MAKING OF AN OPUS

In Hermes’ Barénia, in-house perfumer CHRISTINE NAGEL has realised a decade-long dream that harks back to her childhood stories.

- JENNIFER CHEN

Put it in your mouth, but don't eat it, advises Christine Nagel, indicating a shriveled fruit the size of an M&M the table. In my previous passes at on exploring perfume ingredients, I've never been asked to taste them, but I'm game, trusting in the process of Hermès' in-house perfumer. I detect no flavor initially, just dried skin, but this blossoms into a full, floral sweetness after I suck on a slice of lemon.

The fruit is the miracle berry, native to West Africa and renowned for its ability to transform sour flavours into sweet. The berry has been a grail for Nagel since she became a perfumer three decades ago.

"The miracle berry is associated with the early part of my life," says Nagel. "When I was young, I used to love reading tales from Asia, Europe, Greece and Africa. I remember a story of a little African magician who lived in a baobab tree. The magician was adored and worshipped by the villagers because he could make sweet everything that was sour, even people's character.

"I've always thought about that story since I became a perfumer. I've always looked for that miraculous fruit." She found it five years ago and wove it into Barénia, Hermès' latest fragrance and Nagel's "treasure" that has taken a decade to be realised.

We are sitting in Nagel's workshop in Hermès' headquarters in Paris. She's relaxed in shaded spectacles, black leather jacket, and dark jeans and boots. With its floor to ceiling windows, the workshop is flooded with light. In one corner, there's a yellow Hermès surfboard depicting African fauna and flora, a gift from Hermès Horizons after she made a perfume wax for the house's bespoke department, a pair of rollerblades - "I love rollerblading!" - and a Hermès dog bed for her pet, Twilly. The art on the wall is personal.