Eloge du Traitre (2006)
by Etat Libre d'Orange

Is there is such a thing as a souped-up dirty Yatagan, with twice the rough and ready and not a single ounce of civility?

Yes, there is. It is this.

27th December, 2011.

Opens up with very strong green and pine accords. This softens after a bit which may be what the jasmine and geranium accomplish in this scent, though I detect very little of those notes. On dry down the pine accords remain throughout and are joined by a little oakmoss and patchouli. Longevity is excellent and an overall very nice fougere like fragrance that is very wearable and very masculine.

20th June, 2011.

EdT is dirty enough to be distinctive and sufficiently polite to be wearable. It is a departure from the safe and boring stereotype of the classic green scents and the beginning of a new era that tries to transform familiar green fresh accords such as this pine and herbs one, into something deeper and darker by setting them over dry earthy, resinous and balsamic backgrounds.
Besides that distant similarity with Yatagan, tiny bits of Paco Rabanne pour homme (oakmoss), Polo Modern Reserve(patchouli and herbs) and even Nobile 1942's Colonia maxima (dry, smoky drydown) can be found here and there in EdT just to give an idea of what to expect and put you in the mood for this. Wonderful.

8th April, 2011.

It's not always easy for me to describe a perfume in english language as I'm not english mother tongue and, sometimes, even if I know what to say it gets really hard with grammar. I apologize with anybody reading my reviews and I hope they're somehow helpful. I do my best.

Eloge du Traite

This is surely not the best and most original scent I've ever tried but I quite like it. It's basically an aromatic fougere with all the chrisms but it has something special and intriguing to my nose. Big doses of sharp pine and laurel joined by a civilized jasmine that soften the general harshness. if it were a colour it would be dark green, if it were an item of clothing it would be a pair of camouflage pants. Eloge Du Traite may be a good alternative for those days you don't have enough strenght to face Yatagan but still need to be somehow distinctive.

Update:
In the drydown it gets a bit similar to CDG's Monocle Scent N.2 (laure), but way more wearable.

27th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 4th April, 2011.)

The opening coniferous and herbal green accord hits with much more aromatic intent than just pine or geranium notes. There’s also cloves and artemisia in there ramping up the aromatic octane; it comes on tart and dry and stays that way throughout the run of the fragrance. The cloves is diminutive and the artemisia is a bit tamer than I’ve experienced in other scents, and I love it this way. The opening / middle accord produces good sillage off my skin, and it stays linear through the drydown where I pick up on a bit of the oakmoss. There are so few dry, bitter green fragrances around anymore, and I’m happy that I’ve found one that not only competently represents its category, but is also very wearable. Like the other fragrances of this type, it has excellent longevity. It IS rather a Yatagan Jr., but, unlike Yatagan, Eloge du Traitre does not cause me permanent harm.

24th January, 2011.

This also reminded me of Yatagan at first, but Eloge du Traitre is fresher, cleaner, earthier. I love the way the jasmine plays with the leather. I get a bit of a sweet heady mint too, which gives the patchouli a sharp clean I really like.

5th May, 2010.