Etat Libre d'Orange

[Fernaldo]

So I ordered their sample pack (25 samples total ~40 bucks). First off, by far the coolest, highly polished, and well-thought-out discovery pack I have purchased. I don't have any experience with this house but from the first three I have sampled, I think I'm a fan! On the box "This is going to be fun". Indeed.

So far Rein, Jasmine Et Cigarette and Archives 69.

Jasmine Et Cigarette jumps out. Something about this, vetiver is not a note on Fragrantica, but for some reason, it's what I smell.

The only thing better than testing new samples is testing A LOT of new samples.

[hednic]

Enjoy what you discover!

[freewheelingvagabond]

Would you like us to post thoughts before you've tried them? Or wait till you try?

[Cook.bot]

I recently went through two of the 8-sample tins of ELDOs. Overall I was disappointed; their image of being offbeat and rather naughty was not borne out in the scents I smelled, most of which were tame and quite mainstream. One I didn't have but wanted to try was "I Am Trash".

Archives 69 may have been my favorite of the batch I had. Smells like a freshly opened jar of olives to me.

[cacio]

Glad you are enjoying. The house is one of my favorites, and I love many of their perfumes. You started from two of the most challenging (and possibly my favorites), the powerful, animalic Rien, and the weird Archives. Archives has a strong rotten citrus note that's typical of the perfumer, Christine Nagel, and i agree with Cook.bot that it curiously recalls an olive jar.

Many other perfumes in the line are actually more classic in style, despite the imagery, as cookbot was saying, but to me, that's good, most are indeed done very well. I am trash falls among these: it's a very nice fresh floral-citrus, perfect for the summer.

cacio

[thrilledchilled]

I own Rien which is nice. Ugh. I own one bottle. Not nothing. Lol.

[Fernaldo]

Would you like us to post thoughts before you've tried them? Or wait till you try?

By all means, post away!

[Beck]

Wow. Nice price for what you got. I find the brand pretty interesting based on the few ones I tried.

[mistersmellgood]

I feel like I have to buy Fils de Dieu after finding out it used to be called Philippine Houseboy

[SixCats]

I recently went through two of the 8-sample tins of ELDOs. Overall I was disappointed; their image of being offbeat and rather naughty was not borne out in the scents I smelled, most of which were tame and quite mainstream. One I didn't have but wanted to try was "I Am Trash".

Archives 69 may have been my favorite of the batch I had. Smells like a freshly opened jar of olives to me.

Hi Cook,

Pray tell, did you try ELd'O "Rien Intense", "Charogne" or "Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade" ? As far as ELd'O, this (imho) is where the Rubber meets the road! Ummmm, I've yet to try "Archives". Is it considered "rank/weird/unique" ?

SixCats!

[N.CAL Fragrance Reviewer]

Didn't have a great experience with ELDO. Tilda Swinton Like This I recalled was horrible to my nose.

[hednic]

The house is one of my favorites, and I love many of their perfumes.
cacio

Likewise.

[Cook.bot]

Hi Cook,
Pray tell, did you try ELd'O "Rien Intense", "Charogne" or "Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade" ? As far as ELd'O, this (imho) is where the Rubber meets the road!

Sadly, no, none of those three. I guess they don't put the true weirdos in the discovery sets.

Ummmm, I've yet to try "Archives". Is it considered "rank/weird/unique" ?

Some might think so, but I happen to love that overripe fruit note that Cacio mentions. It's not rank, in the sense of skanky. And I can't say it's entirely unique, either, since Roudnitska pretty much pioneered that overripe fruit accord long ago, but Nagel takes it in her own direction. It smells a bit like that gray fuzzy mold that develops on citrus fruit when you leave it sitting in the fruit bowl too long. I like that smell.

[Andy the frenchy]

By all means, post away!

Big fan of the house. Not top notch quality, but very creative. Of what I own:

Fat Electrician: gourmand vetiver, with hazelnutty facet that, combined with vanilla and resin, will give an impression of candied chestnuts. grate taken on its own, but a bit too sweet for my tastes.

Afternoon of a Faun: a cardboard-ish immortelle-centric fragrance, very artistic, but linear and at the end of the day, a bit boring.

Attaquer le Soleil: stunning spicy/vanillic labdanum centric fragrance with a olibanum drydown. A very original incense fragrance, and probably one of the most beautiful of this house.

Eloge du Traitre: a modernized take on Caron Yatagan, with a hint of sweetness in the background. Beautiful fragrance.

