Rien

I apologise for the lenghty commentary, but the events related to this perfume were numerous and... STRANGE!!! Prologue: I got a sample of Rien several months ago from a reputable source. I couldn't understand why so many people described this perfume as arsh and even likened it to Anthaeus in the "remind me of" section - which I immediately down-voted. What I got from smelling it both from my skin and paper was that "second skin" effect that the press release mentions. Mostly aldehydes in the top, then amber, iris supported by the perfect type and dose of incense + something musky. That's it. I loved it and promised "you will be in my collection, baby!" Day 1 (or "I'm in shock!"): Fast forward to today, my copy of Rien was delivered to me, I eagerly unwraped my box, opened the bottle, sprayed it on and... what the hell is this!? The liquid in my bottle smells mostly of oak moss, leather, something violet-like and a very coarse resins mixture. Hell, I had to go back and vote for Antheous right away, though Rien probably smells more like Quorum at this stage... I reached for my still half full sample vial and spayed it on the other arm. No, I wasn't mistaken: these 2 are not the same thing. I don't know what happened, if there are 2 different formulations circulating, or maybe some of the raw material have unconsistent quality and properties depending on year of harvest... I haven't the foggiest idea. All i know is that I thought I made an informed purchased, but it turns out I practically made a blind buy. Could it be that this is a new batch and it needs to rest? 1 hour in and the differences are still abyssal. I'll update this review as the perfume developes on my skin. 2 hours in and I can definetely smell something very similar to the composition of the sample shining through, moss and rugged leather still going strong, although weaker that before. At the 3-hour mark the 2 versions smell very similar, but not identical. The one from the bottle still has mossy, leathery and almost piny notes. Well, that was quite a long journey. I would have never picked this one up in store. Instead, I would have most certainly thrown the blotter away before Rien could reveal its best side, (that is at least 2.5 hours too early). Honestly, 3 hours is a very long wait... But the thing that astounds me the most is how in my sample the mentioned rugged notes are totally absent. Even if it were old or had been stored in unappropriate conditions, how could a whole block of notes disappear? Are there 2 versions of Rien? After those 3 long hours I like the version from my bottle better: it's more interesting and complex, and despite being smokey it's as cozy and pampering as the sample version. Such a far cry from what you smell in the first 2 hours! Still, 3 hours...!!! Day 2 Major update: I stand by what I said yesterday because it was 100% true, yesterday, and partly today. However, maybe due to the fact that when the perfume was delivered to me it was freezing cold, today I found that even if the opening is still harsh and completely different from my sample, the transition into that very lovable part I talked about yesterday is much, much quicker: 15/20 minutes or so. I've been wearing Rien all day and God is it good, and comforting and charming. I kinda want to make it my signature scent now. I'm very, very, very happy to have it!!!

First impressions. To my surprise, from the cap, I instantly get a strong rose note. But in the opening, something completely different -- a cold soapy aldehydic blast that has some floral aspects and a weird "chemical" smell (bandaid, radishes, superglue, or something similar). Too many notes to really distinguish what is going on, but I like the complexity of it. In the mid phase, a cold incense accord appears. The combination of incense, aldehydes and florals reminds me of Guerlain Encens Mythique. But it's not a stuffy or churchy incense (like in CdG Avignon or Montale Full Incense) and is very smoothly blended. To my nose, the incense is not a central accord here, and all the reductionist nag champa talk is blown out of proportion. I do get some rose. Something spicy. Very unisex. There is indeed a civet-like animalic note in the background that you might get from Kouros, but the effect is more similar to Amouage Gold Man. The latter also has aldehydes, incense and florals, some kind of oriental muskiness, and is quite similar to Rien, also in terms of leaning towards unisex. Kouros, on the other hand, is much more abrasive, sour (the infamous "urinal cake"), aromatic/herbal, dense and masculine (due to the barbershop connotations). So yes, if you like Kouros, you probably like Rien, but not necessarily vice versa. As it dries down a bit more, it warms up and I get some cumin and leather, rose, something ambery. But there is never any real sweetness to it, which I like -- just enough to hold it together and ground the composition. In the "Reminds me of" section I see Bandit upvoted, and the dry, slightly spiced brown leather (with aldehydes) is a bit similar indeed, but everything else is different. Bandit is a green leather chypre, dry, bitter, aromatic and dense. Rien is much more easygoing, has an accommodating oriental vibe. By the same token, it is slightly similar to and different from Cabochard Gres -- Rien has similar old school leather and aldehydes with florals, but no green and bitter notes to speak of. I like it very much, but I'm not blown away with surprise. Some of the more baffled negative reviews must be coming from people who are not familiar with old school fragrances. There's nothing shocking or polarizing about Rien. If you like some of the fragrances I mentioned, own something from the Aramis line, regularly wear something from before 90s, have a soft spot for chypre fragrances in general and are OK with fragrances lacking sweetness, it could even be blind buy safe. It is a well blended and clearly modernized version of many greats from the past and a kind of homage to them. Two thumbs up, for the effort and for the result.

