Cologne

I was afraid of this crowded tram, so I transformed into a citrus to dissolve the crowd. I often wear French colognes because I'm French and I love the perfect freshness of a perfectly crafted cologne. So I was very curious to discover Etat Libre d'Orange's take on the matter. First off, no unpleasant surprises. No provocative eccentricity, no betrayal. Etat Libre d'Orange's cologne focuses entirely on aromatherapy freshness rather than aromatic twists. The result of their work on this release seems obvious and wonderfully simple. The citrus fruits are in full bloom and invite us to live a magnificent day. First of all, the main value of this fragrance is its longevity; it's considerably shorter compared to other perfumes from the brand, but it's longer than most citrus colognes we're familiar with. Furthermore, these perfect citrus notes don't veer into a soapy scent; they remain pure and fresh. Their floral and (very slightly) leathery base seems to help them stay in the spotlight, not overshadow them. In a cologne, it's all about balance, and here, it's perfectly achieved. I'm often hesitant to buy citrus colognes because I'm frequently disappointed by how soapy they can turn after the first hour, but this one is truly reliable. I find its main drawback to be its distribution. When applied with love, the colognes need frequent reapplication throughout the day, but this release is sold, like most of the others, in the brand's 50ml or 100ml signature bottle, which isn't very travel-friendly. 50ml is not enough for a cologne, and 100ml is too heavy to hide in a bag. So this cologne deserves its own travel kit. The perfect cologne experience to me is having a 100ml at home to excessively apply in the morning and have a 10 or 30ml bottle in your bag to reapply when needed. For lovers of colognes or citrus perfumes, I highly recommend to give Cologne dy État Libre D'Orange a try, especially if you already like the quality of the brand's products.

This is Etat Libre d'Orange's summary of the entire cologne genre. As a genre perfume it has done exactly what it set out to do. ELd'O could just as easily have made a perfume called "Chypre" or "Barbershop" or "Amber" and given us a generic combination example of each respective perfume type. A cologne named simply "Cologne" comes across as sarcastic/ ironic and therefore fits perfectly within the subversive little world of ELd'O. Scent wise, it really does fall squarely between 4711 and AdP Colonia (with a hint of Colonia Pura) only the green notes have been intensified making the composition uniquely bitter and herbal. Speaking of notes, those listed on the website are: Top notes: Lemon, Mandarin, Mint Heart notes: Magnolia, Orange Blossom, Jasmine Base notes: Cedarwood, Patchouli essence Orpur®, Musk I actually think the price to quality ratio is spot on if you consider the longevity alone. I can think of many cologne-type perfumes from other houses that command a similar price for 4 - 6 hours longevity (L'artisan Parfumeur has several) comparing the price to 4711 is absurd because a spritz from that bottle won't even last you the hour.

I am comparing this to the Chanel Eau de cologne as i had used up the bottle and looking for more affordable replacement so i tried ELDO cologne (small sample vial) and to my amazement i had found the one! ELDO cologne is more longer lasting than the chanel’s (i get more than 12hrs for eldo but only 3hrs for chanel) . With ELDO i could still get the whiff of clean musky smell which is the base even after shower (surprised!) The ELDO’s open with more heaviness and peppery accord (which i love) and smells clean throughout and base is clean musk. Chanel EDC is more softer and floral but weak and gone in the wind. I realized when i sweat more the ELDO’s smell stronger. With ELDO’s the scents like to play hide and seek which i love in fragrance. Thank god nothing too harsh on the nose with ELDO’s when i believe they are using more synthetics than Chanel’s. With the more affordable and super long lasting scents cologne ala 4711 , ELDO is my choice. Am truly sorry Chanel.

One of my favorite scents by any house at any price. Cologne is the classic formula done with ELDO twists that are just different enough, without getting into typical ELDO eclectic stuff. With top notch ingredients and performance, it is uplifting in the way that cologne should be - yet even more elevated - and consistently puts me in a better mood than before I applied it. It makes me wonder what other magic ELDO could do with "normal" scents. But, that would likely harm the brand image. If they had to pick one classic scent profile to put their mainstream spin on, in my book they picked the right one. For what it is, ELDO's Cologne is without peer.

Just received a sample of this from Etat and the tagline perfectly fits the fragrance, a nice scent. Nothing horrifying or perverse to be found. It's not anything extraordinary either. Just nice. It starts very clearly with sharp notes of blood orange and bergamot that quickly fade into jasmine and orange blossom. The orange blossom and jasmine stick around for quite a while, but theres always a hint of leather hiding in the background. Eventually it fades into a rich leather and musk with only hints of the florals staying around. Overall its a safe scent. Easy to wear and perfect for the summertime.