The Afternoon of a Faun Etat Libre d’Orange

4.04 из 5
(45 отзывов)

The Afternoon of a Faun Etat Libre d'Orange

The Afternoon of a Faun Etat Libre d’Orange

Rated 4.04 out of 5 based on 45 customer ratings
(45 customer reviews)

The Afternoon of a Faun Etat Libre d’Orange for women and men of Etat Libre d’Orange

SKU:  51d05fa24bf1 Perfume Category:  . Fragrance Brand: Notes:  , , , , , , , , , , , .
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Description

The Afternoon of a Faun by Etat Libre d’Orange is a Aromatic Spicy fragrance for women and men. The Afternoon of a Faun was launched in 2012. The nose behind this fragrance is Ralf Schwieger. The fragrance features bergamot, pepper, cinnamon, incense, immortelle, orris root, myrrh, leather, benzoin, rose, jasmine and oakmoss.

45 reviews for The Afternoon of a Faun Etat Libre d’Orange

  1. :

    4 out of 5

    On my skin, this is a beautiful, perfect Chypre Floral fragrance.
    Very authentic, green, herbal, a bit bitter, slightly powdery, dry but not too much so, a bit sweet and more floral in the dry-down. It is simply gorgeous. Very feminine to my nose. Immortelle, oakmoss, soapy rose, orris root, incense, leather and some bergamot in the opening are the notes I detect from this loveliness.
    I don’t smell any of the wet leaves, celery or sourness of any sort here. To me, this is a smell of a sunny forest in the time of Indian summer.
    Longevity (10 to 12 h) and sillage (quite heavy for the first few hours) are both very good.
    So happy with this one. Very classic and special. Just wow!

  2. :

    5 out of 5

    2 months ago I almost bought a tester bottle online blindly. In the end I let the chance pass but I bought and today got a 10 ml sample. I have to say, it is as unique as its name. I love immortelle, even in lethal doses (Sables)or embraced by gourmand notes (L de Lolita). It has a sweetness that tones down the spices but does not render it feminine.
    The scent is quite potent, spray carefully, you can always add more if you want to 😉 I recommend trying it before buying as I can see, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

  3. :

    5 out of 5

    This is not going to be a substantive review, sorry 🙂
    This is the most enchanting fragrance to me ever. I can’t tell why, I can’t even say much about the notes cause as soon as it reaches my nose I’m transported into a different space and time, unable to focus and put my thoughts together. I can only say that somehow this fragrance evokes memories of most peaceful and cheerful moments of my childhood. I see myself sitting in a high grass of some meadow full of flowers, herbs and weeds all bathed in the afternoon Sun. It made the soil warm and the air is dry and everything that grows sets it’s essential oils off. A bit spicy, sour, geranium-like. Just a trail of incense to make it dryer. This really is the smell of Sun itself 🙂
    Beautiful, unique and most of all bright. This Immortelle is simply magic ❤

  4. :

    3 out of 5

    No. Just no.
    I received a sample of this and was quite excited to try it as I generally love Etat Libre’s creations. But this is really not my thing. There’s a lot going on, and most of it smells terrible. The initial blast had a hit of jasmine, a note that always makes me think of cleaning products, but this faded into the background fairly quickly.
    I can see why people think of wet leaves, but for me it’s wet leaves that someone’s urinated on. There’s a harsh, almost vinegary, sting, which I found very unpleasant. Had to wash this off straight away, which I don’t usually do on principle.

