What a difference an ingredient makes. Last week I disparaged a fragrance that showcased one note (Iso E Super) and this week I’m doing just the opposite. Attaquer Le Soleil* Marquis de Sade by Etat Libre d’Orange promotes one ingredient, cistus labdanum (from Cistus ladanifer), but I thoroughly enjoy this perfume.
I wrote about the Marquis de Sade and perfume almost 7 years ago (Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade). I’ll quote myself:
Sade’s stories of torture, his endless diatribes against religion, his sexual fantasies involving pain, incest, degradation, humiliation and murder numbed me. Reading the Marquis de Sade’s dully written, repetitive tales made me sleepy and after awhile I began to laugh heartily at the absurdity of him and what he ‘preached.’ His philosophy didn’t appeal to (or interest) me. I was definitely not Sade’s audience.
I’m still not Sade’s audience but sometimes I feel I could have been his compatriot…
