How Hermès Barénia was designed to become a legacy fragrance
Scent takes us on a sensory journey. When Christine Nagel decided to create a perfume inspired by Hermès’s signature Barénia leather, that journey promised to be as intricate as you’d imagine. “The first Hermès handbag I bought was in Barénia leather,” Nagel recalls. “I cried at the first scratch, the second scratch and the tenth scratch. Then the bag began to develop a patina and I realised it becomes more beautiful with time.” This transformative quality of the leather inspired her to create a fragrance that would similarly evolve on the skin.
In leading this evolution, Nagel turned to chypre—a classic perfume structure dear to her heart, in which fragrances unfold from citrus top notes through floral centres to base notes of moss. From its first spark of inspiration to its final unveiling, the perfume’s journey spanned a decade, one of the longest development periods in Hermès’s fragrance history. Barénia Eau de Parfum became the house’s first-ever chypre fragrance when it was released last year.
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Hermès Barénia Intense
Hermès Barénia Intense
Now, Nagel invites us on a deeper journey—one that intensifies the dialogue between strength and softness—with a second version of the scent, Barénia Intense. “Leather notes can be masculine but Barénia is the most sensual of Hermès leathers. I wanted to work on the leather in a very supple way,” she explains. The result is achieved through an intricate balance of materials, including two different forms of patchouli and a uniquely processed oakwood.
The oakwood used in Barénia Intense undergoes a special roasting process that transforms its typically rigid character into something unexpectedly supple. “When I smelled it, I was surprised to discover something very dense, close to rum,” says Nagel. “It’s very addictive. It serves as the backbone of the fragrance, from beginning to end.”
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This backbone supports the combination of two notes that belong to opposite ends of the spectrum: the heavy, musky leather and the light, ethereal butterfly lily. It’s another daring move from Nagel. “I love to combine extremes,” she says. “When you have the merging between two extremes, that’s when magic happens.”
When you have the merging between two extremes, that’s when magic happens.
By - Christine Nagel
You can only truly experience that magic when the perfume touches your skin. The refreshing, bright citrus top notes are an unexpected surprise from a fragrance inspired by leather. It then undergoes a sensuous transformation—a dance of soothing floral notes. After some time, what remains is a sheer veil of musky leather and smoky notes that linger: a scent that is gentle and deep at the same time. While the first version of Barénia meditates on the house’s signature leather like a metaphor, the intense version brings it closer to reality with notes of leather, capturing the allure of a material that caresses you.
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But Nagel has no intention of dictating how the two sibling perfumes should be worn, apart from following your instincts. “While some might prefer the eau de parfum for day and the Intense for evening, I don’t give specific recommendations,” she says. “They are two different aesthetics that can please the same person or different people.”
She does, however, share one insider tip: layering the fragrance with the Barénia body cream creates an extraordinary effect. “It’s like the traditional enfleurage process used 100 years ago to capture flower essences in wax,” she explains. “When you apply the cream first, then the perfume, you create something truly special—particularly with the Intense version.”
Creative director of Hermès perfumes, Christine Nagel
One thing is certain: the moment the perfume was completed, Nagel knew this creation would become a heritage Hermès fragrance. The bottle, which depicts the Collier de Chien bracelet—one of the house’s signature designs—helps to establish this statement. “When we called upon our designer, Philippe Mouquet, he spent a lot of time with me before starting to work on imagining the bottle. I wanted Barénia to become a heritage fragrance of Hermès, and, quite naturally, when he presented his first sketches using the iconic Collier de Chien bracelet, it was immediately obvious to everyone that this was the perfect bottle for this fragrance.”
Ensuring each fragrance embodies the complete essence of Hermès is central to Nagel’s role as the house’s olfactory translator, which means she feels a profound responsibility with each creation. “In the bottle, I need to put all the values of Hermès,” she says. “The perfume is maybe the key to enter the house [of Hermès]. Someone who uses Barénia might one day push open the door to a store and discover the whole world of Hermès.
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