So, this one is weird. I have been wearing it dor some time now and I mostly get aldehydes and incense for days! Oakmoss, cumin and styrax are also noticeable. "Nothing" starts with a blast of aldehydes and incense. An overload for the first 20 mins. Then the oakmoss and styrax join the party. It stays that way for maybe 2, 3 hrs and then the amber and some smoky nuances come forward. Rien is fairly linear as there isn't a dramatic change from opening to drydown. The end result is a incensy, aldehidic, oakmossy olfactive cocktail with a dab of smoke and light amber. Nothing scary, pissy, super smoky or animalic for me, it's actually super wearable on my skin. 100% unisex too. I don't get leather here though. Absolutely no "realistic" leather note , such as in Tuscan Leather by TF, Gucci Guilty Absolute by Gucci, Black Musk by Montale, so if any of you are looking for a leather bomb, look elsewhere. Personslly, I would have liked the aldehydes toned down and leather amped up, because at times this turns almost soapy on me. 😶 Performance is ok, far from beastmode- 4/5 hrs on skin with an armslenght of a projection for the first 1,30 hrs. After that it stays within a amall scentbubble around the wearer, but it's still noticable for maybe two more. I see it appropriate for autumn, winter, chillier spring days, as it can get heavy in warm temps. The quality is there though, as it has a very smooth opening and transition. Nothing feels synthetic in the composition 👌 It's fine, I guess. Didn't blow my mind. This will be first and last bottle, as it's only a "like" for me. The aldehyde overdose just doesn't make any sense to me, as it truly prevents it in taking a more natural resinous and darker development. It"s the same thing as being able to run a marathon, but say "fuck it" and stop halfway for no apparent reason. It kinda feels artificially smothered and muted! It can be found for a bargain price. I bought Rien for the equivalent of 65 bucks for a 100ml tester. I personally wouldn't pay more than 80 dollars for it. Definately isn't one of my favourites from the brand. I don't really get the hype that Rien is an animalic, leathery beast. In conclusion- an incense, aldehydic bomb with some smoky, ambery, oakmosy nuances. Borderline soapy at times. For the fans of aldehydes. No leather, no florals, no patchouli. Rather linear. Suitable for autumn, winter, some chilly spring days. Unisex. Wearable, agreable and not challenging at all. Can be dound for a bargain. 7/10 Edit: I get it now. The aldehydes are indeed needed as they elevate and provide some "air" in the composition. One of my favourite frags ever. Blasting it throughout the cold season.

