Hermès finally says the O-word: first look at Oud Esma

I didn’t think Hermès would lean into oud so bluntly, yet here we are. Oud Esma arrives in November as the third oil-based Essence de Parfum in the Hermessence line, following Cardamusc and Musc Pallida. If you know those two, you can guess the brief: intimacy first, radiance second, projection a distant third. I’m equal parts curious and suspicious, which is exactly how I like to feel before testing an Hermessence.

Let’s set expectations. This is Hermès. If you’re hoping for a barn-stomping Hindi oud, keep walking. The house’s aesthetic is silk scarf, not biker jacket. I expect Oud Esma to be a lacquered-wood impression rather than a skanky pelt, more satin than smoke. The oil format usually means slower bloom, longer cling, and a gorgeous micro-sillage that your scarf will remember for days.

A quick look back helps. Cardamusc is cardamom sifted through pale musk, all breath and hush. Musc Pallida turns iris and musk into a beige cashmere veil with that almost skin-saline glow. Both proved how beautifully the Hermessence oils play with texture. If Oud Esma keeps that DNA, the oud will be distilled to its polished facets: resinous hum, faint leather, a tea-like dryness, maybe a flicker of rose or saffron as a nod to tradition without sinking into clichés.

The name intrigues me. Esma has a jewelry glint in my head, not a bonfire. I’m betting on a luminous oud that lets the grain of the wood show through, the way Christine Nagel often lets light pass across a surface instead of drowning it. If you’re oud-shy, this could be your entry point. If you’re an oud purist, manage your expectations and judge it as a Hermessence, not a mukhallat.

What I’ll be watching for when I wear it:

• Texture on skin in the first hour, not just the drydown.
• Whether the oud reads resinous-amber or dry-woody.
• The partner note that does the real seduction. Hermès rarely shouts, it sidles.
• Sillage that stays close yet leaves a trail on fabric the next morning.

In a market drowning in loud oud, Oud Esma feels like the quiet power move. I’ll take refinement over roar any day, especially when it’s oil-based and built to linger where it counts.