Etat Libre d'Orange Sample Set Smelling Notes

[Bavard]

I bought a sample set from Etat Libre d'Orange and I have just applied the first one. They call it The (Almost) Complete Collection and it has 20 samples. I started with Remarkable People. Here is the list of samples:

1. Remarkable People
2. She Was An Anomaly
3. The Ghost in the Shell
4. Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade
5. Experimentum Crucis
6. Soul of My Soul
7. Une Amourette
8. Eau de Protection
9. Tom of Finland
10. Exit the King
11. You or Someone Like You
12. La Fin du Monde
13. Rien Intense Incense
14. Fat Electrician
15. Jasmin et Cigarette
16. Spice Must Flow
17. Hermann a Mes Cotes
18. 500 Years
19. Like This
20. Les Fleurs du Dechet (I am Trash)

I'm seeing 31 fragrances on their website. The 11 I didn't get are:
1. Noel au Balcon
2. Putain des Palaces
3. Rien Intense Incense
4. Secretions Magnifiques
5. The Afternoon of a Faun
6. Yes I Do
7. Archives 69
8. Cologne
9. Divin'Enfant
10. Fils de Dieu Riz et Des Argumes
11. Dangerous Complicity

It looks like the one fragrance I own in a full bottle from this brand is no longer available: Je Suis Un Homme. I had sampled some of these previously from Cacio's collection - thanks, Cacio - and Je Suis Un Homme had been my favorite then. It's strange to live in a world where Je Suis Un Homme is discontinued but Secretions Magnifique is still available.

Sample 1 of 20, Remarkable People, has been ok. My wife told me she thinks it could be a good one for women. She has been wearing perfumes from the Celine sample set, and, to me, this smells like it could be from that line. Sniffing this from point blank after a couple hours of development, it's making me happy. It has an iris vibe. Their booklet and the Basenotes directory do not mention iris. Maybe it's better to say it captures something of the mood and style of Dior Homme, rather than mentioning iris.

It's a good start to the sample set. It smells mostly synthetic to me, but not a harsh synthetic. It's edgy in a way that could almost get cloying, maybe, but it might also be a heartbreaker on the right person.

 

[Paddington]

Frustration is another one missing *

 

[Bavard]

Frustration is another one missing *

I did a search and it came up on the French version of their website, where there are a total of 35 fragrances listed. The additional four are:

1. Frustration
2. Eloge du Traitre
3. Antiheros
4. Charogne

Eloge du Traitre is one I had sampled before, as are a few in the list of 11 above (Rien Intense Incense, Secretions Magnifiques, The Afternoon of a Faun, and Archives 69).

 

[cacio]

A brand I like a lot. Too bad that Je suis un homme is no longer available, that was a good one indeed. I remember enjoying Remarkable people too but not enough to buy it-but I don't remember the details.

I think that I am trash is the same as Fleurs du dechet. It'a good one, a fresh citrus-floral, I ended up buying it.

cacio

 

[hednic]

Frustration their most recent exclusive is wonderful.

 

[Bavard]

I'm trying sample 2 of 20, She Was An Anomaly. These are some familiar aromachemicals. I'm getting visions of smelling flankers of Polo Red in a perfume shop, but one of the less harsh ones. Upadte: It's now reminding me of the new Miss Dior edp (the one with pink juice). In the past, I've liked this kind of thing in the opening, but disliked the base. I will update when it makes its next impression.

Based on the first two samples in this set, it's going to be hard to remember them. I feel like this one is bleeding into the first one. I think I liked Remarkable People more than this. This one has more sweetness in a way that has usually led to me losing interest.

This might be my final update on this, even though it's only been a couple hours. My wife loves the new Miss Dior edp, and She Was An Anomaly has come to remind me very much of that. I'm neutral on them, leaning dislike, but I've been impressed by how strong Miss Dior edp is. It lingers for half the day after she leaves.

 

[Bavard]

A brand I like a lot. Too bad that Je suis un homme is no longer available, that was a good one indeed. I remember enjoying Remarkable people too but not enough to buy it-but I don't remember the details.

I think that I am trash is the same as Fleurs du dechet. It'a good one, a fresh citrus-floral, I ended up buying it.

cacio

I see you're right that Fleurs de Dechet is the same as I am Trash. I had overlooked Dangerous Complicity from their list, but it is corrected above now.

A picture on their website shows some other perfumes that aren't available to buy: 1. Don't Get Me Wrong Baby (renamed as Yes I Do), 2. Vraie Blonde, 3. Nombril Immense, 4. Je Suis Un Homme, 5. Encens and Bubblegum, 6. Vierges et Toreors, and 7. Delicious Closet Queen. Maybe some of these are just temporarily unavailable, and they have up to 41 fragrances in their catalog.

 

[cazaubon]

I have Vraie Blonde, purchased many years ago, I think it might be discontinued. It is a fizzy aldehydic floral that smells like champagne to me.

 

[cacio]

I think Yes I do is yet another case of renaming (of Don't get me wrong). Nothing particularly noteworthy, though. As are some other of the unavailable one. I thought that Vraie blonde and Encens and bubblegum were very interesting, though I did not buy them.

cacio

 

[Salumbre]

I will never understand why they translated Les Fleurs du Dechet as I am Trash. I would have stuck to Les Fleurs du Trash or something of the sort. Les Fleurs du Mal is such an iconic title, and they left several other names in French anyway.