  5. :

    3 out of 5

    This is the third of Ralph Schweiger’s creations that I loved at first sniff. I bought this blind despite warnings to the contrary. I have no regrets.
    That said, I can see how it would not be an easy love. It’s definitely not a crowd-pleaser: my dad told me I smelled like paint. I almost asked him what kind of paint he’d been sniffing so that I could get some for myself. In his defense, I had oversprayed–but it was only 3 sprays! Be warned: this is strong, and the sprayer on the 100ml bottle is quite enthusiastic. I believe it was the oakmoss that my father noticed, as that can have an astringent, almost pissy, smell in excess. But don’t let that deter you! This fragrance is amazing.
    In moderation–no more than 2 sprays–Afternoon of a Faun is beautiful. I do not know if I have ever smelled anything quite like this. It is equal parts a throwback to classic perfumery and olfactory post-modernism. It smells like Schweiger took a classic rose chypre, drenched it in immortelle, and added a heaping dose of coumarin funk. From the very first spritz, this is all about the immortelle, oakmoss, rose, and coumarin, in that order.
    Faun’s rose is a jammy rose, very prominent (why is it listed so far down in the pyramid? It’s a mystery), its jammy depth intensified by the maple-floral scent of immortelle. The resulting sweetness is contained by the coumarin and oakmoss, never allowing the perfume to veer into gourmand territory. Schweiger pulls off an incredible balancing act here with the sweet and the savory elements, creating a perfume with PATHOS. I’ve been wearing this nonstop since it arrived: about five wears. I still don’t quite understand it. Yet Faun is seductive enough that I am compelled to keep wearing it, to sniff deeply, to listen closely to the story it is trying to tell.
    The temperatures here have been about 30-40 degrees American with a lot of humidity. I’m not sure that this is a good spring or summer perfume option as I feel that higher temperatures might overemphasize the sweaty nature of coumarin. I can’t wait to wear this in the fall. The composition is perfect for a New England fall: it smells like walking in the woods when the foliage is in all its red and orange and yellow splendor. The sun is peeking through the trees, and the light has that golden quality it gets in the late afternoon at that time of year. You hike by a maple grove, and the sap from the trees mingles in the air with the smell of all the undergrowth decaying into fresh, loamy soil. Somewhere far away, someone is burning a wood fire (the incense note, which subtle but still present).
    This wafts–definitely more than an arm’s length!–and it LASTS. I put some of this on at 7 in the morning–and I can still catch whiffs of it on my wrists now at midnight. It’s faded down to a skin scent, something like a caramelized celery (lovage? I really want to say that the coumarin in this comes from lovage, which is one of my favorite eating herbs) but still detectable, with a hint of richness from the resins. Absolutely incredible performance, which goes to show that it IS possible to create a powerhouse with modern ingredients and sell it at a reasonable price.
    The best part about it is that Ralf Schweiger composed this with Justin Vivian Bond, who identifies as nonbinary! In the fragrance world, gender is everywhere. There are strong gender lines in perfumery, which can be uncomfortable for a person with a complicated gender identity like myself to navigate. Afternoon of a Faun is for the queers! It is neither feminine nor masculine: its chypre heritage was equally popular in both men’s and women’s perfumerie for decades. I love being able to buy a perfume developed with the input of a nonbinary person, and I hope more perfume houses follow Etat’s lead and start developing fragrances especially for trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer fragrance enthusiasts!

  6. :

    5 out of 5

    A path covered with yellow autumn leaves soaked in rain water – this is the image ‘The Afternoon of a Faun’ evokes. This may easily be the ‘De Profundis’ of Etat Libre d’Orange, as it smells very natural. Powdery orris along with vaguely sweet and spicy immortelle later really remind of a sunny afternoon in the forest. However, this reverie evaporates within minutes, and the elusive nature of this fragrance leaves you asking yourself: ‘Did I love a dream?’.

  7. :

    5 out of 5

    This has a boozy smell on my skin…the slightly green, slightly spicy bits all mixed up up in this one…is it art?…absolutely…Is it wearable?…absolutely!

