Question:
I got some half samples in the mail today in a swap.
one word: blech!
definitely beyond "meh", such an ultramoderne attitude for heavy old fashioned disgusting scents (jasmine et cigarettes, putain des palaces).
really the "baby I don't swallow" and "secretions magnifiques" have got to be better than these!
I just hope they wash off
I still have a couple more to try... but out they go in tomorrow's mail.
AWFUL

Answer:
You're not the first 'bad' review I've read...I felt like the line is trying to be so 'obnoxious' in it's marketing, that I just want to ignore them out of spite (kind of like ignoring an obnoxious guest at a party...)

Answer:
incidently, Henri Bendel is advertising for a fragrance pro to handle their NYC store.... coincidence?

Answer:
I've heard nothing but women from MUA saying they were "not impressed"
Those gals were being tactful!
I have to laugh cause this woman wanted to trade decants of them with me for some borneo and I wanted double the amount simply cause the price point is like... well, one thing you can say for these frags is they aren't that expensive. I mean you pay less than half to get them than you do for a lutens exclusive, and then some, even less! And she ignored me after I suggested, yknow, what the "rate of exchange" would be. I'm just soooo glad I didn't make that swap and instead just traded a few sample vials of my own for them!

Answer:
Let me just jump on the bandwagon and say that these scents and the advertising to go with them are the most adolescent example of marketing I've ever come across.

Answer:
Originally Posted by supermarky I got some half samples in the mail today in a swap.
one word: blech!
definitely beyond "meh", such an ultramoderne attitude for heavy old fashioned disgusting scents (jasmine et cigarettes, putain des palaces).
really the "baby I don't swallow" and "secretions magnifiques" have got to be better than these!
I just hope they wash off
I still have a couple more to try... but out they go in tomorrow's mail.
AWFUL
A bit of a shame... sounds like they aren't even interesting.

Answer:
It seems to me like niche perfumery is starting to become like the premium denim market in the late 1990's. It started off with Helmut Lang and a few others making really neat denim and charging a lot for it, but around 1995 or so people paying $150 for Diesels of HLs were thought crazy. "Why would somebody pay $100+ for a pair of jeans?" they said.
Now, there are about 500 different premium denim brands charging $200-600 for jeans and only a handful of them are really worth the effort.
It seems like niche fragrances are STARTING to move in that direction. There are just so many new niche fragrance companies springing up in the past few years, only a few of which are really worth the time. It sounds as though ELO is one of those "look at us! We're niche and so that means we're good" scents that just don't live up to the hype. I'll still give them a sniff, but I doubt I'll become a major fan...