L'Ecole des Filles

[mineralgirl]

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 smell the orange bloosom and the carrot seed (well, it smells like carrots!) and it's too floral for this foodie girl but I love to try any frimps that come my way.... off to the trade bag

[kamikat]

Another surprising frimp! I would not have ordered this. I'm finding that most florals just don't work on me. Wet, it has a nice, bright, clean orange blossom, my fav floral. It dried quickly, too quickly for my taste, and became a very mild, floral scent with no single note jumping out. I will have to try this a couple time before deciding.

[lunareclipse]

When I was a girl, I had some dolls that were dressed in flower costumes - a rose, a daffodil, an iris, etc. A bit of research online turns up that they were called "Rose Petal Place." They were all scented with a fragrance that was sweet, somewhat floral and somewhat plasticky.

 

On my skin, L'Ecole des Filles smells exactly like those dolls.

 

So, while I enjoyed the jolt of nostalgia that I got every time I sniffed my wrist last night, I think I'll take this as further proof that the great majority of florals are, sadly, Not For Me.

[Ceri]

In the vial: Orange blossom and rose. I can definitely envision a white rose with orange blossoms all around it.

 

Wet: A stronger orange blossom and rose. Slightly green.

 

Drydown: Faint orange blossom, creamy soap with a touch of rose powder.

 

Overall: A light floral, soapy scent. Nice but not for me.

[crebbsgirl]

GAH! I thought white rose would be different for me, but unfortunately, my skin amps it like all other roses. This blend becomes single note ROSE on me, with a slightly sweet base somewhere underneath all of the ROSE. I totally give up on rose blends.

[CynicalPink]

Imp: Orange, carrot, and something airy

 

Wet: Soapy carrots?

 

Drydown: Orange blossom won't come out and I get this weird plastic smell.

 

Overall: Yeahno. It's got this unsettling plastic feel that I can't deal with. But if nothing else, the rose isn't eating my arm.

[catattack]

Imp: Yellow floral

Wet: Sharp yellow florals with some greenery. After a few minutes, it turned sour.

Drydown: The scent mellowed out, and became a scent of soft flowers and green stems. Later, an aquatic note came out.

Overall: I can see why floral scent lovers would appreciate this one, but it's not for me.

[anna1850]

I liked the orange blossom but there's something woody about it that emerges after a few minutes. I know none of the ingredients are wood (it could be the orris root) but that's what I get and although it's quite mild, it's enough to put me off it.

 

2/5 I just wish it didn't have that funny wood smell in it.

[Kikkervisje]

Wet: Herbal floral. Definitely getting the orange blossom, white rose, jonquil, and carrot seed.

 

Dry: Less of the herbal scent, but otherwise largely unchanged.

 

Wear Time: 5+ hours

 

Fits Description?: Well, it doesn’t make me think of porn, but I can imagine reference to France. I also get the idea of pure feminine florals with an earthy tinge

 

Overall: Well, this one was fine. A new combination for me: the herbals and florals. That said, it just didn’t feel terribly exciting to me. But then, I’m still not a great floral lover, so… that’s probably a decent part of it.

[n1k1ta]

L'Ecole des Filles is pure orange blossom for drydown. Waxy lemon and, I think, the ambergris start to come out after a few minutes. After that, is rose which makes this perfume very romantic and frilly.

 

In an hour's time, L'Ecole des Filles is powdery floral yet green. It's a strange combination, but pleasant.

 

The powdery floral dies down after three hours. What's left is green, fresh and a little resiny. It has an old-fashioned feel. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. Onto ye ole swap list it goes!

Edited June 10, 2009 by n1k1ta

[odalisque]

In the imp and wet on the skin, this smells like a "round" kind of floral with a hint of fruit. The orange blossom is there, and so is the rose, and something slightly sweeter that reminds me of honey. The lemon balm made an appearance (this may be what some people smells as soapy, since lemon balm smells like lemon soap).

 

It changes a lot as it dries, and ends up actually being a kind of woody-herbal scent, similar in some ways, to my nose, to lavender. I think this is the orris root, in combination with the ambergris.

 

It feels like a very appropriate scent for the theme, to me, old somehow but not musty, morphing from a sweet feminine floral to the kind of scent I can imagine a gentleman's frock coats being folded carefully into.

[hkhm]

imp: very faint orange and orris.

 

wet: this smells almost juicy once applied. i'm not getting any rose, just delicious soft florals and delectable light fruit.

 

dry: thank goodness the rose was nowhere to be seen here. i'm mostly smelling orris and orange blossom which is fine, they smell wonderful together. a dusty orange/violet scent. very demure.