  8. :

    4 out of 5

    The problem I have with this smell is that it must be worn in the dead of winter. The colder it is, the more complex the bottle, and it must be a humid place. The more humidity the better! Trust me! I live between Vancouver and Edmonton and it can be worn near the sea in winter but not in the prairies where it is a dry dry cold. Any other times of year, the bottle totally loses its complexity and becomes mere sycamore and immortelle. This is sad because I love all the top notes and so I wish I could wear it more often but, sadly, if it is not optimum conditions for the ‘fume then it is rather one note.
    edit: try shaking the bottle if it has been sitting too long. It may regain some of its complexity after some losses!

  9. :

    4 out of 5

    An interesting dry grass smell. I’m definitely getting the orris root and immortelle. Reminds me at some moments of Bill Blass Nude and at other moments I think of Ivoire de Balmain.
    Strange but nice. This needs a serious, non-giggly person to wear it. It’s no nonsense and wool sweaters.

  10. :

    4 out of 5

    The Afternoon A Faun is a poetic fragrance, sophisticated and evocative. However,I recognize the scent something imaginative. The pyramid is complex,but in some strange way the notes seem to come together and merge into a transition between dream and reality.. like ….memory of a distant era. Beautiful perfume, as always amazes me ELDO. *•♥
    Sillage: 7./10
    Longevity: 8.5/10
    Scent: 8.5/10
    Overall: 8.5/10

  11. :

    4 out of 5

    From the reviews and description I half-expected this to be a lot more challenging to like, but for me it’s easy to like. Probably because it’s the kind of thing I generally do like: herbal, mossy, earthy, citrusy, and green, done with a lot of elegance. In fact, it smells kind of like Chanel No. 19 on me, except slanted more masculine-style; a little more spice and leather than 19. The sharper, fresher green notes also remind me of the blackcurrant leaf in L’Ombre Dans l’Eau. “Vegetal” is a good word for this one (I do see the hint of celery), and I’m especially liking how it smells as it lingers. The immortelle comes out just enough to make it a bit sweet, while it stays green and juicy, not cloying. I’m kind of adoring and coveting it as it develops. Huh. Next morning a pleasant sweet-celery still lingers, faintly, and I really do like it. Funny.

  12. :

    3 out of 5

    Beautiful Immortelle all the way. Turned into a very powdery smell half way thru. Baby fresh, clean and easy going. But then at the end turned into some sort of tomato garden soup smell. WTH?

  13. :

    5 out of 5

    Rarely my expectations from a perfume I read about are fulfilled so greatly as it happened with The afternoon of a faun. I’m enjoying my sample so much I’ll be sure to buy a bottle.
    People talk about a forest vibe, but it’s not a damp, old forest. I see strong young trees in a forest that’s kept clean of undergrowth by human hands…
    I tend to like all fragrances with moss, and I like immortelle too, I smell them here along with resins. The spices on my skin are not too loud, which is fine with me.

  14. :

    3 out of 5

    This reminds me of their infamous Secretions Magnifiques.. As if they decided to tame that monster and add stuff to make it wearable! I mean the Satyr has a pretty strong connection with the other “juice” too (giggle)
    *so I actually put them side by side and compared.. Oh my gosh Secretions Magnifiques is worse than I remembered! (almost threw up) The first 10 min was truly unbearable and only has 10% resemblance, then as it becomes less vigorous and repulsive, the resemblance gradually increased to 50% by the hour mark.

  15. :

    3 out of 5

    I really like this fragrance, my favourite ELdO together with Rien. Immortelle seems to be at the centre here and subdued by floral and other notes. The notes seem almost fruity, but the sensation is likely due to iris and oakmoss, I suppose.
    The fragrance’s balance and end product is great! It is not ‘fresh’ in my opinion or ‘green’, but rather evokes autumn leaves and brownish/reddish colours in a soft aromatic way.
    It does not change much of time, but that’s fine with me. Perfectly unisex.