That said, I am Trash is a very funny name for a fragrance. Worthy of John Waters. ETA: Divine would have worn that fragrance!

 

[CookBot]

It's strange to live in a world where Je Suis Un Homme is discontinued but Secretions Magnifique is still available.

You said a mouthful. JSUH was my favorite ELDO.

It smells mostly synthetic to me, but not a harsh synthetic

That sums up how I feel about most ELDOs. I'm so often let down by their scent names, which promise something edgy and outlandish but then just deliver a pedestrian scent -- I Am Trash and Tom of Finland being the most prominent examples.

I'll be eager to hear what you think of Experimentum Crucis and La Fin du Monde, two I haven't heard of before.

 

[Bavard]

Sample 3 of 20 - The Ghost in the Shell. This is far more neutral and mild smelling than I was expecting. It smells like a mild bar of hand soap. There are so many positive associations around hand washing, it's hard to dislike. With clean hands, you can be safe from germs and accepted in society. It smells like it will be gone within a few hours and I could make this a two-perfume sampling day.

The one note that's coming to mind is iris, as it was with Remarkable People. It smells like mild soap, but has a touch of sophistication.

My wife likes this one as a feminine shampoo smell. She also liked Remarkable People for women. She was gone during the testing of She Was An Anomaly.

 

[Bavard]

That sums up how I feel about most ELDOs. I'm so often let down by their scent names, which promise something edgy and outlandish but then just deliver a pedestrian scent -- I Am Trash and Tom of Finland being the most prominent examples.

I'll be eager to hear what you think of Experimentum Crucis and La Fin du Monde, two I haven't heard of before.

I'm biased in favor of classical perfumery, seemingly, because Jules is clearly more open to this sort of thing. She pretty much endorsed The Ghost in the Shell in an instant as a good shampoo scent for women. Totally confident. She was also confident that it was not a good perfume for men wanting to attract women. She said she might wear it on "a trip to the store." A classic "grocery store" perfume.

Update: After I told her I was posting her smelling notes, she said she would be up for trying Jasmin Et Cigarette. So I gave her that one and Rien.

She wore Rien to work. We talked about Catholic church incense. She loves that stuff. She said Rien gets a little close to it.

 

[cacio]

I guess she applied Rien in very small amounts-otherwise she'd have thought about musks and animals rather than incense.
I'd say the more churchy incensy in the line is Attaquer le soleil-not that it is churchy, but it is closer to an incense.

cacio

 

[CookBot]

A classic "grocery store" perfume.

Ha. Not, I would think, an endorsement that most perfume houses would be happy to hear.

 

[cheapimitation]

I will never understand why they translated Les Fleurs du Dechet as I am Trash. I would have stuck to Les Fleurs du Trash or something of the sort. Les Fleurs du Mal is such an iconic title, and they left several other names in French anyway.

That said, I am Trash is a very funny name for a fragrance. Worthy of John Waters. ETA: Divine would have worn that fragrance!

I think in many cases the other name is an extension of the name, not meant to be a translation of the French. Like how thesis papers go "Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: the hidden diversity of dimorphic fungal pathogens".

So think "I am Trash: Les Fleures du Dechet".

Some have been changed completely because they were too controversial (I believe one was "Filipino house boy"). But I think most have this double name.

 

[Bavard]

I guess she applied Rien in very small amounts-otherwise she'd have thought about musks and animals rather than incense.
I'd say the more churchy incensy in the line is Attaquer le soleil-not that it is churchy, but it is closer to an incense.

cacio

This is my sample for today, Sample 4 of 20, Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade. Etat Libre d'Orange says it has labdanum from cistus shrubs, and they describe it as woody, spicy, and leathery. It is easily more natural smelling, to me, than the first three. I've tried a few things like this - Piguet Cashah might have been one of them, from memory. This is another one I'll try to get Jules to try. I think I could grow into this and make a dent in a bottle of it, maybe.

She felt like Rien faded away too fast yesterday. I smelled it coming off of her just fine when she left, so I think she put enough on.

She is liking Jasmin et Cigarette this morning. She's just getting jasmine without the cigarettes. She thinks she might be jaded from Celine Nightclubbing, which seems to have a stronger cigarette note, which she likes. She likes the jasmine in Jasmin et Cigarette.

 

[cacio]

ELdO makes much of the particular labdanum extraction. Not an expert here, but it does smell different than regular labdanum (which is heavier, warmer, slightly smoky). this one is less hefty and more incense like. I like it a lot.

 

[LiveJazz]

Sample 3 of 20 - The Ghost in the Shell.
It smells like a mild bar of hand soap. There are so many positive associations around hand washing, it's hard to dislike. With clean hands, you can be safe from germs and accepted in society.

This legitimately made me giggle. You get right to the point!



ELdOs I've smelled have never done much for me. That includes Je Suis un Homme (pretty good but I'd rather just wear Z-14), Fat Electrician, Rein, You or Someone Like You, and maybe a few others. To @Cook.bot 's point above, they mostly seemed pedestrian, and so the details left my brain quickly. As you said, "it's going to be hard to remember them."

I'll be curious to see if you find any standouts in this large sample set.

 

[LiveJazz]

She said she might wear it on "a trip to the store." A classic "grocery store" perfume.

Ha. Not, I would think, an endorsement that most perfume houses would be happy to hear.

I think their marketing departments would have a bone to pick, but the bean counters would be thrilled.