ELDO's sense of humor is as eclectic as their perfumes. Sometimes irreverent and downright crude, other times tongue-in-cheek and intellectual. In the case of Rien, the joke mostly takes the latter form. Rien, meaning "nothing", is the exact opposite of what this fragrance is... or is it? Antoine Lie rooted through his cabinet of perfume curiosities, found all of the most common and most pungent materials he had, turned each one up to their maximum potency of Spinal Tap 11, and smashed them together. If something smells like everything, well, then it mostly smells like nothing, right? A person rambling on to make a point, providing context ad infinitum, to try to say everything, then in effect they say nothing. If a perfume could be a contrarian, it would be Rien. The philosophical and rhetorical aside, what does it smell like? Glorious. In a way, Antoine Lie sort of "failed" in the quest to say/be "nothing" by saying/being "everything" because he has miraculously managed to make all of these disparate ingredients work together to have a common voice. Incense, rose, leather, labdanum, oakmoss, patchouli, balsams, vanilla, cumin, black pepper, and massive aldehydes - strange bedfellows indeed, but then Jekyll and Hyde both shared the same body after all. It's powdery, floral, animalic, green, leathery, earthy, spicy, and amberic. What glues it all together in my opinion are the overdoses of rose and aldehydes. The aldehydes are cranked to the maximum, the rose is dense and pungent, the soft green and woody moss their wingman, and together they have this effect of weaving throughout the perfume to cuddle and soften the cruder and dirtier earthy, leathery, spicy, and animalic notes. Give the perfume a big inhale and the powdery florals and greenness hit you like an enveloping cloud, but then, as the cloud parts, that animalic spicy earthiness hiding in the depths gives you a big mischievous grin. Jekyll & Hyde, for sure. Or It looking up at you from sewers. I can't say I understand how this works, and, in a way, I guess you could say that's because it doesn't actually work. But I'll be damned if I cannot stop wanting one more intoxicating sniff. What Antoine Lie has accomplished with Rien is truly original, a massive success through absolute failure. That's a paradox I think Etat Libre d'Orange would certainly appreciate.

I wear my sadness, or nothing at all. I’ve developed a rather spiritual relationship with Rien. It’s the first fragrance I’ve encountered that I find beautifully sad. Mind you, I’m not suggesting that as a flaw. I hadn’t realized it before, but sad fragrances are necessary. Most of my favorite perfumes are dry, fresh-spicy, and generally suited to daytime wear, yet I am not a cheerful person. Where my usual fragrances tend to help me rise above myself, Rien serves both as a space of comfort and a form of protection. One review I came across compared the scent of Rien to the smell of a funeral, and I cannot think of a better description: the leather interior of a hearse (vividly so), combined with the distinctive scent of those intimidating yet reassuring perfumes worn by ladies of another era. In my mind, Rien fuses both images into one. That is the magic of this creation. Rien smells divine, yet it is not welcoming. It feels intensely warm on the skin, yet it does not invite companionship. That is the beautiful paradox I find in this potion. So when I take my dog out at night, pepper spray in my pocket, Rien helps me feel better—more assertive, more armed. It speaks for me (Rien is very vocal). It says: I am not here to joke around. I’m not your fake baddy Paco Rabanne guy, nor your vanilla-scented buddy, I might be fragile but I cut like a sharp broken glass. Likewise, when I’m feeling blue, I usually avoid wearing perfume so as not to stain it with difficult memories—except for Rien. Rien embraces darkness so completely that it magnifies it without disguising it, and that is brilliant. I have not smelled the Intense Incense version, and I’m not convinced there is much point in altering a creation that is already perfect. Besides, a single spray of Rien lasts until you wash it off, so there is hardly any need to aim for something even more intense. I should also note that, with France currently enduring a historic and seemingly endless heatwave, this is a fragrance I greatly enjoy in hot weather. It never becomes cloying and actually develops remarkably well in the heat. That said, like any very powerful perfume, I would not impose it on others—and if someone finds it overwhelming, then they are already standing far too close to me. Off with them!

An olfactory experience. It smells like a very specific thing i don't know the name of, but i know that its color is warm beige, or light-grey+pink. Is it the aldehydes? I think it's VERY musky to the point of animalic. It's bright. Almost "morning". It seems like it hovers between the smell of clean bedsheets and an off-white milky secretion from some mammalian gland, or a solid bar of fat-based soap from the 18th century. That makes it both unique, familiar, and slightly off-putting, all at the same time. The leather exists but it's more like a texture than a scent, adding some ruggedness and toughness that balances the "soft" musk. The plant scents exist , I suppose, but are pushed back. like a single monstera in the corner of the bedroom. It doesn't smell like any "incense" i ever smelt, but maybe I haven't smelled enough incenses? It's SMOKY yes, but smoke is a texture here (like the leather) Very mellow sweetness - like the way lip balm might be sweet - not as a flavor. Technically unisex - but leans masculine. Sort of like a masculine version of JHAG's "white spirit". Realistically women have much more fitting feminine musky scents than this. This is more for a man who wants to express their soft / feminine side. Smells like a comforting familiar bed that you've had for 10 years, but is totally clean. I can't stop sniffing my wrists with this on, something very pleasant and enchanting about it with some musky stench - maybe like an awkward childhood memory that can't stop popping into your head and gives you warm nostalgia at the same time. I'd name this scent: "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" instead. It's bold, and can't be ignored. It's organic, but not "natural" - (at least not the green, living kind - more like the way milk is organic but not "alive"). it's NOT balanced. It SAYS something. It has a LOT of character. Do I want to be that character? I'm not sure! I think for me personally it's missing just a tad bit of lively florals/fruit to balance off the heavy musk for actual wear in public. But I am so glad it exists. I might pull the trigger in the future.

