Kelly Calèche
Eau de Toilette, Hermès (2007)

I’m really trying to pick up the leather here, but I’m not getting much. My nose may just be calibrated to stronger leather profiles like Galop and Cuir d’Ange, so this might read softer by comparison—or perhaps it’s gone through reformulation. What I mostly get is grapefruit and rose. The grapefruit either carries into the drydown, or I’m picking up mimosa instead. Either way, it wears quite floral, wrapped in a light, delicate rose. There’s nothing jammy, fruity, or dense here; everything feels transparent and airy.

In the background, there are very subtle green notes that add freshness, along with a light minty impression. Mint isn’t listed, but I suspect the combination of green facets and grapefruit creates that effect. I was hoping for more leather, but instead this comes across as an airy, floral composition. The notes may lean traditionally feminine, but I think this is easily wearable for men as well. It feels fresh, clean, and well-suited for spring or summer. I was hoping this could be a more affordable alternative to Galop, but I haven’t found anything that really captures that DNA yet.

Compared to Calèche, this feels more modern. That said, I wouldn’t recommend blind-buying it. If you’re sensitive to florals, there’s enough white floral presence here to be off-putting for some. Performance is surprisingly good. You’d expect something like this to last five or six hours, but I’m getting closer to ten. Despite being released in 2007, Hermès has since put out fragrances that many might find more interesting. Still, if you’re looking for something uncomplicated, fresh, and clean, this could fit the bill.

Rose Ikebana
Got a life, made some friends, and
Lives in the city

She’s peak Ellena
Life of the tea party with
Her floral wing girls

Just enough leather
To make the bad boys wonder
If they have a chance

I hear she’s trouble
A bad influence, they say
I don’t believe it

But all you young dudes
I am telling you right now
That gal - she don’t age.

A trick that Jean-Claude Ellena did is to make us think that Kelly Caleche is the modern version, the updated younger version, of the venerable Caleche. That it is aimed primarily for younger women (as the ad says) is a misdirection. Because, honestly, this is unisex.
Which of course verifies that fume-heads are not totally so fixated on "genderizing" scent!

This opens green/vegetal even, but of roses (and not the jammy ones). The effluvia of floral notes is turned down as the mix of lily of the valley, mimosa and tuberose is tempered by iris, giving it a tone of grey or beige, instead of pink. The floral heart is there. But it is fresh and green. Not indolic.
And finally, the leather dry-down. This is suede. Of the finest kind, similar to Daim Blond but without the peach note. This leather is not butch. Not harsh or rough. This is leather expressed in a surfeit of elegance. And if you happen to have smelled Rose & Cuir (Frederic Malle), you will sense their uncanny similarities.

This really is unisex, this is apropos for ladies and men of discerning taste and style.

Highly recommended!

It's strange to get a smell that should be strong but is so soft. I get a stable smell, not really floral, but that's may be because of the name. It's really different from anything else so I give it a positive review, but something is wrong on me.

Light Blue Dancers by Edgar Degas 1882

I get a really strong lily of the valley, mimosa, and piney-geranium scent. If that is what you are looking for I strongly recommend it for a nice delicate floral.

I was hoping for more full bodied rose, tuberose, and leather. I was disappointed.