Archives 69

Got my hands on the sample kit with 20 small vials of ELDO's fragrances to try with my girlfriend. This is the last and final fragrance in the set that we tested together! This one is extremely varied in the reviews for it online as this scent seems wildly different depending on the skin of the person trying it! For me, this opens juicy and sweet, the orange backs up the punchy paprika with a citrusy undertone and some pepper on the side. This opening melts into a slightly firm plum, keeping some of the citrus and trading the pepper for incense while the paprika simmers down a lot; all while that INCREDIBLE camphor note comes in and steals the show. This is an extremely camphorous concoction - it's green, slightly medicinal, and incredibly relaxing alongside the incense smell. The incense is also not as pungent as you'd think, as if it hadn't been burned yet. The plum remains sweet and vaguely floral. All of it supports that really glorious camphor that sits right up front on your nose. As it dries, it grows dirtier, like you can smell the brown stems on the sides of a bush. There's an earthy sweetness in there - likely the benzoin - that adds a ton of depth to the pre-existing notes on display for me. On my girlfriend's skin, this developed a lot differently. We had very similar openings, but hers was sweeter and had more citrus to go around. As it dried down, that paprika note remained noticeable as the camphor took over; but the plum was more delicate and the incense played with the paprika more. There was also a lack of dirt or patchouli in her experience, as for her it was significantly less strong and more of a backdrop to the paprika and camphor. She got the same creamy benzoin as I did, which enhanced that sweetness in a beautiful, earthy way. This was an excellent fragrance to end on because this one is absolutely one that needs to be experienced to be properly understood. This is a shapeshifter - VERY different on many people's skin, more than usual with fragrances, and I believe the reviews here are indicative of that. Many people describing BBQ sauce, food, etc. We feel a bit lucky here, because we're both genuinely in love with this fragrance and would absolutely wear this again and again. It lasts a fair bit of time, projects off the skin just enough to catch it throughout the day, but it's not too grossly overpowering; which was a worry of mine considering the incense and camphor. A huge winner for us at the end of our journey with ELDO's discovery set!

on todays episode of samples i have tried once, chucked into the back of my closet, then revisited 2 years later and fallen in love with... we have archives 69. consisting nearly entirely of notes i dislike, i never thought i would like this perfume, i think i got the sample for free as a bonus to a purchase online - and initially i did not like it. i am glad i remembered about it today again, because it is so wonderful. the name might be a little misleading, but not entirely. opening with a blast of camphor and pink pepper, i thought "how is this naughty in any way?", but... oh it is. as some other reviewers have picked up on, there is something oddly reminiscent of 'secretions magnifiques' in this, a milky salty-but-not-quite saliva accord. it is not overbearing in any way, barely noticable, in fact, but it adds a layer of playfulness to this scent. overall, this is a soapy, creamy concoction, pink pepper and mandarin heavy from opening to drydown. there is something wonderfully retro about this, not vintage, but retro. perhaps its because i just watched "the love witch" (2016) today, a modern movie made to look like it came straight from the late 60s. this also might be just my brain naturally connecting the two together, but i think 'archives 69' actually perfectly captures the essence of the movie, and vice versa. elegant and feminine, with a seductive, witchy side lurking just beneath. some other reviewer described this scent as "a woman taking her swimsuit off", which, weirdly enough, is insanely accurate. nearing drydown there is almost a sunscreen-like quality to this. the incense in this is also barely there, only peeking out from underneath every once in a while. to sum it up, this is insanely beautiful and wearable, flirty, soft and feminine, creamy, soapy, fruity, camphorous. perfect for summer, in my opinion. i might just need to buy a full bottle, i fear.

Some people say that the opening on this perfume is harsh and unpleasant, but to me it's a nice, spicy, medicinal ointment/balmy note wafting straight into the nostrils, like opening a quality vintage tin of tiger balm. It stings a bit, but in a fun, refreshing way. As that settles it starts to get sweeter and more plumy, with a note of unlit incense in the background. Someone said that it smells like the air of a traditional spice store, and yeah, it's that, but the way that airs hits you the moment you come in. It's definitely a strong perfume, quite assailing, and I do find it pleasant (to myself) in summer, but if you're one to avoid assaulting people with your sillage, then it's probably best reserved for milder days, but I would rather reach for something deeper than this in true winter weather. The most prominent notes to me are the pepper, camphor, plum, incense and patchouli. Sometimes mandarin orange and benzoin come in, but I can't say that it's very musky, paprika-like or orchid to my nose. The wear is solid, it projects moderately but the notes themselves are definitely an attention-grabber, and it lasts several hours with prominence, definitely a scent that becomes rich with movement. It also has a vintage quality that I quite like. I'm likely buying a full bottle of this! I tested it out within a 4 sample pack from ELDO, and I'm picking this as a fresher, warm/mild weather scent, opposed to ELDO's Attacquer le Soleil for colder months.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. First, I have a severe addiction to ELDO perfumes, and second, this one is a blind buy! I couldn't resist. So, what did I get? Hmm! Archives 69 is hard for me to explain. Camphor is so powerful in the beginning, better to describe it: robust milky-fruity camphor. I have never smelt anything like it. How peculiar, to be honest, and still, so refreshing. After several minutes, this perfume gets very similar to Penhaligon's Eau Sans Pareil, as the camphor note calms down. Both are very hard to compare to anything else. Both smell very unisex and light. Both are sweet and masculine initially, and more on a feminine side later on; Eau S. P. has the hair spray + milky-fruity note, not unlike the camphor milky "saliva"- like fruitiness that I get here. Later on, A. 69 grows more delicious and elegant. After a few hours, I grasp the cat fur comparison as the fragrance becomes a bit warmer, animalic. I love it. The fragrance melts on my skin and becomes a beautiful skin scent. All in all, the perfume is whimsical but easy to wear and likeable, office-friendly. I'm yet to find an ELDO that is unpleasant on my skin. I perceive them primarily as comforting and lovely. This one is no exception. The perfume is long-lasting with a moderate sillage.

i am about to be very predictable. "ohh, so the person who's liked or loved 7 out of the 8 ELDO fragrances they've reviewed so far, not to mention the many others they wear and love is gonna give the ELDO perfume a good rating? wow, very surprising." whatever! whatever, i say! i like this perfume an awful lot! i like that it's spicy, citrusy, clean, with a sweet resinous undertone. i like that it's a little difficult. there's something a little medicinal about its smell, but as someone who pretended to be sick as a child just to taste cough medicine and chew chalky grape-flavored tablets, that is okay by me. this smells like friendships with mercurial, funny, irritating old men who give me very good reading recommendations. this smells like a beat-era novel that i don't want to like, but enjoy thoroughly. this smells like a curious second-hand bookshop with gems hidden among questionable science fiction novels. i like this scent a lot, and i have a blast wearing it. but a lot of my ideas of "having a blast" are like . . . bird-watching. or listening to live jazz. so keep that in mind.