My first impression is that this smells like Kouros. Lots of floral aldehydes drowning everything else. This isn't much more wearable than the modern kouros formula. Incense and leather are used with lots of artistic liberty. Second skin is kind of funny considering how smothering this is. I have some experience with ingredients and things tend to go in the kouros or interlude direction when getting carried away. Like trying to recover a paint color, can't take away, can only add. And you end up counter balancing into a gray nothing. I don't have experience with aldehydes but i know what can go wrong when mixing stuff like bergamot, basil, jasmine, and lavender oils. It can get pretty pissy, animalic, and smothering. This has so much going on it's simple to say it's a potent complex spicy sandalwood incense scent. This isn't for someone who really loves frankincense and myrrh Incense. It's good still. This one will be special occasions. It's got the depth from quality ingredients that makes it special in my collection for that 80s smell. I would have been better off going the other direction and getting more lorphaline by serge Lutens. I took the risk and missed on this one. Another lesson in blind buying and interpretation. I got plenty of hard to wear stuff. I need more easy reaches likes lorphaline. I can't give it a score or a name. It's trying really hard though. It starts very strong. I was kind of terrified. Smelled like it wasn't going to let up for awhile. It does soften up some a little earlier than expected. Good sign of a more natural formula. Then it does take on a more incense like role as this idea of a second skin scent comes in to play. And what a relief it is as the struggle could be similar to wrestling with a wet blanket. The scent left behind a testament to that struggle. This scent has helped me appreciate Kouros. And old-fashioned aldehydes. Took time to appreciate. I never liked them back in the 80s and 90s when my enthusiasm started. I don't know why I had high hopes to really enjoy these.

Since this one smells IDENTICAL to Rien Intense but with a lower concentration than Intense, I will paste the review I have for that one here: --- I feel a little stupid for not realizing sooner that this fragrance is themed after the Kaaba. The black box with gold trim on the bottle should’ve given it away immediately! The moment I smelled it, it is indisputable in my mind that is what ELDO was going for. It feels very intentional to me. Rien (and Rien Intense) smells very HUMAN in a way I cannot describe. This isn’t sandalwood or nag champa incense in Chinese or Indian shops. I feel like the notes here are deceptive, the "Incense" note is holding a lot of weight here. If i were to wager a guess, I would say that incense note is a combination of oud/agarwood/bukhoor, rose oil, frankincense and myrrh. The smell is smoky, woody, skunky, sweet, and resinous. It absolutely fills a room, and it will bring back memories in one way or another. For me, I am brought back to memories in a childhood friend's house and some hotels that I have slept in previously. It makes me picture a small, cozy room with rugs and tapestries. Some may call it a church-like incense, but I find this very homey and cozy. In Western terms, it’s closest to Calvin Klein’s Obsession or Elizabeth Taylor’s Passion, though this feels more authentic and refined. It's even slightly fruity, soapy, and sharp. In the western world, you will be a little unique for wearing this, but not the kind of fragrance for playful moods, but any comments saying it smells "satanic" are culturally insensitive and offensive and we should not perpetuate it. Makes me feel serious and professional. I want to put this in my "love" category but my love for this one isn't a passionate burning love, it is a quiet appreciation. Also, it smells identical to Rien (intense in this case) just a little stronger. sillage: enormous. longevity: eternal.

