500 Years

Leonardo da Vinci's oil paint drips into a glass of liqueur, where a handful of rose petals are already floating. I hated 500 Years the first time I smelled it, which simply means it failed to meet my expectations. After falling hopelessly in love with Eau de Protection, I expected 500 Years to be a more monastic, more Gothic interpretation of the same idea. And while there's certainly a hint of that, the fragrance ultimately reaches much further. Eau de Protection is Gothic in a distinctly pop way—seductive, bold, immediate, and modern. 500 Years, by contrast, is deeply Baroque. It feels much older, dustier, but also richer with an unmistakable liqueur-like quality. There's something scholarly about it, like if a photograph of a Botticelli or a da Vinci painting was captured in perfume form. It is luminous, but never warm. What put me off the most at first was its alcoholic facet. I generally dislike fragrances that evoke liqueur, and 500 Years undeniably has that syrupy, boozy character to my nose. I'm not entirely sure which combination of notes creates this effect—I suspect it's the interplay of saffron, geranium, and suede—but it's remarkably prominent. Fortunately, on skin it bears little resemblance to a typical boozy fragrance. 500 Years wears quite discreetly; it doesn't overwhelm everyone around you. It's understated yet unmistakably present, and astonishingly long-lasting. I wore it while visiting Granville, Christian Dior's beloved hometown, and it provided exactly the kind of olfactory soundtrack I had imagined for the occasion. It feels spiritual, disciplined, and full of character. The drydown on fabrics is eternal, and smells incredible, a whole another level of beauty, trust me. If you spray your clothes the day before you wear them you'll smell like a god among mortals. État Libre d'Orange truly excels at creating mystical fragrances—perfumes that are worn less to seduce the crowd than to elevate one's own introspection. In the end, 500 Years has far more in common with two other ELDO fragrances I deeply admire—Spice Must Flow and Attaquer le Soleil—for their sheer force of character than it does with Eau de Protection. And that's exactly as it should be.

~ Sample Review ~ I purchased the set of all three scentuals which I have now tried a day or two apart as to keep them straight in my mind and body ~ I abso~freaking~lutely love this , Ooooo, my goodness, I will be purchasing this " beauty " when things calm down a bit . I truly appreciate the way they blended these notes , it is a pure " Rose and Oud on me with a beautiful hint of spice { can bergamot be spicy } This just kept getting better and better as the hours wore on . I could smell the Rose & Oudh throughout , but mostly a lighter version from a few hours prior with a chocolate chaser , that lasts on me , I can smell it like a hot cuppa cocoa . I could tell this was blended so well , to my learning nose . It is expensive but in my opinion well worth the saving of funds to purchase . I love it , Sillage was spot on , long lasting as well . Once spritzed it remains the same so much ~ ///=^} ~ it is ridiculous , a real " treasured beauty " to behold ~ Edit : 5/15/20 ~ I was able to pick up a full bottle of this " beauty " with a $45.00 off from ELO for a added Mother's Day extension until 5/24 /20 using code ~ I'm super excited to add her to my wardrobe , since I only have a sample . I'm also in love with the bottle ~ I'll compare the sample I have to this when receive ~ I'm flying high on " notes " of seduction , they seduce me all day / night long ~ I've had it on since after my bath / shower combo and it is still going strong at 4:00 am ~ I don't sleep long these days ~ Edit : I broke two toes on my left foot this am 6/26 because my cat stopped in front of me all of a sudden and I hit the far left door jam on my bedroom door ~ Ha ~ it took less than 20 mins for them both to turn colors and swell ~ So , I'll be getting my second bottle of this a bit later next month than I wished ~ ///=^} ~ silly kitty , no longer my diva kitty , she is a brat ~ lol

I tried this in Selfridges before Christmas and for the next month just kept thinking that I wanted to smell it again, at that point it wasn’t listed anywhere so I had no idea if the notes so I’m glad it is now officially out. I love it.... and can’t stop smelling it, I made the 90 Mile trip back to London just to get it and glad I did,( I was told it was an in-store exclusive, yet now see it available online ) To me it smells like roses cola cubes, very unisex might even be slightly more for the ladies however I don’t care I love it. As a guy I have loads of “man” smells of all types and this is nothing like any of them so it is a great addition to my collection. It might be similar to more femeine Fragrances but I haven’t tried many of them so its very unique to me. Sweet but not a gourmand. It’s a very well round blend and I’d be interested to know the nose behind it. I get 8-10 hours on my skin, With solid projection for the first 1-2, then lovely reminders catch me throughout the day. Only slight downer for me and it is splitting hairs is that being that it was to celebrate a milestone in purfumery I was expecting something in the box with a write up of the concept or at least note breakdown but found noting. Anyway I love it and happy to have a bottle all to myself, if I keep it away from the Mrs.

In my review for 'Spice Must Flow', I noticed a plastic pool toy scent in the opening notes, and this is also the case with '500 Years'. Where 'Spice Must Flow' turns into a magical, syrupy, rose and cardamom-rich Middle Eastern pastry, '500 Years' matures into something that smells spot-on like the medicinal and incense-y aspects of myrrh resin (which I had on hand to verify!), tempered with cocoa and woods. I can't make out the cocoa and woods *distinctly*, but they appear to be acting in supporting roles along with the rose, which also doesn't appear to dominate in this fragrance, and myrrh is unlisted. Strange. That said, I am writing this from a sample/decant and not via atomizer like my experience with 'Spice Must Flow'. Therein may lie the difference? I've since ordered a full bottle because I can't get enough of the beautiful incense quality in the dry-down. '500' is also something I'd wear to work because it's less of a radiating gothic, mystical romance bomb, and more of a subdued yet still extremely beautiful fragrance. Both of these ELDO scents are transformative from the initial impression to the actual, matured fragrance. The first 30 minutes I was thinking 'meh', but just like 'Spice', the fragrance blossomed beyond expectations. I can't wait to explore this line further.

This is rich, chocolatey dark woods and roses, all day long. It’s scrumptious. I can’t stop smelling it. You have to be CAREFUL with how many sprays you do, because it can be too much - the first time I wore it I overdid it and was pretty annoyed after a couple of hours; but today I took it easy with just a spray on my wrist and another on my collarbone before going to work, and I’m still easily able to smell it over nine hours later, even when I’m not being ridiculous and shoving my nose up under the neckline of my sweater to inhale deeply. Is it something I should wear to work regularly? Probably not, but no one complained. It does seem better suited to evening wear, and it seems really best suited to winter (oh this will be just perfect for Valentine’s Day!!!). It’d probably be way too heavy for the summer, but perhaps it could work with the right skin chemistry, and in the right setting. The price is steep, but 100mL is a lot of fragrance, especially considering one or two sprays would be perfectly adequate. I have two sample vials, so I’ll make my way through both of those first, but a full bottle of this might be going on my wish list. If it came in a 30 mL, I wouldn’t even hesitate.