No surprises – we begin with Etat Libre d'Orange, who continues to wave the avant-garde flag, representing one of the most creative, transgressive, and imaginative fragrance houses. La Fin du Monde is a tongue-in-cheek take on the apocalyptic, where the scent of gunpowder and smoky black pepper effortlessly melds with iris, popcorn, carrot seed, and sesame. Nuclear fallout for Etat Libre d’Orange smells toasty and warm, and a bit like pencil shavings. Where can we experience the end of the world? At the movies. Boom!
Thunderstorms, cobblestoned paths, thick air after the rain, creeping moss, leaves and branches in outrageous places: Empty Wishes Well assembles the many motifs to do with rain and situates them at the nexus of this fragrance. After a clamorous and ravaging storm, nature is left in a state of disarray with a quiet eerie stillness. Calm chaos: nature forms a scene to be worn in this fragrance - a metallic shiver of cool earth, rocks, minerals and stones are cemented in the ground with vetiver, sage, myrrh, patchouli, and galbanum. A moment of forest bathing in the eye of the storm, a meditative feeling at the intersection of cool and warm; earth, air, and water. A paradox of dry yet wet.
Lampblack (FZOTIC) explores the delightful sweetness to be drawn from the earth. It is a clean and purified smoke, the scent of roots, soot, and ink - elemental materials made from earth and fire, turned to perfume. Vetiver, cypriol, grapefruit, and pepper offer an unusual quality of freshness, magically weightless yet full, reassuring and salubrious. Bull’s Blood (Imaginary Authors) balances brutality and elegance - in your face yet complex, dark and mysterious but with clearly defined ingredients: bloodied roses and spiced roses, withered roses and fresh ones splashed with geranium, situated alongside dusky burning tobacco, incense, leather, resins, and patchouli. A surefire statement.
Mal-Aime (Parfum d’Empire) translates to unloved, and is perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato’s eulogy to the neglected weeds, plants, roots, thistles, and shrubs of perfumery. Its green is uncommon: earthy, herbal, and strangely sweet, thanks to extracts of inula, nettle, iris roots, and bramble. Treated with respect, these ingredients showcase virtues entirely of their own. While King Cobra (Zoologist) turns this green a dangerous shade, infused with pomelo, ganja, incense smoke, and a soil accord to conjure a sensation of the cold-blooded reptile slithering across a cold and stony earth. An addictive fragrance, and a great representative of the Zoologist style.