Reviewing this again after i’ve worn it for a while. The papers will deny it, but among hushed whispers, it’s apparent everyone feels it: the presence of something moving in the dark, something massive and incomprehensible. So, today, again, you’re crowding into the street after a vigil in a great hall. The words of the teacher meant nothing to you anymore. Where the spiritual once lay, a hollow remains. At night, the strange absence is probed for new developments, for a sign of something present inside of the yawning void. You were born in a place that doesn’t exist on a map anymore, and the cloud of incense carries out the heavy doors, riding above the masses, enveloping everything it touches. Behind what you thought to be truth there is nothing. You feel nothing. Like a rigid machine, you keep attending. It’s clockwork. You remain steadfastly religious, it’s all you can do. Ritual is the piece of stability you cling to, alongside every other shuffling alongside you. On the platform, their smells cloy together, combining into an oppressive blanket. Your own joins the fray. Cedar, camphor, lanolin. A wool coat that was hastily shoved into a trunk. You cannot afford to buy a new one. Your currency is worth nothing. Up against the wall of heavy dread, there is clean aftershave. Leather goods. Nice soap. Applied as a front of propriety, yet another ritual to preserve the old truth. At best a thin veneer to mask the revelation of civility as a house of cards to be usurped by a something basal. At worst a sterile cloak drawn over something lurking behind the curtain of humanity. Suddenly, there’s a hush and the lights turn off. The flame extinguishes and there’s only darkness. You can smell sulfur. The sweetness of phenol.

Parfum lovers.... CONOISSEURS and Parfumeurs, am I the only one who thinks that the ingredients' list declared above is nothing but a daring jog parade. RIEN is the dark lord's adopted child born from the forbidden breeding of Estee Lauder's Knowing and her cousin Givenchy Gentlemen the Classic,born unhealthy, abandoned in the wood, breastfed and raised up by the wolves. Tearing off his animalic wet slippery plasenta of pure castoreum and civet, raising up towards to the moon with his immature bittery acidic melon corona, unveileing ferociously the freshly sacrificed sheep's skin wrapped around him, dropping his bitter and sour rotten coconut milk traces behind to attract his followers to his nest. From the first moment on I was blessed to get to know this miracle, my relationship to RIEN has always been a worshipping ritual at each splash.There are times I wear it suolo, times I carry it 1 to 2 doses mixed with his daddy who had foresaken him:the Givenchy Gentlemen.And acknowlede! No one and nothing could ever compare,compete or beat this holy beast.This chef d'œuvre of parfum art and measure stone of niche perfume dramaturgie is still on market without compromising from its 24 hour longevity and massacre silliage even if you take a shower inbetween. Enjoy it, those lucky ones who are born with the devoted appreciation of unconventional rebellious expressionism and after so many years still cannot help doing otherwise.

Funny story, one day me and one work colleague just brought tens of perfume samples to work and we organized an ad-hoc perfume smelling session. She had an ELDO discovery set she bought from France. ELDO perfumes almost always give me the feeling of very chemical harsh smells. And in a lot of them I feel a strong opening of what I can only describe as sour, like pickled cabbage. This one also has that opening for a short minute there. However, as that sour smell disappears, you are left with a smell that I can only describe as follows: The smell of an old orthodox church, small, austere, like we have here in Romania. Old wood imbued with years and years of frankincense burning. Dust... It is the exact memory of the times I had to go to the church against my will as a child and kneel in silence for hours, not understanding much of what was happening. Yet now, that memory has in my mind an otherworldly grandeur. I no longer believe in God now, but I love this perfume. I love small, old and lonely churches. For me, this perfume carries, just as much as the scent of incense, the note of old, solid wood used for church pews, so if you are looking for that, there is nothing more accurate than Rien. It is how I imagine Adi ale Van "The White Hero" smells, given that he made it to smell like a Romanian church.

After some wearings, my impressions are as follows. The opening blast is similar to Kouros: aldehydes, incense, spicy notes, civet, urinal-cake-whatever vibe, dense as the Big Bang. Very over the top, but nicely done. In the mid phase, everything is already much mellower -- I get incense and what seems to be saffron (note pyramid from the company's website), so it veers away from Kouros and turns oriental. Some powderiness there. The animalic musk that appears as civet in the beginning, morphs into castoreum in the drydown -- less sour and more earthy, waxy. The (sueded) leather accord also becomes apparent in the drydown and I also notice rose. This combination and the overall comforting feeling reminds me of Antaeus. The very dry-drydown and residue on clothes (hours and hours later) is mossy and slightly sweet, reminding me of Kouros yet again. So, for me, it is 1/3 Kouros, 1/3 Antaeus and 1/3 some kind of incensy oriental. What's not to like? I've tried wearing this at the office, but it requires very precise dosing. The juice is very powerful and the sprayer works like a shotgun. You would have to get a 1/2 spray out of it somehow, and even then it would be advisable to let it breathe some 30 minutes before entering any indoor public spaces. Hardly a criticism though.

