Reviews of L'Anarchiste (2000)
by Caron

Smooth, urbane and pleasant, the only anarchist I find in L'Anarchiste is the name.

L'Anarchiste is a cool blend of mandarin and cedar, fading to a light musk. Though I'm sure others are present, the trio of mandarin, cedar and musk are only notes my nose notices.

This fades quite quickly only me, lasting three to five hours; I tend to use it mostly as a light cologne on warm days in summer.

What a strange, chaotic and somehow a horrible scent !!!

It is a strange and hard to handel combination of notes.
I detect mint leaves, orangy note and sweet/sharp cloves note..... i think that this is the cobination that reminds some of us here of metal scent.

I like this scent.... it is not oriental.....but there is a folkloristic about it. The scent is refind in a way while it is build on some folkloristic simplicity in aproching herbs and spices. L'anarchiste is a intangible scent like all the other caron's for men that i know. somehow it remains almost imposible to catogorize them.

L'Anarchiste is a gorgeous fragrance that teeters on the edge but never quite jumps into the oriental and gourmande category. The neroli/mandarine head note is quite provocative. There is definitely a spiced-fruit accord that radiates through into the heart of this one, but the woody core of the heart keeps the whole composition from becoming overly sweet. The musky/woody and slightly amberic dry-down is a favorite of mine, and it lasts for hours on me. This is a sensual, sophisticated scent that doesn't have much anarchy going on, but it is certainly very good.

L’Anarchiste reminds me of the famous 19th century Russian Anarchist Mikhail Bakunin. Bakunin was both physically and intellectually striking, loved the good life, and was almost always busy trying to transform the world. Like Bakunin, L’Anarchiste is striking, brings the good life to mind, and never relaxes entirely.

L’Anarchiste opens with a heady mix of orange blossom, mandarin, and cedar leaves. The combination is a little bit boozy, a little bit sharp, a little bit fresh, sort of enthusiastic, and for me, at least, addictive. I thought that this accord would collapse into soft and round citrus, but it doesn’t. The cedar leaves keep this accord alive for up to ten hours on my skin, and the accord is constantly ducking and weaving to show how alive and interesting it can continue to be.

Beneath the citrus and cedar leaves an accord of elegant sandalwood and cedar wood begins to develop, culminating in a bond between the cedar leaves and cedar wood. This conjunction holds the top and middle together for the entire day, and provides a platform on which the top accord can strut its stuff.

At the base of L’Anarchiste is a combination of vetiver and musk. The vetiver is earthy without being dirty, and the musk is soft and round enough to not overwhelm the top or middle.

Unlike Third Man, L’Anarchiste is not a study in urbane sophistication. It is more forthright and practical than its stable mate, but no less pleasing or interesting.

Something about L’Anarchiste makes me want to situate it alongside Azzaro Silver Black and Guerlain Homme (two of my favorite fragrances), but I’ll have to give this some more thought and add to this review at a later date.

I honestly can't understand what all this outrage and revulsion is about. Blood? Nope. "Rusty bucket?" Nada. Copper? Only on the bottle. Certainly not the Antichrist, a zombie, or even vampire juice.

After all the hoopla, what I smell is a very pleasant, well-made woody scent with a good deal of sweet citrus on top and a politely musky base. The orange top note is lightly "mentholated" by cedar leaves, and I suppose if my imagination were much more vivid I might say it smelled like cough syrup, or metal, or something more exotic and disturbing than citrus and cedar sap.

At any rate, the sweet orange and cedar soon blend with some softer, sweeter woods and a generous dash of cinnamon to make a smooth, spicy accord that persists for a couple of hours before the musky-woody drydown sets in. This accord strikes me as quite suave and sophisticated - good for the fashionable, cultured urbanite who's always perfectly accessorized.

L'Anarchiste is really very nice, versatile, and easy to wear, and hardly all that weird. The only real fault I find in it is that doesn't last as long as it could, which strikes me as odd coming from a house that's bred such marathoners as The Third Man and Yatagan.

