Attaquer Le Soleil - Marquis de Sade by Etat Libre d'Orange

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Verdeck die Sonne, Juliette (by NuiWhakakore)

Attaquer Le Soleil - Marquis de Sade Etat Libre d'Orange 2016

7.4 / 10 308 Ratings

A perfume by Etat Libre d'Orange for women and men, released in 2016. The scent is resinous-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Resinous

Spicy

Smoky

Woody

Earthy

Fragrance Notes

Cistus

Perfumer

Quentin Bisch

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.4308 Ratings

Longevity

7.6250 Ratings

Sillage

7.0258 Ratings

Bottle

7.6215 Ratings

Value for money

7.2109 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone · last update on 02/11/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Molecule 01 + Cistus

Molecule 05

Larmes du Désert

Kinski

Id

Muskara Cedrus

Reviews

26 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/25/2022

9Scent 9Longevity 9Sillage

BobbyGee
230 Reviews

BobbyGee

Helpful Review 4

Etat Libre d'Orange / Attaquer Le Soleil - Marquis de Sade

Interesting experience with this perfume. Apparently only labdanum, but what kind !!!
I don't know if it's his only variation, maybe some mix. Whatever it was - amazing perfumes and still changing under the influence of time and temperature. I don't know how Bisch did it to achieve this effect with labdanum extract. Someone wrote that it smells like church, not to me. I have been to many temples and I have a large number of 'temple' incense, but this smell ... does not remind me very much of the smell of a church, although of course you can smell smoke here. I associate it more with something mystical, mysterious, animal, perverse and it smells incense, sexually, animally for me.
Such a combination of mysticism / sublime with perverse and animal sex. You can get lost or remember different 'scenes' or 'experiences'.
Ad. I will not divulge the name - a bit of a cheap marketing ploy, especially since the guest was quoted as having an exceptionally 'uneven ceiling' and who did not know who or what he was in the middle of his life.
It lasts up to 5-6 hours on my skin, the projection is not very large and very good, because it is an atmospheric fragrance and in my opinion it is more for experiencing alone or with a close person and preferably with increased humidity and when the body temperature exceeds 37 degrees C .
3 :)
Worth knowing and great for me.

02/20/2023

9Scent 7Longevity 8Sillage

NosyCat
10 Reviews

NosyCat

6

Be surprised

“How many times, good Good, have I not wished it were possible to attack the sun, to deprive the universe of it, or to use it to set the world ablaze”. This Donatien Alphonse François Marquis de Sade wrote in his infamous ‘The 120 Days of Sodom’. Knowing that ‘Attaquer le soleil’ - a direct quote from that - was inspired by this famous libertine, who is the very name giver of ‘sadism’, one expects unheard-of levels of decadence and debauchery. Behind it however is a chypre-style perfume which is perhaps less outrageous than the name leads to believe, but….but all in due course.

The opening is strong, with an explosion of coniferous zest; and immediately one senses the direction the fragrance is heading in. It’s balsamic, it’s resinous. It even goes beyond that zesty note, almost to the point of sour unpleasantness - the slight whiff of decay would be the best way of describing it, which might be off-putting for a lot of people. It doesn’t bother me however; it’s somehow part of the fragrance and I accept it as one of its natural sides. Those head notes settle quickly and its woodier, slightly musky middle notes gain prominence. Cedar-wood and resin are at the core of it and develop after a little while into something warmer and sweeter; it’s getting dryer and woodier in the base, yet keeping a subtle zest at the same time and even gaining a gentle floral note, perhaps lily.
It’s earthy and mossy, like a forest after the rain in early autumn - with the smell of fallen leaves already starting to decay, wet soil and trees getting ready for winter. You have your wellingtons on and walk through branches, twigs and foliage the colour of rust; the crisp air still bears the rest of the earlier warmth, but is definitely getting fresher.

The real surprise? The fragrance is constructed around one single note - labdanum, derived from cistus or rock rose, a shrub commonly found in the Mediterranean - and it is this simplicity that becomes interesting when the scent unfolds, when one realises what a variety of shades and colours one ingredient holds. It is simple, yet rounded at the same time; the total opposite of flat and I cannot stop asking myself, how can one single note be so complex? And this is perhaps where the name comes back into play - like the eponymous marquis the fragrance breaks barriers of what one considered to be the limit.
To me it is the smell of nature and as such the fragrance really relies on imagery and emotions from memory - it might not mean anything for some people and therefore be just another chypre scent even to the point of being repellent; but if it triggers something deep inside you, it proves to be so much more than that.

Updated on 03/17/2023

02/06/2026

9Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

Omnipotato
495 Reviews

Omnipotato

5

The holy libertine

Like others, I'm a bit confused as to the reasoning behind naming this after the Marquis de Sade, an outrageous sex criminal and pornographic novelist, and I think it has negatively affected the score of what is really a great fragrance. The rationale seems to be that it represents the "extreme" nature of the man by forcing Quentin Bisch, the perfumer, out of his comfort zone. He says:

"As a creator of perfume, how could I open my perspective, imagine beyond my limitations? A very personal question. The cistus! One of my paradoxes. One of my gray areas.