Je Suis un Homme: citrus leather, in the same vein as Versace L'Homme. Very well done.

Hermann a' mes Cotes me Paraissait une Ombre: beautiful metallic/aquatic/peppery rose with green and woody notes. Reminds me a bit of Cartier Declaration d'Un Soir

Malaise of the 1970's (fka Sex Pistols): very nice citrus/peppery frag, with a twist. Nothing punk in that one, though.

Remarkable People: fizzy graprefruit/jasmine/pepper combo, with support of orange blossoms, that the marketing department sells as "champagne accord". Good for summer drinks at the end of afternoon, even if not essential

Tilda Swinton Like This: combo of Mandarin orange, ginger, rose and musk supported by a subtle immortelle note, that will give an impression of pumpkin. Nice, but probaby nicer on a woman

Delicious Closet Queen: Very nice suede with raspberry undertones. Not a fan of fruityness, but here, it's masterfully done. Reminds me of the sadly discontinued Jil Sander Feeling Man.

Jasmin et Cigarette: as of title. Very nice jasmine, with ashy/indolic undertones. A woman that hold a jasmine flowers in her hand, just having returned froma smoke outside, with her jacket still smelling strongly of tobacco. I love it, but I struggle to wear jasmine-centric fragrance. That said, on a woman, it would be stunning.

Vierges et Toreros: this is art. Not sure it's beautiful, but maannnn.... this is art. Mostly spicy tuberose and birch tar (leather) giving an impression of blood and fresh meat. I wear it. Stunning, but not easy to pull out.

Rien: another school case of perfumery. Probably one of the 5 most stunning leather fragrances around, and probably one of the the 10 most creative fragrances of the perfumery history (yes, I'm not scared to say it). aldehydes, spices, civet and incense giving an impression of greasy leather. There's a real evolution, one can feel 3 distinct stages during the drydown. Also not easy to pull, and doesn't generate only compliments. Honestly? I cant care less, I wear it. Caution: projection is nuclear.

Tom of Finland: a beautiful suede fragrance. No sparkles here, just a relaxed, intimate, beautifully made suede. I love it, even if the drydown is "only good" and a bit linear compared to the great opening.


A couple more that I tried but do not own:

Cologne: it's a classical citrus cologne. Every house has to offer one in their line up, right? Nice, but nothing outstanding compared to the many others around.

Antiheros: as for the Cologne, this one is the lavender guy. As for the Cologne, nice but does not especially stand out compared to many others.

Secretions Magnifiques: a school case of marketing, that, in blind test, many would not find repulsive without knwoing its name. A milky/metallic/airy/acquatic thing. Supposedly the smell of blood, sweat and semen. I'm not repulsed, just find it useless. leans feminine imo.

Rien Intense Incense: amped-up incense in the first 15min of the opening, that will linger a bit in the background afterwards. Other than that, it's identical to the original Rien. Instead of a greased leather (Rien), here it's leather dipped into a petroleum barrel. Rien is a "brown" fragrance, while RII is black/dark/blue/inky, more 'polished' than the original. I personally prefer the original Rien, as the added incense in RII, imho, breaks the balance of the original. Also: RII has even stronger performance than the original (was there a real need?), and as expected, an higher price tag.

There are another few great ones, but that definitely lean feminine, so I skipped them.

[ThVH]

By all means, post away!

I haven‘t tried many, but Je suis un Homme is such a winner imo. I liked it a lot from my sample, but when I got the bottle, I was in love. It takes some wearings and changes with each, so give it a little time. So far, I‘ve had this effect with (semi)oriental fougeres especially.
The bergamot opening is the single best bergamot I‘ve encountered so far. although I only got that at the third wearing haha. The leather note, which is borrowed from Rien but more in the background, mixes with the cloves in a wonderful, dusty-dry way. I think this gives the scent a very modern twist on a pretty classical genre. It smells like a 21st century rockstar on a trip to the opera
This is easily 9.x territory for me.

[Fernaldo]

Big fan of the house. Not top notch quality, but very creative. Of what I own:

Fat Electrician: gourmand vetiver, with hazelnutty facet that, combined with vanilla and resin, will give an impression of candied chestnuts. grate taken on its own, but a bit too sweet for my tastes.

Afternoon of a Faun: a cardboard-ish immortelle-centric fragrance, very artistic, but linear and at the end of the day, a bit boring.

