Vierges et Toreros Etat Libre d`Orange for men

On me it starts with leather and spice, think that's the Toreros part, violent and strong. And then tuberose appears, and bergamot edge the leather softly. Patchouli is the base of the leather. The animalic part makes me kinda dizzy but it's still fascinating. 2-3 Hours later it turns into a gender combination of tuberose and leather, delicate and not so aggressive anymore.

I admire this one, but since it's Etat Libre d'Orange, it may not be acceptable for many people. lol

This is supposed to be a twist on a floral leather. Past floral/leathers have used the juxtaposition of the hard and the soft to lead to an interesting blend. I’m not sure if it’s blend here or just a contrast. The tuberose doesn’t last long, but it makes for an interesting opening. Fairly soon, the dominant note is a plastic/leather accord that lasts through the basenotes. There’s supposed to be a strong animalic vibe here, but I don’t really get it. Maybe that’s what I’m calling plastic, but the artificial quality of plastic seems so far away from raunch in the bodliy sense that I don’t get anything carnal. Just a very clean plastic.

I know Etat Libre d’Orange is the pixie of the perfume world. They challenge our notions of olfactory beauty. (I’m a fan of Secretions Magnifiques.) And I’m very appreciative that they do. But this doesn’t really seem like a challenge. It’s more that they’ve decided to use an accord that simply appeals to the nose. It’s really a play on tromp la nez. Plastic can smell good. So can gasoline and paper for that matter. I know we don’t usually point these things out when we discuss the art of perfumery, but here’s the evidence. In this case, though, and using the ridiculous gender distinction of the virgin and the toreador as a red herring, we’re distracted from the plastic by a description of florals and leather.

As a lover of tuberose, I am always looking for something new and exciting that involves it. The description of Vierges et Toreros had me almost convinced that it was worth the risk of blind buying it. I'm glad I didn't......for myself anyhow, but I'll get to that in a sec. I know VetT is marketed towards a more masculine audience because of the leather, but that's exactly what became the spoiler for me. I found that I just can't wear leather fragrances. My loss really, because I really like the way VetT smells. It's a bit dangerous and seductive. The tuberose is restrained but always present and it really blends nicely with the leather. There is a minimal hint of the notorious metallic/blood note found in Secretions Magnifiques. Nothing frightening though! Luckily for me, I still get to enjoy this fragrance since my partner loves it and wears it often. It's very nice on him. Sillage and longevity are both exceptional.

This is a great example of a brilliant concept for a disappointing substance. Vierges et Toreros opens with a smoky, dusty leather that's quite fashinating but it gets terribly chemical and annoying in the flowery drydowm. It has something I'm not able to exactly detect that litterally makes my throat contracting. So bad 'cause I liked the ideas behind this perfume but I can't really stand it.

I've to pass on this one.

Rating: 4.5/10

I finally got a bottle of Vierges et Toreros which I'd been wanting to try for ages, so when it arrived in the post early this morning with 3 other ELd'O fragrance I purchased online, I immediately rushed to have a shower and try this one first.

I liked it immediately, being part of my Oriental/leather/wood favourites, so I got instant recognition with many of my old favourites, like Bel Ami by Hermes, Jules and Dior Homme by Christian Dior, KOUROS and Opium pour Femme by YSL, Comme des Garçons by Comme des Garçons, RED for Men by Giorgio of Beverley Hills, DHL by Estee Lauder and a few others whose names escape me right now.

The leather, wood and spice notes really dominate the theme and I can definitely tell that the florals and freshly masculine bergamot are there to softly balance the stronger, masculine notes. I do not smell any of the human pheromone notes, but perhaps they are meant to be subliminal. All I know is that this is a very sexy smell of a self-confident man.

I will most certainly be buying another bottle when this one finishes, especially since this is a rare EDP strength

It's definitely a very masculine smell and I need to stress that I wore this after a shower on a very hot summer's day in Western Australia. I honestly don't know why a woman would wear it, unless you are a great fan of Opium pour Femme and like wearing lots of it, as it's a rather 'butch' fragrance to be smelt on a feminine figure. For the guys, this is your passport to getting yourself noticed in a sexy, addictive way. Definitely go for it if you are the daring go-getter who is not afraid to be noticed.

