Bottling a daydream: How Christine Nagel captured Polynesia in a Hermès fragrance 

For Christine Nagel, director of Hermès’ olfactory creation, fragrance creation is never about taking shortcuts. So when she finally arrived at her long-awaited bucket-list destination, Polynesia, it wasn’t just the postcard-perfect landscapes that captivated her, but something far more elusive: its scents. 

In an online interview with Her World, Nagel spoke of Polynesia’s enduring enchantment, reflecting on why sailors once fell under its spell and why generations of artists and painters found themselves irresistibly drawn to its beauty and mystery. For her, however, the magic lay in the atmosphere itself — in the salt-laced sea breeze, lush vegetation and warm currents of tropical air that seemed to carry an invisible story.

Those impressions would eventually become the foundation of Hermès’ latest marine creation, Un Jardin Sous La Mer — a fragrance Nagel describes as “joyful and luminous”, with a “slightly salty” second facet.

Her three-week stay, which included diving expeditions around Tahaa Island, proved particularly transformative. Recalling one moment, she said: “Forget the oxygen bottles, just go into the water and let yourself drift with the current. I found myself above a coral garden, just gliding along. I came back on foot. So pleasant. When you have your head under water, you can’t hear any noise anymore.”

That stillness became fertile ground for inspiration.

Beyond the “incredible” flora and fauna she encountered — including the tiare flower, the national flower of French Polynesia — Nagel became fascinated by materials that could capture the destination in a more nuanced way. There was Tahitian vanilla, which she describes as “fleshy, sensual and rare”. Coconut may be synonymous with island fragrances, but she wanted to move beyond the expected, searching instead for “the delicate sensation of fibre”, creating an extract that felt closer to reality than fantasy. Even tamanu nut, traditionally associated with Polynesian culture, was given an unexpected twist through what she called a more “poetic” reinterpretation.

Unsurprisingly, recreating an entire destination through scent proved painstaking. Nagel admitted the composition “took me a certain amount of time”, adding that while she was pleased with the final result, she was careful to avoid reducing Polynesia into a simplistic tropical cliché.

That resistance to convention has long defined her approach to perfumery.

“For example, with Twilly: if I wanted to create something for young girls, I may have gone with apple or caramel. But I chose ginger — something different.”

For Nagel, reinvention is inseparable from creation itself. Nature remains her greatest source of inspiration, but equally important are the principles that shape Hermès: craftsmanship, quality and creative freedom.

“Hermès is the only house that allows a perfumer to be totally free,” she shared. “When I come back from a trip, I am the one who decides on creating the fragrance. They give me time to make a creation. It’s an incredible gift and liberty — to search, test and try raw materials.”

Her curiosity extends well beyond perfumery. During a recent trip to China, Nagel visited plant pharmacies and met with Chinese physicians, immersing herself in a world of medicinal botanicals and traditional ingredients.

“It’s important for me to understand the plants that are used,” she said. “I observe, I smell, I look, and I try to make extracts. I’m working a lot on raw materials, trying to find things that are different.”

Even obtaining the right material can become a meticulous pursuit.

“Getting a material is very complicated. When I feel I don’t have what I want, I ask suppliers to try to extract it for me. Make a distillation. Get it made bespoke for me.”

Within Hermès, she says, everything begins with the fragrance itself. “Hermès perfumes are very coherent. Everything starts from creation.” The trust she receives from the House, she admits, gives her room to dream. “The trust that they have in me, the feeling that they listen to me — it gives me wings, even though I might have doubts myself.”

Just as the maison’s leather artisans painstakingly select every hide used in a handbag, fragrance creation demands the same devotion to quality and integrity. Raw materials, she believes, must be approached with care — “ethical, renewable and careful”.

While her travels may nourish her creativity, perfumes are ultimately built around emotions rather than destinations. Nagel describes each fragrance almost as an extension of herself.

“You’re my babysitters now,” she laughed. “I’m introducing my baby to you.”

And within Un Jardin Sous La Mer, perhaps the strongest emotion woven into the scent is wonder itself.

“What’s in this perfume is childlike nature. I authorise myself to dream. When dreams can become a reality, and when it gets transformed into a perfume, that loop is closed.”

Nagel also remains a firm believer in allowing people complete freedom with fragrance. Some may collect bottles like treasured objects; others might remain faithful to a single signature scent for decades.

“It’s interesting to discover new things. You need to be curious.”

As for making a fragrance linger longer? The perfumer has her own rituals: apply fragrance to hair and clothing, and layer perfume over body cream for better longevity. “Perfume holds better. It stays,” she shared, adding that musky notes — like those found in Musc Pallida body products — work particularly beautifully for extending wear.

For someone who spends her life translating emotions into scent, perhaps curiosity itself is the most important ingredient of all.