Archives 69 takes its name from the address of the Etat Libre d’Orange flagship boutique, located at 69 Rue des Archives in Paris. Since this is Etat Libre d’Orange, you may be guessing that the name has a double meaning, a specifically sexual one, and you are correct; an entry on the Etat Libre d’Orange blog, complete with alternate label art for Archives 69, makes that point clear. Its text explains, “This is a perfume designed to free the senses, to open the heart to all the possibilities. It is an invitation to pleasure, an ode to seduction. It comes without restrictions, rules or regulations. It is yours to do with as you wish. This is the scent of sensual liberation.”

The composition of Archives 69, developed by perfumer Christine Nagel, includes notes of tangerine, pink berries CO2, pepper leaf, orchid & prune JE, incense, camphor, benzoin, patchouli, and musk. Its concept was partially inspired by the short story “Drencula” by French writer Boris Vian, a tale of a young man’s encounter with a hermaphroditic vampire, from Vian’s collection Écrits Pornographiques. Archives 69 was given the tagline “The Illusion of Sex” in preview materials, and its press release (subtitled “The End of Innocence”) includes a lengthy meditation on a nameless female character who embodies many dualities: the sacred and the profane, heaven and hell, pleasure and pain, etc. So, how do this theme and this prose translate into scent?

Archives 69 does pair some opposing notes…

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