With Un Jardin sous la Mer, Hermès invites a different kind of escape, one that drifts between imagination and reality. The latest addition to its poetic fragrance universe draws inspiration from beneath the ocean’s surface, where light, colour and scent merge into something fluid and dreamlike.
Created by in-house perfumer Christine Nagel, the fragrance unfolds as an imagined underwater garden, where corals bloom like flowers and the boundaries between sea and sky begin to blur. It is built on a delicate balance of mineral notes, soft tiare flower, and the creamy warmth of tamanu, coming together in a composition that feels both fresh and enveloping.
Rather than following a traditional structure, the scent moves more like a landscape. It opens with an airy, almost translucent quality before deepening into something more textured and immersive, echoing the shifting sensations of being submerged in water, where light refracts and colours take on new intensity. The effect is subtle but evocative, designed to be felt as much as it is smelled.
This sense of immersion extends to the bottle itself. Hermès’ signature lantern flacon is reimagined through graduated shades of blue, moving from deeper oceanic tones at its base to lighter, almost ethereal hues near the top. It reflects the same visual and emotional journey as the fragrance, from the depths of the sea to the open sky.
The packaging continues this narrative. Created by artist Aino-Maija Metsola, the box features soft, watercolour-like illustrations that capture the fluidity and vibrancy of the underwater world. The imagery feels intentionally blurred and luminous, mirroring the way scent itself resists clear definition.
Un Jardin sous la Mer ultimately sits within Hermès’ wider “Jardin” collection, yet it brings a new dimension to the series. Where previous creations explored gardens rooted in the earth, this one imagines a garden that exists beyond reach, somewhere between reality and fantasy.
It is this idea of the invisible that lingers. A fragrance that suggests rather than declares, inviting the wearer into a quiet, sensory escape, where time slows and the world feels suspended. In doing so, Hermès offers not just a perfume, but a moment, fleeting, atmospheric, and deeply personal.
