Odd leather smell

[carlinha]

MYH, when you smell the inside of your Kelly, does it have any smell or not at all? I'm trying to find out if the inside of my togo Kelly smell or not. Mine has a smell kind of glue-y inside but i'm not sure if togo leather just smell like that

Carlinha, i remember that you just got a bamboo Kelly recently, can you please also give me some opinions on this?

Thank you so much!!!

oh babe, i am sort of in the same boat as MYH (except my dogs haven't eaten skunks and there are no skunk smelling plants around me ) and you.. my new bambou K has a smell... but i wouldn't call it skunky per se and it is not strong... all i know is IT SMELLS DIFFERENT FROM ALL MY OTHER BAGS (togo, clemence, epsom, swift and tadelakt). it has a stronger odor... now i don't remember if all my other bags used to have a stronger smell when i first purchased them, and they just dissipated over time?? or i just never smelled them closely before (but they don't smell like anything now)?!

i don't quite know how to describe the scent - to me it smells like leather and some chemically scent mixed together - be it dye or glue or whatever it is. it is VERY FAINT, and i can only smell it when i have my nose right up against the outside of the bag or with my head INSIDE the bag (my husband caught me with this the other day and he looked at me like i had to explain to him this whole situation and he scoffed at first but after i had him smell all of my bags, he agrees that my Bambou K has a stronger distinct smell than the others)... the intensity of the smell does not seem to change with temperature/heat or direct sun. and i know i have LITERALLY sunbathed with the bag by the pool in 90+ degree direct sun/heat for an entire afternoon....

it is not exactly an offensive smell to me either...

my bag btw is R stamp in a square and Togo...

so anyway, sorry for the long explanation/description.... i am still and don't quite know what to make of this whole situation...

 

[MYH]

I have smelled my picotins in clemence a lot and they don't smell like anything at all. My togo gold kelly does smell like something. My DH agrees there is an odor but he does not think it is offensive enough to take back. I'm on the fence like Carlinha.

 

[luckyc]

Carlinha, thank you for replying to me. You described exactly what happened with me too. So when you smell your other togo bag, it doesnt smell anything any more? Now it makes me feel much better that maybe this is the "new" togo leather scent and hopefully it'll fade away eventually.

Now i guess i'll join the boat with you and MYH. Please keep me updated with your case. Thank you ladies *hugs*

 

[carlinha]

Carlinha, thank you for replying to me. You described exactly what happened with me too. So when you smell your other togo bag, it doesnt smell anything any more? Now it makes me feel much better that maybe this is the "new" togo leather scent and hopefully it'll fade away eventually.

Now i guess i'll join the boat with you and MYH. Please keep me updated with your case. Thank you ladies *hugs*

no my other togo which is a capucine B has absolutely no distinct smell whatsoever... she was my first B and i have had her for over 2 years now... i didn't think to smell her when i first got her because i was on cloud 9 giddy, and never knew this issue existed.

let's all keep each other posted ladies!

 

[Anfang]

Now, ladies, this sounds awful !!! Poor Nico sending back her Etain twice !!! WTF??? !!!

 

[Anfang]

Ladies, thanks for all the support. I truly appreciate it. I feel so conflicted about this situation, I never in a million years thought I'd receive a stinky bag from Hermes, not once, but twice!! Sigh.

Nico, this sounds like a nightmare !!! TWICE??!! OMG, I do hope you'll be quickly through this!

 

[swezfamily]

I have a gold togo kelly 32 R stamp. I have tried to conduct multiple tests on it but all have come up inconclusive. I have put it on the front seat of my car with the sun shining on it and it smells a little bit but not horrendously. I have tried a blow drier on it and again, it smells a little, but not like the stench Nico and IF described. Of course it has only been 70 degrees here in LA for the past week so I have not been able to see how my kelly smells when it's really hot. I will keep everyone posted. To make things even more complicated, I am renting a guesthouse at the moment and the owner has three dogs. They confirmed that one of the dogs attacked a skunk recently and the dog smells to high heaven because they have not washed her yet. So when I catch a whiff of skunk, I have no idea if it's the dog or the bag. And to top it off, many of the residents here plant some kind of plant that smells like skunk because it keeps the rabbits and aphids away. So I am bombarded with skunk smell all the time and when I smell skunk, I have no idea where it's coming from.[/

QUOTE]

MYH, when you smell the inside of your Kelly, does it have any smell or not at all? I'm trying to find out if the inside of my togo Kelly smell or not. Mine has a smell kind of glue-y inside but i'm not sure if togo leather just smell like that

Carlinha, i remember that you just got a bamboo Kelly recently, can you please also give me some opinions on this?

Thank you so much!!!

