The nosestone
As far as I know the House of Hermès had a tasteful novelty when it presented customers with the opportunity to purchase a Hermès stone (with the letter H engraved in it) that actually smells like one’s favorite perfume. I bought such a scented stone when I dropped in on the Hermes boutique in Via Condotti, one of Rome’s most famous fashion streets. I thought it nice for my wife to have such a stone that would smell like Terre d’Hermès the fragrance by Jean-Claude Ellena. My all time favorite perfume for men. The more so while one of Terre’s distinct notes is ‘flint’, the smell of two stones slammed together. I like that. And my wife likes Terre d’Hermès. The stony present therefore spelled success.
The scented sponge
When on Eleuthera, the Bahamas, this spring I dove for natural sponges. Most sponges are too rough for delicate use, but two genera, Hippospongia and Spongia, have soft, entirely fibrous skeletons. Early Europeans used soft sponges for many purposes, including padding for helmets, portable drinking utensils and municipal water filters. Until the invention of synthetic sponges, they were used as cleaning tools, applicators for paints and ceramic glazes and discreet contraceptives. However by the mid-20th century, over-fishing brought both the animals and the industry close to extinction.
Today however, natural sponges have recuperated almost around the globe and do well in our designer bathrooms. I wondered if Hermès would not feel like introducing hand-picked, Caribbean sponges, scented with each of Hermès famous perfume lines. Just a thought...
Dove for and harvested some natural sea sponges on Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Wonderful lush and soft sponges that need 'curing' for a week in the ocean waves. Sponges are animals of the Phylum Porifera. Their bodies consist of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells. They have remarkable properties of absorption and would saturate well when drenched in one of the delicate scents of the House of Hermès...
The World of Hermès
