No-one does decadence and refined excess better than Tom Ford. In years gone by, he has left his fingerprint firmly on both the Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent fashion and perfume portfolios, but in 2005 under the Estee Lauder umbrella, Ford went on to announce the creation of his very own brand. His first feminine fragrance Black Orchid was an instant hit, so Ford went on to design a male counterpart; Tom Ford for Men, along with it's deliciously intense version; Tom Ford Extreme.

Tom Ford Extreme rests at the pinnacle of Tom Ford fragrances. Much like the its female partner in crime Black Orchid, Extreme is composed of lip-smacking accords and components of the highest quality. Mysterious and captivating, this masculine scent has a flight of Persian lemon and black Italian fig, which dances over a sophisticated heart of black truffle, oriental spices, and black plum. Extreme feels incredibly rich, worldly and civilized... its dry down is a head-turning blend of vetiver, caramel, vanilla, precious woods, leather and incense. It is seductive, complex and commanding.

Tom Ford Extreme promises male glamour but without being flashy and gaudy. Perhaps the perfect fragrance to wear to black tie events, it can just as easily be worn at the office, or on electrifying nights out with your girl (or boy)!

Very few masculines these days have this much heft and presence... its definitely one to covet!

In 2003 - under the guardianship of in-house nose Jean-Claude Ellena - Hermès invited us to stroll through a garden in the Mediterrannean; Ellena's first olfactory exploration in the Jardins perfume series. Since then, we have been taken to examine the garden oases of southern Egypt; the fragrant lawns of India after the monsoon; the verdant green of a rooftop Garden in Paris, and now - in 2015 - Ellena takes us for a stroll in a perfectly manicured Chinese garden... Le Jardin de Monsieur Li.

The flight of this perfume is a bright citrus with an unusual aromatic green undercurrent... it dances between notes of bittersweet kumquat and jade-colored aquatic accords. There exists a sense of balance and refinement right from the outset... a curious symmetry between components that feels effortless and precise; Ellena's very own Chinese 'masterstock', perhaps. Jasmine is listed amongst the olfactory notes declared on the outer packaging, and indeed one can find it there, but there appears to be an assortment of flowers that are not mentioned in the accompanying pyramid; rose? peony? magnolia? Again, Ellena has woven them all into the tapestry of this perfume with such mastery, that they are difficult to distinguish. The overall feeling however, is one of tenderness, filtered light, and an accomplished marriage of the elements, earth, water and air.

Monsieur Li feels incredibly diaphanous - as thin as Chinese rice-paper lanterns, and as semi-transparent as blooms of coloured ink dropped on wet watercolour paper. Over the hours, it tapers into a fine mist of clean musk and blonde woods.

As far as the Jardins series goes, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li takes up residence comfortably amongst it's older siblings and feels very much a part of the broader picture. Collectively, Ellena's Jardins creations form an aria to genderless perfection, each with a proficient sense of lightness and harmony.

In keeping with Hermes House traditions, master perfumer Jean Claude Ellena added a new masculine to the Hermes stable in 2013 that was based on a much-loved Hermes fragrance originally launched in 1986. Bel Ami Vetiver is a scent that tips it's hat to its older sibling Bel Ami, but emphasizes a sense of contemporary elegance for a whole new generation.

A woody, leather scent, Bel Ami Vetiver maintains the same silhouette as its predecessor (a very distinguished leather fragrance), but this time infuses it with a vibrant shot of vetiver. Vetiver - a perennial grass harvested in Indonesia and in India - lends an earthy green facet and a slightly dry smokiness to the composition... it imbues this eau de toilette with a sense of warmth and richness. A satisfying play between fresh green, smokey leather and a slight sweetness bestows this fragrance with everything one might ask for in a striking men's cologne.

Bel Ami Vetiver will impress in the boardroom as much as it will for a night on the tiles, but be warned – this stuff is addictive! As a flanking fragrance to a well known scent, no-one can tell if this little gem shall remain indefinitely in the Hermes masculine lineup, or if it will inevitably be retired as a limited production, leaving us to lament it's passing for years to come.

Get it while you can!