Rien by Etat Libre d'Orange
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6.9 / 10 217 Ratings
Rien is a perfume by Etat Libre d'Orange for women and men and was released in 2006. The scent is leathery-spicy. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is still in production.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Leathery
Spicy
Smoky
Synthetic
Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Frankincense Orpur®Frankincense Orpur® SafraleineSafraleine Black pepperBlack pepper
Heart Notes Heart Notes
LeatherLeather Orris absoluteOrris absolute Cistus absoluteCistus absolute
Base Notes Base Notes
Patchouli Orpur®Patchouli Orpur® Tree mossTree moss Vetiver Orpur®Vetiver Orpur®

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
6.9217 Ratings
Longevity
8.6164 Ratings
Sillage
8.2153 Ratings
Bottle
7.1135 Ratings
Value for money
7.250 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 13.03.2024.

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions
7
Sillage
10
Longevity
5
Scent
Stanze

101 Reviews
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Stanze
Stanze
Top Review 22  
It brings back memories, I'm afraid
Nothing (Rien, I call it nothing in the further nothing, so that one sees better, how trollig EldO actually are) is unforgettable, claims the official web page. And I believe that immediately. I won't forget this sometimes humorous test event either. Unless, of course, I dement.

At first I was all over the place with a great rose scent and leather. I don't always like leather, but it was very nice. Then a horde of aldehydes knocked in and I realized this was the stuff my mother used to have in her toilet chair. I always had to pour it out, which was no pleasure at all. It smelled stronger than certain other things a chair like that has to do with. At this point, I just didn't want to wash anything off. Family tester M then asked me to spray him with nothing. I had to laugh because the scent was so terrible and didn't wash anything off. After one and a half hours the incense dominated the nothingness and there the nothingness smelled pretty good again. It ambered and smoked.

What crazy stuff! I would never have the patience to carry nothing and survive the terrible middle time.

The durability is certainly quite good, the Sillage fluctuates between not so strong and yet so strong, depending on which phase nothing is currently in.

Maybe there's nothing left for men. I don't know on what occasions you can't put anything on other people. It always depends on what you work for. For example, as a garbage worker, nothing at work may not even stand out. When you wander through lonely areas in your spare time, there is nothing and nobody that nothing could disturb. For the summer, nothing would be nothing. The test was very entertaining and the purchase of the sample was therefore worthwhile.
7 Comments
jtd

484 Reviews
jtd
jtd
Top Review 10  
Ain't No Thing
Rien is a leather, yes, but what constitutes a leather note in perfumery is often vague. ‘Floral’ and ‘woody’ are broad categories as well. Yet we make distinctions in florals (by species: jasmine, tuberose, lily; descriptively: bright, orchestral, indolic) and woods (by tree: sandlewood, cedar, birch; qualitatively: grassy, earthy, milky.) Even a genre as vague as ‘green’ lets us specify by ingredient (galbanum, neroli, vetiver) and by attribute (fruity, resinous, bitter.) For leathers, we might point to the ingredients of rectified birch tar or isoquinolones, but in general we’re usually just loosely descriptive, often to the point of obscurity. Smokey, tarry, rubbery, ‘like the inside of a purse,’ suede-like. Suede-like? We might as well say carpet-like. Evocative, yes, but this terminology doesn’t give us a lot of analytical range.

What are the actual differences in the leather characteristics of Knize Ten, Cuir de Russie, Carillon pour un Ange, Azurée, Habit Rouge? I have no answers, but am curious.

But Rien is a bit different. It uses a combination of ingredients that each gives a slightly different angle on the qualities of dryness, dustiness, inkiness, metal, bitterness. It suggests the scent of a thick leather motorcycle jacket. Incense, cistus, cumin, styrax, aldehydes. Find the wrong angle on any of these components and Rien could have been a muddle if not a mess. As it turns out, though, (and here I fall prey to dim descriptions of the leather genre) Rien is a gorgeous, sharp, harsh leather. Distinctive, striking, beautiful? Utterly. Pretty, cozy, something Sephora has trained its customers to like? Not by a long shot.

