Soul of My Soul Etat Libre d'Orange 2020

I wrote a very long and very personal and very "ma'am, this is a Wendy's" review of this scent, but the gist of Soul of My Soul from Etat Libre d'Orange is that it's soft and cozy sandalwood-y musks; the cocoon of your feet touching your person's feet under a fleece blanket when you're comfort-watching LotR for the bazillionth time. It's a spot on your person's chest sculpted perfectly to cradle your head at night. It's their funny murmuring snore when you shift your body in bed, and your butts touch for a moment. It's the secret language of two hearts who get it, and who got the chance to get it. It's the miracle and magic safety and connection and all the green flags saying go-go-go, that it's okay to be your weirdest, most authentic, very truest self with someone, and no matter how weird or hard things get--and they will get harder and weirder, make no mistake--you will always remain a soft, safe place for each other.

Soul of My Soul is the clean, floral cousin to Frustration’s spicy gourmand profile. Together with Frustration, Soul is one of the very best ELDO perfumes and my favorite of the “Orange Extraordinaire” line. I previously appreciated how Frustration elevated a very wearable spiced vanilla through the addition of some more dynamic evolution. Soul performs a similar song, but with a different set of notes.

This perfume is interesting because it deftly balances a sour, soapy rose, with a powdery-musky heart, and a spicy vanillic base. The initial impression it gives is soap, bergamot, and rose. Smelling it blind, I was shocked to see the marketing describe this as a spicy vanilla wood fragrance. I was also surprised to see other reviews second this description, or instead classify it as a mostly powdery scent. However, neither of these parties are incorrect, and the magic of this fragrance is in deftly balancing these different profiles without letting one dominate entirely. Some of the sour soapiness persists even as the iris powder becomes much stronger, but throughout one can also find themselves drawn to sweet tonka and vanillic warmth. These are notes that can easily overwhelm or conflict, but which feel harmonious and intriguing here. Even more than Frustration, this is a dynamic fragrance that provides some wonderful twists and turns while avoiding quick recognition.

Unlike so many other ELDO perfumes, there is no gimmicky hook here—no cyberskin, puns, or shock value, but don’t be dissuaded. Compared to these others, Soul of my Soul is the more exciting perfume. One of the few ELDOs that I would actually want more than a sample of. A delightful surprise.

Jesus wept, an ELDO that smells ok from first spray!! Quite the rarity to my nose. Smells quite generic to begin with (again, not a bad thing, I will take generic over Cumin BO or whatever the hell Ghost in the Shell is supposed to smell like) but dries down into a mellow woody vanilla powder. Unfortunately on my skin it took on a slightly chemical vibe at around 4 hours. If this didn't happen it would actually be a winner, but I'm not willing to dislike a fragrance for even a second on my skin.

I am a really big fan of Soul of my Soul in this set. It really balances its rose in heavenly ways compared to some other fragrances in the set that get drowned in rose. The development is really lovely - fresh bergamot in the opening that smells like freshly expelled oils from a squeeze of rind on the rim of a refreshing gin cocktail. The frankincense and pink pepper add background, giving lift and effervescence, as if the cocktail is carbonated. There's a really sweet and refreshing center that I guess is the Orris butter? I am not sure what that smells like but it mixes with the rose and suede and gives the feeling of being in the VIP lounge of a gorgeous old theater with patterned rugs and elephant statues and velvet curtains and intricate details in the walls and ceiling. There's an element of spice but it still retains its refreshing nature. Finally, a base of woody sweetness, like eating honeycomb and freshly made waffles on a freshly cut wooden picnic table. It's fascinating how this scent kind of does it all - part citrus, part floral, part gourmand, part woody, part resinous/"oriental" notes. Definitely in my top 3 ELDOs, along with Hermann à mes Côtés me Paraissait une Ombre, and third being either Frustration, Nostos, Clean Suede, or Story of your Life.

This makes me think of a femme fatale who is in her plush velvet draped room filled with old wood furniture and vases of roses. She is making eye contact with you while apply lotion to her legs. But you are watching this on an old VHS tape, the image is wonky for the majority of the film and then clears more towards the end. This is a fragrance that opens really harsh and synthetic. So much so that I couldn't detect any individual notes, it just felt so abrasive on my nose. The synthetic feeling will fade into an average lightly leather rose with some creamy iris with a spicy wood developing for the dry down. ELDO specifically used Orpur ingredients. These materials are supposed to be a higher quality of natural ingredients and yet this fragrance smells pretty synthetic and fairly forgettable.

This fragrance was more of a skin scent, mainly because the iris kept it close. There is only one size available, $250 for 100ml. I guess the price is supposed to reflect the use of higher quality ingredients but honestly I don't think it worked out the way hoping it would. I'm actually surprised that there are so many "high quality" natural ingredients and that it isn't completely synthetic. Just goes to show that natural isn't always better.