by Anony Mili

Created on: November 30, 2010

Hermes Caleche - It's Been Around Longer Than Me!

Hermes released Caleche way back in 1961 and was one of the first fragrances to be released by the Hermes design house which was established by Thierry Hermes in 1837. Caleche was created by perfumier Guy Robert, who created 3 separate Hermes fragrances. Most people don't think perfumes when they hear Hermes, they're definitely more famous for their handbags, ties, belts, etc, but if, like me, you're not interested in paying 10s of thousands for handbags you may not have paid any attention to them as a designer brand.

Caleche is another perfume my husband persuaded me to try - he had seen it over the years at Selfridges and sort of got obsessed with it and wanted me to buy it. I finally caved although it was rather an expensive indulgence at just under £100 for 100ml EDP and around £45 for the 50ml EDT version I bought as a handbag size! I got the impression from hubby raving about the scent that it was new and he kept telling me to make sure I didn't get Kelly Caleche which is a different fragrance altogether.

Considering it's been around for so long it was strange that I'd never heard of it until recently. Then again, I only heard of it because of my hubby telling me how much he thought it would suit me. He didn't even realise it was such an old, rather, "classic" fragrance until I looked it up and found that it had been around since the early 60s. I guess at that price it's not something you would impulse buy so unless you smelt it on someone else and really liked it, it's not a fragrance that gets much exposure in this day and age with a plethora of celebrity scents out there and other more affordable fragrances that have acquired "classic" status.

I don't think Caleche is a fragrance that everyone can carry off. I feel it's probably aimed at the more mature, confident woman. Women in late 20s and above might feel comfortable wearing this very distinctive scent but braver younger women have been known to be happy with it too. I've had some real compliments when I've worn it in recent months (I say recent months because I only discovered this scent a few months ago). My husband absolutely adores it on me and would love it if I wore it every day but I think it's a bit expensive and possibly too "noticeable" a fragrance for every day wear.
 

WHAT DOES IT SMELL/LOOK LIKE?

Caleche reminds me in some ways of Chanel No 5, in that it is quite distinctive but also that it's possibly not suited to

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