Our journey continues across the Seine into the 3rd arrondissement, along the edge of the happenin' Marais district. At the corner of Rue Pastourelle and Rue des Archives is the new parfumerie, Etat Libre d'Orange. Founded by Etienne de Swardt in 2006, this parfumerie allows its perfumers (Nathalie Feisthauer, Antoine Lie and Antoine Masondieu) free reign in their creative expression.
This is reflected in the provocative names of the fragrances:
- sécrétions magnifique (magnificent secretions): iris, cocoa, sandalwood, opoponax
- vraie blonde (real blonde): aldehydes, Champagne, rose, white pepper, myrrh, patchouli, suede...
- je suis un homme (I am a man): bergamot, orange bigarade, lemon, myrtle, cinnamon, clove, cognac accord, leather, patchouli, animal notes...
- encens et bubblegum (incense and bubblegum): peach, raspberry, vanilla, lily of the valley, orange blossom musk, incense...
- jasmin et cigarette (jasmine and cigarette): jasmine absolute, tobacco, hay, apricot, tonka bean, turmeric, cedar, amber, musk...
- putain des palaces (hotel slut): Rose absolute, violet, leather, lily of the valley, tangerine, ginger, rice powder, amber, animal notes...
- eloge du traitre (praise of a traitor): pine, laurel, mugwort, clove, geranium, jasmine, patchouli, leather, musk...
- rien (nothing): incense, rose, leather, iris, rock rose, oakmoss, styrax pyrogene, patchouli, amber, cumin, black pepper, aldehydes...
- nombril immense (large belly button): patchouli, balsam of Peru, vetiver, black pepper, sweet myrrh, bergamot, carrot seed, ambrette seed...
- antihéros (anti-hero): lavender, musk, wood
- divin'enfant (Divine Child): orange blossom, rose, amber, musk, leather and tobacco...
The sales associate and I had a very merry time with the translations! We sat across from each other at her desk as she carefully sprayed each fragrance onto a blotting strip for me to smell, one at a time. I would smell each one with care, try to guess some of the notes, and then ask the name. I think everything sounds beautiful when spoken in French, but sometimes the translations can be a bit jarring! For instance, one of my favorite scents, Putain des Palaces, a soft, powdery rosy floral, sounds like beauty incarnate when its name is spoken in French. When she translated it for me as, "Hotel Slut," I nearly fell off my chair laughing! Probably not the response she was expecting, but the incongruence between the beautiful scent/melodious French name and the English equivalent caught me off guard.
I also really like Vraie Blonde, a bubbly aldehyde that feels very youthful. The newest fragrance has not yet been launched, but I was able to smell a sample. It is named Vierges et Toreros (Virgins and Bullfighters) and is a light tuberose/incense scent on a woodsy, musky base. For more information on this line, please see the Etat Libre d'Orange website.
Newsflash: Victoria mentions on her Bois de Jasmin website that the line is going to be availabe at Henri Bendel’s in NYC in the winter of 2007.
Next stop: The Different Company
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