Etat Libre D'Orange: Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes

Etat Libre d’Orange Fils de Dieu du riz et des agrumes ("Son of the God of Rice and Citrus Fruits").  This recent release from ELDO feels like a love letter from Manila.

 

 

[Granted, I’ve not yet had the great pleasure of visiting the Philippines—but I’ve had the delight of being well-fed by dear friends from that exotic place!  What a pleasure.]

 

 

Composed by Ralf Schweiger this year, it feels like a very new note for Etat Libre d'Orange, who most frequently pursue the more edgy and controversial in both concept and execution. This is the first time Herr Schweiger has created for them; we tend to recall him fondly for his fabulously retro Lipstick Rose, his groundbreaking Eau des Merveilles, and the succulent Orange Sanguine.

 

I freely confess: I purchased this "absolutely blind" [sic], and then immediately ordered myself a second bottle. [From the get-go, that ought to provide a little insight into how I feel about this delicious eau de parfum.]

 

 

I’m biased. This perfume has everything I adore in it—that said, I know how many notes are "deal-breakers" for other noses.  ;-)
 

 

Fear not. This fragrance isn’t a bellowing bully of exotica, and it isn’t a bedlam of spice and skank, either. Fils de Dieu is so soft, so tender, it makes me feel wistful for a place I’ve never been. It conjures visions of Marguerite Duras’ colonial French Indochina in her poignant novel L’Amant ("The Lover").

 

 

This scent faithfully captures the balanced savory/sweet flavor of Southeast Asian cuisine. The jasmine-y basmati rice accord might well be attributed to a toasty coconut—nothing at all similar to a milky creamy one. Shiso (also known as perilla) is a relative of the mint family; it provides a cinnamon-like savor while smelling distinctly herbal at the same time. The lime, ginger, and coriander are distinctly discreet, as I smell them. Woven together like some gauzy fabric, they serve to suggest an olfactory watercolor upon the skin.  
 

 

Because there are more layers to come, in order to perfect the painting.

 

The rose and the jasmine, it’s a long, long histoire d’amour, isn’t it? I never tire of that story, and welcome with open arms the presence of cardamom and cinnamon - who tiptoe in on bare feet, so as not to disturb the lovers in congress. 

 

It is decidedly hot and humid this afternoon. The rest of us are swaying gently in our hammocks, desperately trying to detain any semblance of a breeze, fanning ourselves with grassy vetiver fans which we have dampened a bit with water. This seems to cool and refresh the air around us—at least, in our own personal space.

 

 

Our lovers are oblivious to our presence. Behind the curtain, their rustling releases the sweet  balsamic musk of their clean, perspiring bodies too close for comfort. It is an animalic smell, but not abhorrent to our nostrils. We have certainly encountered far more vehement aromas than these, in our time, in this place.

 

Let the lovers have their play. We are too drugged by the swelter and our midday repast to judge, or to care. Soon, we will all rise and greet the remainder of the day, anew.

 

 

Author: Ida Meister (chayaruchama) has been an avid collector and sniffeuse for over 40 years. She adores consulting and collaborating with niche, budding,and independent perfumers . Her hypervigilant nose has  been of great help  in her profession as a neuroscience/oncology nurse, where she often smells fear, suffering, stress, and can identify most micro-organisms, medications, stages of disease, and has written about the amygdala.

As a Senior and Natural Perfumery Editor, Ida has participated in many blog events with natural and mixed media perfumers and other writers. She has also been a teacher, translator, opera singer, dancer, and a caterer.