My first impression was Mott's Cinnamon Apple Sauce with extra sugar. My second thought was the same. So I'm going to stick with my feelings and say that this smells just like warm cinnamon apple sauce. Very different and unique.

i think foetidus has it spot on here with his description of the orange blossom and mandarin notes in l'anarchiste - it's not harsh citrus accord by any means, but more of a tamed yet twisted, candied orange, yet not particularly sweet. that's not to say there isn't a degree of sweetness overall, but this combined with the vetiver as it starts to dry down impressed on me a somewhat traditional masculine soapy quality - as has been noted, hardly anarchic. the initial waft is perhaps almost orange liquer-esque, a sort of cointreau note progressing into wonderful sandalwood which softens the cedar assault into something i find almost beautiful, this boozey-orange tinged-woodsy symphony which almost should be a mess but really works. but as i've said, when the vetiver rears it's head it all goes soapy, spoiling l'anarchiste for me before i get to the gorgeous lingering skin-scent musk, which still retains a hint of the sandalwood and the merest, faintest whiff of what finally seems might be the orange blossom.

i'll buy this for sure, but the vetiver soapiness means this is no anarchist, rather almost formal.

As a gift to myself, I've gotten lots of samples of a wide range of scents. Once a week, I take one to work and 5 or 6 of us give it a try. We (all women) try the scents without looking at the information on the decant, so we don't have preconceived notions. We all found this very pleasant. It has a nice sillage but still seems close to the skin. My husband likes it on me, too ("cinnamon-y" to his nose). Perhaps we used smaller amounts that those who found this juice noxious. I'm still trying to figure it out. It is unusual. I'll put a heavier dose on today. Maybe I won't like that so much.

I wonder if those who pick up a "blood" note aren't picking up a little smell of copper? There's an enzyme in the blood, ceruloplasmin, that contains and also carries copper.

BTW, a scent that smelled really freaky to my husband and myself was Myrrh Ardente. A bit like visits to the doctor after a bad scrape, maybe a little like an embalming room, or your childhood dentist's office.

L'Anarchiste is interesting, to say the least. It is definitely a deviation from the norm of the fragrance world, and with that in view it is aptly named. Aside from that, I don't see much about it that would offend the average nose, which I would have expected from something given this name. I get the whole "orange, mint, metal, and blood" associations everyone is raving about, but it still seems... well... pleasant.

It is a great fragrance, though not for everyone. I view it as more of a winter fragrance, though many disagree with me. It has a sort of heavy, spicy, boozy quality on me that can get cloying in the summertime. I still wear it in the summer months, though. Just a very light application.

Bought it blind off the internet based on the sweet lookin bottle,the contents however not sweet at all. Matter of fact, i have yet to wear in the public to see what the world thinks about it,until then ill stay neutral

This has a lovely and all-too-brief neroli opening. The middle dominates for a long time. It certainly is intriguing. It is fresh, tangy, metallic, a bit medicinal-minty, and conveys (in my opinion) a cool, stylishly distinctive and slightly aloof tone. I attribute the green and minty note to the cedar leaves, and the sharp tang to sandalwood which can be rendered in that style. This is not a warm wood nor a particularly spicy scent, at least as I find it. I agree that cedar notes are not evident. Latterly, the musk warms it up a bit and gives a bit of romance. At times, the freshness reminds me of Erfola, at other times the coolness conveys a mood like Blenheim Bouquet (although the scent itself is quite different).

Spices often blur a fragrance, but whoever made this handled them with a relative degree of finesse, allowing for some clarity and enough dissonance between the citrus, spices, and wood to keep it interesting for a while. The spices dominate the scent and are followed closely by a lot of wood and something that gives it a little too much comfort and sweetness for a fragrance called L’Anarchiste. The only thing of any interest during the initial drydown is a vetiver note that peeks out a little further trying to establish itself. It never really does, and what you end up with is the remnants of a fragrance dominated by spices, the woods that have accompanied them, and a good deal of musk. It’s not a bad scent by any means, but it suffers from the tiresome affability of spices early on and never really recovers. Either way, if you like spices, woods, and musk, you might like it. It also works better in cooler temperatures giving liveliness to the spices, making it feel more brisk, and perhaps even a little edgy if you try hard enough.