Attaquer le Soleil: stunning spicy/vanillic labdanum centric fragrance with a olibanum drydown. A very original incense fragrance, and probably one of the most beautiful of this house.

Eloge du Traitre: a modernized take on Caron Yatagan, with a hint of sweetness in the background. Beautiful fragrance.

Je Suis un Homme: citrus leather, in the same vein as Versace L'Homme. Very well done.

Hermann a' mes Cotes me Paraissait une Ombre: beautiful metallic/aquatic/peppery rose with green and woody notes. Reminds me a bit of Cartier Declaration d'Un Soir

Malaise of the 1970's (fka Sex Pistols): very nice citrus/peppery frag, with a twist. Nothing punk in that one, though.

Remarkable People: fizzy graprefruit/jasmine/pepper combo, with support of orange blossoms, that the marketing department sells as "champagne accord". Good for summer drinks at the end of afternoon, even if not essential

Tilda Swinton Like This: combo of Mandarin orange, ginger, rose and musk supported by a subtle immortelle note, that will give an impression of pumpkin. Nice, but probaby nicer on a woman

Delicious Closet Queen: Very nice suede with raspberry undertones. Not a fan of fruityness, but here, it's masterfully done. Reminds me of the sadly discontinued Jil Sander Feeling Man.

Jasmin et Cigarette: as of title. Very nice jasmine, with ashy/indolic undertones. A woman that hold a jasmine flowers in her hand, just having returned froma smoke outside, with her jacket still smelling strongly of tobacco. I love it, but I struggle to wear jasmine-centric fragrance. That said, on a woman, it would be stunning.

Vierges et Toreros: this is art. Not sure it's beautiful, but maannnn.... this is art. Mostly spicy tuberose and birch tar (leather) giving an impression of blood and fresh meat. I wear it. Stunning, but not easy to pull out.

Rien: another school case of perfumery. Probably one of the 5 most stunning leather fragrances around, and probably one of the the 10 most creative fragrances of the perfumery history (yes, I'm not scared to say it). aldehydes, spices, civet and incense giving an impression of greasy leather. There's a real evolution, one can feel 3 distinct stages during the drydown. Also not easy to pull, and doesn't generate only compliments. Honestly? I cant care less, I wear it. Caution: projection is nuclear.

Tom of Finland: a beautiful suede fragrance. No sparkles here, just a relaxed, intimate, beautifully made suede. I love it, even if the drydown is "only good" and a bit linear compared to the great opening.


A couple more that I tried but do not own:

Cologne: it's a classical citrus cologne. Every house has to offer one in their line up, right? Nice, but nothing outstanding compared to the many others around.

Antiheros: as for the Cologne, this one is the lavender guy. As for the Cologne, nice but does not especially stand out compared to many others.

Secretions Magnifiques: a school case of marketing, that, in blind test, many would not find repulsive without knwoing its name. A milky/metallic/airy/acquatic thing. Supposedly the smell of blood, sweat and semen. I'm not repulsed, just find it useless. leans feminine imo.

Rien Intense Incense: amped-up incense in the first 15min of the opening, that will linger a bit in the background afterwards. Other than that, it's identical to the original Rien. Instead of a greased leather (Rien), here it's leather dipped into a petroleum barrel. Rien is a "brown" fragrance, while RII is black/dark/blue/inky, more 'polished' than the original. I personally prefer the original Rien, as the added incense in RII, imho, breaks the balance of the original. Also: RII has even stronger performance than the original (was there a real need?), and as expected, an higher price tag.

There are another few great ones, but that definitely lean feminine, so I skipped them.

Thanks for the great breakdown. I actually wore Rein last night and I like it. I do enjoy leather fragrances. To me, it comes off like a mixture of Ombre Leather mashed up with Anubis. It's not nearly as sweet as OL and it's not as dusty\dry as Anubis. It has some solid longevity too, which I have read the house suffers with. I could smell it when I woke up this morning and confirmed by my wife's comment "You smell like cologne". Yes!

This morning I'm testing out Remarkable People. Looking for a easy summer scent, the dry-down really reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it.

Based on your comments, I might have to jump on Attaquer le Soleil and give it a spin tonight.

[david]

I love the beautiful resins they use in many of their creations.
They are very natural smelling and remind me of the warm provencial summer winds and thy way the earth smells in the early morning here in the south of France.

[finsfan]

Hi Cook,

Pray tell, did you try ELd'O "Rien Intense", "?

SixCats!