  16. :

    3 out of 5

    chi come me ama Yatagan e quella ristretta serie di profumi maschili a lui simili e astratti non rimarrà deluso da questa creazione. purtroppo ho solo un piccolo campione di questa delizia che incorpora tutto quello che per me di buono si può rintracciare nelle fragranze maschili, un po’ old style e dandy, lontanissime dai territori dei machissimi e freddissimi accordi che al momento (da anni invero) vendono tanto e fan sembrare, all’olfatto, gli uomini tutti uguali. qui si gioca tutto sui contrasti: sulle prime l’impressione è verde, erbacea e un tantino agrumata (muschio di quercia, lime e un tocco di rosa fresca), poi spuntano pepe nero e cannella sorretti da elicriso, timido invero ma per questo strepitoso, fino all’assestamento più balsamico e un po’ cuoioso con incenso e mirra. l’evoluzione è dunque tra il fresco (non gelato nè a base di conifera!) e lo speziato, per finire sul resinoso. ottimo!

  17. :

    3 out of 5

    The opening reminds me of sweet church wine. The dry down is like a smokey version of Aramis 900.Highly recommended!

  18. :

    4 out of 5

    Someone below mentioned an “ashtray in a French cafe” smell in this…upon first hearing that description I thought “Ugh…what a horrid fragrance this must be!”. Well…with an open mind and my eyes closed, I inhaled the fragrance off my wrist about a half hour after daubing it on…and that description is so accurate! Some people have a real talent for describing fragrances in such a way that I really “get” what they are talking about. The ashtray part is somewhat disconcerting at first but the French aspect of the description calls to mind beautiful European women wearing expensive perfume whilst sitting at an outdoor cafe, smoking long slim cigarettes in even longer elegant cigarette holders.
    Close your eyes, open your imagination and see what comes to mind!

  19. :

    3 out of 5

    One of my all time favorite. I’m very fond of the scent from myrrh and immortelle.
    Actually I’ve used this one as a method to calm myself.
    Couple of weeks ago I had an abdominal surgery, I applied very little juice on both my wrists before the nurses took me to the operating room.
    I still remembered that my doctor (who’s going to “open” my belly) said to me, ” Wow you smell so good” before he wore his surgical mask(he came into the room to say hi to me before they prepared for the surgery).

  20. :

    3 out of 5

    In all honesty, you can never really really lose when you purchase fragrances from this house given the reasonable prices. With that being said, this stuff is waaaaay too safe. I’m talking child locks, or better yet Jack Johnson music type of safe. With this much capacity and flair given the note lineup, I expected Afternoon with a Faun to deliver; underwhelming in the expectations department. The immortelle note is very consistent throughout making this fragrance more for a goddess than for a God. Those that are not too fond of bombastic fragrances will find this rather delightful. Light and earthy seems to win people over…I guess. Could be a real treat for those that want to smell gorgeous. Personally, I’m looking for the CGI, the real special effects. None found here. There have been many descriptions for this fragrance, and I’d say this smells like a honeyed forest. If your looking for a fragrance that breaks the immortelle speed limit, then I’d suggest you to try Une Nuit a Doha…..not this wimpy thing.

  21. :

    5 out of 5

    A chypre of sorts, I guess. The main impression is of damp green forest floor. Oakmoss and that aquatic wetness you get with the use of floralozone. Strong sharp note of pepper cuts through, along with vegetable curry notes – cumin and celery perhaps? A definite Yatagan-like quality.
    Interesting, but not for me.

  22. :

