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Etat Libre d’Orange

Niche brand · Paris, France

Etat Libre d’Orange

Q: Which fragrances show the house’s range?

[Sécrétions Magnifiques](/perfume/etat-libre-d-orange-secretions-magnifiques) by [Antoine Lie](/perfumer/antoine-lie) represents the radical side, [Fat Electrician](/perfume/etat-libre-d-orange-fat-electrician) by [Antoine Maisondieu](/perfumer/antoine-maisondieu) offers creamy, resinous [vetiver](/note/vetiver), and [You or Someone Like You](/perfume/etat-libre-d-orange-you-or-someone-like-you) by [Caroline Sabas](/perfumer/caroline-sabas) gives a bright, green interpretation of Los Angeles.

Q: Is I Am Trash really made with leftovers?

In part. For [I Am Trash](/perfume/etat-libre-d-orange-les-fleurs-du-dechet-i-am-trash), [Daniela Andrier](/perfumer/daniela-andrier) and Givaudan used several upcycled fragrance materials, including [Apple Oil](/note/apple), [Rose NeoAbsolute](/note/rose) and [Akigalawood](/note/akigalawood). The claim applies to this formula, not automatically to the whole range.

A Paris perfume house with a South African name, making ideas, irony and the perfumer’s freedom its real luxury since 2006.

Paris, France · founded 2006

Discover the brand Sample fragrances

Founded: 2006
Origin: Paris, France
Founder and creative director: Étienne de Swardt
Name reference: The historic Orange Free State in South Africa
Legal operator: Editions des Sens SAS
Design system: One square bottle and the tricolour rosette
At Parfinity: 26 fragrances to sample

The story

Etat Libre d’Orange was founded in Paris in 2006. Founder and creative director Étienne de Swardt named the house after his South African region of origin, the historic Orange Free State. He turned that connection into a working principle rather than nostalgic decoration: freedom before market convention.

The house gives perfumers room for self-contained ideas. Sécrétions Magnifiques by Antoine Lie, Fat Electrician by Antoine Maisondieu and You or Someone Like You by Caroline Sabas show the breadth of that approach. A shared square bottle and tricolour rosette keep the stage deliberately quiet.

01 · Paris, 2006

A free state as a creative premise

Étienne de Swardt founded the house after years inside the established fragrance industry. Its name points to his South African origins and the historic Orange Free State. The official account connects that landscape with contrast, independence and freedom; in Paris, those ideas became a programme for perfumery.

De Swardt did not remain a name in the origin story. The house still presents him as its founder, while current industry interviews show him directing its ideas, collaborations and approach to innovation. The break with convention is therefore not a retrospective anecdote but part of the house’s continuing creative leadership.

02 · Creative freedom

The idea determines the brief

Etat Libre d’Orange treats a fragrance as a point of view before it becomes a product. That can be bodily and confrontational in Sécrétions Magnifiques by Antoine Lie, narrative and resinous in the vetiver of Fat Electrician by Antoine Maisondieu, or bright and literary in You or Someone Like You by Caroline Sabas.

The compositions are not meant to smell alike. Their shared signature lies in clearly stated ideas, visible authorship and a willingness to let each formula keep its own character. The result is a collection of distinct voices rather than a single house accord.

03 · Bottle and rosette

One form, many identities

The house deliberately uses the same substantial, square-based bottle across its collection. A tricolour rosette sits over the edge like a seal; names and labels change while the underlying form remains. In the house’s own account, the bottle is meant to recede behind the fragrance, leaving effort and attention for the contents.

Even the more elaborate Orange Extraordinaire line keeps that principle. Fragrances such as Experimentum Crucis and Nostos add distinctive medallions without abandoning the shared bottle architecture. Recognition comes from the system, not a new silhouette for every story.

04 · Upcycling, 2018

When leftovers become raw materials

With I Am Trash – Les Fleurs du Déchet, the house turned its taste for reversals into a concrete material idea in 2018. Daniela Andrier composed the fragrance with Givaudan, using materials including Apple Oil made from apple leftovers, as well as Rose NeoAbsolute and Akigalawood recovered from secondary streams.

That does not automatically make the entire brand sustainable. More precisely, it shows how a provocative title, industrial ingredient development and a wearable fruity-woody formula can meet in one project. “Waste” is not only a metaphor here but a declared part of the material palette.

