Some perfumes just try too hard. Like an ill-at-ease guest at a formal get-together, anxious to prove they’re not fazed by the insistence on social niceties, they put so much effort into convincing all around that they’re blithely carefree, they end up coming across as anything but, grinning with awkwardness each time they bump into the champagne-bearing waiters. The Soie De Parfum version of Hermes Caleche is a case in point.
Released in 1992 – presumably to provide a modern update of Guy Robert’s 1961 original, which I haven’t tried for years – it is by no means a bad perfume, and yet nothing about it is quite right either. Its structure – luminous aldehydes over rose-and-jasmine florals and darker woods – is clear enough. But the way it hangs together feels gauche and hesitant. The aldehydes have been overplayed, not giving the florals enough room to breathe. The woods are a touch too forceful, preventing the aldehydes from taking flight. The sense of oh-so-sophisticated soapy-powderiness shouts a little too loud. It’s all just a bit off.
Sometimes, the importance of balance in perfumery is best seen not in compositions that get it entirely right, but in those that nearly manage to stand up straight, yet stumble just when you think they’re about to find their footing. Caleche Soie De Parfum is all elbows and knees, incapable of feeling comfortable in its own skin. It tries to remain vertical, but as its struggles grow more frenzied, the champagne trays just keep flying.
Persolaise
[Hermes Caleche Soie De Parfum review based on a sample provided by the brand in 2020.]
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I have the bottle I bought myself in the early 1990’s. I was a young woman who loved grande dame details, and so it suited me. I wore it infrequently but always loved the odd aldehydic density. Now that I’m of a certain age, I’ve dropped the glamour granny look and Caleche Soie de Parfum remains in the Artifacts of Youth scent bin. It does not hold up, but I’m glad I’ve held on to it. Thanks so much for your work, Persolaise. Reading and watching you is always a pleasure.
Thanks, Merry, not just for your kind words, but for sharing your experience of the scent.
I couldn’t disagree more with your remarks on Hermes Caleche. I adore elegant, clean, powdery but still adult florals like this, so many modern scents remind me of either that intial opening of a packet of sweeties for my children/grandchildren or give me a headache with their overwhelming intensity. Caleche is reminiscent of silk underwear & blouses, indulgent baths, ladies tea parties that drift into champagne evenings & dressing up in my finest LBD & diamonds. Perfume is so subjective I know but I will never tire of Caleche.
It’s absolutely fine to disagree. I’m glad that this version of Caleche has its fans.