L'Eau Scandaleuse Anatole Lebreton 2014

L’Eau Scandaleuse was the perfume that initially prompted me to order an Anatole Lebreton discovery set. As a lover of both tuberose and dirty leathers, my interest was instantly piqued by its description. Not only did that sample set lead me to discover one of my current favourite perfumers, but my expectations about L’Eau Scandaleuse were also richly fulfilled. This is a show-stopping, deeply intriguing, perfectly balanced composition. The tuberose is green and haughty; it has none of those coconutty inflections that ruin so many other tuberose perfumes. The leather is as raunchy and drenched in castoreum as one would hope given the perfume’s name. There is peach and there is oakmoss, but this is nothing like Mitsouko: the oakmoss is similarly pronounced and realistic, but the peach is juicier. The warming spiciness of Mitsouko is also completely absent here.
What these notes don’t yet reveal, is the incredibly vintage, bitter-green character of L’Eau Scandaleuse. It hearkens back to Cabochard and what I vaguely remember Bandit smelling like a long time ago. Cypriol has a dark green, slightly dirty effect, but there is also a more high-pitched greenness here that makes me think of artemisia. The notes list Davana, and yes, I think I can discern it in the slight boozy honey lingering around the peach. But I seem to smell that green bell pepper bitterness of regular artemisia as well. It is that side of L’Eau Scandaleuse that also makes sense for me of Lebreton’s stated inspiration: the smell of a painter’s studio. The notes in the perfume all smell natural, but they combine to an effect that suggests the forbidden fumes of toxic solvents. It gives this wonderful perfume an addictively dangerous quality.

It is said that the busiest hour in the brothels is at noon. Some businessmen prefer to blow off some steam instead of spending their lunch break on a cheese sandwich at the canteen. After that quick intermezzo, they're good to go for the rest of the day. Of course one can behave like nothing happened, but that trace of sluttiness cannot be easily erased. The perfumes the ladies wear over there simply stick to your suit like shit to a blanket. (Let's forget the most worn perfumes in these places are Chanel, so the easiest way to avoid suspicion is by wearing Chanel yourself. Take note, guys)

L'Eau Scandaleuse is by far the nastiest, sluttiest take on tuberose I have seen so far. I think it is the castoreum that elevates that skanky feel to extreme levels. A perfume equivalent of happy hour at the brothel. Happy hour also in the sense that the fun lasts about an hour and then you are left with a diminished scent trail, a weird sense of accomplishment and some naughty memories.

Tuberose on leather. Castoreum is my least favorite animalic note and here it is a little too strong for my taste, and I struggle with davana but I don't find it off-putting here. It can definitely be seen as a sexy perfume, and I wouldn't call it scandalous but it is definitely a more challenging one of Lebreton's creations. The opening somewhat reminded me of vintage chypres. I actually wish tuberose itself was stronger, it gets a bit drowned in the leather as the scent dried.

Scandaleuse? Absolutely, for how good it is. I'm not usually a lover of tuberose, but in this case? Hell yeah. It has that flowery vibe that gets dirty and dirtier with leather, and with castoreum. Dayum. Peach adds a bit of ripe sweetness to it, in the opening, but soon this scent becomes obscene. Smells like after-sex, but make it fancy. Luckily it's not heavy on ylang-ylang, that comes of as pretty unoffensive. I'd say this smell like the act of seduction and what happens after overall. Interesting, challenging, not my favourite Lebreton but it's in the top tier.

This opens up with a promising dirty tuberose, oily, languorous, and eyebrow-raising, naughty even. I also discern medicinal, camphorous undertones similar to that of Tuberose Criminelle. Soon thereafter, I am reminded of Bal a Versailles and the scent of that starchy cotton that would be stuffed into a bottle of Flintstones vitamins. This dissipates into a more chalky, glue-y, pasty, feel—perhaps the cypriol, and an animalic knock-your-kickers off leather.

It does eventually mellow into a more polite floral leather and mossy woods.