Sunshine on Skin: Starting 2026 in Hermès Eau de Néroli Doré, then chasing Pantone’s Cloud Dancer

Rabbit, rabbit. New Year, new skin story. I wanted clarity at dawn, not confetti, so I reached for Hermès Eau de Néroli Doré. If a citrus could speak in complete sentences, this one would. It is neroli without the handwringing, sunlit and taut, lightly spiced, and clean in a way that feels like fresh linen snapping on a line. You get the pared-back intelligence that perfumery nerds expect from Jean‑Claude Ellena, yet the result is anything but aloof. I wear it when I need my brain to stop doomscrolling and my shoulders to drop two inches.

The first day of the year already asks a lot of us. It is also a merry collision of observances, from the tail end of festive lights to Public Domain Day, Euro Day, even Bloody Mary Day if you are still clutching a celery stick. My ritual is simpler. A transparent citrus-floral that shaves down the noise, then breakfast. Eau de Néroli Doré has become that ritual. On skin, the orange blossom hums, never shrieks. The saffron thread reads like golden hour. Longevity is better than reputation suggests, especially if you do two light sprays on fabric.

Tomorrow I am playing with color, fragrance style. Pantone Cloud Dancer is the 2026 mood board in one name, a soft white that feels like chalky silk. Translating that to scent means airy textures, clean-musky radiance, maybe a petal halo rather than a bouquet.

My shortlist for Cloud Dancer vibes:

• Byredo Blanche for cool-laundered musks that still feel human.
• Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis for a cotton-sheet shimmer that never turns soapy.
• Narciso Rodriguez For Her Pure Musc for a creamy, skin-close glow with just enough lift.
• Chanel No. 5 L’Eau for aldehydic sparkle dialed to modern subtle.
• Mugler Cologne for that just-showered, basil-green fizz that dries to white musk.
• Tom Ford Neroli Portofino if you want your white to crackle with Mediterranean light.

If your year needs a reset button, start with citrus clarity, then glide into white. Today, Hermès Eau de Néroli Doré is my compass. Tomorrow, I am chasing Cloud Dancer across my pulse points.