The edgy orange opening has a metallic twist—it is perfectly described by Joel_Cairo as “fructosey, battery acid-like-orange note.” But to my nose it is too orangey to smell like blood. It is metallic coppery orange, and I would say it’s more sugary than surgery—more Christmas than Halloween. I’m guessing that the cedar from the heart notes accomplishes the metallic smell. It’s not a disgusting accord, but, then, it’s not an especially attractive accord, either. It is intriguing, and I’d guess that “intrigue” is what Caron was aiming at when they designed this. My interest is also in the intrigue of the fragrance: I do not consider it beautiful... simply intriguing. Regardless of what the pyramid says, this is a linear fragrance. The heart notes are discernible from the beginning and the top notes are still hanging on in the dry down. I enjoy the various reviewed interpretations of L’Anarchiste and the ghoulish references—makes for good copy, but I think L’Anarchiste is a daring, sometimes wearable, masculine fragrance. I admire Caron’s audacity, plus it’s my favorite bottle of all! DO NOT buy this one blind!

I don't find anything cold about L'anarchiste. It's certainly bitter in the beginning, but on the way to drydown, it's very warm, spicey, if not very perfume-y. I have'nt had much experiance with Caron fragrances. Yatagan (which is wonderfull!...) was my first Caron and getting L'anarchiste is not going stop me from trying other Carons, especially the classics.

Very original, but ultimately not one I'll buy again. I love the Top Notes, I do get that weird blood, clove, metallic feel. I hate the middle notes. These are also strange, but to me unpleasant. I really doubt it's the cedar, because I'm a huge fan of cedar. Finally, it dries down to musk. I do like it enough not to put on my swap list, but don't find it good enough to buy another bottle when this one's empty. Slightly above average longevity, and average sillage for me.

I like the scent but I just couldn't force myself to buy it because of the bottle. It looks so ugly and weird to me. I think it should have been named R.I.P. instead and I don't think I can be in my bedroom alone with this bottle on my grooming table. Spooky...

ARGH!!! What a weird scent...
It's without a doubt, an original smell but really annoying. Starts smoky and spicy(like cigarrette smoke)and than dries down to a disgusting sweet orangey accord. After breathing L'anarchiste I had to take some fresh air to avoid choking!

What a bizarre scent. It opens with a mosquito repellant accord that's almost interesting, a little spicy, and not entirely unpleasant. Next is soap and schampoo, so much so that I can taste it in the back of my throat. Then it quickly mellows to a dull, fruity schampoo scent. The hygiene product vibe is what makes it "masculine", other than that it's mostly sweet and fruity. In this stage it's not unlike other sweet/fresh generic men's scents so the only anarchist part of it is the topnote. Meh.

Dear Ladies & Gentlemen,
My reason to open this review in such high-flown manner, is that NO scent ever has ever caused me to react as much as the Anarchist! This scent puts all your senses on alert in a way that is almost incomprehensible. I recently bought a large bottle at Ebay after reading the reviews, and I do agree with many of the scentiments (thank you kindly Marian Bendeth for giving me an addition to my crude vocabulary in English), but was NOT prepared for this!
Yes the notes are all there, the menthol, the orange blossom and some peculiar notion of metal and on their own they sound quite harmless (see the pyramid) - but not this brew!
The first notions are close to gasoline or some kind of slightly hazardous chemical compound, and next it is the menthol that hits you.
I was so hit by the top notes that I grinned. Somewhere deeper in the register are some flickering orange blossoms, but hid behind the menthol and the metal presence that by now starts to make its omnipresence. After this stage it does not change a lot in character, and stays on till it fades off some 2-3 hours later.
! I don’t know how it is possible, but this do smell like blood (probably the metallic agent) and creates notions close to what can be associated with;: e.g. the dying dandy bleeding to death scented in Hermes Orange Verte and taking his last breathe and a gash of menthol sips out of his recently cleaned teeth… The very chemical top note is also reminiscent to an un-named illicit drug that also creates much the same alertness when whiffing it.
Honestly, if someone dares to test this fragrance after my review, or if you are intrigued and want to try it out, you are welcome to trade in my bottle.
The presentation including the box, is gorgeous, but the only connection the scent has with the name Anarchist, is that in my mind it creates chaos! Another and very suitable name for it, would be Antichrist, since it smells like the antechamber of hell!
Three thumbs down for the scent and one thumb up for the originality and the fact that some weirdo actually managed to get this scent in production!

