Vraie Blonde Etat Libre d`Orange for women

One of the most peculiar perfumes I have tried - well what else from this odd firm. I'm afraid this is going to read rather rudely but this is what happened when I put it on.

Imagine you are at one end of a huge house and the bathroom is at the other end. While you are eating dinner one of the guests excuses themselves and heads to the bathroom. After a while they come back, but so does a hint of an "odour" following them back to the table - while they were down there there was a bit of wind, which they hastily tried to cover up with air freshener, and they have brought a whiff of all that back with them. Now this sounds rather tacky I know, BUT it's not so bad because the "windy" bit goes away, killed by the chemicals. The chemicals are the aldehydes and after about half an hour there is no toilet smell left, just an ethereal, rather alien floral which kept wafting up from my wrists for hours. Not in any way a strong perfume, but more like PERSISTENT, like a friend you love but you're really too busy to talk, but they keep ringing you up every 5 minutes anyway. I do have to say that when smelled from a distance of, say, 12" between nose and wrist, you don't get those odd notes at all, it's only when you put your nose actually to your wrist that you can smell it. I think it is the myrrh, which doesn't always sit well with me. I also get the "peach champagne" notes but to me it smells more like fresh orange juice diluted with water in a ratio of 75% water, 25% juice.

So with all that, I really can't make up my mind whether or not I like it. I THINK I do. It will take a bit more trying out for me to make up my mind. You do have to admire Etat Libre d'Orange for their adventurousness in perfumes.

This is not intended to be a negative review, but as I said, this fragrance is PECULIAR, and would very much depend on chemistry, IMO. Definitely worth trying, and I will persist. I am intrigued and curious.

Vrai Blonde is initially sparkly and fizzy (the liqueur brandy of champagne note is lovely!)then turns into a vampy mix of sweet notes and aldehyde. I was worried that Vrai Blonde was going to turn earthy like Jasmin & Cigarettes does, but thankfully this remains an elegant, slightly mature fragrance.

I love the peachy champagne opening. It has a very fizzy and lighthearted feel about it. I would describe this perfume as being fun, bubbly and flirty but still very ladylike.

Though this scent is never overpowering I could smell this on me all day long. Putting this one on my wish list.

I love this on paper, for its cold creaminess and translucent beauty. The peaches, white flowers and wisely used aldehydes create a feminine, angelic aura of attractive fragility. It's quite a shy, delicate beauty, this lady.

Testing in on my skin however, revealed perhaps a bit more of Vraie Blonde than I expected or wanted to smell. A somewhat vulgar undertone that's reminiscent of Secretions Magnifiques can be felt upclose, near the skin. It is however very vague and not really unpleasant and you cannot detect it from a distance. I guess I must've caught a waft of the good lady's underwear. :)

The lasting power and especially the sillage are very good.

This classy blonde dressed impecably has a bit of toilet paper stuck in one of her heels.

Etat Libre D'Orange is a house which fascinates me yet none of their perfumes fascinates me enough to actually wear something created by them.

Vraie Blonde opened simply delightful to my nose. It's a bit hard to understand what exactly I am feeling note wise, but I should say - it's good. It's shy, innocent, but still sexy and seductive. Like a playful kitty with sharp claws. The most noticable notes though on my skin at the opening are sweet champagne and peach combo soon followed by smooth suede.

The heart part goes on being a fantastic expierence to my nose. I still feel loads of peach and suede, weirdly aldehydes are nowhere to be seen and pepper on my skin doesn't appear either. At this point there are tiny bits of rose, but it's almost unnoticable. It's weird.

The drydown is powdery suede with sweet bits of fruity goodness. First ELdO I can wear. Wonderful.

Vraie Blonde is everything I expected SL Daim Blond to be and even more. On my wishlist it goes.

Sexy, but in a playful way. This one is a wink and smile. I get a little chocolate vibe in the background to go with the bubbly here. I really love that.

In my search for a signature scent that nobody of my aquaintances wears, I put my nose on the ELd'O creations. Unusual creations with a story behind each of them. I'm a brunette and I don't feel completely confident with this VB, but I must admit it is a bright and happy parfume. Original and unusual, it reminds me of the baking soda effect I have already appreciated in Marescialla by Santa maria novella. Is this baking soda the champagne I cannot perceive?

It's beautiful, so smooth and silky... like Etat Libre d`Orange were looking through a distorted mirror when writing their description of a provocative, slightly tacky fragrance.
It makes me think more of beauty than sex. I'm perfectly fine with the picture of the naked woman but in my version she's classy, the bed has silk sheets and the room is bathed in soft light.

It starts peachy aldehydic and slowly builds up to a more complex heart. It feels like a pillowy veil, I can pick out the single notes when I'm paying attention but it's so well blended that I don't really want to. Later the suede gets in and the myrrh becomes more distinct. Vraie Blonde is going strong for up to 14 hours and even though it has lost most of its complexity by then, it carries its subtle tail over into the next day.

I wish I could wear this but it's irritating my skin. No real rash but a bad itch and it makes me a little dizzy. Don't buy without trying!

