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L'Ecole des Filles

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We sang till almost night, and drank my good store of wine; and then they parted and I to my chamber, where I did read through L'Ecole des Filles; a lewd book, but what doth me no wrong to read for imagination's sake… and after I had done it, I burned it, that it might not be among my books to my shame.

Published around 1655, this is considered to be the origin of modern pornography in France. It is a discourse between two young ladies, the elder instructing the younger in the ways of passion.

This is a libertine's celebration of decadence, debauchery, and sexual freedom: orange blossom, ambergris, orris root, white rose, lemon balm, jonquil, carrot seed, and benzoin.


i had to get an imp of this, for the concept alone. luckily it smells pretty good! in the imp it is light, refreshing, and almost a candy-like floral. the orange blossom is the most prominent note at first, very delicate, and very innocent. on my skin, this scent really blossoms and i can detect just a hint of the white rose and jonquil. there's something kind of earthy in this too, i want to say the ambergris, but i'm not sure. the benzoin is definitely there, but in keeping with this scent, it is gentle. any lemon balm in this, is quite subdued - no lemon pledge in sight, and in fact i'm amazed at how well-rounded and gentle this scent is. this gets a big thumbs up from me for surprising me in a good way, and for being very wearable - i'm starting to think that benzoin makes everything nice on me.

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L'ECOLES DES FILLES

 

In Bottle: Bright and sweet

 

On Skin: This scent has a very bright and clean feel to it. It wakes me up nicely this morning, and is a perfect pick me up. It’s not a very sexual scent to me, from the description, but it is sweet and has a darker side as the scent develops. The orange blossom is the strongest note, followed by the sharp florals. The lemon balm is on the light side luckily (my skin tends to amp anything lemon). The benzoin is sweet and blankets the scent in a soft and innocent way, like trying to cover any of the darkness, but not so much that you can’t find that exciting part of the scent. An earthy floral, not too perfumey. The throw is pretty light and it has a short to average wearlength on me.

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This presents a bright and sharp orange blossom with a nice floral finish. The orange blossom, together with the white rose, lemon balm, and jonquil, create a theme of light and brightness. That is countered, but not overshadowed, by the presence of the root, seed, ambergris, and benzoin. Overall this blend has a floral quality to it; gentle and light, sweet and almost watery, yet with a nice little bite to the orange blossom.

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Wet I can smell the orange blossom with something sneaking around the corner...maybe the carrot seed?

 

Just on: OMG, this is good. Floral but very subtly so. Green but a touch sweet too. I'm having trouble picking out the notes. The rose is just now peeking out and it is subtle, which for me is amazing. I'll have to reort back after it is completely dry as I suspect this could be more rose in the end.

 

Drying--Okay, the rose is staying subtle on this one so far. *eyes evil rose* The throw is just lovely. Soft and gentle. Not passionate love, but the kind of love that brings you tea in bed in the morning. Not quite what I would have expected from the description... :P

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I had no idea what that combination of notes was going to smell like, so I had zero expectations for this blend.

 

It smells like a sweetened white rose scent! I mean, not like it's shouting ROSE, but when I sniff it I think, "Hee, yep, it's rose. Hee. It's smells so cute. Heehee. What a cute rose." For some reason, this scent makes me automatically happy. I'm serious, I sniff it and smile. How odd.

 

My only problem with it is that after I had it on for 20-30 minutes it started to get a little powdery like rose does on me sometimes. Not tremendously, just a little bit. I still like it though.

 

Oh, and btw, I usually avoid lemon like the plague, but I can't tell there's lemon balm in this.

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straight sniff from imp is a clean, crisp orange blossom...

 

once applied this is a pretty floral with a somewhat fruity edge...there is

a green note dancing about too...

 

unfortunately this fades fast and furiously so i will age my imp and see if it rounds out a bit

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In the bottle: Fresh, green and resiny; a little soapy and sharp.

 

Wet: Softer and fresher; less medicinal. I can smell the carrot seed, benzoin, ambergris, and faint hints of orris root and orange blossom. I love the green scent, which is maybe the jonquil?

 

Dry: Much more floral. The orange blossom has amped and the white rose, which I find a bit powdery, has emerge. I'm getting a tiny bit of citrusy lemon balm now. Ambergris has gone predictably soapy.

 

Summary: Powdery, floral soap with a hint of orris root. Decent throw and lasting power.

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Interesting -- considerably less floral than it sounds from the list of notes. This actually comes across as pretty gender-neutral to me -- the florals are there, but they're counterbalanced by the other notes which add a bit of a dry, astringent feel. This could actually be a very old-school (Victorian or earlier) men's cologne, though it wouldn't exactly be a typical men's scent today.

 

Grade: B-

 

P.S. I believe this may actually be my 500th review. 500 reward points, anyway... How on earth did that happen? I do have a life, really I do! :P

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Sharp, green orange blossom, with something sweet in the background and some other floral notes in. This must be the jonquil and white rose. This smells a lot greener than I expected. Very refined and spring-like--this may be just what I need in a few weeks once we're past winter for good this year!

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I was afraid this scent might be too floral for me with the white rose and jonquil. but I was intriqued by the ingredients. What does carrot seed smell like?

 

In the imp: Green and slightly sweet.

 

Wet: wow, the orange blossom really jumps to the forefront.

 

Dry: this scent is a bit too sweet for me, but it is a lovely scent that is perfect for Spring. I think this would be a wonderful scent for a bride.