I read and liked the creative blurb and was fascinated by the concept of deflowered virgins, toreadors and a bullring on a hot summer's day in Spain. It's marketing after all; and what many parfumistis forget is that La Maison des Etat Libre d'Orange as a perfume house, does NOT create perfumes for the ordinary, everyday, conservative, 'normal' perfume fan. They produce unique, outrageous, over-the-top fragrances that are designed to stand-out, shock and cause a commotion; a 'fracas', like the other famous retro perfume.

Too often, the non-specific gender marketing of ELd'O fragrances confuses wearers into thinking that they can get away with wearing a particular shared fragrance that simply doesn't suit their personal tastes and this occasionally breeds negative reviews. I think you either love or hate these fragrances; but it's not worth obsessing over their negative aspects.

My philosophy regarding ELd'O is "if you doubt yourself, wear something else". There are many other nice, sweet-smelling, pretty, floral fragrances out there to feed the masses of clean-living fans who like to smell sweet and fresh.

Vierges et Toreros and ELd'O are definitely not for the faint-hearted!

Still another Etat Libre I can't understand or stand. I could say it is an artistic experiment. I could. The truth is what I mostly look for in perfume is pleasure of my senses and there isn't a hint of that in most Etat Libre scents. Not in Vierges et Toreros for sure. I don't wear masculin scents, but this is not the problem here. Here the problem is this weird obsession for organic human smells. Why?? I don't even know what it smells like, but if I could say it's blood with earthy dust.
I try all my Etat Libre samples before reading their flamboyant concepts, because I want to be free of influences. I opened the vial and got freightened. The second day I dared putting a few drops on my skin. Terror and disgust. Then reading any marketing story gives no sense. I'm not much into leathery scents and this could be a reason for my dislike. Maybe.

This is definitely a different scent. I have had a sample of this for a while and hesitated to try it since it had tuberose. A scent I enjoy in it natural source but normally not in a fragrance.

Vierges et Toreros opens up strongly with the pepper accords. I get hints of ylang ylang mixed with the cardomom & nutmet. You begin to think the tuberose get lost with the base notes (leather, patchouli and vetiver). As the fragrance begins to dry down and disappear, hints of tuberose awaken.

Being of Spanish decent, I admired Toreros (Bull Fighters) and wished as a kid to be one (until I saw one gored). I enjoyed watching the beauty of the dance between the bull and the torero. Always remembering how the torero respected the bull.

Like a bull this fragrance must be appreciated and approached carefully.

It is a masterpiece in how ELdO is able to put tuberose into a masculine scent.

Seem like evrybody screaming when they try ELO´s Secretions Magnifique... I didn´t, but this one made me scream. And then it wasn´t even me trying it, but my husband.

On him it smell like worst kind splatter movie I can imagine, like something that could be called The Garden Party Massacre, cause it´s no doubt about this being a floral... pretty, sweet and white flowers all covered in ruby red, thickening blood! A lot of blood also! And OMG do I hate the smell of blood??? Really repulsive for me... I was screaming to my husband to go and wash this horrid perfume off at once, even tough he didn´t think it was anything wrong with it. Belive me he has no olfactory sense what so ever!

I have to admit I don´t have the guts to try this on MYSELF! Anyway, my middle daughter got home and I let her smell it and she adored it immediatly so I gave it to her.

So please keep this perfume as long away as possible from me, even tough I have to admit that it is a real masterpiece from an artistic point of view, and appearantly I´m the only one in my family that can smell the note of blood Or at least the only one that can´t handle it... did I mention that my husband works at the emergency room at a hospital? I guess he kind of like blood...

Really worth trying, nothing I have smelled comes even close...

I tried this one even if it's a men fragrance, as I got lots of samples from Etat Libre d'Orange. I will qualify it of unisex since some women like leather and dry fragrances.

I must say that I really like it! I love spicy perfumes in general. All the spices mix well with the few flowers and the leather. I even smell tobacco.

Not the regular fragrance for sure, but I must admit that I am kind of a weird person... lol

a perfectly crass and dry leather accord à la Kouros (apparently the animalys base from synarome according to Luca Turin) with a gentle touch of salicylic florals (apparently tuberose) on the other end that feels like sunny velvet and sea breeze (isoamyl salicylate plus some coconut lacones?)

I've been on a leather fragrance kick and this one starts sweat, like white floral combined with leather and then settles down to a nice authentic leather - maybe too authentic for me. I like Chanel Cuir de Russie better. This only lasted a couple hours before I couldn't smell it anymore.