Les Anges Déchus

[filigree_shadow]

 

Les Anges Déchus, Edouard Cibot.

Khus, blonde tobacco, life everlasting, orris root, black currant, cabreuva, Spanish moss, leather, and ambrette.

 

In the imp: It smells, um, boozy. I'm not sure why.

 

Wet: Perfumey. Very perfumey.

 

Drying: The scent gets a lot less perfumey over time. It's sweet and dry, with a bit of leather.

 

Dry: This one's a real winner for me. It smells dry without smelling stark. I wouldn't call it a floral at all, but what's there does seem to be more of a plant root scent rather than a plant blossom scent. To be honest, the only notes in the whole description that I feel like I'm qualified to discern in any blend are leather and Spanish moss. I can smell some leather in this but it's blended in there and is not prominent. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Spanish moss is contributing to the "dry" aspect. I bet this is probably not very helpful as a review, but no one note is really jumping out at me.

 

When it was wet I thought it smelled kind of masculine, but now that it's dry I don't think so. It's turning into a strangely sexy scent, which is quite surprising to me.

 

This just smells good. Period. It's that kind of scent that, when you smell it, you don't necessarily think the person is wearing perfume or anything, you just think, "Wow, that person smells good." You know what I mean? It doesn't bowl you over immediately, but it has a subtle and strong allure.

 

I'm going to need a whole bottle of this one.

[edenssixthday]

Les Anges Déchus - Well, I don’t know what half (or more!) of the notes in this blend smell like, but I can tell you that this blend is masculine, earthy, and very warm. The moss and leather (fortunately, notes I recognize!) are the dominant notes in this blend, and the overall feel of this is sexy, yet down-to-earth, warm and cozy. It reminds me of the scent of your sweater at the end of a slow, meandering walk in the Northern Woods of the Boundary Waters wilderness, when the distinct scent of the woods and the water sticks to your clothing, and makes you feel alive and in sync with nature. This is really a beautiful scent, but not one I would wear myself; rather, it’s one I would prefer to smell on my husband. The throw and staying power are both moderate.

[Heavenlyrabbit]

Take a good look at those two Angels in the painting. They are the antithesis of the guys in the locker room comparing sizes and then going out to the parking lot to drive home fast in their sports car.

 

These two Angels are completely Self-assured and confident in their masculinity. And they exist in the Analog realm of spirituality.

 

Angels are androgenous but these two guys have identified with Power and aren't afraid to show it.

Guess that snake is offering up another piece of fruit to keep the power surge going. These Angels have not qualms eating that fruit. In fact, I think they commanded the snakes to go fetch. Is that one snake actually smiling? Can snakes smile?

 

And all of what I just wrote describes this scent.

 

I could wear this, but it definately reeks of "Man". Or rather, "Man-Sex". YUM!

 

Fallen Angels, indeed. Look out girls, if they ever shed their wings. These two are trouble.

Edited January 7, 2007 by Heavenlyrabbit

[supremegoddessofall]

On me: What the heck is life everlasting? A BPAL scent that will make me live forever? I'm getting floral tobacco with a touch of leather. Bit "juicy" from the currant. Pretty good - it's a more girly De Sade.

[Blood onmy hands]

Life everlasting is just a flowering herbal plant-thing as far as I know, lol. It's supposed to have a light smell, and I think that someone once told me that it smelled like chamomile. I don't know a lot about plants though, so I'll leave it at that.

 

Les Anges Déchus is definitely an earthy, masculine scent on me. It has a strong leather note dominating the blend, so I couldn't wear it myself, but I might like this on some of my male friends. Black leather, crisp moss, and some foresty notes. Rather earthy and dark, but with a sweet warmth to it that might be the tobacco. I'm not smelling any currant that I can pick out.

 

I will probably give my decant of this to a male friend. I don't love it enough to give it to my boyfriend, but it's a nice man-scent if you like leather and earth notes.

[mmmitchell]

I think that "life everlasting" is one of a group of herbal plants that are known as "everlastings" because they are mostly biennials whose dried seedpods last a long time, used for arrangements and so forth. "Honesty", with the big round seedpods is the one I've grown and am most familar with. The plants I'm familiar with in this category have pretty insignificant flowers/scents, but I agree with bloodonmyhands that there is a herbal/chamomile-like note here that could be that.

