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Above the Waves 2025

8.0 / 10 37 Ratings
A new perfume by Etat Libre d'Orange for women and men, released in 2025. The scent is fresh-citrusy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Fresh
Citrus
Spicy
Woody
Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
BergamotBergamot CardamomCardamom FrankincenseFrankincense
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Ceylon teaCeylon tea Black teaBlack tea MatéMaté
Base Notes Base Notes
CedarCedar Tonka beanTonka bean VetiverVetiver

Perfumers

Ratings
Scent
8.037 Ratings
Longevity
6.731 Ratings
Sillage
6.330 Ratings
Bottle
7.130 Ratings
Value for money
6.721 Ratings
Submitted by StefanoW · last update on 01/03/2026.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Thé Noir 29 (Eau de Parfum) by Le Labo
Thé Noir 29 Eau de Parfum
Wūlóng Chá (Extrait de Parfum) by Nishane
Wūlóng Chá Extrait de Parfum

Reviews

2 in-depth fragrance descriptions
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4 Reviews
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2  
Tea in the Museum Café, or: État Libre's Masterpiece
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.
0 Comments
Dennis1104

1034 Reviews
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Dennis1104
Dennis1104
Helpful Review 6  
Green, zesty-fresh with a great tea accord. Beautiful thing!
Above The Waves is, along with You Or Someone Like You, my favorite among the Etat Libre d'Orange fragrances. Here we have this noticeable green note that runs like a red thread throughout, combined with something fresh, zesty, citrusy.
I really like it!

The fragrance starts off directly with this zesty, citrusy opening.
For me, the bergamot combined with the tea notes comes through wonderfully.
It gives you such a great, summery feeling right away.
I’m into that!
For me, this fragrance somehow reminds me of Green Cactus by Phil Julian. However, Green Cactus is noticeably a bit greener and less citrusy.

Additionally, the fragrance has a subtly spicy character, mainly coming from the cardamom note.
To be honest, I didn’t expect frankincense. I couldn’t detect frankincense while testing. However, I must say that when you read the notes and then concentrate more on the fragrance, you can sense this cardamom-frankincense mix that works wonderfully and harmonizes.

The longer the fragrance sits on the skin and moves towards the end, the more you can feel the woody undertones.
Otherwise, as I said, the green vibe remains.
The zesty, citrusy aspect fades away more and more during the progression and is no longer present at the end.

The longevity on my skin is about 6-7 hours.
The sillage is moderate. It doesn’t project strongly, except for maybe the first five minutes. Otherwise, it is relatively tame and lays beautifully as a companion on the skin. Above The Waves is also wonderfully unisex wearable!
2 Comments

Statements

16 short views on the fragrance
1
Pleasant tea-forward scent with a fresh opening, but lacks strong presence or identity. Moderate performance doesn’t justify the price.
0 Comments
1
Easily likable fresh citric tea. Summer breeze. First teenager kiss. Lying on the grass & counting the clouds. Eazy breezy beautiful being.
0 Comments
18 days ago
1
Very mass-appealing, and yet feels still special to me. Might end up becoming my first tea-scented perfume, if longevity will delivers.
0 Comments
2
Minty, spicy herbal tea opening with strong projection. Beautiful woody, slightly incensy drydown that reminds me of Taiwanese temple.
0 Comments
2 months ago
Really beautiful tea scent, fresh approachable.
0 Comments
2 months ago
the purest of pure green tea scents, actually smells just like ko-gu green tea but less sharp
0 Comments
15
4
A strong black tea scent suitable for all year round, cedar/rose/incense complement but never overpower. Unisex, fresh, aromatic. Very nice!
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4 Comments
7
3
Reminds me a lot of the Isleta. Beautiful light green tea scent. Fits every season and is great for home too.
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3 Comments
7
a totally atypical scent, as it's pleasing and mass-appealing. 80% wulog cha and 20% the noir create this fragrance. beautiful tea scent with good sillage.
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0 Comments
6
A green vibe that runs throughout. Combined with very lovely tea notes and a bit of citrusy freshness.
Great scent!
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