Pfff L'Anarchiste my foot!

On the contrary, I find this scent to be very orderly and pleasant, as far as notes are concerned. It starts with a nice little minty orange spice accord that sticks around for a good hour. As the orange and mint tapers off, I'm left with very pleasant, soft spices and musk.

I think all the ado with this one is about the mint/orange scent in the topnotes. Those two aren't thrown together often. They might might not get along too well, but seriously, they aren't anarchists. Eventually they simply make friends and part ways, leaving the always calm and dependable spice and musk notes to take over. Great, great scent...just don't overthink it.

I love l'Anarchiste. It's unique, very French and has all the makings of a legend. Camphor, oranges and musk. It's lives up to its name and does not try too hard like many other niche fragrances.
The reason it may be doing so badly on the retail level, perhaps is the ugly bottle. Kitsch sculpture always makes for a bad packaging. The copper color that oxidizes is a brilliant touch, but toss the faux headstone shape. Goths don't buy high-end fragrances. This fragrance is so in touch with the human body. It's like the sensation of biting off a scab.

A find it an interesting fragrance. Opening up it smells a lot like that Muscle & Joint Pain Relief ointment, Bengay. I don't hate it but not really excited by it either. Glad I got a decant first.

My feeling on L'Anarchiste falls directly between PigeonMurderer ("death's door...infected blood") and robyogi's ("alive"). To me this is the scent of the Living Dead, specifically, a zombie reanimation of Herrera for Men's cadaver. It's Clove, Cedar and Musk, but with this fructosey, battery-acid-like orange note shot through the whole composition, plus the floating, spectral presence of metal and blood. I can't account for these accords in the notes, but L'Anarchiste smells distinctly of metal and blood. It has a ghastly, vampiric aura to it that I can't say I'd really want to wear very much, but it's undeniably compelling.

Basically I should love this fragrance : It has a lot of irresistible charisma, most marvellous bottle, and completely unique fragrance which really doesn’t remind me of anything else.

I have had a sample of this and I’ve had a few test runs with it, giving it a chance after another.
Last one was yesterday, and I’m afraid the game is now over…Have to admit at last that this scent is not for me. I let myself hate it now, and believe me I DO!!!

What has actually always stricken me most in this fragrance, is that it has always smelled very “ill” to me. That menthol-metal combo reminds me very much of that taste which I have when I’m having a high fever with the very general feeling of being totally weak and helpless. Also, I guess that mintyness gives an impression of Vicks Vaporub – gives me reminder of not so happy childhood times.

It is an impressive scent. Everyone who has smelled it can say the same – there’s really nothing like it. And, I understand the people who love it due to it’s odd and compelling nature…Even with me it’s somehow very close to being brilliant. Remember, love and hate are close oftenly here in the fragrance world, too.

This scent indeed has got me scratching my head more than any other scent. It forced me to come back to it all over again. But now I’ve finally made up my mind for good. (I think...)

L`Anarchiste makes me literally sick. I can imagine with this juice after my regular 4-6 sprays I would feel myself stumbling at the death’s door. In the arms of a deadly cancer, with infected blood and paralyzing pneumonia, waiting for the time to end..

No thank you, Mr Fraysse!!

Sickening, absolutely sickening juice.

L'Anarchiste. The anarchist. All hell will break loose the moment you put this on.

Well, I am not trying to scare you, but the opening definitely is a shock. Unique, but shocking. Shocking in a good way. It screams metal. Copper to be exact. Who the heck would create something like this ? Caron, thats who. The opening is a strange mix of oranges, spices, and clove. A blend which surprisingly smells a lot like metal. Gun metal.