 

Heck, I also had to look up "Khus", which appears to be a type of seed used as a spice. Curry was referenced, but there is nothing currylike in this blend, to me anyway.

 

This is a great scent, but way too masculine on me for my tastes. This has got just a real classy "guy" smell to it, to me. It's light and herbal, and slightly spicy and sweet. The leather/tobacco note is dry and just right.

 

My guy's not much for "smellies", but he does like to take hot baths, and I've been making him some bath salts with some of my more "masculine" imps I wouldn't otherwise be using. I think this will smell great as a bath scent....I can't wait to smell how nice it'll leave my bathroom, and my guy.

[aine]

Indulge me a little. You know that moment when you have your head back over the basin at the most fabulous hair salon in town and your hairstylist is letting the cool water sluice over your hair? Your eyes are closed, the scalp massage begins and the problems of the world wash away with the water? In that moment, you have a hard time imagining that life could be any better and you take a deep breath in. And there it is. Perfection. The waft from the most exquisite shampoo offsetting the warm skin and gentle aftershave of your stylist and the soft leather from the chairs.

 

Les Anges Déchus is that moment in a bottle.

 

 

 

Hmmm....I wouldn't have described this scent as masculine. On me, Les Anges Déchus is so heavenly these angels haven't been 'fallen' for long. I think the blonde tobacco and orris root might be leading the way for me, although I am not really familiar with khus, life everlasting or cabreuva. I can't isolate the black currant, and Spanish moss and leather are just support players, keeping the floralish notes clean rather than heady. To top it all off, the longer I wear it the sexier it gets. It's a gorgeous scent, and I'm sure this won't be the last bottle I own.

[euterpe414]

OK. Aine's review is really spot on. This DOES smell like a really upscale hair salon! Or at least it smells like the pricey one I went to once to correct a really bad at home coloring snafu. *ahem* Anyway, this is a really classy blend. I do see this leaning a bit towards the masculine end, but a girl (evn girly girl) can definitely wear it and not feel odd.

 

The tobacco is really present on my skin, but it is rather smooth and blends at the edges with the other notes, mainly the moss and the orris. The leather coes out more as the blend dries on my skin. Unfortunately for me as it dries it loses a bit of its initial pleasant classiness and becomes rather sharp and perfumy. I don't know what note is doing this...although I suspect it could be moss as we have been having some bad run-ins as of late. Hmph. There is no saving this one- it just gets sharp and astringent. Drat!!

 

Ah well, if moss or any of the other notes don't mess with your chemistry, than go ahead and give it a go (esp. if you love tobacco blends!).

[Ajila]

In the bottle - Lightly boozy leather.

 

Wet on me - Leather, oakmoss and sugar.

 

Dry on me - Clean, washed leather.

 

Overall - This was surprisingly clean and light. Pleasant enough, but not at all what I was expecting.

[forspecial_plate]

I tried this and right away, knew that I could have skipped the decant and gone for a bottle of it. Really beautiful. Reminds me of expensive herbal liqueur in the vial, maybe Benedictine and Brandy or something like that (although I haven't tasted that in years). There is an astringent quality that reminds me of an alcoholic beverage, with a lot of complexity. On my skin, I can smell the moss and the leather, but no one note here is standing out with a lot of power. Just blended really smoothly, and the astringent quality fades as it warms up and becomes even more smooth. Can't say that I smell much currant, at least not the way I'm used to smelling it. This is very much my kind of scent and I need a larger amount!

 

edit: I agree that it has a somewhat clean and soapy quality.

Edited February 12, 2007 by Forspecial Plate

[The_Merf]

In the bottle: This smells a little bit lighter than I was expecting it to--it must be very heavy on the khus. and the blonde tobacco makes it very sweet. I was hoping to pick up on the orris, blackcurrant and amber, but I can't find any of them here.

 

Wet: Now this was unexpected--this goes to men's cologne on me. It's a nice men's cologne, but for some reason, I have a real vendetta against this scent category (I even had a huge bottle of Wilde, and then one day I couldn't stand it and had to sell it).