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In the imp vial, this reminds me of Hurricane for some reason. Hurricane smells to me like raspberry plants - the woodiness of their branches, rich fruitiness of the berries, and overall planty earthiness. This is brighter than Hurricane though, like it has been touched with a light spring rain. I was hopeful that this would be amazing on me, but it morphs the second that it touches my skin.

 

On my skin, this instantly sharpens up into a very clean fragrance. It's a bit soapy-sweet, bright, and lightly fruity-floral. It makes me think of laundry soap :P

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L'École des Filles is such a delight! In the imp, it's a heady orange flower, and on my skin, the scent changes madly, every new transformation more delicious. Each note comes out to play in the best imaginable way: the white rose is flirtatious, the ambergris is deeply sensual, the orris is a wisp of spice, the lemon balm is nonexistent (hooray!), and the orange bloom, she is the queen of them all.

 

The final dry-down is a sweet orange blossom with a watery quality that brings to mind flora in the rain. It radiates, it lasts, it enchants. It's edged out other loves to become my favourite scent in Ars Amatoria and my vote for one of the most luscious, complex BPALs I've ever had the privilege to test.

 

This is a bottle purchase for sure and would have been a 10 mL if the size were still available. If I ever run out of L'École des Filles, I will likely cry, and the tears will probably smell like orange blossom at that point. :P

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The scent of orange blossoms in the grove is one of my favorites, and this is the first scent from the lab that really gives me the full experience. I get the blossom itself with a solid background of green leaves and earth, so it's more interesting than a whiff of orange flower water, which is my best basis for comparison. I sniffed this at January Will Call and promptly had to buy a bottle. I'm so happy I did.

 

:P

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Smells like laundry detergent in the imp. Laundry detergent and carrot soap or toner, whatever it is that Burts Bees makes. I am definitely getting a Burts Bees facial product vibe from this.

 

Wet on my skin, it smells fresh and clean and soapy, but not in a floral-soap kind of way (it's not the rose or the orange blossom that are doing this, is what I mean). It's...not really what I expected?

 

So on the outside of my wrist this stays true to the wet stage - odd and soapy. On the inside of my wrist it's definitely sweeter and more floral. I can detect the lemon balm and the orange blossom on the inside of my wrist, and I actually really like the scent on the inside of my wrist - closer to what I imagined from the ingredients - but I really don't like the scent on the outside of my wrist. Hmm. This is a conundrum.

 

Off to the swaps pile, l'ecole des filles - I don't have enough room for things that are finicky with my skin chemistry!

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I grew up surrounded by the scent of orange blossoms in southern California, so I've always been interested in the Lab's blends that feature orange blossom/neroli. Up to this point, although I've liked some of them (Bess and Lolita and Masquerade), none has really captured the true essence of orange blossom scented nights, when the perfume fills the air and makes you absolutely swoon with deliciousness. L'Ecole des Filles does evoke this, because of a coolness that reminded me of sprinklers adding their moisture and watery sounds to the heavy orange blossom bliss, lightening it and moving the sweetness through the night air.... I can't account for this coolness and lightness, given the notes, but Beth has created a magical blend here, perfect for summer.

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Ah, this didn't work out at all and I so wanted it to.

 

It's orangey soap. Not as bright and orange as like Lush's orange colored soap (which name escapes me right now) but along that vein.

 

I do have to say that it is bright, light, cheery and a bit innocent. Yet, on me, still soap.

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This one isn't debauched at all. This is a sweet and innocent scent.

 

It reminds me of lemon pound cake and a gentle orange blossom and rose. None of the notes really take over, it's quite well balanced. The rose stays well behaved. I really like this, but my skin just eats it. I can slather away and in a half hour it's gone.

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not one i would have tried on my own because it sounds too sweet, but i got an imp of it as an extra and ended up actually liking the scent.

i don't think of it as sexual and debauched, though.

it's light, refreshing, and a sweet, fruity, floral mix.

a bit on the sweet side for me, but not too terribly sweet.

the florals do a nice job of taking away from what would be an overpoweringly sweet fruit smell, they kind of temper and even out the scent.

overall it's a warm, light, fresh, fruity floral scent i like for a sunny day.

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in the imp: strong neroli, with a hint of something i can't name.

 

wet on skin: the neroli calms down, and is very close to the orange blossom hydrosol i just picked up in seattle. which is to say, really, really lovely. :P

 

dry down: a soapy element has emerged! :D

 

in all: it smells like orange blossom soap. on others, i imagine it to be lovely, but i shall pass on this one.

 

 

:D

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At first, all innocence and light florals. Slowly, roses start to bloom in the bouquet. A ripening of experience grows, mellowing the blossoms, before fading all way.

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I love finding florals I can wear! This is just lovely - it somehow manages to be ethereal, buttery and sunny all at the same time. Perfect spring/summer scent. :P

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i get a slightly citrussy white floral in this. i sense the white rose, orris root and jonquil the most. i kind of wish i could get more orange blossom and carrot seed. this smells very proper to me, doesn't really seem all that sexual, actually. it's nice but not something i would wear much.

Edited by theseagrows

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I received this as a frimp with a bottle order - I probably never would have found it or chosen it myself due to the rose, which is not my friend.

 

But this is quite nice - the rose isn't overpowering everything else like it usually does.. it smells like orange rose (I don't think there's any such thing as orange rose, but that's how this is to me - it's definitely rose, but *orange* rose) - I'm not getting the lemon very much.. it's all orange.

 

After it's been on my skin for about a half-hour, it smells like baby shampoo.. fresh and clean, and soapy but in a nice way. The imp will do me - there's nothing here that's outstanding enough for me to want a bottle, but if you enjoy those clean and fresh fruity floral type blends, I'd say give this a try - it's very pretty.

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