La Fin du Monde 2013

La Fin du Monde by Etat Libre d'Orange
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7.4 / 10 229 Ratings
A perfume by Etat Libre d'Orange for women and men, released in 2013. The scent is sweet-spicy. It is still in production.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Sweet
Spicy
Powdery
Floral
Gourmand

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
PopcornPopcorn Roasted sesameRoasted sesame Black pepperBlack pepper
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Orris absoluteOrris absolute CuminCumin FreesiaFreesia
Base Notes Base Notes
Ambrette seedAmbrette seed Gun powderGun powder SandalwoodSandalwood

Perfumer

Videos
Ratings
Scent
7.4229 Ratings
Longevity
7.0164 Ratings
Sillage
6.1170 Ratings
Bottle
7.3164 Ratings
Value for money
7.176 Ratings
Submitted by Franfan20, last update on 07/18/2025.

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Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions
6
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Fqjcior

10 Reviews
Fqjcior
Fqjcior
Helpful Review 5  
The end of the world will smell of popcorn and iris.
How will the end of the World smell like? Each of us has their own different idea (I am guessing that many of those ideas would be influenced by Hollywood productions). Quentin Bisch had had a very untypical imagination of the smell, which had been then transformed into perfumes, which in 2013 Etat Libre d’Orange – a niche perfumery brand added to their portfolio. Bisch is a young and promising perfumer, known to those who have seen Perfume series at BBC. In the show Bisch, as a young Givaudan perfumery school adept, with tears in his eyes tells us how his dreams are coming true to become a true perfumer. This touching the heartstrings scene shows us how sensitive and full of limitless passion are perfume creators and how important these traits are in this remarkable profession. The founder of Etat Libre d’Orange – Etienne de Swardt – had known Bisch even before he joined Givaudan. Bisch had been regularly visiting flag perfumery shop EldO in Paris and introduced himself as a big fan of the brand and de Swardt’s perfumery conception. So when Etienne decided to create a scent inspired by book ”The End of the World Filmed by the Angel of Notre-Dame” Bisch was the first one that came to his mind. La Fin du Monde was the first solo and fully commercial composition made by Quentin. With this smell he proved his undeniable talent. I will say more – he got off to a very good start – as it was a very strong debut!
The start-off stuns with exquisite and at the same time very present-day version of iris (which resembles the one used in Dior Homme), which was skilfully enhanced by carrot seeds that harmonize with the iris perfectly – this was already proved by Rosine Courage in Nirmal for Laboratorio Olfattivo and Bertrand Duchaufour in Bois d’Ombrie for Eau D’Italie. Cumin and sesame brilliantly fulfill the innovative and very eloquent popcorn cord that lends a kind of surprising and intriguing aura(we can also smell the characteristic popcorn butter theme there as well). Popcorn was Bisch’s first idea for the smell. During one of his talks with de Swardt, Bisch tried to convince him that every idea for the end of the World comes from different movies, American movies mostly. Popcorn was an ideal ingredient for this how perverse conception… Ingenious, is it not? I myself like and admire such ideas very much.

With time this very intense at the beginning scent looses its power but is well present within the next couple of hours. It gains warm sensuality due to sandalwood and ambrette, which together enrich the sensual and physical base of the smell(the essence from ambrette seeds was used earlier by James Heeley in cool as Autumn rain Iris de Nuit). The base of the smell is very characteristic and it engrosses as well as stages of the smell. As we can see here La Fin du Monde as a whole smells surprisingly pleasant and at the same time very intriguing as it is very familiar and alien at the same time.

La Fin du Monde wins me over to itself from the very first second till the very last one (the distance is quite far by the way). It is a fantastic fragrance that presents pure perfumery ingenuity. I have not had a chance to wear this kind of scent – created with great passion, inventiveness and fresh look for a long time. Bisch skilfully made a use of well-trodden paths and at the same time found new ones. With great courage he connected uncommon notes in one absolutely convincing whole, that makes fully operational – and what is even more important – wearable perfume, which is far from those niche ”freaks” but perfectly matches the style of Etat Libre d’Orange which is known for its original ideas and brave pushing of boundaries of what is known as perfumes. Quentin Bisch has created fully original, modern and with avantgarde taste fragrance, that is worn with pure pleasure and satisfaction, the one that you have when you wear special perfume.

I do not think La Fin du Monde is either female or male. I would rather say it is bit more masculine only because it lacks archetype female notes, and present iris is totally served as unisex. I would say that more female is Dior Homme, especially when we talk about Intense version of the smell rather than La Fin du Monde, which I think of as an important flask to test not only by those who admire Dior Homme.

main notes: popcorn, carrot seed, cumin, sesame, black pepper, freesia, vetiver, sandalwood, ambrette, iris, styrax, gunpowder

launched in: 2013

perfumer: Quentin Bisch
0 Comments
5
Bottle
5
Longevity
7
Scent
Sweetgrass

35 Reviews
Sweetgrass
Sweetgrass
Very helpful Review 4  
World's End
I received this sample on top of my sample order from ELdO. I put it on and first thought this was another case of mistaken identity, as with Gucci's Guilty and a host of other perfumes with grandiose names and mediocre or outright boring juices. This is not the fallout of an apocalypse, and its half-life is much shorter than plutonium's.

