Hermessence Agar Ebene was inspired by the Middle East, so it falls in the amber woody category and is considered unisex. Agar Ebene is a blend of two woody notes - a carnal agarwood softened by the sweetness of fir balsam.
Reviews of Hermes Agar Ebene from noses that may or may not sniff like your nose does.
An exerpt from a review by The Candy Perfume Boy
Agar wood is not a note one would usually associate with Hermès. First and foremost they are not a brand to follow trends and have up to this point, resisted the oud bandwagon, but more than this, Hermès' fragrances have historically had a transparency that is incompatible with the richness of oud. What Nagel has created with Agar Ébène is the ideal compromise – an oud that is perfectly Hermès and actually rather unusual. This fragrance is so soft it feels as if it has been made out of fur rather than wood. It’s incredibly tactile with a supple, chocolate-like richness. To me it smells like dry bark with a soft, creamy centre – a wood soufflé with a crisp shell begging to be cracked.
An exerpt from a review by Colognoisseur
Agar Ebene has had a lot of fuss made about it as being the first Hermes perfume to feature oud. After wearing it I’m not sure that line has truly been crossed. The press release makes a big deal that this is “agarwood” the uninfected tree which becomes oud. Which is sort of the small print to keep the oud pledge still in place. All of that should tell you the star of Agar Ebene is not the agarwood but the other ingredient, fir balsam. Mme Nagel uses a rich version around which, I believe, she wraps a precisely balanced oud accord. It allows for only a touch of the agarwood to “infect” the balsam. There are moments when it smells like the beginning of a leather accord. It ends up making this, unexpectedly, a comfort scent.
