Launched in 2021 by French niche line Les Bains Guerbois, 1986 Ecletique celebrates Les Bains Douches. one of the most legendary nightclubs in the world.
 
The excitement begins with a lively, fresh note of sharp, herbaceous davana. As it settles, the davana sweetens and is fortified with sweet, juicy apple and mandarin orange. Cardamom and black pepper counterbalance the succulent fruits with a warm spiciness. Then the davana reveals its dried fruit aspect, taking sweetness to the heart where out of nowhere comes a boozy note that’s heady, hazy, and exhilarating from the pulsating spiciness. This is set up against geranium and sweet, powdery-laced honey, which give 1986 Eclectique sophistication and refinement. Broom, hay-like with neroli and leather facets, links the florals to a note of leather. It’s the smell of a well-worn, sweaty/sweet leather jacket. This jacket has the clandestine sexiness of a nightclub veteran and smells like it, thanks to honey and notes of warm clove and herbaceous clary sage. Hints of booze cling to the leather, and the scent of tobacco floats around it too. We’re at the base now, and it is intense. Tobacco rich and warm is here in full force; its caramel aspect heightened by sweet amber. Earthy, woody patchouli and oakmoss are dark and rich and add depth, just as mate reinforces the herbaceousness that runs through the scent. As it starts to drydown opoponax adds a smokey sensuality, while musk picks up the powdery aspect of the amber rounding out this sexy fragrance that lingers for hours and hours on my skin.

The beauty of 1986 Eclectique is the excitement that is created through contrasts, like floral sophistication and refinement mingling with the scents of well-worn leather, but the genius of this EdP is that it evokes a particular time and place while it remains timeless.
 
Notes: davana, apple, mandarin, cardamom, black pepper, dried fruits, leather, clove, broom, honey, clary sage, geranium, tobacco, opoponax, amber, oakmoss, patchouli, mate, musk.