Cologne
Etat Libre d'Orange (2014)

Simply put, this is ELDO's contribution to the eau fraiche, and I must say that it was wonderfully executed, if unoriginal. Bergamot, neroli, and orange blossom are panoramic here: filled with sun and juice and tartness drying into white florals and musk.

It's simple, straightforward, and would be an utter joy to wear. The only thing is, it's been done a million times before.

We’re so used to bizarre and left-field sources of inspiration leading to quirky and fun (and sometimes challenging) perfumes from ELdO that when they give us a fragrance that is exactly what it says on the bottle, no weird backstories, we all look around at each other hoping someone has caught the ruse and can let the rest of us in on it. There’s no joke or challenge here. No otherworldly or esoteric source of inspiration. Etienne de Swardt’s all time favorite perfume is 4711, the guy is a cologne freak I’ve heard it said, and he wanted his brand to make a cologne for him. That’s it. Curiously, ELdO do not credit a perfumer for it, which is rare for them, but I suspect Quentin Bisch, who made a few for them around that period and Cologne feels like his style.

So what does it smell like? As simple, clean, refreshing, easy to wear, and well-made as you’d expect. The opening of bergamot and blood orange smells quite a bit like grapefruit to me, but a blood orange and bergamot combo is close enough to grapefruit. It’s citrusy, sparkling, and sour while also staying well-rounded with a zesty rind-oil quality. It’s wonderful and also wonderfully simple. The movement into the heart is seamless. Orange blossom and jasmine swaddle you before you even know they’re there. The final skin scent is a mix of soft and pleasant musks and suede-like leather. I’m not surprised to see people disliking this, either because it doesn’t fit with ELdO’s typically quirky character or it’s one of a million colognes, but that makes me happy; it reinforces for me that my nose is on the right track. I might wear this again tomorrow.

It smells just the way it is called: like a classic Eau de cologne but slightly stronger. Citrus, orange blossom, freshness, cleanliness and brighness. Not as dusty as 4711 but in that ballpark. Does not smell the most 'natural', yes, but it smells good to me, and it lasts.

As I understand it, the perfume type called "Cologne" is derived from 4711 Eau de Cologne ('cos that's where it's made). Colognes should be refreshing and cooling. They don't necessarily last a long time as they are based on short lived citrus notes.

ELDO's cologne smells neither refreshing nor cooling. It smells like orange squash. Very synthetic orange squash, with maybe a touch of an orange flower base, to take the curse off it.

I lost interest long before the, very short lived, Cologne gave up.

I'm with Rogalal on this one. It's got lemon, but not a true lemon, it's Lemon Pledge. It's got pine, but it's Pine-Sol pine. And a strange undercurrent of sweetness that's really unpleasant, IMHO. Hard pass.

A delicious candied lime and orange blossom with a musky dry down. Fantastic smelling, but performance is nothing to write home about. Not worth the retail price, you'd be better off getting Royall Lyme, or Royall Mandarin, which smell like this if you combine the 2 (75% Lyme + 25% Mandarin) and cost much less. The musk in this presents itself as more of a carrier for the citrus and floral notes, than the smell of musk itself, but it does give a clean underlay for the top notes.

Overall, it's just too expensive for something that's been done 1,000 times already. Go with Castile, or Orange d'Verte, maybe even Dunhill Icon before this, as they are all close to one another.