Oh Yes, love it. Sampled that and 1740 Marquis de Sade and since I could get the 1740 bought that. But love the Rein Intense

[Andy the frenchy]

Thanks for the great breakdown. I actually wore Rein last night and I like it. I do enjoy leather fragrances. To me, it comes off like a mixture of Ombre Leather mashed up with Anubis. It's not nearly as sweet as OL and it's not as dusty\dry as Anubis. It has some solid longevity too, which I have read the house suffers with. I could smell it when I woke up this morning and confirmed by my wife's comment "You smell like cologne". Yes!

This morning I'm testing out Remarkable People. Looking for a easy summer scent, the dry-down really reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it.

Based on your comments, I might have to jump on Attaquer le Soleil and give it a spin tonight.

I don't know Anubis, but I agree with some similarity with OL in the style of the leather note. On my skin, most have moderate performance, and a few have great performance (V&T, Rien). I see ELdO as fragrances to enjoy egoistically, to accompany one during the day, more than make a statement (except for V&T and Rien, for example). Still, performance is decent on me, and given the disocunter pricing, I'm not afraid to overpsray.

I really like Remarkable People, but will go for a full bottle only if I find a great great deal (I have a trave spray).

Attaquer le Soleil is not a screamer, more a cozy/spicy/resinous fragrance for me, but if paying attention, you will smell a great church-style incense in the base.

Please keep us updated on your thoughts, great idea of thread!

[BlindFuryFragFanatic]

Ill take a backseat to the discussion since the heavy hitters are chiming in but I found Remarkable People to be my favorite and most wearable. Night time party atmosphere, or maybe Sunday brunch.

[Fernaldo]

I don't know Anubis, but I agree with some similarity with OL in the style of the leather note. On my skin, most have moderate performance, and a few have great performance (V&T, Rien). I see ELdO as fragrances to enjoy egoistically, to accompany one during the day, more than making a statement (except for V&T and Rien, for example). Still, performance is decent on me, and given the disocunter pricing, I'm not afraid to overpsray.

I really like Remarkable People, but will go for a full bottle only if I find a great great deal (I have a trave spray).

Attaquer le Soleil is not a screamer, more a cozy/spicy/resinous fragrance for me, but if paying attention, you will smell a great church-style incense in the base.

Please keep us updated on your thoughts, great idea of thread!

Ok, I finally realized what the Remarkable People dry down reminded me of: Percival. It's not as intense though. We venture on...

So I test drove Attaquer le Soleil. Good lord, I'm hooked on this one. For such a simple note profile, the Labdanum draws me in. The incense balanced with subtle hints of sweetness/vanilla. FB worthy.

In the afternoon, I broke out Fat Electrician. Another winner. A nice warm, sweet creamy\nutty vetiver. In the opening, I really like the funky plastic\rubber thing going on. It sort of reminds me of plastic coating\sheathing on wires. That's probably influenced more by the name. After that dissipates, it kind of vacillates between sweet whipped cream and a slightly sour\grassy note. It reminds me of Yesterday Haze by Imaginary Authors. I'm not a big gourmand person, but I could see picking up a 50ML of this.

I did a quick sample of Hermann A Mes Cotes. Earthy, musky, aquatic rose. This reminds me of rose water and glycerin soap we had in the house growing up. Very Nice. Have to give it a full wear.

So far, I'm impressed. I like the diversity. From the few I have given a full wearing (Rein, Fat Electrician and Attaquer), I don't see any performance issues.

I need to find a discounter that carries ELDO because I will be buying multiple bottles. They did include a 15% coupon in the sample pack which is nice.

More to come...

[Francolino]

Afternoon of a Faun, Rien Intense, Je Suis un Homme and Tom of Finland are my favourites.. Tilda Swinton was pretty...Jasmine and Cgs and Eloge were rather boring...Yuo or Someone like you is pretty interesting...

[freewheelingvagabond]

I've tried a quite a few, but some I don't remember much such as Tom of Finland, Sex Pistols, Archives 69, You Or Someone Like You. On to the others .........


Antiheros - Was just thinking of it yesterday in shower. Nice lavender fragrance, with musk in the dry down. Simply but satisfying. I got bored of my bottle and parted with it, but wouldn't mind having it again. Sort of an update on Caron pour Un Homme. One of the best clean lavender notes (no medicinal quality).

Jasmin et Cigarettes - True to name jasmine fragrance. The floral note is dialled back a notch. I was disappointed a bit with the tobacco note, expected it to be less subtle. Need to revisit this again.