Ummm....ok it smells like a cross between leather and skunk. I know this is a non answer but it's the truth. Ugh...I wish we could all get together and smell each other's bags.

oh babe, i am sort of in the same boat as MYH (except my dogs haven't eaten skunks and there are no skunk smelling plants around me ) and you.. my new bambou K has a smell... but i wouldn't call it skunky per se and it is not strong... all i know is IT SMELLS DIFFERENT FROM ALL MY OTHER BAGS (togo, clemence, epsom, swift and tadelakt). it has a stronger odor... now i don't remember if all my other bags used to have a stronger smell when i first purchased them, and they just dissipated over time?? or i just never smelled them closely before (but they don't smell like anything now)?!

i don't quite know how to describe the scent - to me it smells like leather and some chemically scent mixed together - be it dye or glue or whatever it is. it is VERY FAINT, and i can only smell it when i have my nose right up against the outside of the bag or with my head INSIDE the bag (my husband caught me with this the other day and he looked at me like i had to explain to him this whole situation and he scoffed at first but after i had him smell all of my bags, he agrees that my Bambou K has a stronger distinct smell than the others)... the intensity of the smell does not seem to change with temperature/heat or direct sun. and i know i have LITERALLY sunbathed with the bag by the pool in 90+ degree direct sun/heat for an entire afternoon....

it is not exactly an offensive smell to me either...

my bag btw is R stamp in a square and Togo...

so anyway, sorry for the long explanation/description.... i am still and don't quite know what to make of this whole situation...

I have smelled my picotins in clemence a lot and they don't smell like anything at all. My togo gold kelly does smell like something. My DH agrees there is an odor but he does not think it is offensive enough to take back. I'm on the fence like Carlinha.

I only have one other Hermes bag, a Birkin that is over a year old. When I first got it I remember sticking my head inside and inhaling because I've heard others on TPF describe how good their Hermes bags smell. It definitely didn't smell bad, but I don't remember it having an overpowering good leather smell either. I just smelled it right now and I can only describe it as just nice, normal leather smell. The scent it emits is not strong enough to smell unless I put my nose right up to it. I think that having already owned one Hermes bag, I immediately knew there was something wrong with my Kelly. I think it's especially tough for those who have received skunky bags as their very first bag because they have nothing to compare it to, and I think some even thought it was normal.

It sounds like some have bags that emit a skunk odor and some a gluey odor, and some have a strong scent and some faint. I think any scent at all, other than an unquestioningly normal leather smell is abnormal. Like, when I smell my Birkin there is no question that it is fine, so if you smell your bag and think that you smell something bad, you probably are, whether it be skunky or gluey. I think what is going to happen with most of us is we're going to have to decide what we are willing to live with. Since, Nico's replacement came back stinky, and Mindi was shown an R stamp in the boutique which stunk, I'm not sure that it's going to be as easy as sending our bags back to Paris and getting a new one, or doing an exchange in the boutique. We may just need to ask ourselves "how bad is it and am I willing to live with it?". If you give up one bag that smells just a little, you may end up with one that smells even worse.

I also think if your bag has a faint smell, and you're on the fence about whether or not to take it back, it makes a difference if it's your dream bag. Are you willing to give it up and possibly take another color or even another style?

 

[chicinthecity777]

I have parted with my Kelly once again. The assistant SM was so helpful and confirmed it did indeed smell, but also suggested that perhaps Etain was not working in my favor. I am stuck in limbo without a Kelly and potentially without a colour that I love. I am now waiting for my bag to be sent to Paris (yet again) and have them determine the course of action. I have to say today has been utterly disappointing on so many levels.

Oh my god, I am so sorry to hear this! Keep us updated in terms of what happens next. I still remember when I got my first Birkin (togo) and it smelt this divinely leather scent. Even now when I took it out of the box after season change, it still smell like heavenly leather. What happened???

 

[hopiko]

oh babe, i am sort of in the same boat as MYH (except my dogs haven't eaten skunks and there are no skunk smelling plants around me ) and you.. my new bambou K has a smell... but i wouldn't call it skunky per se and it is not strong... all i know is IT SMELLS DIFFERENT FROM ALL MY OTHER BAGS (togo, clemence, epsom, swift and tadelakt). it has a stronger odor... now i don't remember if all my other bags used to have a stronger smell when i first purchased them, and they just dissipated over time?? or i just never smelled them closely before (but they don't smell like anything now)?!

i don't quite know how to describe the scent - to me it smells like leather and some chemically scent mixed together - be it dye or glue or whatever it is. it is VERY FAINT, and i can only smell it when i have my nose right up against the outside of the bag or with my head INSIDE the bag (my husband caught me with this the other day and he looked at me like i had to explain to him this whole situation and he scoffed at first but after i had him smell all of my bags, he agrees that my Bambou K has a stronger distinct smell than the others)... the intensity of the smell does not seem to change with temperature/heat or direct sun. and i know i have LITERALLY sunbathed with the bag by the pool in 90+ degree direct sun/heat for an entire afternoon....

it is not exactly an offensive smell to me either...

my bag btw is R stamp in a square and Togo...

so anyway, sorry for the long explanation/description.... i am still and don't quite know what to make of this whole situation...

