderful proposal, to wear it with pride.

A wonderful, marvellous perfume; the opening indicates there is magic, slightly citrusy and refreshing, although this lasts seconds to give way to what is ultimately a leather chypre. It is very much in the line of perfumes like Borsalino or Antaeus (although without the animal and toilet room notes of the latter). It has a lot of body, that dense feeling of a completely eighties and masculine perfume, but it is not ‘in the face’, but rather perfectly balanced and moves with subtlety and class. In its development, it proposes a smoky, robust leather, sprinkled with herbal, floral, and earthy notes. As it evolves, it makes its dark and oily character clearer, surrounded by the always effective oakmoss. It is not a perfume for everyone, but rather of very old school, but it is so well made that one cannot say it has become outdated. Being so elegant, its use is limited to formal occasions or dates with women who know what life is about. Soak yourself in Bel Ami, put on a blazer, and go to a bar to drink a whisky and enjoy adult things. Another very positive aspect is that, although it does not have a brutal trail, its longevity is excellent. We can enjoy it for many hours without needing to press our nose against the skin. If you put it on and do not like it, it will be the worst of your nightmares. If you like aquatic sports or gourmands, better not to approach it. Regarding reformulations: there are three. The original, cocktail-shaped bottle, impossible to find, seems to have been the best constructed. The first reformulation, bottle with the inscription Bel Ami directly on the glass, practically identical to the first but, as is said, a little lighter. The current formulation, bottle with the red label. Jean-Claude Ellena touched the balls a bit and made it slightly spicier at the opening to modernise it, but it still has good performance and has not lost its identity. It is not a leather like modern ones (for example, Gucci Guilty Absolute), much more linear and stylised, to the point that they are almost unreal. Bel Ami is a work with an eighties spirit but of eternal value.

I bought Bel Ami in 1990 without being such a perfume enthusiast as I am today, but I always liked it because of my father and an uncle. I recently sought it out again for those memories of my adolescence and that obsession to rediscover that sweet suede, deep and elegant scent, so typical of Hermès in those years. The old cocktail bottle version was a bomb: maximum four sprays, as more would be suffocating, just like a flower that smells bad up close but is exquisite from a distance. Nowadays, perhaps to adapt to current standards, they have toned down the potency, though it remains very good. Be aware, this is a Hermès with all its weight. It does not disappoint, leaving clothes impregnated for weeks, even after washing. The dry down is what most recalls the original: beautiful, masculine and earthy. In short, this updated Bel Ami is worthy, perfect for rainy days, and in autumn and winter it will melt hearts with that scent that seems like tanned human DNA infused with ancient spices. It is not only earthy but also ethereal, like a landscape after the rain with mist rising to a violet sky we see from the wet window.

I like it. The first thing I notice is cardamom and oakmoss with a citrus and almond touch. Then comes the leather, slightly sweetened by styrax, vanilla and amber, with a green hint that could be basil and the ever-present oakmoss. It finishes by becoming woody with cedar and vetiver without losing the leather. I find it elegant, classic and well-made. I see it for events and formal wear. At some point it reminded me of Cuir Ottoman, but I prefer Parfum d’Empire. I recommend it to leather lovers. Suitable for spring, autumn and winter, day and night. Long-lasting longevity and moderate sillage.

Even though it has been reformulated, it remains one of the best leathers you can get.

I wanted to wait until I had the vintage to compare and give an opinion. The current Bel Ami is not bad, but compared to the original, I stick with the latter. It is like fitting a less powerful and simple engine to a car; the leather of the current version seems like a patch. The citrus and aromatic opening is delicious and fresh, very similar to the current one, but the rest changes. The development is classic, old school, made infinitely better in the vintage. This is a dry woody chypre with balsamic tints, featuring a sweet and crackling leather dry down, rich in nuances, potent, long-lasting and with a perfect, balanced sillage. The vintage Bel Ami is a pillar of men’s perfumery. Moreover, it is one of the best leathers I have tried; if you can get the cocktail bottle, do not hesitate. Vintage rating: 8.5.

Bel Ami is a luxury woody chypre, with lots of wood and leather, potent and elegant, almost timeless. To me, it is one of the best for men by Hermès, even better than Equipage or Terre, although each has its own taste. I find it a very original fragrance; I have not smelled anything equal, though if you look, you might find echoes of chypres like Antaeus. On my skin it lasts a long time and leaves a sillage without being invasive, depending on each person’s skin. I do not see it for everyday use; it is more for semi-formal or formal occasions, spending money like this daily is not worth it if you do not have the budget. In short, it is a fragrance with body, rich and timeless, a reference for chypre lovers. I give it a ten.