Oh, this is nice. A strong, dark, hissy leather, with an old-fashioned feel despite its modern minimalism; it reminds me a bit of Bandit. There's definitely aldehydes in here, and probably civet as well. The overall effect is capital-P Perfume, streamlined and reduced to its essence: fierce dark-brown leather with an animalic edge and classical polish. Sometimes I also get a ghostly rose around the edges. And then, several hours in, I get the first hint of sweetness; a rather pure, simple amber-vanilla, like a thin drizzle of butterscotch syrup in an otherwise dark-and-bitter context. There's also something that smooths out the leather a bit (maybe the "iris") so that the overall effect is substantially milder. But we're still predominantly in a dark-brown civet-leather zone, just a bit more mellow and golden. Leathers are all very similar, so at this point it's hard for a new one to truly blow my mind, but Rien is a modern classic, and probably the ancestor of many deliciously-brutal leather scents. Luca Turin agrees with me that Rien is basically a stripped-down Bandit. If you like your leather bone-dry, whip-sharp, and pleasantly animalic, but you don't want all the flowers and chypre-y accoutrements in Bandit, Rien is your pick. It's perfectly heartless.

religious fervor. on my hands and knees in a Catholic church. amazing and beautiful, yet demanding and powerful. the light, perfumed holy water in the darkest, smokyest, dingy, asphyxiating church. The opening was a beautiful light dance of patchouli, rose, cumin, and pepper. In the air, you get a beautiful green candy-like smell, but up close on the skin, you get that heavy, gritty, smokey, and pungent insense. drying down, you mostly get incense and patchouli. The spice of the opening is gone, and now you really smell the grit of the incense. It is strong and abrasive. This is probably coming from that hardy leathery note. It's so smokey and smooth. This is so strong and lasts forever; this truly is room-filling. just two sprays, and this fills and lingers in my room. I wish this was more well-loved and versatile, I think this scent perfectly encapsulates who I am as a person, but this definitely isn't a crowd-pleaser. If you're looking for a nice, everyday fragrance, this isn't it. This is for the dark, vampiric, gothic, brooding person filled with religious trauma. Personally, I would give this a 9/10 because I just love this scent. It smells amazing, but I wouldn't have any occasion to wear this fragrance.

I think I must be the only one not getting the leather overdose in Rien. I find it a cold fragrance. Metallic. If someone told me that this is called Secretions Magnifiques, I would probably believe them. Incense as in Orthodox Church in winter, after a night of heavy rain. Metallic spoons serving communion wine, iron candle holders. A snuffed candle by the breeze of opening doors. In front of me, an older Eastern European woman, wearing a Chanel N°5 imitation. It makes my nose itch but I come closer because I want to get another whiff of it. Lights out. The heavy rain must have affected the power supply. In the darkness, light from outside. And in the corner of the door, this young guy wearing a leather jacket is smoking, peeking through the glass paneled door. I close my eyes and I smell the flowers sold by the cemetery entrance. This is Rien. To me. What I don’t experience in my dream church but can smell in real life and somehow anchors me to my dream (was it a dream?) is an animalic background. I close my eyes again. I walk to the half open door, and that young man is wearing Kouros. I open them and I can sense its last remains of sillage in my room. 9/10. Sillage and longevity from here to eternity.