After the initial shock, the clove note becomes more apparent; its fantastic here, the clove note. Smells great with the cedar note. L'Anarchiste then transitions to a smooth musky drydown. Quite an experience. The sillage and longevity are near perfect.

L'Anarchiste is a fragrance which you would expect from the Big Three (Creed, Serge Lutens, L'Artisan). It just goes to prove that the house of Caron is still at the top of its game. Maybe the power group should be renamed the Gang of Four, instead of just the Big Three.

The reviews here almost put me off getting this, but I’m certainly glad I did. It is powerful and long lasting and smells like nothing else. The base notes here seem to stretch all the way up to the top. This is a very special fragrance—modern in the way that The Third Man and Yatagan are not, even though they also are excellent—and I really hope that Caron keep it around. And did I mention that it is long lasting: the musk or flowery notes seem to last in their original strength for around ten or so hours. This is a real gem.

DELIGHTFUL.

Wow. I can't help but rave about this one. It's so complex. It has some clean, a little spice, some dirty masculinity that just makes me love myself. It's reminds me of metal. I love L'Anarchiste.

I still don't see why the Caron scents get such extreme reviews. All have their quirks, to be sure, but all dry down to something completely wearable and not all that wild or eccentric (it is all about the Basenotes after all). This one starts off with topnotes that somehow bring to mind copper, or possibly blood, mixed with oranges and spices. The oranges and spices here are sweeter and not nearly as dusty as those in Acier Aluminium. I get cinnamon or nutmeg, maybe both. As it dries, it calms down and warms up considerably, with the sandalwood, musk, and touch of vetiver coming into play. I'm not sure I get the cedar others comment on. The base actually reminds me a bit of Creed's house base, only not as musky and perhaps a bit powderier. The spiced orange "tinge" to the scent never does disappear completely, as it colors the base. Overall the scent feels vibrant and alive, which makes it wonderfully apt that they used a copper coating for the bottle, since copper is a material that could be said to be vibrant or "alive," as it reacts with its surroundings. As for this being cheap, well if by cheap one means: edgy, fun, vibrant, dynamic, youthful, energetic, and yet somehow still well-blended and classy, then cheap it is. Wearing L'Anarchiste both calms me and gives me energy; I somehow feel younger and more centered with this one on. Worth a look!

Ugggh! What is this? Smells like a dumpster laced with rotten orange peels.

Smells like a massacre in santa's workshop. Gunshot wounds, holiday spices and orange peel. Completely confusing at first, seemingly unwearable. After a few days, however, I "got it". The balance of citrus, spice and musk is similar to far more ordinary scents such as Minotaure, but here it is amplified to a ridiculous degree. It's a niche, but it's crazy enough to work for me at least. Don't buy this blind, speak to the nice people at Caron in New York and they will mail you a free sample.

Well it is now official for me, Caron comes up with the most unique scents ever! This is my second along with the timeless, classic yatagan. Lanarchiste is not just unique it is bizare! Nothing that I have ever comes across in this life is even close to it. Yatagan is probably the closest. We have a great scent here, I agree organges come out and gasoline. It is a very mysterious scent, and no doubt one that Dracula would wear. It has a copper bottle and a little bit of a copper scent to it. The drydown is the best part and the top notes do have a small hint of a pool of blood. Overall, I am glad I bought it, but there are better scents out there and surely less to offen, santos de cartier, ungaro III, grigio perla etc - go with these if you are not the risky type. If you are the risky type go with Lanarchiste - it is a beautiful scent, so different and bizare it is worth it!!! Take a chance!!!!!!!

I bought it purely on the good reviews, smells like nutmeg and orange to me in a base of typical crappy mens cologne (think CK). do not buy this blindly unless you have bad taste ;)

This sure was surprising and strange. It smells like you've worked on a car and washed your hands with a bar of gas station soap, then eaten an orange. Intense and really different. The retain box is beautiful.

