Good morning fragrance friends! I took a walk on the wild side today with my very first Etat Libre d’Orange in Putain des Palaces. I’ve seen various hilariously downmarket mistranslations, but the original name doesn’t put me off at all. As I once said in response to a friend asking my opinion on her outfit before a night out, “mmm, not cheap, but...expensively for sale.” She didn’t change.

Putain des Palaces is full of soft, powdery and distinctly musky florals. The musk is animalic, but smooth. The florals are an indistinct, well blended bouquet, an impressionistic painting. Rose and lily swirl in swathes of subdued color, while violets are the occasional sharp points of contrast that draw the eye amidst chaos. There is an interesting creaminess that I’m coming to identify with the few scents I’ve discovered featuring rice notes. This fragrance is only very slightly sour, which some people online seemed to have identified with sweatiness. I can see how one would come to that conclusion, but to me the sourness seems to arise from the violets and not the animalic musk character, keeping it on the edge of objectionable.

An interesting juxtaposition between the sophisticated and skanky. I’m really enjoying it. A little jasmine instead of the violets would probably have made it perfect, though. The roundness of jasmine would have brought a touch more balance to the composition, and while the very slightly sour note doesn’t bother me, I can see it veering into dangerous territory for those smelling it on me. Even though the sourness doesn’t emanate from the musk, it’s the kind of olfactory addition I don’t want other people doing in their heads and getting “stale sweat”.

Time will tell on this one. I am thoroughly enjoying it, yet I can see it’s distinct flaws. Will I fall in love with those flaws? Probably not. Will I over time find them charming in their own bumbling way? Perhaps.