Rien (2006)
by Etat Libre d'Orange

Animalic leather? Not really. 'Mineralic aldehyde and woods' would be a more appropriate summary of Rien WITH a brooding animalic undertone made by my current pal and ex-enemy, Civet. As for sweetness, there is barely a hint of it here.

Rien starts off with a burst of very intense aldehydes and a dry airy mineralic/metallic incense accord. (The one you can detect in L'ombre Fauve in minute amounts) It then 'calms down' to leathery peppery woods and patchouli. (What I smell as "wood" is probably the leather) Altogether, my favorite from ELDO.

Rien is one of the better releases from Etat Libre d'Orange, which starts out with a very strong aldehyde opening but settles down into a woody leather scent. It certainly possesses a mineralic quality (probably due to an almost airy incense accord) with the black pepper being ever present in the background. I also get a slight powderiness throughout and agree with Vibert about the Tam Dao comparison in its later stages.

I’m not a big fan of leather scents but, although it’s a very weird scent, it is quite an original composition. As tigrushka mentioned, Rien certainly wouldn’t be out of place in Comme des Garcons’ Synthetic Series but its almost synthetic and clinical smell is the main problem I have with it. Also, most leather scents that I admire (with the exception of Montale’s Aoud Cuir d’Arabie) possess a certain degree of sweetness that Rien severely lacks, and it’s too dry and grey for me to remain in anyway compelled. I didn’t detect any amber at all but a certain degree of sweetness may have provided it with the sexy aura that is painfully lacks.

It’s much better than Tom of Finland but it’s also nothing that I’d care to smell again.

[Original submission date: 10 December 2008]

The listed notes tell me that I should adore Rien, but the sparks never really fly. Rien starts out with a burst of aldehydes and dry powder, soon followed by a gentle incense note and a very light rose. Because it's utterly devoid of sweetness, the rose/incense accord feels weightless and ethereal, even when leather and oakmoss rise up beneath it. The moss and leather are seasoned with black peppercorn in a medicinal combination that brings to mind a very soft oudh.

Rien persists in this vein for quite some time, becoming drier and more woody with age. Though none is listed, I smell something suggestive of cedar in the base, and that note brings the drydown surprisingly close to the late stages of Diptyque's cedar-lined Tam Dao (!?). On the whole, I'd describe Rien as a very dry, gray "scratchy" fragrance, and believe that earlier reviewers have been spot on calling it stony or mineralic. In the end I think it's interesting, but not necessarily compelling.

Leather, ashtray and cigarretes with a bit of smokey incense feeling. It starts rather strong and harsh but settles down into something very tame and pretty. I´d say it´s a very masculine fragrance during the top and middle phase but the dry down could be worn by a female. It reminded me of Bvlgari Black but without the vanilla and more cigarettes tossed in. A very interesting fragrance that won´t bore someone fast.

I do not totally understand this fragrance. This is an animalic leather that is VERY animalic. More so animalic than Kouros, more bad-ass leather than Black Jeans or Bandit. This stuff is spicy, too. What's weird is that it gets worse as it dries down, getting woodier as it goes on but the civet/animalic note keeps coming back. Smells chalky and rocky from a distance. Disturbing scent. Wear with caution!

Best of the ELdO bunch, this bittersweet animalic leather has an interesting herbal/spicy twist to it. Quite original, smells weird and slightly offputting. The smoky, burnt styrax note is wonderful. The scent lingers on skin forever and ever.

Dark, brooding and provocative, this is not your everyday fragrance for sure.