Yet another truly experimental scent from Etat Libre d’Orange. Experimemtum Crucis twists and turns as it unravels, quite the opposite of gravity really, given this fragrance is inspired by Newton.
The popular story goes that Newton observed an apple falling off a tree, which promoted the theory of gravity. It didn’t fall upwards or to the side, simply down onto the ground. Taking this historic moment into account, Etat Libre d’Orange imagines Newton was asleep under a rose bush and rather than an apple, a lush, perfectly formed rose fell from the bush. How would this change the course of this theory? Then of course, we also have Newton’s Experimentum Crucis (Crucial Experiments) in which he proved that white light is made up of coloured light and that the appearance of an object's colour is due to the light reflecting off it. But that’s enough science talk for now. Experimentum Crucis (the fragrance) reimagines the apple falling while also exploring colour, and this well and truly is a rich, deep red fragrance. Opening with a rosey-green-you’re-in-the-garden-sniffing-a-freshly-bloomed-rose scent surrounded by green foliage-a la the Newton moment, Experimentum Crucis moves back and forth in waves. In one moment a powdery note comes forth (possibly the patchouli and musk). Then the fruity lychee and sweet honey playfulness is alive and bursting out to be seen and heard. And finally, we go back to the green crisp apple note that morphs into deep chypre territory as it is enveloped in akigalawood. All while the rose is still prominent. It's a real rollercoaster.
It’s as though Etat Libre d’Orange is playing with our noses and our minds. They have perfectly captured the essence of light moving around via scent and reforming the way it smells consistently. Wait a little longer and woody notes appear making this scent smell like a dried rose petal. And then we get the divisive note. The one that people love or hate - cumin. This spice can add an animalic, somewhat sweaty skin tone. It takes this rose scent and transports it into a villainous rose fragrance of dried roses, metallic notes, surrounded by mossy woods all being used to create an evil potion in a gruesome ‘fairytale’, which is a twist we didn’t see coming!
