According to the perfumer, the fragrance disappears onto the skin just as the patina of the Barenia leather shifts over time.
“The elements at Hermes are very interconnected,” Nagel mused.
A SMELL, AN OBSESSION
And connected is how Nagel feels towards Barenia and all the other fragrances that she has ever created, which includes hits like Hermes’ Terre d’Hermes, Narciso Rodriguez’s for Her, Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie and Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt, to name a few.
“When I’m out on the streets and I pass a man or a woman, very often, I sniff,” Nagel shared surreptitiously.
“Sometimes, I recognise one of my perfumes. And I follow,” she let on.
“If it’s a man, it’s strictly professional,” said Nagel, playfully. “I go faster, ahead of him then turn to see his face. It’s emotional for me. Because this man, or woman, is not a friend but they have a part of me on them. I love this.”
Yet Nagel insists she’s not obsessed.
After a dramatic pause, she conceded. “Maybe a little bit obsessed.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
“It’s a secret,” she said with a twinkle in the eye.
Like clues to a charade, she added: “It is based on a true and very special story. And there will be many special ingredients.”
Will it be another 10-year wait?
Only the magician who lives in the baobab tree can tell.
CNA Luxury was in Shanghai at the invitation of Hermes.