 

Drydown and wear: The cologne-y aspect fades and gives way to a very light mixture of khus, sweet tobacco and amber. There's no morphing point to this scent on my skin, and it doesn't make the unique turn that I hoped it would make. Only a few notes dominate on my skin, so this one's been swapped.

[grrrlennyl]

at first: a light, pretty tobacco scent.

on: interesting. definitely masculine and a bit astringent. the tobacco is nice, not too heavy.

1.5 hours later: a pretty tobacco scent with a bit of moss.

3.5 hours later: this is rather lovely. i keep smelling it randomly. it's a really soft tobacco scent.

5 hours later: a very faint tobacco scent.

overall: a nice surprise. i don't think i'd ever grab an entire bottle of this, but it might be nice to keep the imp when i'm in the mood for something different.

[siddal]

My impression of this in the imp was of something traditionally "perfume" or cologny. On my skin it took on a soapy, fresh note and it dried down to what seemed to me to be a fresh floral. I have no idea about most of these notes, except leather, moss and blonde tobacco, so YMMV.

[yeahbutnobut]

In the imp: interesting. I smell sophisticated manly perfume and a lot of moss.
Wet on skin: lots of Spanish moss (yes, it is amping on me) with blackcurrant and tobacco, maybe some mahogany too?
Dry on skin: whoa, this smells like very posh men's perfume. Very mossy, that's for sure, but at least the moss is letting some of the other notes come out. I can smell the fruity sharpness of the currant, and something 'perfumey' that reminds me of Manhattan, maybe it's the leather and khus (kush?), I also smell some tobacco but I can't identify most of the notes in here, but this overall smells like very expensive masculine perfume. I could imagine this wafting from the men's perfume counter in Harrods, but this doesn't smell as overwhelming as perfume-counter scents.
After a while: the moss has now taken over the scent. Still, it's not as all consuming as the moss in Renfield or Bayou, it's a little drier as well, not as 'swampy'. It's now a little more powdery-green and the deeper notes seem to have moved off, I now smell orris in here, and a hint of musky ambrette. It almost smells like there's violet in here. It's still very much a man's scent. The drydown is a soft green powder of orris and moss, and the moss in here is very much a 'lichen' scent now, like moss on old stone. It's not as 'I smell like a well groomed gentleman' now.
Verdict: this is very much a man's perfume, it's almost 'mainstream' in scent, sleek, grown up and sophisticated, any man wearing this scent oozes style and panache. I'm not familiar with at least half the ingredients here but the dominant note is moss, without question. I also get some sharper, cologne like notes, a bit of blackcurrant, some leather and a woodsy-perfumey fragrance that smells so much like something expensive from a department store. The Spanish moss, although prominent, behaves nicely here, and lets the other notes shine through, and the scent dries to a more powdery, soft scent with orris. It's an extremely well crafted scent, smells expensive and classy, like something from one of the big perfume houses. However it is really, really masculine, a little too much for me…I bet it would be gorgeous on a guy but this is one of the few male-oriented BPALs which is too manly for me to pull off…it smells vaguely aftershave/older man's cologne like on me. Not my thing, but I appreciate the artistry of the scent.
Emoticon rating:
Is it a keeper? No, it's too masculine for me.
If you like this, try: Manhattan, RM Renfield, Bayou, Cathode

[emzebel]

This has a very fresh, clean tone to my nose - I can see where other posters have noted a hair salon - to me it is not quite aftershave, but definitely a light masculine. Attractive, the kind of comforting scent I'd like to snuggle into. I honestly could not have picked a single note out of this - which is sometimes a good thing. Ya know?

[maijasu]

This smelled vaguely perfumey in the imp, then it completely disappeared on my skin. I reapplied just to make sure, but again, barely any scent. Oh well, can't win them all.

 

Edited because somehow my review appeared in duplicate.

Edited March 13, 2007 by maijasu

[jessiesquash]

This reminds me very much of Stardust....maybe it's the blonde tobacco but it's very perfumey and very dry.....heady is a good word. And I'm also getting the salon thing that others have mentioned. It reminds me of a perfume my mother wears, something by Givenchy but it's more masculine. A very sexy man would wear this! David Bowie would rock this! It's a very debauched scent and evokes some very naughty imaginings from me about what exactly those angels are talking about. Past conquests perhaps? Angels can be bad too......right?