Among the official notes, popcorn and gunpowder are listed. Maybe they're even there, I wouldn't notice from all the other stuff going on in this perfume. La Fin du Monde is a rich, warm blend of spices and woods and a bit of flower, verging on oriental, and if this is indeed the end of the world, I want to live there. Clearly it is less like any of the dystopias that seem popular right now and more like one of the four free houses in DC's Sandman comics, named "World's End"—a rustic tavern lit by oil lamps and fireplaces that is bigger on the inside than it seems, and provides a safe haven for all kinds of creatures ripped from their own worlds by all kinds of disasters; a place governed by its own laws rather than those of any of its guests' mundane realities. It's a perfect fantasy for the cold and dark season.

The perfume isn't very special, though, nor is it groundbreaking, and that is a disappointment from a house that produces scents like Jasmine et Cigarette. Had this been named "A Polar Night's Dream" or something, it would have worked, but on such a warm, nuanced and welcoming scent the radioactivity warning sign is just embarrassing. ELdO should gift it to Thierry Mugler for his Alien range. Nevertheless a good scent, appropriately unisex, and doesn't disappear immediately.
1 Comment
5
Pricing
4
Sillage
7
Longevity
5
Scent
LastWonder

483 Reviews
LastWonder
LastWonder
2  
Your Basic Iris Fragrance
This scent is meant to explore how it smells at the end of the world. The website describes it as, "An ironic blast of pop-corn accord quickly met by a powdery blend of Iris and Gunpowder and brought to a subdued ending by Sandalwood." The ELDO website also categorized this fragrance as a gourmand. I don't get end of the world or gourmand. Instead, I find this to be a good orris fragrance. Like most orris dominant fragrances, this is soft and sweet floral that is creamy like lotion, with a hint of nuttiness from the sesame. Nothing stood out to me as ironic or quirky or particularly creative. I didn't pick up on popcorn or gunpowder notes. This is fairly average fragrance from a brand that prides itself on being "outside the box."

This fragrance doesn't have much projection, its mostly a skin scent. It did last a fairly long time, i would say about 6 hours on my skin. There are two sizes and price points available, a 100ml for $170 and a 50ml for $110. This is a fairly basic iris scent, I didn't pick up on anything totally unique or interesting. If you are looking for a unique Iris scent, I recommend Feu Secret by Fzotic.
0 Comments
10
Pricing
9
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
Astralmonad

60 Reviews
Astralmonad
Astralmonad
2  
Not much popcorn. Resinous smoky iris, yes.
I bought an unused bottle secondhand from someone on Ebay that had been macerating for a few months, so the popcorn note had faded. Instead, this smells 85% similar to Diptyque's Fleur de Peau and 15% similar to their new limited edition Opsis which has iris and olibanum resin. Still a beautiful slightly smoky iris to add to my collection so I have no regrets. The gunpowder is a smoky charred wood scent that complements the resins perfectly.
0 Comments
7.5
Scent
Deja1sabel

337 Reviews
Deja1sabel
Deja1sabel
1  
burnt popcorn and gunpowder
a buttery burnt popcorn scent with creamy iris, smoky gunpowder, an earthy seed mix, and powdery florals. This opens with a blend of seeds; earthy, dry, toasted. Then comes in the gunpowder and its smoky, airy, dark, but with a powdery coating above a bed of buttered popcorn, evoking the scent of them being burnt kernels. Sweet iris cuts into this with dry and creamy additives of sandalwood and vetiver. This is a very enjoyable and interesting blend of notes that weirdly enough works beautifully.

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Statements

13 short views on the fragrance
TetrodotoxTetrodotox 6 years ago
8
Bottle
5
Sillage
6
Longevity
7
Scent
This is what I expect Justine (Kirsten Dunst) to wear in the final scenes of the movie 'Melancholia', a joyful infantil sadness, a relieve..
0 Comments
ItchynoseItchynose 6 years ago
8
Bottle
5
Sillage
7
Longevity
6
Scent
Apparently the end of the world will smell of iris, gunpowder and vegetables. Not terribly apocalyptic but not mind blowing either.
0 Comments
KatzevogelKatzevogel 4 months ago
Yes! It's a sweetened orris butter, with the burnt cold metal of gunpowder ash in the base. The combo should be jarring but it works!
0 Comments
ale747ale747 2 months ago
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Smells like popcorn made with iris-infused butter, delicious
0 Comments
ambergrismp3ambergrismp3 3 months ago
maybe bit sweeter than you’d expect
lighter than you’d expect
very wearable
doesn’t last that long
very cute though
0 Comments
Ch03npCh03np 1 year ago
Caramelised popcorn with sputters of ash. Nutty and toasty but also quite thin and transparent. For a gourmand hater this might turn you.
0 Comments
JC6JC6 4 months ago
8
Scent
Easy to dissect but not simple at all! You can really experience every note present here. Overall, (Gun)powdery orris and buttery popcorn!
0 Comments
lfdlfd 4 months ago
Smelled like warm vanilla sesame on me! Was hoping for more of the burnt edge- but my chemistry tends to soften scents a lot.
0 Comments
VibrantGhostVibrantGhost 7 months ago
8
Bottle
9
Sillage
8
Longevity
7
Scent
A smokey, sweet powdery scent with a hint of buttery popcorn. Interesting!
0 Comments
StinxjoStinxjo 8 months ago
4
Sillage
4
Longevity
3.5
Scent
Awfully sweet, vanilla and caramel, with very soft presence..
0 Comments
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