    3 out of 5

    I should preface this review with the fact that ‘The Afternoon of a Faun’ is without a doubt, my favourite perfume on the planet.
    It opens with a blast of spicy-sweet green notes, something boozey, and a certain dank earthiness – almost musty. This is a case of the notes adding up to something greater than the sum of their parts. I can smell the steely, earthy orris, the sweet, inky immortelle, the leather, the resins, and the citrus. Altogether though they create a truly bizarre and wonderful olfactory impression. At once damp, dark, dank and green whilst retaining a slight fresh edge, something wild and untamed.
    As the heart develops the leather and moss join the ever-present immortelle and the frag takes on a drier, dustier face. The orris continues its earthen march and the fragrance reminds me of crushed leaves on a dark forest floor – warm and ever-so-slightly damp. Hints of rotting vegetation, animal musks and musty leather.
    This has orris that isn’t carroty, immortelle that isn’t syrupy or curry-like, pepper that isn’t overwhelming and harsh. They’ve somehow managed to take notes that by all logic should clash terribly and made them dance together in one big, debaucherous orgy of leaves, trees and wild things.
    Sillage is surprisingly good. It’s not going to knock anyone out, but you’ll catch whiffs of it frequently as you go about your day. Longevity is excellent, and the projection stays strong for a long percentage of wear time.
    An odd, contrary imp of a fragrance. Enjoy with fine food, fine wine, and the embrace of a fine lover.

  23. :

    5 out of 5

    هذا العطر مجنوووون. بالمرة. انصح فيه رسمي وروعه مسائي او شتوي لا ينصح فيه بالصيف

  24. :

    3 out of 5

    I really dig this fragrance. This is Tracy Bonham’s “Mother, Mother” video from 1996 (where the woman was vaccumming in the floor-to-ceiling avocado green living room the whole time) in a bottle. It’s “shaggy” and mossy, kinda dank, and intriguing in an uncomfortable way. Also, there is a grip of rose! What a trip.

  25. :

    5 out of 5

    This is Pan.
    Of the wild, green, herbal, untamed, animalic, warm, spicy, inviting and sprightly. A medley of notes flitting through the air. A captivating tune, orchestrated by a daring house.
    Longevity and sillage are impressive. And certainly a cool weather fragrance.
    It loses it’s lustre in the heat.

  26. :

    5 out of 5

    This is a complex perfume there’s no doubt of that. It’s difficult to pick out individual notes, other than strong rose in the opening.
    There’s a singed peppery woodiness as it develops that I find quite harsh (reminds me a little of the singed quality in Luten’s L’Orpheline). Actually it’s maybe birch (used for a leather note) which is often described as phenolic. As for immortelle, yes it’s there but not in the way I’ve experienced immortelle in real life – i.e. a soft, warm golden, dusty haze borne on a Mediteranean breeze, with burnt sugar/fennel tones.
    This is like immortelle trampled into the damp earth and the remains of a bonfire, perhaps by the cloven hooves of a dancing faun, who’s danced his little hooves off all night, then he’s awoken at dawn with the scent of cold, musky sweat clinging to his goaty/hairy body!
    In other words, this is quite earthy and masculine, but odd too.
    This singed woody slightly harsh quality remains all the way through for me. I tend to prefer those perfumes that you can relax into, whose dry down settles with skin harmoniously, and similarly to Fireside Intense, this note, which I think might be birch, or maybe a woody musk, is a little harsh
    It doesn’t quite suit my skin, and why would it? I’m not a hairy sweaty goat. Yep, this is Mr Tumnus trotting back to his cave after a night on the tiles!
    Sillage quite soft, longevity good
    Edit: I’ve just realised that this reminds me of the (I think discontinued) scent Nino Cerruti Pour Homme, I did like that on men – it had a leathery, sweaty jasmine aroma, but without this singed-hair/wood quality

  27. :

    4 out of 5

    the Top note is sharp & splashy as i’ve learned from ELDO’s perfumes is their top notes shouldn’t be counted cause you’ll dislike good perfumes at MAX (as what happened to me with Tom of Finland, & Dangerous Complicity) so i gave it a bit time till the middle note after awhile it still smell quite sharp but complex! as the first second of sniffing the middle note gave the sharpness of pepper & maybe bergamot, & the second second of the same sniff before moving my nose from it i smell the dirtiness of floor that has been wiped by a million time used old building mob, huge complexity actually and a drawback i guess.
    after 30 minutes then comes the base note, still sharp and it reminds me of an EXACT smell i get from Estee Lauder Intuition the for women one. quite sharp yellowish peppery smell. i guess it has the vintage prestigious aristocratic essence vibe, not much but a little because of it’s sharpness and personally i see it a bit annoying to me. so i guess ill give it more tries and we’ll see!

