Delicious Closet Queen (Etat Libre d'Orange)

by Mark

If you are a conventionally-raised Western man, it may be splitting hairs to be worrying about the name of a fragrance if you are already in the habit of reading a blog about them. Still, if you are a brusque, no-nonsense sort of fellow just reading the men's fragrance blog in hopes of discovering a new masculine cologne suitable for business meetings, you might not want to read about one called Delicious Closet Queen. Could you even buy it without embarrassment? How would you respond if someone asked you what you were wearing?

First things first; this fragrance does not leap out of the bottle on six-inch platforms, waving a boa. In fact, it presents as a modern masculine with some classical roots. The violet leaf is immediately noticeable, with slightly fruity (I am talking about raspberry) undertones. Leather, cedar, vetiver and rose are not individually discernible, but provide a rich foundation. At this stage, DCQ seems like it could be the child of Bois d'Orage and Gris Clair, combining the leafy aspects of the former with the cool sweetness of the latter.

The sweetness fades to a dry combination in which appear cedar, patchouli and vetiver. Again, no one element stands out, the blending is quite good. Benzoin brings a touch of sweetness back into the mix.

That's pretty much the whole show; a little tonka and sandalwood show up and everything settles down to a skin scent.

Despite, or perhaps in keeping with the purple prose presented on the ELdO web site, this is a discreet, but still interesting fragrance that will be just fine in that meeting. It's more (cedar) closet than it is queen.

Oh, and as to the question of how to respond if someone asks what cologne you are wearing; just tell them you're wearing L'Eau d'L'umberjack.

Year: 2007
Perfumer: Nathalie Feisthauer
Notes: Violet leaf absolute, Beurre d'iris brut, Atlas cedar, Indonesian patchouli, Haitian vetiver, Dynamone, Rose absolute, Raspberry, Sandalwood, Leather, Tonka bean, Opoponax, Benzoin, Geranium, Citrus.

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