Reviews of Bigarade Concentrée
by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle

I wanted to love this as I really dig the idea behind this line and am generally a big fan of Ellena's work but for me the bitter orange smell is just too strong, wiping out almost any other note.
I appreciate that it's a very well made perfume and the top note is certainly distinctive but on my skin, it's simply too linear. If I wanted to smell strongly of bitter orange all day, I'd never wear anything else...

OK. I wouldn't buy it. Smells a little like black licorice to me.

Bigarade Concentree totally threw me for a loop, as they say. It was not at ALL what I was expecting, which was Terre d'Hermes' (which I love) more fascinating older brother. And the surprise here is, that after hearing and reading so many comparisons, I find that it's something completely different altogether. It is a heavy, dense, weighty, rich orange, deepened with that cedar element which may or may not be responsible for creating the cumin note which is present here without any doubt. The heaviness I experience in Bigarade Concentree expresses that deep oiliness that one senses upon inhaling a freshly ripped open orange PEEL, the sour, soft white strings and all. There is definitely something dirty here, a rounded, indolic aura with that cumin sensation grinning a dirty little smile in the background. And, call me crazy if you wish, but I also get, very clearly, the smell of the white rubber in tennis balls and/or the sour smell of new sneakers. I know this is going to confuse the situation if someone were to actually USE this review in his or her decision to try this fragrance, but it's there, I swear it!

So athletic equipment aside, Bigarade Concentree surprised me in two ways: with its weight and the relatively dark way the bitter orange is expressed here, think orange-brown. I suppose it's the high concentration of perfume oils but this does not sit on the skin lightly. It's a round, heavy orange scent that can't be described well with words: One just has to experience it first hand. If you are expecting something similar to Terre d'Hermes, you will not find it here (TdH a mere translucent veil compared to this). If you've smelled Eau d'Hermes, it's more in that direction, though I find EdH more effervescent than Bigarade Concentree. How can a citrus fragrance be so dense? Smell it and you'll see... A beautiful, artistic expression - an abstract vision of bigarade concept, but rather than taking that first sniff and saying, "OH GOD I NEED TO HAVE THIS", I simple sniffed, thought, "huh.. interesting" and kept trying to love it but after a month it's still all respect but no love.

Just peel and Orange. Same effect, though slightly more bitter.
- Rich

Bigarade Concentree is the more concentrated version of Cologne Bigarade. I guess that "concentree" refers to the increased bitterness of the orange note because interms of longevity, its about as fleeting as the cologne version.

Compared to my favorite all-citrus fragrance, Creeds Citrus Bigarrade, Concentree opens with a much more bitter orange note. I like Creeds opening better...it smells more natural and well rounded. Soon after this burst of orange, Concentree moves into a woody phase consisting of cedar and hay notes. I would have liked the orange notes to stay around longer - this is an ORANGE/CITRUS fragrance after all. Ellena seems to be in a habit of trying to make every fragrance smell earthy/mineral no matter what the type of fragrance (Terre D'Hermes, Angelique Sous, etc). By comparison, Creeds orange/citrus stay dominant for a longer period of time.

While Bigarade Concentree is a good fragrance, I prefer Creeds Citrus Bigarrade because of its longer lasting and smoother citrus notes. However both fragrances are expensive, with below average longevity - and I wont be investing in either of them anytime soon.

a cab driver eats an orange