A declaration of independence in the form of a fragrance
The name pays tribute to the Orange Free State, the South African republic that declared its independence from British rule in 1854 and lasted until 1902. Before founding the house, Etienne de Swardt worked at LVMH. Every bottle, deliberately simple, carries a tricolor cockade as its seal, which the founder chose as a symbol of freedom. The house has two official collections, Classic and Orange Extraordinaire.
The fragrances in our selection, by scent family
Orange Extraordinaire: rose, spices and oud
The Orange Extraordinaire collection includes 500 Years, Spice Must Flow and Experimentum Crucis. 500 Years is a highly complex composition, a rose with chocolate and spices over a base of oud and oriental balsams, which the house calls a gourmand fragrance. Spice Must Flow recalls the journeys of merchants along the Spice Route, laden with unknown scents and precious silks. With Experimentum Crucis the house reinvents the Newton legend: instead of an apple, what falls on him is a huge rose, fleshy and fragrant.
Roses, orange blossom and white flowers
Eau de Protection de Rossy Palma is made from a myriad of buds, extracting the plant in all its parts. Yes I Do is a bouquet of orange blossom and lily of the valley that plays on the innocence and freshness of white flowers, while Dangerous Complicity bears an English name and builds its composition on osmanthus and jasmine. Divin' Enfant opens sweet, with orange blossom and marshmallow root, then shifts to an unexpected accord of coffee, leather and cold tobacco: the house credits it with a reputation as a "shape-shifter."
Incense, musk and chypre
Nostos is an intense, deep incense dedicated to the Homeric epic of Achilles. Soul of My Soul draws on the Persian god of fire and the gods of India and Mesopotamia, with the milk and clarified butter of ritual offerings; it is a creamy, powdery fragrance that pairs musk with orris butter, vanilla and tonka bean. Then there is Exit the King, dedicated to the fall of everything that keeps us from being free, which the house presents as a true chypre.
Tea, citrus and sea breeze
Above the Waves turns the tea ritual into scent with a blend of three aromatic, fresh teas, in honor of Mazu, the goddess who protects sailors. Clean Suede is a fresh, purifying water that opens with aldehydes and lemon. Apollinaire's poem and the Seine flowing beneath the arches of the Paris bridge inspired Sous le Pont Mirabeau, a woody, spicy sea breeze. Finally, The Ghost in the Shell is dedicated to the 1980s science fiction manga and, like its half-woman, half-machine heroine, has a dual olfactory character.
Fragrances inspired by characters and stories
With I Am Trash the house gives a second life to leftovers, meaning flowers, zests and peels that still have an aroma to offer, along with notes of honey. You Or Someone Like You portrays the women of Los Angeles and is a contemporary creation built around timeless raw materials, while Attaquer le Soleil Marquis de Sade pays tribute to De Sade and to the idea of pushing past limits and conventions. Remarkable People is dedicated to the heroes and demigods of classical mythology. Une Amourette is about fleeting attraction and passing whims and opens with a quote from Leny Escudero, and Hermann about the shadow everyone carries, the invisible companion or alter ego. La Fin du Monde draws on apocalyptic imagery, from the Maya calendar to Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. Lastly, Fat Electrician portrays an imagined man raised outdoors in Texas and then lost on the asphalt of the city.
How to choose an Etat Libre d'Orange perfume
The names speak of characters, myths and wordplay, and for Putain des Palaces the house itself warns that the name should not be taken literally. To find your way, it is best to start from the notes listed for each fragrance, following the groups above. Rose appears in the Orange Extraordinaire collection and in Eau de Protection de Rossy Palma, orange blossom in Yes I Do and Divin' Enfant, incense in Nostos, and tea and citrus in the fresher scents. If you love chypre and want a modern take on it, choose Exit the King, which the house dedicates to this very family.
Frequently asked questions
Which Etat Libre d'Orange perfumes are gourmand?
The gourmand the house itself names is 500 Years, a rose with chocolate and spices over a base of oud and oriental balsams. Creamy, sweet notes also appear in Soul of My Soul, with vanilla, tonka bean and orris butter, and in Divin' Enfant, which moves into a coffee accord after the opening.
Who founded Etat Libre d'Orange?
Etienne de Swardt founded it in 2006, after working at LVMH. His idea was a gallery of avant-garde fragrances where perfumers could create with no limits on raw materials or cost, spending on the fragrance rather than the bottle, which the house keeps deliberately simple.
Which Etat Libre d'Orange perfume should I choose if I love rose?
Start with Eau de Protection de Rossy Palma, made by extracting the rose in all its parts, or with Experimentum Crucis, built around a huge, fleshy, fragrant rose. In the Orange Extraordinaire collection there is also 500 Years, which pairs rose with chocolate, spices, oud and oriental balsams.
What are the fresh Etat Libre d'Orange fragrances?
Above the Waves is fresh, built on three aromatic, fresh teas. Clean Suede is a purifying water that opens with aldehydes and lemon, and Sous le Pont Mirabeau, inspired by Apollinaire's poem about the Paris bridge, is a woody, spicy sea breeze with fig and elemi in the top notes.
Which Etat Libre d'Orange perfumes have orange blossom?
Orange blossom is listed in Yes I Do and in Divin' Enfant. In the first it joins lily of the valley in a bouquet of white flowers, while in the second it sits in the opening with marshmallow root before giving way to an accord of coffee, leather and cold tobacco, true to its reputation as a "shape-shifter."
What does Etat Libre d'Orange Nostos smell like?
Nostos is an incense fragrance, intense and deep, which the house compares to incense that has been burning for three thousand years. In ancient Greek the name means "return," the aching longing of Achilles in the Iliad, and the fragrance is dedicated to the Homeric epic of the hero whose wrath unleashed the Trojan War.
What kind of fragrance is I Am Trash?
I Am Trash is the fragrance with which Etat Libre d'Orange gives value to waste. The house describes it as a distillation of what usually gets thrown away, meaning flowers that can still release scent and zests and peels that keep their sparkling aroma, along with notes of honey.
What does the name Putain des Palaces mean?
The name Putain des Palaces is a play on words and, as Etat Libre d'Orange itself points out, should not be taken literally. The house asks that it be judged like each of its fragrances, by the quality and complexity of the composition, built with many facets, and not by its provocative title.
What does the cockade on Etat Libre d'Orange bottles mean?
The tricolor cockade is the emblem that founder Etienne de Swardt chose as a symbol of freedom. It appears as a seal on every bottle, which the house keeps deliberately simple so the work stays focused on the composition. The house's name pays tribute to the Orange Free State, independent from British rule since 1854.