 

 

[Aldercy]

Very odd, this one. There's something frothy and bubble-bathy about it. Kind of a wet, soapy, childlike floral with some sneaky, less-generic elements in the background-- perhaps the ambergris and carrot? And a slight sweet white wine note.

 

I love both ambergris and carrot independently, but combined with the "bathwater" tone of this scent overall-- I just don't know what to think. It's not bad, just strange. Hmm.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Aldercy

[melrose]

Sweet, but a strong, strange undertone - the ambergris? Not sure. It's okay, but not bottle-worthy. I think it smelled fine on me, but a family friend said I smelled like ''a two-bit whore covered in rat feces'' - which seems a bit harsh.

[obsidienne]

There are quite a few notes in here, but somehow this turns into a simple orange-blossom/white rose experience with a hint of salty aquatic (ambergris). It's actually very lovely, soft and floral. I am not sure where everything else went, maybe my nose is tired out today. That said, I have no problems with what I am smelling! Very enjoyable.

[aquazoo]

That's a light, tasty floral. It dances on the edge of sharp hairspray, but does not go over. Might be the lemon doing that. But it does warm up nicely on the skin.

 

[cleske]

I found it quite difficult to distinguish the notes in this one, mainly because it wore off so fast on me and I'm now sitting huffing my scarf to remind myself of my fuzzy-morning perfume reviewing thoughts. Anyway: I get a little rose and ambergris, I think. It's very fresh and light, and although it's not something I'd usually wear I wouldn't have been annoyed if it stuck around. In an odd way it reminds me of eastertime at my old church, or handing out daffodils on Mother's day. Strange.

[SophieCedar]

This was one of my most anticipated scents from the recent shipment. It didn't disappoint me. This is an orange blossom wonder.

 

Has a slight soapy tinge when wet, but I think these are the roots and seeds bursting and working around the ambergris. Very fresh, with deep resinous notes.

 

Drydown is where it gets good. The sharpness and soapiness drops off a touch and it gets a bit of a sexy musk element. It has trouble hanging around in small volume, so slathering is recommended. Very unique!

 

[ModderRhu]

L'Ecole des Filles

GREEN. Soapy and GREEN. With some carrots, and something that smells like Sweet Tarts. Bizarre. I'm not sure if I smell any rose or ambergris or resin, but I get oodles of greenery and some aquatics. It kinda smells like bubble bath to me. I wish I smelled the benzoin more, because I think it would cut the sharpness and ground this scent. Maybe with a bit of aging, this will be better for me.

[reynardine]

Unremarkable scent in the imp. Applied, I'm getting Orange Blossoms (which I love) and a hint of rose, with greenery. Fades into this gorgeous light floral, very pretty and demure. A going-to-church scent.

[fairestrocza]

In the Imp: a light, white floral

 

Wet on Skin: juicy jonquil, subtle white rose

 

While Drying: a lovely, light, fresh flower smell

 

After a Little While: Ever so slightly soapy, but one of the better florals I've come across.

 

Later: I love the wet stage. Not as keen on the dry down.

 

L'Ecole des Filles earns a 3.5/5 on my skin.

[tailoredshirt]

Wet, I get citrus first, with rose and a bit of saltiness from the ambergris. A tiny bit of sweetness. I like rose-lemon as a combination, so this works for me. I've always thought orange blossom smelled like soap (or maybe cheap body spray), and there is a soapy quality to this blend but I don't hate it. Maybe it is the rose or the ambergris or one of the other ingredients, but I kind of like it. It's fresh and pretty, nice for spring or summer.

 

Doesn't seem to be lasting very long though.

[hersphinxness]

In the imp, a rather sharp, unfamiliar smell cut with an aggressive herbal.

 

On my skin, it opens up into this soft, yet completely sophisticated and confident herbal floral. It's a beautiful scent, like being outdoors in a garden in early summer (even more so than my dear Garden Path With Chickens!). It's very close to the skin, an intimate scent. A completely non-soapy freshness. I like this.

 

One big drawback: it's gone after about three hours. Completely, utterly gone, melted into my skin. Reapplying didn't even really freshen it, which was weird, the fresh application just seemed to be eaten on contact!

[strahlend]

I had hoped that the carrot seed and orange blossom would be more noticable. This is a flowery, powdery, forgettable scent that reminds me very much of laundry soap.

[mxtine]

This reminds me of a Burt's Bees carrot face cream I had once, and the orange blossom is SHARP and soapy. The carrot seed gives this a strange, earthy smell that I cannot tolerate.