Divin'enfant (2006)
by Etat Libre d'Orange

The great switcheroo. Starts off with a lovely neroli and rose mixture and gradually turns into a screaming sweet leather monster. Antoine Lie is an alchemist. Not sure about the finish here -- I wish it had gone in another direction really.

Etat Libre D'Orange Divin' Enfant

Antoine Lie has done two of my favorite Etat Libre D'Orange scents to date, Rossy de Palma and Vierges et Toreros. Both of those scents are very different and I was looking forward to see what M. Lie would do with a note list of: orange blossom, marshmallow, rose, mocha, leather, amber, musk, and tobacco. With a roster like that you would probably think gourmand but this 2006 scent doesn't come off like that on me. The top is the floral sweetness of orange blossom combined with the marshmallow note. This is that slightly sweet, slightly doughy note you get when you open the bag of marshmallows for the first time. It is that doughiness that keeps this from being too sweet. The sweet nature begins to modulate in the heart as the chocolate-coffee mocha note along with rose and a sweet amber keep this sweet. The coffee note is evenly balanced with both the rose and amber which keeps this from feeling like a coffee centered scent on me. Finally in the base the sweetness centers around the smell of leather and tobacco leaf combined with a deep musk. Divin' Enfant is a tone poem of sweet on my skin from the intensity of the top to a more restrained level in the base to a sweetness paired with animalic notes in the base. When I want something sweet that won't cause my insulin level to rise this is the style of scent I'm looking for.

There's something else this reminds of - strongly - and for the life of me I can't place it. The top is a bit sweet, but it soon settles down into a particularly aromatic woody/coffee accord. I don't find it to be gourmand at all, but pleasantly aromatic. It sweetens up when in its final development with an amberish base.

Nothing wrong with Divine Enfante, but there's nothing daring either. If the quality of the materials and strength of the oil wasn't so good, this would be indistinguishable from a designer release. However if you need an inoffensive, high-quality fragrance this isn't a bad choice.

It has a nice orange blossom opening that, unfortunately, develops into an over-the-top gourmand consisting of leather, tobacco and amber. There’s a slight powderiness about it too (but, then again, this kiddie’s fragrance wouldn’t be complete without such a cliché, now would it?). Unfortunately, the longer it stays on my skin, the more its synthetic nature intensifies.

There's absolutely nothing heavenly or innocent about this scent at all. A real scrubber!

Neroli with a sweet musky base and a touch of leather tanning fluids. Smells a little like a coffee gourmand at times. Not bad.

I had a fragrance blotter of this on my bedside table, for days (or nights) I caught neroli with a subtle but distinct leather note. It charmed and intrigued to the extent I must try it on my skin.