The aura and mystique of the beloved islands of Greece has inspired creators from artists, to writers to…perfume makers. The headline of a recent piece from Surfacemag.com reads: “Hermes’s Latest Fragrance Evokes Windswept Greek Isles.”

An appreciative Ryan Waddoups writes: “The latest fragrance from Hermès’ Parfums-Jardins serves as a portal to a dry, barren land devoid of vegetation. In-house perfumer Christine Nagel envisioned Un Jardin à Cythère with notes of crisp sun-dried grass, nutty olive wood, and fresh pink pistachios that captures “fields of olive trees and high grasses blowing in the wind” that she first spotted from the sea upon first visiting the Greek island of Kythira.”

The article continues, “thanks to her cinematic approach to perfumery in which she painstakingly recreates the ‘color, texture, and sounds’ of an image in her mind, Un Jardin à Cythère captures that alchemy. It evokes nostalgic feelings of dry grasses underfoot, being drenched in sunlight, and the smoky cereal scent of caramelizing oats, resulting in a distinctive scent that feels both familiar and entirely new.”

(Material from surfacemag.com was used in this article)