Je Suis un Homme - Lemon + leather. Very well done, sort of a contemporary take on Versace L'Homme as someone noted earlier.

Eau de Protection - Top shelf fresh rose patchouli with lots of green notes. One of my favourites, and one of the best rose fragrances out there. My most worn ELdO.

Fils de Dieu - This is a very interesting light gourmandish oriental. Lime, rice, coconut, hints of vanilla, but very abstract and wearable. It's very cleverly conceptualised and executed. Used to be called Philippine Houseboy I think , later the name was changed.

Rien - Probably their best, and one of my favourites. A true, big, bold leather with lots of aldehydes, incense and a musky aspect. Modern, but also three-dimensional, and has the vibe of those great big vintage perfumes. I have this one as well.

Fat Electrician - It has lots of fans, but I remember this as being just a bland and flat vetiver.



Overall, very interesting brand, especially their earlier releases. Would love to try Afternoon and Attaquer.

[BlindFuryFragFanatic]

I think Fat Electrician wasnt trying to be more than it is. The name implies this imho. It does its job very well. Creaminess in to mainly vetiver.

[incense+heliotrope]

I've only sampled four, of which I enjoyed three :
Fat Electrician : accentuates the nutty, creamy aspect of vetiver (as opposed to the usual green freshness, or dark rootiness), which makes a change. Quite rich/sweet.
Je Suis Un Homme : what's been said above re citrus and leather, plus other notes; but I get a resemblance to Bel Ami. My favourite of the four.
Eloge du Traitre : quite similar to Yatagan, 'thicker' and without the celery note (for those of you for whom the celery is a sticking point with The Yat). I prefer Yatagan.

Like This : just too sweet and gourmand for my taste, but others will enjoy this.

[Andy the frenchy]

[...]
So I test drove Attaquer le Soleil. Good lord, I'm hooked on this one. For such a simple note profile, the Labdanum draws me in. The incense balanced with subtle hints of sweetness/vanilla. FB worthy.

In the afternoon, I broke out Fat Electrician. Another winner. [...] I'm not a big gourmand person, but I could see picking up a 50ML of this.

I need to find a discounter that carries ELDO because I will be buying multiple bottles. They did include a 15% coupon in the sample pack which is nice.

More to come...

I agree. ALS is stunning, glad you like it.

Same here. I like FE but don;t reach out for it very often, and the 30ml I own will last me a life.

Here you are
https://fragrancebuy.ca/collections/etatlibredorange
They seem to be low on stock at this moment, but they usually receives 'lots', so when they receive something from a brand, they receive a large variety and their prices are great (and they often offer a lot of testers and travel sprays)

Eau de Protection - Top shelf fresh rose patchouli with lots of green notes. One of my favourites, and one of the best rose fragrances out there. My most worn ELdO.

Fat Electrician - It has lots of fans, but I remember this as being just a bland and flat vetiver.

It's long since I have tested EdP, definitely on my re-test list.
As for FE, I personally find it just ok/good and leans a bit too femme for my tastes. I'm glad to own it, but my 30ml bottle will probably outlive me.

[Fernaldo]

I agree. ALS is stunning, glad you like it.

Same here. I like FE but don;t reach out for it very often, and the 30ml I own will last me a life.

Here you are
https://fragrancebuy.ca/collections/etatlibredorange
They seem to be low on stock at this moment, but they usually receives 'lots', so when they receive something from a brand, they receive a large variety and their prices are great (and they often offer a lot of testers and travel sprays)





It's long since I have tested EdP, definitely on my re-test list.
As for FE, I personally find it just ok/good and leans a bit too femme for my tastes. I'm glad to own it, but my 30ml bottle will probably outlive me.

Awesome, I'll keep my eye on this site.

So at the end of the day, I used my 15% and bought 3 30MLs. I am waiting to find a 100ML or 50ML of Attaquer on discount.

I picked up:

Hermann a Mes Cotes- ended up really liking this a lot after a full wearing today. That earthy patchouli and rose on the dry down sealed it.

Fat Electrician - something about it, the funky rubber, the nutty cream. I don't have many sweet fragrances, so I figured why the hell not.

Putain Des Palaces - This one came out of nowhere. Lately, I have really been drawn to powdery notes. I am also a sucker for violet and ginger so this one, even though this leans a little fem, was a winner.

I will say I did really like the ELDO Cologne. There was that dirty jasmine thing going on that I love. Unfortunately, this one vanished quickly.

