You can do your own reading of the ridiculous back story/inspiration of Etat Libre d’Orange Fat Electrician on Now Smell This and Blogdorf Goodman. It’s a “modern vetiver” loosely based on “Midnight Cowboy”, that’s all the back story I’m giving. Etat Libre d’Orange irritates me with their names and inspirations, well, most of the time. It takes me years to get over the trying-ever-so-hard to be clever antics, eventually I try their fragrances. I still do not own a full-size bottle of any of their juices, but I haven’t sampled them all either.
Ignore the plumber’s crack of Fat Electrician and one is left with a basic vetiver. Oh, how I love vetiver! But, I have to be picky these days. My collection has too many. For me to add a vetiver, it must be very, very special. Don’t take me wrong, I really like Fat Electrician. It’s a smoky vetiver with asphalt tar. Wouldn’t this be my dream scent? Well, it’s nice but it isn’t “different”, especially if you’ve been huffing vetivers for over 15 years. If I didn’t own 5+ other exceptional vetivers, then maybe I’d add Fat Electrician. If someone was to give me a bottle of Fat Electrician, I’d wear it. At this time, Fat Electrician isn’t taking any dough out of my personal perfume budget. This may change…
Fat Electrician opens up as distinctively vetiver. If you dislike vetiver, especially rooty vetiver, then don’t try this one. The vetiver in Fat Electrician is smoky and reminds me of hot, asphalt tar. It stays this way for awhile, tarry and rooty vetiver. Fat Electrician becomes a dried out vetiver resting on some soft, worn out vanilla leatheriness. It sort of reminds me of Bvlgari Black if it took a shot of ancient vetiver. It’s smoky. It’s slightly headshop. It reminds me of something that one would wear in excessive amounts to cover up weed smoke, but most vetivers remind me of that. The bottom line is that Fat Electrician smells like vetiver incense smoke for most of the wear. It doesn’t transform and it doesn’t change. It’s a smoky vetiver with resinous sweetness. Eventually, after all day wear, it’s vetiver with a bit more softness from myrrh and vanilla. But, it’s still vetiver.
From a man’s perspective, my husband really likes this fragrance. He tends to like smoky, leathery scents and doesn’t go for those fresh vetivers. He would wear it if he had a bottle, so he says. But, he really thinks that the name and campaign represents a very bored marketing team. So, who knows, maybe I’ll end up with a bottle of Fat Electrician if hubs chooses to buy it. I would wear it too.
Notes listed include vetiver, vanilla bean, opoponax, and myrrh.
I do like Fat Electrician, really, I do. I may talk myself into buying a bottle if another vetiver doesn’t come along and swoop me into it’s arms. Fat Electrician is a million times better than Tom Ford Grey Vetiver and some of the other vetivers in its price range. If you don’t have a “dark” vetiver in your collection, then this is one to start with. Give Fat Electrician a try if you like incense fragrances, vetiver fragrances, or fragrances like Diptyque Duelle, Bvlgari Black, Piguet Visa, MAC MV 3, Tom Ford Oud Wood, Prada Pour Homme, and/or Boucheron Jaipur Pour Homme. The wear of Midnight Cowboy isn’t bad. In the winter, it wears for 9+hours.
The 1.7 oz spray retails for $85 and is available at B-Glowing.
Want more reviews? Try…
From Top to Bottom – Perfume Patter
Katie Puckrik Smells (vetiver talk)
So you think Fat Electrician is along the same lines as Diptyque’s Eau Duelle? Wow. I love Eau Duelle and consider it a foody comfort scent, but my skin amps up sweetness in a huge way, so maybe it can smell more incense-like and spicier on others. I would really like to try a sample of Fat Electrician, and think I probably will at some point.
Carrie Meredith recently posted..The Great Neutralizer
They aren’t exactly alike, I’m trying to say if you like x then maybe you’ll like y because of certain similarities. They are both incense fragrances, smoky, but with vanilla sweetness. Fat Electrician didn’t turn super sweet on me but I have heard that the vanilla amps up on some skins. Fat Electrician is tarry on me, not transparent smoke. Some say it is fresh on them! So is the world of fragrance…
Eau Duelle is wonderful. It reminds me of Papier d’Armenie which is so comforting for me! I think my skin amps up the vanilla sweetness too, but I haven’t sniffed it on anyone else.
I think you may like Fat Electrician. There’s no florals 😉
Why do florals complicate things for me so much? Maybe I just don’t understand them well enough. I’m interested, though. There’s that.
Carrie Meredith recently posted..The Great Neutralizer
I only starting liking florals 2 years ago. I associated florals with my 1st fragrances and childhood.
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Your comparison to Bulgari Black is spot on!
Thank you 🙂
I like this one but it’s basically just a vetiver.