When you're good at what you do. You can make you're own Kouros and Habit Rouge. Then combine them and get Rein by eldo. This is a 1 to 1 parts combo of those fragrances. Aldehyde and musk bomb! The bottle should have miniature caution tape printed on it. It's a big intimidating smell. Not many are ready for this. It's overwhelming. I put two sprays on to go play darts last year and people are still complaining about the lingering smell. I offended the whole town, family and friends were checking in on me after hearing about it. People are afraid of this stuff. Many people speak of the leather in here which I can barely detect. It reminds me more of heavily perfumed floral alters of sandalwood incense. Headshop type potent spicy floral sandalwood incense. Use caution when wearing this, someone is likely to speak about it to others like you committed some horrendous atrocity with malicious intent and enjoyed it. I'm using artistic liberty and being hyperbolic to add emphasis. I adore this scent personally. It's super potent too. A little goes a long way. 50ml is plenty. It's hard to put a dent in when one spray is so strong. Some days it's just too intense. People do eventually come around to this.

On first sniff, Rien conjured images of having my cheeks pinched by a pointy grandma with loads of makeup, wearing fake leather and smoking, in summer. It was completely shocking to me however I kept going back to the tester, sniffing the atomizer multiple times a day, entranced. I eventually bought a full bottle. This remains my favourite fragrance. Industrial, strange, aggressive, sharp, unique. I usually wear a couple sprays on the chest if I'm going to the office and enjoy smelling the dry down wafting up from within my shirt for hours and hours. Despite the claims of many about how not work friendly or offensive this is, I've never had a comment on this from coworkers, positive or negative. Sadly, I don't get the liturgical incense or church associations that many get however I often wear it to mass and, while smelling the incense in the air, the two fragrances interact and reveal facets in common. If there were a version of this that leaned more towards church incense I'd blind buy it in a heartbeat, if you can think of something then please let me know! If you sample Rien then spray it on skin and leave or for at least 30 mins before judging.

BOY does this fragrance pack a punch; EPIC projection and it seriously lasts all day and all night. I would definitely love to smell this on a man and I have to say, while it's not the typical scent associated with feminine fragrances, it has the grandiose and dark power of femininity written all over it. It was definitely a scent I wasn't sure I could stand up to on the initial spray but ultimately actually made me feel so confident and powerful and the more I wore it, the more I fell in love. I would not wear this during the day, at least not outside of Winter. It has a bunch of controversial notes like patchouli and cumin so if you aren't sure what side you stand on with those, this is definitely not a safe blind buy. Personally, those notes sit well with my skin chemistry, it was more the leather, styrax and general outstanding body of this fragranced that intimidated me. I would not describe it as a universally approachable incense scent but what I will say is bless the ELDO House and the unique, artistic perfumes they unapologetically send off into the ether at us because every single one finds an audience who appreciate its stupendous beauty.

I adore this. I get that it’s controversial though. on me it smells like a Catholic Church. Very nostalgic to my nose. I adore it. the incense is both churchy and hippie like. it smells both hollistic AND Cristian. very interesting. maybe its the patchouli that makes me think of crystal shops and such. The leather is prominent as well. Kind of smells like oudh to me. Very animalic. The florals I get in the dry down. But it's barely there. The initial spray is very aldehalic. Sometimes suffocatingly so. This lasts like 15 minutes. The dry down is sweet, soft, amber like and smoky. The image that pops up in my head: a leather jacket resting next to you while you attend church. Not because you want to, but because it makes your mother happy. I LOVE this and it might be my signature scent. I also get complimented quite often wearing this one. now I don't really care about that. but the compliments were very direct. someone said to me 'I could stand like this all day' while smelling my neck. I didn't even know her. you are either addicted to it or not. there's no middle ground with this one.

Bold and strangely beautiful. Something you might smell on a vampire as it pulls you in to bite your neck. The atomizer smells just like a fresh pack of incense followed by an aldehydic almost plasticy smoke and flower, synthetic civet when sprayed. I can see the urinal cake reference, but thankfully not off putting to me as there is more going on. It mellows on the dry down but lingers. After reading the reviews I was a bit worried about this blind buy, but it was not as weird as I feared. If you can appreciate vintage incense and slightly animalic perfume (e.g, Shalimar) this won’t be that weird for you, it is more modern in the style though. I love the lack of compromise to make it more sweet or pretty. Definitely niche and not going to suit all occasions or people. Side note: I was surprised that it layers really well with sweeter scents which almost tames the harsher aspects while keeping the character underneath. I particularly liked it with a BR540 clone ( I know, sacrilege!) and it made the clone much more interesting.