La Fin Du Mond was nice but was very similar to Ferragamo Uomo (which I own), not quite as sweet but close enough.

Closing the books on ELDO for now and will revisit in the future. What a great experience.

Up next: the Atelier discovery set!

[The_Cologneist]

I bought this not too long ago as well, and it's a great deal. There are a few problems though. One, most of the fragrances lean toward feminine. Second, and this is minor, the box makes a horrible screeching sound when I close the lid, it rubs awkwardly and the glossy cardboard causes the nails on a chalkboard effect.

I tried many from the set, but still, not everything. I wound up buying a bottle of Fat Electrician, because it's fantastic, but it was one I already sampled before getting this. I have also tried the ones you have tried in your original post. I thought Jasmine et Cigarette was really interesting, as someone who can't stand the smell of cigs, or jasmine in most cases, I found this fragrance kept drawing me back for more. Not something I would likely wear, but super cool. I can't say the same with Rein though. I need to find my notes on it, but I remember it being dirty and earthy in a bad way. I think I liked Archives 69, another intriguing one. I wrote notes and first impressions on my phone I think, my short term memory is quite bad. The seldom recommended (but seemingly acclaimed) Tom of Finland, came nearly empty, it was the only sample that seemed to have spilled or evaporated. I was able to get something out of it though, and ironically somebody sent me a sample of it with another order shortly after. I found this fragrance to be extremely lackluster and boring. I didn't get much, if any oud out of it.

[Andy the frenchy]

Awesome, I'll keep my eye on this site.

So at the end of the day, I used my 15% and bought 3 30MLs. I am waiting to find a 100ML or 50ML of Attaquer on discount.

I picked up:

Hermann a Mes Cotes- ended up really liking this a lot after a full wearing today. That earthy patchouli and rose on the dry down sealed it.

Fat Electrician - something about it, the funky rubber, the nutty cream. I don't have many sweet fragrances, so I figured why the hell not.

Putain Des Palaces - This one came out of nowhere. Lately, I have really been drawn to powdery notes. I am also a sucker for violet and ginger so this one, even though this leans a little fem, was a winner.

I will say I did really like the ELDO Cologne. There was that dirty jasmine thing going on that I love. Unfortunately, this one vanished quickly.

La Fin Du Mond was nice but was very similar to Ferragamo Uomo (which I own), not quite as sweet but close enough.

Closing the books on ELDO for now and will revisit in the future. What a great experience.

Up next: the Atelier discovery set!

Great stuff Fernaldo, congrats for your purchases. I'll chase you in your Atelier thread for sure, as I own a few of that house, also.

[Andy the frenchy]

I bought this not too long ago as well, and it's a great deal. There are a few problems though. One, most of the fragrances lean toward feminine. Second, and this is minor, the box makes a horrible screeching sound when I close the lid, it rubs awkwardly and the glossy cardboard causes the nails on a chalkboard effect.

I tried many from the set, but still, not everything. I wound up buying a bottle of Fat Electrician, because it's fantastic, but it was one I already sampled before getting this. I have also tried the ones you have tried in your original post. I thought Jasmine et Cigarette was really interesting, as someone who can't stand the smell of cigs, or jasmine in most cases, I found this fragrance kept drawing me back for more. Not something I would likely wear, but super cool. I can't say the same with Rein though. I need to find my notes on it, but I remember it being dirty and earthy in a bad way. I think I liked Archives 69, another intriguing one. I wrote notes and first impressions on my phone I think, my short term memory is quite bad. The seldom recommended (but seemingly acclaimed) Tom of Finland, came nearly empty, it was the only sample that seemed to have spilled or evaporated. I was able to get something out of it though, and ironically somebody sent me a sample of it with another order shortly after. I found this fragrance to be extremely lackluster and boring. I didn't get much, if any oud out of it.

I would tend to disagree that most lean feminine. I think most are real school cases of unisex. Since many men manage to easily pull off Aventus and Layton, they can probably also easily pull off a good 75% of ELdOs imo.

Jasmin et Cigarette is stunning. Addictive. But like you, I can't see myself wearing it (that one definitely leans feminine).

I was about to sell Tom of Finland, but I rethought it during the farewell wear. I found the opening beautiful in its softness, even if the drydown is indeed less impressive and a bit linear. No surprise that you didn't get any oud since ToF is a suede-centric fragrance that doesn't contain any oud, nor is there any listed in its pyramid. At the best of my knowledge, ELdO has never used oud in any of their fragrances.