Twilly d'Hermès Eau Poivrée Eau de Parfum

Flankers usually soften the original, and Hermès Twilly d'Hermès Eau Poivrée Eau de Parfum does the opposite, which is the best reason to try it.

The recorded materials are pink pepper, rose and patchouli. Pink pepper opens with a dry crackle and a rosy spark, peppery without the heat of the black kind, and it sets the tone immediately. Rose follows, and it is handled full and slightly jammy rather than green or soapy, which gives the perfume a richness the rest of the Twilly line does not have. Patchouli grounds it, dark and damp and earthy, the material that turns a pretty rose into something with a shadow behind it. Three materials, well chosen, and no filler.

Against its siblings in the line this is the grown up one. Where the others go bright or sweet, this leans into depth, and it is the version that works at night and in cold weather rather than on a summer afternoon. It is also the one most likely to be mistaken for something far more expensive. Eau de parfum strength suits a composition built on rose and patchouli, since both materials have staying power of their own. Expect a strong opening, a close and persistent middle and a trace still there in the morning on a scarf. Two sprays are enough and three is too many. It is made for women, it suits evenings, dinners and autumn, and it is the Twilly to choose for anyone who thought the original was aimed at somebody too young. The year recorded is 2019.

The house has traded in Paris since 1837, began as a harness and saddlery workshop under its founder Thierry Hermès with the Faubourg Saint-Honoré premises following in 1880. It has made perfume since 1951.