Update:
At first I was a little disappointed that Vraie Blonde wasn't for me but I've found a hugely satisfying replacement in Brecourt's Ambre Noir. Notewise they have very little in common - actually the myrrh is pretty much it - but both convey the same spirit: smooth, balmy, rich, slightly mysterious.

I was surprised to find that Vraie Blonde is crisp and tasteful, and not at all loud, sweet, animalic, discordant, or any of the other things that I had feared. It starts out with a bubbly, tingly caress of sharp citrusy aldehydes and enough pepper to actually smell, then gradually softens into a fluffy, soft blanket of minimal sweetness created mostly by the basic fabric of myrrh and white musk, but shot through with occasional accents of fruit and patchouli.

As it settles down into a buttery suede sweetened by the patchouli and a little bit of vanilla, it retains its light touch, tiptoeing over the skin rather than digging its claws in. Sillage is moderate at all times. By the time 12 hours have passed, it has dried down to an ambrette-like musk.

Never harsh or overbearing, VB is tasteful, comfortable, and amazingly easy to wear. I’m glad I have a large sample because I’m sure I’ll pull it out and wear it from time to time.

Another one of Etat Libre d'Orange creations I have fallen in love with.

I was a bit sceptical about it, although it features some of my favourite notes. My skin likes aldehydes, rose and suede. But thn again, patchouli and myrrh were never my best friends, so all in all, the outcome was quite unexpected.

Vraie Blonde for me smells a bit like candy. A rose candy. Sweet, slightly floral, peachy, delicate. Fun. Romantic. A bit cheeky. At first it made me think of a girl chewing a bubble gum pop art style. For me it is Marilyn Monroe from Andy Warhol's famous posters. Feminine, but a bit different.

I yet have to sample it globally on my skin and waer it on different occasions to see whether my one spritz impressions will not change, for now I find it quite a safe fragrance for daily wear.

Wow! I ordered some samples and they arrived today and this was by far the standout. Due to the so-so reviews I nearly didnt order it well thank goodness i did at the last minute!!!! This is absolutely stunning! I have absolutely no idea what some people who say things like it smells like sweat are smelling?! I couldnt wait to review this. They say it was made with Marilyn Monroe in mind and this is exactly what you would imagine her wearing. It is classy, feminine and sexy. Dry down is a bit fizzy, but so beautiful and amazing staying power. I cannot believe the negative reviews, please give it a try girls you'll love it!

I have a strange relation to this scent.
It smells absolutely stunning, rich, feminine, sensual and vaguely vintage on a dance teacher I know.
She's a fierceful tall red-headed and weirdly elegant woman.
It is also very longlasting with a great sillage.
On me it smelt boring, cold and too frizzy one day, then another it smelt so better I just wanted to buy it (and didn't), then another day smelt chemical, bubblygummy and cheap. Who knows? No purchase was a good choice.

Unfortunately, on my skin it developed the smell of old sweat. Nauseating, really. I wasn't able to detect a single one of the notes (which sounded delicious to me). To call it a dissapointment would be flattery. It's essential to try it first, I think. Too bad, I didn't ;).

Nothing special, just an everyday fragrance you could get everywhere, if it isn't by the name and brand that sells it ...

Very interesting fragrance, for me it smells like fruit (mainly peach) jelly filled chocolate.

I have been inspired by Annelie's (rebella) article on on this fragrance house.

I am always in search of a new fragrance which can combine the ying & yang of both sexes. I have found it with ELd'O.

Vrai Blond opens up strongly with Aldehyde accords but quickly softens. After 30 minutes, I had a craving for a Bellini (champagne w/peach nectar).

The rose notes are subtle as the pepper, patchouli and suede come to play.

On my skin (male), it mellows out to a beautiful peppery, suede fragrance.

An image of a beautiful blond Hollywood legend waking up in white Egyptian cotton sheets is what i get from this fragrance. This is a fragrance to experience.

I liked it as I like the smell of fruit juice, but don't think I would wear it, a bit too sweet. It is almost the same for me as Serge Lutens 'Daim Blond', sweet and crisp only muted on some notes, i'm guessing it can be suede, but when I tried it, SL's perfume came immediately to my mind

Nice enough, dreamlike scent, hillarious yet heatrbreaking ,has no real pay off but is a modern meditation on aldhydes and rose in a juicy champagne glass! A Votre!

After having kind of a bad experience with Rien I was a bit afraid of testing this, but I shouldn´t have been that. This is a luxurios, ladylike and bubbly perfume. It make me think of the finest champagne, pearl necklases and satin highhealed shoes. More of a Grace Kelly-kind of blonde than a Marilyn Monroe, more classy than sexy I think. If I was invited to the Nobeldinner I might wear this, but since I´m not maybe I could wear it at my "grandsons" 1:st birthday coming up this next weekend? :)It is discrete enough not to offend anyone. It smells rich. I really, really like this one.
Could recommend it to almost anyone, cause it is so personal and nice in the same way.

But I think you should test it before you buy, I strongly suspect Etat Libre d'Orange perfumes have a lot with skinchemistry and personal preferenses to do.

Absolutely awful, I couldn't get this one off fast enough. On my skin it turned into dried ginger (which makes me feel nauseous). Try before you buy! ;)