"I have always recoiled from the cistus, I’ve avoided it or hidden it under thick layers of vanilla and amber as a way of escaping it. This is why I have made myself confront a radical formula: the cistus, exposed, and in all its states."

But using this material to make a biographical perfume about the man who inspired the term "sadism" was a wrong choice I think. The end result is a glorious labdanum-infused frankincense that has very little in the way of sweetness or relief from the intense resins. But this seems to be the opposite of the sexual freedom and disdain for social norms that the Marquis de Sade represents.

To me it feels like a dark Orthodox church made of stone with censers burning. Heavy labdanum-laden frankincense rocks burning and sending smoke up to the heavens. Dark woody notes appear, making you feel as though outside the church there is a dense forest and you are smelling hints of the outdoors while sending up your prayers. Attack the sun indeed. Attack the sun so that you may hide away in a cloister under a dark robe.

Updated on 02/06/2026

04/02/2025

5Scent 5Longevity 2Sillage

elpinor
11 Reviews

elpinor

Helpful Review 2

interesting but not wearable or good

I think the idea here was a pretty straightforward labdanum--it's the only note listed on the store page. I wouldn't say it's the only note there actually--it opens more peppery and dries down to sweet amber. it is pretty simple overall though, so the marketing makes no sense to me. there's kind of an idea of 'heat' in the middle of the fragrance, if you look for it--maybe that's what they meant with the sun stuff? it's resinous throughout, but the drydown is my favorite part--a really deep, sweet amber which isn't syrupy or oppressive. hard to wear because it's so rich, though. it would be great if I smelled it on someone else--but the sillage is so weak that the only time I'd do that is if I was face-first where they sprayed it. overall pretty typical for an ELDO though--promises revolutionary, delivers weird and not especially good.

Updated on 04/09/2025

01/22/2025

4.5Scent 9Longevity 7Sillage

LastWonder
492 Reviews

LastWonder

5

Disgusting Idolization Makes for Boring Fragrance

The inspiration is the real life person, Marquis de Sade. On the website it says, "..writer, revolutionary, philosopher, libertine. He disdained the social norms and he demanded unrestrained freedom. He questioned every assumption about love, beauty, even violence, and he ignored the taboos...We identify with him, because we try to do the same. Which is why Etat Libre d’Orange has chosen to celebrate a man who celebrated extremes."

I'll be blunt, Sade is a disgusting human being and they are romanticizing a man who tortured, poisoned, confined, and sexually abused women and children as young as 15 years old. He rightfully spent most of his adult life in prisons and asylums. Obviously, he is a controversial figure and you think that would make for a radical creation or a polarizing fragrance that people either love or hate. It didn't. This fragrance is basic and disappointing which is not what you would expect from this brand and this perfumer. What you get is a perfectly average and linear woody fragrance with hints of warm spice, leather, and smokey notes. They could have done so much with this inspiration, and they chose to do the bare minimum which just highlights to me that they truly don't understand their own object of inspiration.

This fragrance did last all day on my skin, about 8 hours and it did create a decent scent bubble. I would say it is more masculine leaning, in that it feels like the blend is a little rough around the edges. It would be work office appropriate. I can imagine this fragrance for yuppies in the corporate world having a board room meeting or tech bros. It is $170 for 100ml and I don't really think its worth that price. This is forgettable and something you can get from any department store.

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Statements

95 short views on the fragrance

CivetOnly

8 months ago

7Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

5

2

Initially earthy, smoky with an animalic edge.
Becomes herbal in a pleasant, balsamic way.
Please Mr. Bisch, less akigalawood, more of this.

TheDunkPapa

1 year ago

8.5Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

3

Never would I have thought that a perfume based around one ingredient could sweep me away like so. An ever-changing, gorgeous experience.

Ch03np

10 months ago

2

An incredible, bleached cistus that feels clean, modern. Like Bisch, I’m also not a fan of this note, but he’s done the concept justice. Yes

Stinxjo

1 year ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 3Sillage

2

Beautiful and ethereal resinous leather scent with a glamorous, haunting presence.

Saradonin

3 years ago

8Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

2

Dirty almost physiological opening quickly settles down to bitter herbal infusion and icense.
Excellent performance.

HugoMontez

2 years ago

7Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

2

Every facet of Labdanum. Smoky, gooey, green, resinous. Has almost a medieval image to it. Pretty decent but not a favorite from the brand.

PedroCabral

2 years ago

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

2

1

Very interesting. Strong church incense at the top, then it calms down to something spicy and resinous. Different and unusual.

Sensorysoup

1 year ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

1

kinda hard to believe it's just one note, its so deep and transforms beautifully over time. woody, incensey, herbal, dark and alluring

AngeloMani

2 years ago

8Scent 10Longevity 8Sillage

1

Quality labdanum. It's interesting, dark & mysterious, damp, somehow alluring, but too simple - for me. I wouldn't say it is sexy.

lobolobo

1 day ago

8Scent

1

One note, but it smells anything but. This fragrance boggles the mind, its herbal, resinous but theres this deep animalic note to it. Wearable somehow

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