When one delves into the wonderful world of niche fragrances, one inevitably stumbles upon the brand État Libre d’Orange sooner or later. The perfume house has been surprising the fragrance world for years with unique creations that are often completely different from anything one has smelled before. Many of the scents tell real stories through the combination of extraordinary notes.
In "Fat Electrician | Etat Libre d'Orange," a pleasant vanilla note combines with a chemically charred scent - as if one were watching a craftsman at work, with a donut in one hand and a burnt fuse in the other, repairing one’s own apartment.
Hermann à mes Côtés me Paraissait une Ombre takes one for a stroll through a moldy forest, while a dark premonition hangs in the air.
And in "La Fin du Monde | Etat Libre d'Orange," one becomes an olfactory witness to the apocalypse: Never before - and not afterwards either - has one smelled this combination of popcorn and gunpowder.
All of this is highly associative and demonstrates first-class fragrance craftsmanship. Exploring the brand's portfolio is akin to walking through an art gallery: One is impressed by the works and experiences great emotions time and again.
However, the price for these olfactory masterpieces is often their limited wearability. After all, one does not want to smell like burnt cables (
Fat Electrician), moldy forests (
Hermann à mes Côtés me Paraissait une Ombre), or gunpowder (
La Fin du Monde) all the time - not to mention the brand's more extravagant offerings like "Sécrétions Magnifiques | Etat Libre d'Orange."
And just as one is glad to find peace with a tea in the museum café after an extensive, equally inspiring and exhausting visit to the art gallery, one also looks forward to finally spraying
Above the Waves after testing various demanding fragrances from État Libre d’Orange. Here, one does not get a scent with edges and corners, but rather a wonderfully rounded tea fragrance: From the cardamom in the top note to the tea-heavy heart note and the cozy tonka bean in the base, a consistently pleasant, harmonious olfactory experience unfolds. A true crowd-pleaser from a house that likes to polarize.
The tea clearly takes center stage and reminds one of existing fragrances like "Wūlóng Chá (Extrait de Parfum) | Nishane." In direct comparison, however,
Above the Waves appears significantly rounder and more pleasant to me. While the wheel is not being reinvented here, it seems that the house, for once, did not have that ambition. Instead, a great fragrance was created that one can enjoy at any time. Just as if one wanted to pause amidst all the great art and bring forth a small miracle.
So far,
Above the Waves seems to be flying a bit under the radar, but I hope that over time, more people will discover it - it deserves to be.
Top Notes 
Bergamot
Cardamom
Frankincense
Heart Notes 
Ceylon tea
Maté
Rose
Base Notes 
Cedar
Tonka bean
Vetiver
Beare
3aloosh
Tanelv
khalidk
Mariallery
notdallas
McFadden
MagpieMay
leocoll4
DasCroe
