Etat Libre D’Orange Story Of Your Life, Sana Jardin Air Of Aquarius, Puente Havana 1825, Nose Republic and other reviews – 2025

Brands both familiar and entirely unknown featured in this year’s debut instalment of Love At First Scent, with reviews of releases from Etat Libre D’Orange, Puente and Parle Moi De Parfum, as well as a showcase of the entire collection of Nose Republic fragrances. Here are links to the broadcasts, followed, as always, by timestamps and some further reflections on a few of the perfumes: Etat Libre D’Orange Story Of Your Life, Sana Jardin Air Of Aquarius, Parle Moi De Parfum Comete Paradis, Parle Moi De Parfum Blossoms Smoke, Ffern Winter 2025, Puente Havana 1825 reviews — Nose Republic showcase review.

Etat Libre D’Orange Story Of Your Life (Jerome Di Marino) 6:40
Sana Jardin Air Of Aquarius 16:12
Parle Moi De Parfum Comete Paradis (Michel Almairac) 23:36
Parle Moi De Parfum Blossoms Smoke (Romain Almairac*) 31:48
Ffern Winter 2025 (Elodie Durande) 37:57
Puente Havana 1825 (Eliam Puente) 42:59

Bad Wolf (Cristiano Canali) 8:05
Rose Gambit (Stephanie Bakouche) 12:59
Queer De Russie (Valery Mikhalitsyn) 17:00
Tansu Silk (Maria Golovina) 22:40
Empire T (Stephanie Bakouche) 27:02
Moon Child (Stephanie Bakouche) 31:47

I do urge you to seek out some samples from Nose Republic — each of their scents reminded me that most of today’s olfactory innovation is to be found in the independent sector. Especially notable are Moon Child (superbly named: with its aldehydes, musks and subtle fruitiness, it genuinely feels like an encounter with a waif composed of space dust), Rose Gambit (an excellent, almondy attempt to do what is usually impossible: reframe rose in an unfamiliar setting), Empire T (a moody, Lynchian combo of tuberose and cigarettes) and Tansu Silk (iris, incense and a Givaudan musk called Cosmone engaging in an agonisingly buttoned-up, Merchant-Ivory-esque game of seduction). Come to think of it — if you’re going to try those four, throw in the other two as well. Just get the whole discovery set. I doubt you’ll regret it.

From the remainder, I’d recommend Puente Havana 1825. It may not be as instantly likeable as some of the brand’s releases from 2024, but it rewards multiple wearings, taking you on a journey from a striking, almost bitter-fruity opening to a drydown that exudes irrepressible, vanilla+tobacco, old world decadence. Perhaps the Cuba it portrays isn’t as grimy as the one seen in Luca Guadagnino’s fascinating Queer, but it’s equally physical and compelling. Well worth checking out.

Persolaise

[Samples provided by the brands, with the exception of the Etat Libre D’Orange and Parle Moi De Parfum, which were obtained by me.]

* Some sources credit the perfume to Michel Almairac.

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