Etat Libre d’Orange doesn’t target the mainstream perfume buyer, and thus avoids the sort of fragrance that a good few might like and an even larger number won’t actually mind. For the complaints, valid or not, leveled against niche perfumery (pretension, dilettante exclusivity, smugness) Rien is a beautiful example of the effectiveness of a well-curated line and risk-taking. In addition, it is no more expensive than many designer releases.

Rien is a terrific perfume, and perhaps more importantly, an example of a creative, successful strategy by a niche house.
1 Comment
sebjar

55 Reviews
sebjar
sebjar
Very helpful Review 5  
Etat Libre D'Orange Rien vs Rien Intense Incense
Here's a comparison video I have been meaning to do. An Etat Libre D'Orange Rien vs Rien Intense Incense comparison video. This is to compare the differences of Etat Libre D'Orange Rien vs Rien Intense Incense. If you know one or the other or both or neither of the Etat Libre D'Orange Rien and Rien Intense Incense it's time to find out or just watch to see what both Dalya and I think of both Etat Libre D'Orange Rien and Rien Intense Incense.
0 Comments
6
Scent
Tinctureall

94 Reviews
Tinctureall
Tinctureall
Very helpful Review 5  
Dry and uncompromising after a warm start
Opens with medicinal tuberose like florals, like a mixture of powdery lavender, nutmeg and vanilla. A warm enveloping scent a bit like a floral cough lozenge. A soaring note I cannot place keeps this from being fusty but only just. It's like opening a dusty broom cupboard where all the polishes are kept. The florals are not really flowers but belong in a way as they do to wood polish such as lavender, pine and woody citrus.

The flowery side recedes and the polish/wood/resinous note gets more pronounced and veers towards leathery boot polish instead. Just like sticking your nose into a pair of brand new and recently polished boots. This morphs again into uncompromising dry leather woods like a strong norimbanol with a light touch of sweetness like vanilla behind. Quite manly at this stage reminding me of a Nasomatto woody dryness. If you like those, then you might very well like this.

All of this is fairly pleasant but quite strange. It doesn't strike me as even trying to be a perfume. More an experience. On paper it retains much more of the floral notes but still remains fairly like leather polish to my mind.

(I'm blind testing a series of ELdO samples, so these reviews are from nose notes.)
1 Comment
6
Pricing
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
10
Longevity
7
Scent
Kurai

375 Reviews
Kurai
Kurai
Helpful Review 5  
Abstract leather
In an interview, Antoine Lie once described himself as an abstract perfumer rather than a minimalist or realist.

Quote
"I try to transport people to something more physically emotional than to a typical place. It should transport you to different state of mind or places you’ve never been to…"

ELdO's Rien is a great showcase of this mindset. It is not a typical realistic leather. It does not resemble a biker's jacket or a cowhide, nor does it teleport you to any place - be it a church, a barnyard or a garden.

Despite the common note setup, this is far from the usual smoky leather or the way too common leather-iris combinations of today. Instead, you get a raw experience with dusty dry smoke and rough metallic angles. Harsh and uninviting, even industrial sometimes, without compromise.

As a 'wearable perfume' maybe a bit of a challenge, but very compelling overall. Also a good example of how one's perspective is changed by the (assumed) understanding of the perfumer's intentions. If this was introduced as a mainstream alternative without any context, it may have been bashed to death.
1 Comment
More reviews

Statements

6 short views on the fragrance
OPomoneOPomone 9 years ago
7.5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
10
Longevity
9
Scent
Antoine Lie at his best.
Saturnine beauty, clashing voluptuousness, convulsive poetry.
Les Chants de Maldoror in a square bottle.
0 Comments
OceanCliffsOceanCliffs 5 months ago
Not what I expected based on reviews - smells exactly like a hippie shop. Incense, crystals, etc.
0 Comments
HugoMontezHugoMontez 6 months ago
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
9
Scent
Great and unique leather scent composed by Labdanum, iris and some bitterness from saffron and moss. Austere but weirdly comforting. 4/5
0 Comments
FantasmargFantasmarg 2 years ago
6
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
7
Scent
Everytime I smell this, I remember I love it. Warm effervescent incense, a tad sweet. Autumn, dark, wool scarf. Very long lasting and strong
0 Comments
Ajthe7Ajthe7 2 years ago
Smells like care home cleaning products. You might need to be a certain vintage to enjoy it.
0 Comments
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