Hermes Paris started out in 1837 as a family-owned, privately operated family business, specializing in saddlery and related equestrian leather goods of exquisite quality. The brand later expanded to include fashion, shoes and, most notably, accessories - a total of 14 departments, one of which is Hermes Beaute, responsible for the house's perfumes. Hermes is a true luxury goods house - the majority of the merchandise (the world-famous Hermes handbags, for example) are still hand-made in Paris. Quantities are thus limited and the QC (quality control) is so strict, that every slightly imperfect object is destroyed. The Hermes merchandise, apart from the lots that somehow sneak into the black market, is never officially discounted. The brand is still family owned, with Jean-Louis Dumas-Hermes at the helm of all things Hermes until 2006, when Patrick Thomas, who's been with the company for 16 years, took over as CEO. The perfumes are of the highest quality, containing expensive raw materials, many of them natural. The house's investment in its own perfume branch (and the public interest as well!) went up significantly when Hermes Beaute contracted the famed French nose Jean-Claude Ellena to be its in-house perfumer. At the moment Hermes has an exclusive line of fragrances (sold only in Hermes boutiques) called the Hermessences, and a pret-a-porter fragrance collection, which includes the unisex 'Jardins' line, the house classics, such a Caleche (1961), 24, Faubourg (1995) or Bel Ami and the new 'star' fragrances , such as Kelly Caleche or Terre d'Hermes.

Hermes is an old perfume house. The earliest editions originate from 1934 and the newest ones from 2009. Hermes fragrances are made in association with perfumers Maurice Roucel, Bernard Bourjois, Jean-Claude Ellena, Guy Robert, Robert Gonnon., Fabrice Pellegrin, Jean Guichard, Ralf Schwieger, Nathalie Feisthauer, Edmond Roudnitska, Olivia Giacobetti, Gilles Romey and Akiko Kamei.