Jasmin et Cigarette by Etat Libre d’Orange

Hi Posse. Jasmin et Cigarette was on my radar long before I ever tried it. What a terrific name. It conjured such beautiful opposites in my brain. Then when I tried it the surprise at how springlike it is was excellent. The whole Etat Libre d’Orange range is full of old tropes made new with interesting quirks and fun additives. Even the simplest or most derivative are usually given a little sting somewhere along the line. In contrast Jasmin et Cigarette feels so totally new. If you can think of things that smell even remotely like it can you leave their names in the comments please? I’d love to try them.

Jasmin et Cigarette by Etat Libre d’Orange

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Jasmine, Tobacco, Hay, Apricot, Musk, Cumin, Cedar, Tonka Bean, Amber

Plush jasmine with sweet tobacco, tonka and fruit open this fragrance. It’s a bold, pretty, springlike extravaganza. I smell the tropics but not in the usual vanilla rich ylang way. The tobacco smells so different to what I’m expecting during the opening. Maybe because the white floral is so radiant and diffusive. That radiant style puts it firmly in the early 2000s style, one I really love. Elie Saab, Narcissi Rodriguez, Gucci Guilty and so many more were part of this rush to radiance. I don’t know who hit the style first but 2003 saw Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian’s still highly coveted winner of the FiFi Women`s Nouveau Niche in 2004 AND 2007! Jasmin et Cigarette hit the shelves 2006.

It does do a nice riff on the style. More nuanced and has a journey, where the NR and Saab are single note stayers. If you have those and the style is something you like rather than adore then Jasmin et Cigarette is probably going to be superfluous.

Me? I really like it and reach for it far more often than the others. There’s something, and maybe it’s the sweet fruit or the very slightly stanky cumin, that makes it feel like a much better fit for me. As much as I don’t believe in gendering perfume, this does lean towards traditional modern feminine (for those that care).

Projection is big for the first half hour, it’s a head turning attention getter for a while. Then it softens off considerably. Longevity is excellent. Long after I am nose bling people can still notice and remark.

Last time I wrote about Etat Libre d’Orange was Spice Must Flow. That was just before C19 hit!

Do you have a fave ELdO? Does Jasmin et Cigarette sound like it might blow your mind too?
Portia xx

PS: I’m away on the Indian Pacific train this week and I”m not sure when I’ll get to responding but will do my best. XXX