  28. :

    5 out of 5

    To me this is a lovely modern green chypre and yes it is aromatic, too. Think “Dioressence” but not so dry: warmer, wetter, grassier (freshly cut), and a bit fruity.
    I keep on thinking lime green, mustard wallpapers with psychadelic patters of the 60ies and the wild parties that go with it. However you can equally play Dee-Lite “Groove Is In The Heart” and dance your socks off to it, until you find someone you fancy and you just step outside the terrace into the freshly cut lawn and start wet kissing on a late spring crisp evening when the first roses have just come to bloom. (You have both just drunk your 2nd bottle of Sauvignon Blanc).
    If only those big black resin designer glasses weren’t in the way, you’d actually enjoy being snogged by a geek. Oh now they are playing “Cantaloop” by US-3 (funky).
    10/10 for originality. Colour code: LIME GREEN

  29. :

    3 out of 5

    This is a difficult, sensual green fragrance. It’s like the ooze of sex on a fresh bed of hay. I LOVE this scent.

  30. :

    3 out of 5

    Harsh, to the bitter end.
    I’m happy that I received a sample of this strange named fragrance. I have to admit, it was very difficult wearing this the whole day! I wanted to see how it developed, and if it got any better…But, in the end, I was happy to scrub it off, as I just couldn’t get used to the overwhelming bitterness of it! The opening had a touch of bergamot, but was quickly overcome with the crack of a large leather whip, surrounded by immortelle and a cold steely touch of iris. I didn’t pick up any cinnomon, which is a shame, as it would have added a bit of warmth to the picture. Perhaps the moss made it so bitter, hard to say, but the fragrance is so very dry! Dry and a very unpleasant type of green. I felt very uncomfortable wearing it, as it has an almost sad vibe to it. It is by far, a more masculine scent. This may be attractive to those who like rather dry, green, leathery scents. I just couldn’t get past the harsh, bitter side of it.

  31. :

    4 out of 5

    this scent is heavy and thick just like an 80’s powerhouse, really aromatic and green, for grown ups only..kids of the 80’s..and girls of the 80’s love it to bits!
    layered in the afterglow with Antaeus…. and the trick is done!

  32. :

    4 out of 5

    Big, green, soft, warm and funky. Green and dry like chrysanths, round and rich like roses, a twang of bitter celery and turmeric, some quality of dust motes in a sunray, quite a bit of leather quietly underlying it all. Bone dry, rich and earthy with excellent old-fashioned staying power.
    Justin Vivian Bond, who co-created this perfume, said in Paper Magazine “I wanted it to smell like ‘a touch of taint on the knoll at twilight.’ By that, I mean I wanted it to smell like two faeries dancing by a fire in the woods and then going off and having sex next to a bed of flowers.” I’m not sure that it absolutely hits that directive but it is a beautifully blended, off-centre dry green floral which pays funked-up homage to classics like Miss Dior and Chanel no19.

  33. :

    4 out of 5

    The spicy incense opening to “Afternoon of Faun” evokes the scene of Nijinsky’s ballet quite brilliantly. It’s sombre, haunting and earthy. However, the drydown…
    The potent imortelle, mixed with leather, some vague floral notes and oakmoss, create a weird musky accord that reminds me of a dried up urinal cake in a vacant pissoire. The texture is dusty, like pencil shavings.
    Overall, not pleasant.

