Etat Libre d'Orange
500 Years
About
"For twelve years, Etat Libre d’Orange has been celebrating enlightenment through an awareness of beauty, goodness, sensitivity and intelligence. Our house has welcomed humankind in all its forms, as long as they try to contribute to The Perspective – the Renaissance concept of three dimensions in art which allowed for more realistic and profound depictions. And this perspective can be interpreted to extend beyond paintings. Five hundred years ago, merchants confronted the two established orders :the Red (priests) and the Black (soldiers). They created a third path, cleansed of dictates, for the proliferation of the arts – and perfume. Etat Libre d’Orange honors the sons and daughters of the Renaissance by offering a trail of insight and alliance for their skin. Think of Lucifer – from the Latin roots, lux (light) and ferre (to hold) – the shining one, light-bearing, like Venus when appearing as the morning star. Half a millennium to wear on the skin, and in its wake the majestic memory of the rose, the power of spices and the sense of something precious. The story of mankind delivered to you in a perfume." - A Note from the Brand
**500 Years** opens with dry saffron and lightly metallic cardamom, bright and spicy without tipping into sweetness. Within minutes, a dense rose rises at the center: dark, velvety, and faintly wine-tinted rather than powdery or jammy. Cocoa adds a warm bitterness that deepens the composition, as if a matte shadow had settled over fabric. The oud stays restrained, giving more of a woody haze than animalic weight, so the line remains clean and composed. In the base, patchouli and incense build a dry, almost ceremonial frame, while leather and amber soften the edges and keep the warmth close to the skin. The projection is moderate, yet the presence lasts: it does not announce itself loudly, but gathers slowly through the day. It suits anyone drawn to rose and oud with contrast—spiced dryness against a warm, resinous depth.
Top notes
bergamot, cardamom, saffron, pink pepper
Heart
turkish rose, geranium, cocoa, oud
Base
patchouli, frankincense, amber, leather