Jasmin et Cigarette (2006)
by Etat Libre d'Orange

Dad used to smoke a pipe when I was a wee little tyke...he kept his 'pipe collection' in a wooden display sort of holder. They were gorgeously carved wooden pieces of art to my little eyes. I used to pick them up, and visually admire them. Then, as a small child would do, I'd put one in my mouth and pretend to smoke it just like my father! It did'nt quite smell the same as when he lit it and puffed, so I'd put my nose into the opening where the tobacco goes. THIS is what the cigarette part of Jasmin et Cigarette smells like! The remnants of already smoked sweet pipe tobacco - and it's amazing! When I first sampled this scent, my expectations were at about zero. Never in a million years did I ever expect to purchase a full bottle - but I did! The jasmin here is perfectly paired with the ashen & smokey tobacco, lightly sweetened with notes of hay and apricot. The blend is fantastic, a real work of art. Quality ingredients, craftsmanship and the finished product is not only one of a kind - it is completely wearable! Thumbs up, without hesitation!

Etat Libre D'Orange Jasmin et Cigarette

In the annals of perfect combinations I'm pretty sure that jasmine and cigarettes are not high up on that list. Which makes what Antoine Maisondieu has executed with his 2006 release for Etat Libre D'Orange, Jasmin et Cigarette; all the more impressive. There are a few scents out there that do wonders with the cigarette note; Hilde Soiliani Bell' Antonio is a good example. There are many more jasmine fragrances which use the note to good intent. I personally find jasmine to be one of my favorite florals because while it has some sweet aspects to it it also has a less floral aspect that appeals to me. In Jasmin et Cigarette M. Maisondieu accentuates that less floral aspect of jasmine and in combination with the raw tobacco accord creates a quite lovely fragrance. The top has that smell of a cigarette just after the match has lit it; that contrast of sweet tobacco and smoke. This accord is very evocative. The heart is the jasmine and its first appearance is as the slightly sweet floral but the deeper aspects of the note make their presence known and they are what linger along with the tobacco. This interplay is long-lasting and surprisingly interesting, on me. After a long time the base shows as a mix of cedar, amber and musk. This adds a warmth and an almost post-prandial feeling to contrast the beginning phase of Jasmin et Cigarette. Jasmin et Cigarette has above average longevity and average sillage. Jasmin et Cigarette might not be as perfect a combination as peanut butter and jelly but, as a perfume, its pretty close.

Etat Libre d'Orange is a little quirky and very interesting. it's almost like they don't care too much what people think - take it or leave it !
The name may put people off and maybe reading that there is tumeric in it . Well when I first put this on - I got sweet floral Jasmine - a really good jasmine actually with a hint of zing from the tobacco. The tabacco is not very strong at all- it remains a mere hint throughout and if I really really put my mind to it- yes, there is a slight suggestion of 'ashtray' but don't let that put you off !
The tumeric is not to be feared either - I think it's in there for edge .
All in all this is a pretty jasmine perfume with that naughty edge to it. For sinners ! It's quite delicious even - with the apricot /tonka bean notes .
Absolutely nothing to fear !
A good one !

Jasmine et Cigarette is a pleasant surprise among Etat Libre d’Orange’s jokily named and often banal fragrances. The topnotes are unpromising: unadulterated isopropyl alcohol. Once that blows over there’s a perfectly pleasant, (if rather chemical,) soapy green jasmine that tools along unaltered for at least a solid hour.

The cigarette comes later, in the form of a semi-sweet hay-and-tobacco accord that adds welcome warmth and depth to the otherwise dangerously two-dimensional jasmine. Given some of the brand’s other olfactory whoopee cushion effects, I half expected a fetid indolic sucker punch somewhere along the way, but the perfumer avoids adolescent temptation and it never arrives. The clean musk and cedar drydown is unfortunately barren, and seems so by dint of insufficient funds, not artistic intent.

I really like the idea of Jasmine et Cigarette, and Etat Libre d’Orange’s name is, for once, accurate. I only wish the concept had been executed with more finesse: a higher quality jasmine note, a smokier tobacco, a more substantial drydown. As it is I find the scent interesting, but just short of compelling.

Yup. Smells like jasmine -- perfume, not flower -- and cigarettes. The tobacco notes perform the interesting trick of starting out as fresh tobacco in the top, unsmoked cigarettes in the heart, and cold ashtray in the bottom. The life-cycle of the cigarette in olfactory narrative form. Neat. But I don't want to spend the rest of the day smelling like an ashtray. I'll give a neutral for being entertaining, but as far as wearability goes, it's a big, fat NO.

My mother's signature scent wasn't so much any one particular scent (she worked her way through several) - but more of a theme "perfume and cigarettes". She smoked 40 a day. Probably why she got cancer in the end. To me, Jasmin & Cigarette is instantly evocative of "perfume and ashtray". It is a chilling reminder of the not-so-good memories. Another powerful example of the subjectivity of our perfume experiences.