[Aredhel]

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Perfumey.

 

In the imp: Yikes. Perfumey.

 

On skin, wet: Leather and tobacco, and a very thick, earthy perfume.

 

On skin, dry: Warm and a bit sunny, but with a very distinct "mixed perfumes" smell. I wager this is due to my unfamiliarity with most of the list notes, and their resultant combination. I'm at a loss as to how to describe it any further, lost as I am to the likes of cabreuva et al.

 

Conclusion: Interesting, but not something I particularly dig. It's hard to pin down exactly what "perfumey" means and is, but you know it when you smell it, and this is perfumey. I don't mean that in a totally bad way; "perfumey"'s just not a quality I like personally.

[theseagrows]

in the imp this smells a bit sharp and sweet with the tobacco to ground it. on my skin i get a semi-masculine musky-powdery scent. not sure what it is but i don't really think it's agreeing with my skin chemistry. i almost feel like there is a slight floral here too, but cant place it. i wish it was more leathery and less powdery on my skin, but alas it is not!

[tindome]

I really liked this one which is good because it is one of my favorite paintings and I would be heartbroken if it didn't work. Ok

 

The first thing I thought when I smelled this was Usher. Not that it smells the same but it gives me the same clean guy smell that I get from Usher. This is perfumey like others have mentioned and usually that would make it an automatic no for me but something about this makes it work. I think because I don't get any florals that the perfumey quality doesn't bother me as much.

Although I wouldn't have realized it until I saw someone on here say it, there is a quality reminscent of a high quality salon. When it dries down some of the perfume aspects fade leaving tobacco and moss with something else I can't quite identify. The currant maybe?

 

Overall I really like this, It's something I'll wear when I want a nice clean gender neutral scent.

[cuervosueno]

Yes, very posh men's cologne (well, without the alchohol of course!). It has a bright golden scent that is quite appealing, and I suspect is the blonde tobacco. But the oakmoss amps on me, and those two scents together with leather really spell upscale men's scents to me.

 

there is also something fresh and almost aquatic about this.

 

The thing I love about the Salon's is that they are quite complex and not like anything in the general catalog. That is true of this as well, and though it is not a scent I need a bottle of, I have enjoyed trying it, and will have to decide the fate of my imp, though I suspect I will swap it.

[herbhealer]

I was really attracted to the notes in this blend, and the painting. Unfortunately, it started off as strong and medicinal, and quickly became an intense version of men's deodorant soap on me. I usually like what are thought of as traditionally masculine notes, but this one just fought with my chemistry. Adieu, Les Anges!

[jiggahava]

The word "soapy" comes to mind when I apply this. Strong ivory soap, the last thing I want to smell like. Then it mellow out, as most of these do, and it becomes a subdued floral with something herb-like in the background, which I think is the khus. Khus smells a lot like vetiver, I think its a variant of vetiver, actually. A teensy bit smoky as well. I don't have a clue what "life everlasting" is, but this smells very solemn. A blend for a quiet contemplative evening. It's nice now that it's mellowed out, but I don't think I'll need more than an imp of this.

[Miss Lynx]

Interesting... I'm not a fan of orris or leather, but some of the other notes in here sounded good to me, and it did turn out to be an intriguing blend.

 

The overall feel of it is dark and dry... A little bit floral, but not overly sweet -- it's quite well balanced, and comes across as quite gender-neutral. I didn't find it as distinctly masculine as some of the other posters seem to have, though it would certainly work on a guy as well. There's a strong woody undercurrent, but it never gets that kind of funky "off" note that woody scents do on me sometimes.

 

On the whole, not bad at all, though not really exactly my type of scent.

 

Grade: B-

[storme]

In the imp: wow, mossy and herbal. Pale-feeling.

 

On me, wet: hmm, the tobacco comes out, adding even more of a herbal feel - and a musky sort of male-cologne scent.

 

On me, dry: the leather is warming this now. This is still like a really classy male cologne - herbal but musky.

 

Verdict: Other boyish scent are more stunningly 'wow' to me, but this is pretty good otherwise.