The only reason I keep this frag is MUSKS!!!
Oranges, mint and pine-needles are usual and quickly fading notes. But musk IS just so animalistic and so dirty - I can not resist it when I`m in the mood... And I should comment - I I`m not a fan of musk at all, but in this fragrance it is just as I like it!

Much less interesting than I had expected. Kind of smells like a holiday potpourii.

You have to give Caron credit for even releasing this. It's gun metal, orange peels, clove, vanilla, the smell of a pool of blood, and mint. Jarring, smacks you in the face when you put it on and at no point does it settle down enough for you to think "oh yeah I'm just wearing a cologne." Love it or hate it, everyone should try it once.

This is perhaps the only fragrance that I haven't made up my mind about after years of exposure. I tried it in the States first and I thought it was a bad joke, I thought it smelled like old tobacco in a rusty bucket with rotten orange peels... Later on I got a sample of it from Mark (MJH) and I kind of enjoyed it. Now however I'm sceptical again. I most honestly say, pointing out there is a lot of niche stuff i haven't tried yet, that this is the most original and strange commercial fragrance I have ever tried. As much as I deeply respect the fine noses of this community I find it weird, almost disturbing,that so many love this one here! It's sooo strange. I've studied it's pyramid many times and I find some key notes missing. To me this sucker is entirely about: Orange zest, incredibly strong tobacco, mint/menthol, some very weird metallic "rusty" note and heavy, dirty musks. I have the feeling I 'll never quite "get" this scent...

L’Anarchiste is very interesting. It’s one of the more unusual fragrances in my wardrobe. I guess I would call it a citrus fragrance? But it hardly smells like any other citrus fragrance. I don’t know what note is that causes this, but I find L’Anarchiste smells like copper or blood. It smells a bit like blood as it cools. It’s offputting, but it’s very fun to wear, nonetheless. Oddly enough, it’s also very wearable. It’s worth owning simply because it really is one of its kind.

L'Anarchiste is a very unique fragrance. The orange notes are prevalent along with spice, either nutmeg or alspice. The fragrance notes make no mention of mint, but it is definitely present. Some ad texts state that L'Anarchiste starts out "warm & cool" and you may wonder how this can be, however it's true. L'Anarchiste is truly an enigmatic and very unusual scent. You must experience it!

Quite classy and elegant scent. Don't know about the details inside, but love this stuff. Nice Caron.

I discovered this in a French department store and it was by far the most dominant and capturing fragrance I smelled. Up until the time that I purchased it (about 9 months later) it lingered in my mind as a romantic memory - this fragrance has lived up to my every expectation ñ it is absolutely wonderful!

Not sure about the mustard, Mike, but orange, mint, metal - yes. Also: aloof, enigmatic, cool, warm, urban, sophisticated, androgynous, highly charismatic. Anarchist? Well, perhaps in the sense of someone who keeps you guessing about their identity and their values?

Yes. I like it a lot. The bottle is fantastic, the liquid inside is incredible. This is unique stuff folks. Take it from me, I'm a wierdo. Enjoy!

The most satisfying blind purchase I've ever made. The metallic tingle upon first spritz is very prevelant, but quite interesting and unique. The blend of mint and orange is a great eye opener, with a wonderful clove note emerging later in the drydown. It has great lasting power, is very unique and the bottle is magnifique!

Thumbs way up on this splendidly crafted olfactory delight! L'Anarchiste manages to strike an odd balance between sillage and skin. Unique, confident, complex- from sharp crisp and fresh opening notes to a mellow and grounded, but never shy, dry-down. One of my new favorites. A perfect multi-sex (or "unisex" if you prefer) scent.

It smells like mustard...

This is my newest love. Someone stated that it possessed a metallic edge upon first applying. I agree, this is most likely due to the mint and citrus top notes, very unique. The spicy, woody finish is next to none, and the copper bottle is very innovative. My first Caron !!

It took me a few days before I really started to appreciate this scent! It is very unique and delicious! The bottle is unique as well. A "living copper" material that develops a rich patina over time.