  34. :

    4 out of 5

    So, Faun is a forest god from Roman mythology. In this in mind I was very eager to try THE AFTERNOON OF A FAUN, I’ve loved creations by ELDO before and this is yet another wonderful composition.
    I can’t tell a single note that stands out as this has a perfect composition with all the notes. This reminds me of a sunny day in forest. This is not just a scent of pines and such. This is the smell of trees, wood branches, soil, leaves (the green ones in the trees and those below your feet) and even mushrooms. It feels so weird yet so inviting and interesting. I was literally sniffing myself all day long even though I cannot imagine myself wearing this on daily basis.
    This is clearly worth a try. Excellent silage and it stayed on my skin for more than 10 hours.
    I do think though that this will compliment a male skin more.

  35. :

    5 out of 5

    This reminds me of a shampoo I had in the eighties. It was called Jane hellen and it came in a green triangular bottle. I feel really nostalgic when I smell this. does anyone else smell this or does my memory play a trick on me? the scent is really good. it’s musty and foresty. and really strong. some thing wet, damp and dark to. it’s just on the verge of getting a bit to overpowering. it’s also a bit diffrent so test before you buy. works for both men and women.

  36. :

    5 out of 5

    Musty, old books. An ashtray in a french cafe kind of smell

  37. :

    5 out of 5

    In my experience of Etat Libre d’Orange Afternoon of a Faun, a new perfume by the famed Ralf Schwieger, there are two very clear and distinct phases. The opening is a big volume sweet oriental. This sets up certain expectations (mostly of some sort of amber drydown to come). What follows, however, seems more like a woody chypre! Very interesting composition, it seems to me, as these two phases have been magically united in one little bottle of perfume.
    I initially thought that Afternoon of a Faun would be, as advertised, more likely to be appreciated by women than men. I changed my view though by the drydown, when I kept thinking of the dying embers of a campfire perfumes which I’ve encountered. The composition ends up smelling dry and austere, more like a scent for a cowboy of the rugged West than the denizens of a brothel, as rich orientals sometimes suggest.
    I’ve seen that opinions are all over the map on this creation, with people apparently perceiving completely different perfumes, all bearing the name Afternoon of a Faun. But that makes perfect sense, since this is so complex and juxtaposes notes in such unexpected ways that different people are bound to focus on different features.
    The incense is quite marked to my nose, but the smokiness makes this seem like a lot more than the run-of-the-mill incense perfume. I definitely would not categorize this in the incense but the woody oriental chypre genre. I am not at all sure that I know what immortelle smells like, so no comment on that component. The important point here is that I find this to be a very fine perfume–of which I’d love to have a bottle!

  38. :

    4 out of 5

    The perfume-tells-a-story bit isn’t my bag. Why do we try so hard to push narrative onto non-literal experiences? As much as I love to write about perfume, the writing is utterly after the fact of the experience. Just let me smell my perfume and experience the state.
    The poem, the music the ballet, the myth. Genug shoin! Afternoon of a Faun perfume doesn’t suggest fauns or any of the notions that a faun represents in mythology. But story aside, it is a brilliant perfume.
    There have been a number of strategies to recreate or suggest the chypre accord without the bio-hazard oakmoss. Chanel 31 Rue Cambon bends a floral amber into the shape of a chypre. Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri makes patchouli, a common chypre component, a stand-in for rather than a partner to oakmoss. de Nicolai’s Vie de Chateau Intense plays with the hay-like scent of coumarin to create a fougere/chypre hybrid. But Ralf Schwieger does a clever turn with Afternoon of a Faun.
    Using immortelle, which I wouldn’t otherwise think to associate with oakmoss, he plays up the sandpapery, dusty feel of oakmoss giving us the tone and the shape of the chypre without explicitly trying to smell like one. The composition has a clear bergamot note, and an ambery benzoin if not cistus labdanum itself, so the rest of the chypre elements are in play. But immortelle, when matched with incense and myrrh implies that state between smokiness and resin that moss creates. Imagine that perfume notes are elements on the periodic table. Schwieger goes directly up one level to find the element that shares the same chemical properties as our element oakmoss and makes a new compound.
    Rather then suggesting a chypre (31 Rue Cambon) or using chypre-like elements (treemoss and the new synthetics) Schwieger gives us a parallel universe chypre, and I for one couldn’t be happier. This could easily be a signature scent for someone searching for perfume monogamy.
    from scent hurdle.com

  39. :

    3 out of 5

    A unisex concoction of boozy spice, green notes and leather. It smells herbal fresh. The overall effect on the imagination is of saddling up a horse before riding off into the crisp, woodsy air of the countryside. The cinnamon and pepper is pronounced. It has an edible component like a hot cross bun dipped in a rum liqueor.