Carlinha, I got a Togo B last year (q stamp) and when I got it, I noticed a really strong leather smell..more so than any other bag... far more intense than any other bag I had gotten before. It almost smelled like like petrol or something...but definitely not skunks, and it was not unpleasant......just STRONG! It has dissipated a over time and now just has that lovely H Togo leather aroma!

My skunk bag ( I was one of the original posters here) has absolutely no scent in cool or even warm weather but put it in a hot room or car....YIKES....the entire area smelled like a skunk sprayed or someone was smokin some wacky weed! There was no need to get anywhere near this baby to get the smell.

Anyway, sounds like your pretty new Kelly is akin to my Q stamp B, at least I hope so!

(BTW:love your new avatar....soooooo pretty...makes me long for spring....and yes...a lovely yellow bag..lol!)

Carlinha, thank you for replying to me. You described exactly what happened with me too. So when you smell your other togo bag, it doesnt smell anything any more? Now it makes me feel much better that maybe this is the "new" togo leather scent and hopefully it'll fade away eventually.

Now i guess i'll join the boat with you and MYH. Please keep me updated with your case. Thank you ladies *hugs*

See above....hopefully it is the "newer" Togo smell!

 

[arlv8500]

I have parted with my Kelly once again. The assistant SM was so helpful and confirmed it did indeed smell, but also suggested that perhaps Etain was not working in my favor. I am stuck in limbo without a Kelly and potentially without a colour that I love. I am now waiting for my bag to be sent to Paris (yet again) and have them determine the course of action. I have to say today has been utterly disappointing on so many levels.

Oh no Nico! I'm so sorry about this! When I took my K out today I thought about you, because while I was holding her I smelled this garlickie smell. Now I'm obsessed with smelling her every second to see if it has gone away!! What's happened to Hermes?! I'm hoping that once it has been aired out the smell will be gone? :cry:

Hopefully they will be nice to you and offer you a SO?

 

[swezfamily]

What is "the new Togo" smell ? Perhaps that's what's wrong with mine and that is why Paris has elected to give me a cleaning rather than a new bag.

 

[carlinha]

Carlinha, I got a Togo B last year (q stamp) and when I got it, I noticed a really strong leather smell..more so than any other bag... far more intense than any other bag I had gotten before. It almost smelled like like petrol or something...but definitely not skunks, and it was not unpleasant......just STRONG! It has dissipated a over time and now just has that lovely H Togo leather aroma!

My skunk bag ( I was one of the original posters here) has absolutely no scent in cool or even warm weather but put it in a hot room or car....YIKES....the entire area smelled like a skunk sprayed or someone was smokin some wacky weed! There was no need to get anywhere near this baby to get the smell.

Anyway, sounds like your pretty new Kelly is akin to my Q stamp B, at least I hope so!

(BTW:love your new avatar....soooooo pretty...makes me long for spring....and yes...a lovely yellow bag..lol!)

See above....hopefully it is the "newer" Togo smell!

What is "the new Togo" smell ? Perhaps that's what's wrong with mine and that is why Paris has elected to give me a cleaning rather than a new bag.

hopiko - thank you my avi is one of my fave pics ever ... DH did a great job snapping the pics (which he rarely does because he hates it )

ladies i really want to emphasize that the faint smell on my bag is NOT SMELLY OR OFFENSIVE to me... it just has a strong leather smell... actually when i place my head IN the bag and take a deep inhale, i am overcome with joy and contentment because i LOVE the way it smells and i take a big deep sigh

p.s. don't have me committed to the insane asylum please

 

[Nico_79]

Ladies, just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the kind words and sympathy. It really was not a good Friday and I've been going through the entire situation in my head all weekend. I know first world problems!

I am not sure what happened with Hermes quality as my other bags do not have this smell at all! They smell faintly of yummy leather and I have to say for a brand that is supposed to be the creme de la creme, I have never had issues like this before. LV, Chanel even Coach for goodness sakes! None of my bags smelled like skunk so why is a $8k bag stinky as all heck versus something I can buy for $300?!? Arghh..sorry I am venting. I am just so frustrated with this situation and I feel like an idiot for spending so much money on a brand that has failed me twice versus other brands that have been nothing but good to me.

 

[eagle1002us]

Ladies, without reference to any particular post, I just want to point out that the notion of "cleaning" a bag could imply that the buyer slobbered stuff over it that would give out an odor over time. So, it's possible H could use the term internally to imply the smelly bags are not their fault!!!

 

[swezfamily]

Ladies, without reference to any particular post, I just want to point out that the notion of "cleaning" a bag could imply that the buyer slobbered stuff over it that would give out an odor over time. So, it's possible H could use the term internally to imply the smelly bags are not their fault!!!

Gosh, I hope not! I only had mine home from the boutique for 2 or 3 days, so not much time to "make" it stinky myself.

I'm assuming that the cleaning is with some of type of solution that will kill whatever is causing the skunky smell. I really hope they aren't hoping to remove the smell by wiping it with some plain old leather cleaner/conditioner, because that's not gonna do the trick.