Hey there Looking Glassers, I have long loved the fun and whimsy of Etat Libre d’Orange. They have so many distinctive fragrances, do a fabulous job of reimagining old tropes and twisting them with a new skew. Plus they are very reasonably priced in relation to modern niche as a whole. They were a lot more outrageous in their earlier years, playing for gimmick and shock in their marketing and presentation. I’m not terribly sad they’ve pretty much left that behind in favour of more staid and general public oriented display and scent.
Portia Reconnecting with Etat Libre d’Orange
Maybe you’d like to have a wander through my collection of Etat Libre d’Orange bottles with me? Just for clarity, some of these bottles I paid Retail for, bought off Sale Docs or at the Discounters and others are Press Bottles. My mate Bronwyn was the Australian distributor for ELdO so I’ve been lucky enough to try almost everything. This selection are the favorites I own, maybe I’ll do the others another day.
Fat Electrician
Vetiver and sparks from electrical wires. Slightly salty, dark and weird. One of my favourite vetivers ever.
I Am Trash
Worst title, loveliest scent. The apple is all loads of people talk about but it’s peripheral to me. My ride is a creamy floral, I’m constantly surprised it’s rose and not ylang or jasmine. Dry down is floral woods. So pretty and wearable.
Jasmin et Cigarette
This was on my To Buy List or a very long time but never seemed to make it all the way to a check out. Well, it finally did not so long ago. Bubblegum jasmine that pretty quickly gets a dark coating of tar and smoke. It’s bloody amazing how two such diverse scents work together in perfect harmony.
Noel au Balcon
Very elegant honeyed fruits and Christmassy cinnamon underpinned by vanilla rich amber and musks. I don’t know why this gets so little attention. It’s a stunner.
Spice Must Flow
True to its name. Spicy. Not ALL about spice though. Here we have the perfumers rose/saffron mix that has been so popular in the 21st century niche market. The way we smell it here is a little different though. Add on pepper, cinnamon, incense and patchouli in bucketloads. It’s beautifully created, hits my nose exactly how I’d like it to. Starts a bit rough and ends up smooth as silk.
The Afternoon Of A Faun
Immortelle and a bunch of other stuff. Thick and gluggy on arrival, freshly windswept by the end. So wearable but it’s HUGE so maybe a few less spritzes Portia.
Tom of Finland
Tom of Finland is not a filthy, sex laden, piss soaked, leather bar in Berlin. Shame really, that would have been revoltingly alluring. What we get is the waft of someone wearing their leathers in the next room while we are in our high heel cupboard, but a very soft version of that. It smells luxuriously subtle.
Yes, I Do
Sheer soft focus Lily of the Valley (LotV), sweetness added by the marshmallow and a very clean jasmine/orange blossom. Very little of the oft hyped funk and a bit of plasticky patchouli, but on the whole fresh, youthful and prim.
You or Someone Like You
The fragrance made to fit the mother of writer Chandler Burr in his semi autobiographical novel of the same name. What it smells like to me is a hike in the Australian scrub near a watercourse in early summer. Magic!
So what are your Etat Libre d’Orange loves and loathes?
Portia xx
Undina's Looking Glass 
Very nice collection, Portia. I love this house. I’ve only got 3 bottles though. I own the champagne fizzy, Remarkable People plus Fat Electrician and their excellent rose scent Eau de Protection (formerly Rossy de Palma). As you point out they’re much safer (a tad more crowd pleasing) now with their releases. From their contemporary perfumes I’ve come around to enjoying their modern soapy chypre Exit the King. I remember liking Spice Must Flow too.
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Heya Daniel,
LOVE Exit the King and hope it will be a bottle on my shelves one day.
Portia xx
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Remarkable People was my favorite from the discovery set of 20, although I don’t own a bottle. I also really liked I Am Trash, but it was so fleeting, which I guessed was because the upcycled materials don’t last as long but who knows?
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I remember liking I Am Trash too. But, I couldn’t help but compare it with Light Blue for Women. It must be the apple note. I need to revisit it and see if I still draw the same comparisons.
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Interesting, although I’m not familiar with Light Blue for Women. I remember more strongly the “gariguette” strawberry note that made me look up that variety of the fruit.
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Ah yes, you’re right. You’re jogging my memory now, Nose Prose. It does feature that distinctive strawberry note. And it was that note that reminded me of Paco Rabanne Black XS for Men. It felt like a mashup of two Olivier Cresp (Light Blue & Black XS) compositions. Very pleasant.
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You are not familiar with Light Blue? (faints) How did you manage?
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I remember Light Blue, but not the women’s version!
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That’s really interesting Nose prose.
I Am Trash is really good for longevity on me. One thing that I love about perfume is how differently it performs on individuals.
Portia xx
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My favourite is Fils de Dieu du Riz et des Agrumes. I hate Sécrétions Magnifiques for reasons you may infer!
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Hi Vanessa.
I also have Fils de Dieu du Riz et des Agrumes but never wear it in case someone asks me what it is. TOO embarrassing to say.
Portia xx
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Funny, Portia I was just thinking about Etat Libre d’Orange. While I don’t own a single bottle from the brand, I’m certain I have almost every one of their perfumes in sample form. My favorites are Fat Electrician, Remarkable People and Tom of Finland.
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Fat electrician seems to be a firm favourite Flaconneur, I’ve never smelt anything quite like it in the world of fragrance. So good.
Portia xx
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And as for Tom of Finland, it was the birch tar and suede vibe that got me. I’ve yet to purchase this one.
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Yeah, it’s almost CHANEL-esque in its understated beauty. Subversively gorgeous.
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My favorite is Putain des Palaces, a very nice rose 🌹 fragrance.
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I only own 2 bottles of ELDO now. Putain de Palaces, that once caused a physio to run after me when I was Duty Matron. Powdery, rose & violet. Hyper femme, would smell devastating on a leather clad man.
My other is Tilda Swinton, Like This. Pumpkin, oranges & spice. My autumn signature. Others I loved for a time but moved on are the OG Rien, in all its rough birch tar leather & Sex Pistols aka Malaise of the 70s. Hairspray, well worn black biker jacket with an underlying whiff of pissy urinals. Smelt of all the dodgy bars & clubs I went to in the late 70s early 80s.
Did you ever go to “Heaven” Portia?
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Yes, I worked at Heaven a few times in the 1990s. What a super cool place.
HA! We may have rubbed shoulders.
Portia xx
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By the 90s my club days were over. I’m still FB friends with Paul aka Bee, who was door staff at Heaven as well in various bands, now living in Thailand. https://www.discogs.com/artist/804434-Paul-Hampshire#:~:text=Paul%20Hampshire%2C%20aka%20Bee%2C%20is,Danse%20Society%20with%20Steve%20Rawlings. We’re from the same town.
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Very cool
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Many years ago, I decided that I didn’t like this brand’s esthetic (their visuals to accompany their perfumes) and especially the names. So, even though I liked several perfumes from the line (I won samples in some blog’s giveaway), I made a conscious decision not to support them. My perfumes must be beautiful – both the scent, the name and the bottle, and with the size of my collection, I have little tolerance for anything else.
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That seems like a sensible way to cut a brand from the list. Are there others you have done that with Undina?
Portia xx
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Yep. I have a short list of brands I avoid for one reason or the other. I thought about doing a post about it, but the last new brand on the list was added a long time ago, I’m not sure if they all still exist, and, in general, it felt too negative. Did we do something like that in the SQ series? I need to check.
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I don’t remember but it’s a good idea.
Brands we don’t buy and why.
Kind of cool
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