  40. :

    5 out of 5

    Got a sample of this for the husband. I loved it on him. It’s got a certain forest vibe, I can clearly pick out the pepper, a note I’m fond of. Unfortunately, he thought it too floral for him.

  41. :

    5 out of 5

    Difficult to describe it… Perhaps with a music video ?
    watch?v=6oYmc9WTdSs
    (Faun – Egil Saga)
    Forest, beautiful voices of the 2 singers, pagan music… Well, it’s pretty well summarized, in my opinion.
    Animalic, deep and warm. But very aromatic and floral, with a powdery background. That’s it for me…
    The Immortelle (beautiful name for a beautiful flower) is powerful, and supported by the bergamot. A floral-citrus combo on the top, with another duet on the background composed by incense and leather, dear to EldO.
    For completing this, all is well included by spices all-around, as cinnamon, myrrh and benzoin.
    So here it is, forget all you know about fragrances, this one is very unique. A faun is half-human, half-animal, this perfume is half-earthy, half-floral.
    Half-loved ? No… ENTIRELY LOVED !

  42. :

    4 out of 5

    Wowee, congrat’s ELd’O – now this is what can be called a proper ‘CHYPRE’ chypre ! (And not just a pale ‘modern-patchouli-laden-cheating’ mock one, but a gloriously authentic true mossy one, just like in their golden good ol’ days !) – Just goes to show & prove that, in these our ‘FDA-restricted’ times, it’s still perfectly possible to turn out a beautifully mossy chypre, just the way they’re supposed & meant to be.
    -> And hey Fragrantica, you really need to update the above notes list to include what is arguably ‘Faun’s most imperative note i.e. MOSS, which somehow you’ve neglected to include. And it really is the one note that informs the whole vibe of the fragrance.

  43. :

    5 out of 5

    What I see reminds me very much of YS Uzac’s Pohadka. The two fragrances are built with almost the same notes: leather, immortelle, resins, as well as similar green and fresh notes. I prefer Pohadka, because it is more complex and lasts longer.

  44. :

    4 out of 5

    The flavours in here are such an unusual combination that I am not sure what attracts me to it. At first the temptation is to knock it back and complain of “oldness” but in fact its the scent of antiquity which keeps bringing me back to try it again, every ten minutes or so. Its the smell of musty flowers in a vase of brackish water. That must be the helichrysum: it reminds me of old chrysanths that nobody removed from a hospital bedside. But the peppery backlash against the delicacy of the bergamot and the incense, makes it modern, mysterious and dark, gives it depth and staying power, draws you in with enchantment, wanting to know what it will smell of next time you sniff.

  45. :

    4 out of 5

    I’m a huge fan of Etat Libre D’Orange but, this thime, they really have to be kidding me. Immortelle? Cinnamon? Benzoin? Leather? WHAAAT?
    This is all about a hyper-green orris root bonded around a woody-citrus bone structure. Maybe not as generic as one may initially think but definitely safe and sort of cold. Made me think about a partially successful delivery from Divine. Think about L’Etre Aime Homme minus the ambery drydown and you’ll get an idea. There’s a part where the orris root is timidly joined by some immortelle that catched my interest. It seemed an interesting evolution but, unfortunately the accord doesn’t bloom and the helichrysum is relegated to a side note leaving the fragranc

The Afternoon of a Faun Etat Libre d'Orange

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