Sample without risk

Discover Etat Libre d’Orange at home

Choose five Etat Libre d’Orange fragrances as 2 ml samples for your Parfinity Box. The value of your box is fully credited towards a later bottle purchase.

Your individual Parfinity Box

Choose any 5 fragrances
Wear every fragrance more than once
Credit the box value towards a bottle

WoodyChypre

Heroic Woody Leather

Sample from €9

€240100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

Rien Intense Incense

6.7/10(3)

SmokyLeathery

Intense Leather & Incense

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

Les Fleurs du Déchet - I am Trash

6.2/10(3)

FruityFloral

Sustainable Fruity Fresh

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

Fat Electrician

5.5/10(2)

WoodySpicy

Nutty Vetiver Static

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

Exit the King

4/10(1)

ChypreFloral

Modern Soapy Chypre

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

Eau de Protection

FloralSpicy

Thorny Rose of Protection

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

SpicyFruity

Spicy-Sweet Revolution

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

La Fin du Monde

8.2/10(5)

PowderyGourmand

Cinematic Gourmand Iris

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

Cologne

CitrusFloral

Fresh Citrus Elegance

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Etat Libre D'Orange

FruitySpicy

Fruity-Spicy Elegance

Sample from €9

€160100ml

Community

What the community says about Etat Libre d’Orange

10/10

„Very pleasant, light, feminine scent. I can definitely recommend it 😄“

clara59Story of your Life

10/10

„I fell in love at the first spray! Soft and delicate, but clearly noticeable. Like luxury on the skin. Cozy but not heavy.“

knm120776The Ghost in the Shell

10/10

„It's hard to believe that one can create such a scent. Definitely not a perfume you just wear casually, but just to appreciate the craftsmanship, it's worth testing in any case.“

ArtisufSécrétions Magnifiques

7.4 / 10from 74 approved reviews by our community

The noses

Perfumers of Etat Libre d’Orange

Antoine Lie

Born in Strasbourg in 1966, Antoine Lie discovered his calling early when childhood fascination with his mother's classic perfumes led him to the prestigious Roure Perfumery School in Grasse.

Discover more about Antoine Lie

Antoine Maisondieu

Antoine Maisondieu represents the perfect blend of traditional perfumery heritage and contemporary innovation.

Discover more about Antoine Maisondieu

Caroline Sabas

Caroline Sabas embodies the perfect fusion of traditional French perfumery heritage and contemporary global vision.

Discover more about Caroline Sabas

Daniela Andrier

Daniela Andrier's path to becoming one of perfumery's most respected voices began with an unexpected turn.

Discover more about Daniela Andrier

Julie Massé

Julie Massé's path to perfumery began in an unexpected place - Tokyo, where she was born and lived until age five.

Discover more about Julie Massé

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Etat Libre d’Orange mean?

The name means “Orange Free State” and refers to the historic state in South Africa, founder Étienne de Swardt’s region of origin. The house uses that reference as an image of independence, contrast and creative freedom.

Who founded Etat Libre d’Orange?

Étienne de Swardt founded the house in Paris in 2006. He continues to be identified as founder and creative director, shaping its concepts and collaborations with perfumers.

Why do the bottles look similar?

It is intentional: the house uses one square bottle form and the tricolour rosette as a recurring system. Names, colours and labels carry each identity while the packaging is meant to recede behind the fragrance.

Which fragrances show the house’s range?

Sécrétions Magnifiques by Antoine Lie represents the radical side, Fat Electrician by Antoine Maisondieu offers creamy, resinous vetiver, and You or Someone Like You by Caroline Sabas gives a bright, green interpretation of Los Angeles.

Is I Am Trash really made with leftovers?

In part. For I Am Trash, Daniela Andrier and Givaudan used several upcycled fragrance materials, including Apple Oil, Rose NeoAbsolute and Akigalawood. The claim applies to this formula, not automatically to the whole range.

Wear First. Love Forever.

Which story will you wear on your skin?

Build your Etat Libre d’Orange selection and get to know each fragrance where it matters: in everyday life, on your skin, and without time pressure.

Sample Etat Libre d’Orange now www.etatlibredorange.com/