Cedarwood: 32 posts

Original (Shiseido Féminité du Bois):

Reformulation:

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

When Shiseido Féminité du Bois was launched in 1992, its strong core of cedarwood (a traditionally masculine note) was truly avant-garde. It presented a break with tradition and a new vision for feminine fragrances. These days, feminine scents based around a strong accord of woods are more common in the niche category but also in the mainstream launches.  It is telling that Estée Lauder Sensuous, the first pillar brand release since Beyond Paradise, chose to take the rich fruity-woody character of Féminité du Bois as its starting point. Recently, Féminité du Bois was relaunched under the Serge Lutens brand, and once I got a hold of two versions, the original and the new, I decided to compare them.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Though it is Serge Lutens at his classical best, Bois Oriental from the sumptuous Les Eaux Boisées range* did not immediately appeal to me. The elegant Bois de Violette and the luscious Bois et Fruits were the more likely choices, leaving Bois Oriental to languish ignored. Yet, Bois Oriental deserves its moment in the sun as well, and it turned out to be just as complex, opulent and seductive as the rest of Les Eaux Boisées. …

Serge Lutens excels at weaving images from the Moroccan souks, Arabian Night tales and Moghul palaces. While Bois Oriental is certainly born in that tradition, it seems to possess a certain softness that I do not find to such an extent in the other Les Eaux Boisées. It flows like a tale that Scheherezade might have been told after knowing that the Sultan Schahriar had fallen in love with her, enchanted by her stories and kindness. Where the woods in Bois de Violette, Bois et Musc, and Bois et Fruits cradle a dominant note, be it a soft musk or caramelized fruit, Bois Oriental is a lavish tapestry of spices.

Wrapped into the creamy foil of vanilla, the hot spices of Bois Oriental feel warm rather than fiercely searing. Nevertheless, their opulence and harmony assure a dramatic statement. Moreover, adding to the excitement of Bois Oriental are the abstract gourmand touches, evoking the ruby hued candied quince, rose sherbet, and cardamom almond halwa. Yet, the smooth warmth of the base notes tones down the sweetness in a rather elegant manner, leaving one with only a faint impression of something delectable.

The lovers of Les Eaux Boisées and Shiseido Féminité du Bois will find Bois Oriental enchanting. Moreover, if you enjoyed Arabie for its Middle Eastern gourmand character, but found it overwhelming, you might like to explore Bois Oriental. The fragrance is very tenacious and long-lasting like all of Les Eaux Boisées, a range with a strikingly beautiful sillage. Bois Oriental includes notes of violet, peach, plum, rose, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, musk, Atlas cedarwood, and vanilla. It is available from Les Salons du Palais Royal.

Les Eaux Boisées range includes Bois Oriental, Bois de Violette, Bois et Musc, and Bois et Fruits, Un Bois Sépia, Chêne, and Santal de Mysore.

Scheherazade Telling the Tales by Kay Nielsen (1922).

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

L’Artisan Parfumeur Navegar is a scent of stones, shells and driftwood collected on the beach. The woody dryness almost makes me feel sand grains scratching my skin, and as the composition begins its panoramic unfolding, I notice a touch of salty freshness, which provides an interesting counterpoint to the spices and woods comprising this Olivia Giacobetti’s creation for L’Artisan Parfumeur. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

My first encounter with Cartier Déclaration (1998) left me with a vivid memory of its dry woody accord, which starts on a radiant herbaceous note, then assume spicy warmth of cardamom and cumin and sustain its dryness over a cedarwood base. In comparison to the virile fougère types like Yves Saint Laurent Kouros and Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir, the elegant simplicity of Déclaration held my attention like a sincere compliment made without ulterior motives.

Simplifying the perfume formula runs the risk of losing the substance, the story, and the depth. Yet, one has to admire the ability of Jean-Claude Ellena to achieve a balance between clarity and depth, and among his fragrances, Déclaration remains my favorite in terms of achieving this goal….

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Shiseido Féminité du Bois is a brilliant revelation that cedarwood, a note considered to belong in the sphere of masculine perfumery can be made into the main theme of a feminine composition that does not compromise the resinous dryness of wood for the sake of fitting with the traditional concepts; nor softens it with flowers until the wood looses its unique texture.

Serge Lutens oversaw the creation of Féminité du Bois for Shiseido, and the fruity, violet tinged cedarwood accord that radiates in it is the backbone of the entire Lutens Les Eaux Boisées series, which include Bois de Violette, Bois et Musc, Bois Oriental, Bois et Fruits, Santal de Mysore, Chêne and Un Bois Sépia. Created by Pierre Bourdon (who subsequently worked the plumy cedarwood accord into the luxurious richness of Dolce Vita (1995)) and Christopher Sheldrake in 1992, Féminité du Bois arranges the spicy top accord with the weightless floral heart. …

The entire composition rests in the strong embrace of cedarwood, dusky like the shadows that contrast with the dazzling light of Vermeer’s paintings, elevating simple moments into visions of disarming beauty. Féminité du Bois exquisitely captures the texture of raw silk with its transparent layers of notes, the clinging dryness of woods interspersed with the velvety flesh of red plums.

On a technical level, the silky duskiness of Féminité du Bois is achieved not so much through the cedarwood oil, but via an overdose of Iso E Super, a material which has little smell, other than the impurity in it that presents an interplay of hues, like an iridescent coating of an oyster shell. Refracting through specific notes, Iso E Super can assume either the radiant warthm of amber, the balsamic dryness of cedarwood or the sweet darkness of violet. In Féminité du Bois, Iso E Super harmonizes violet with cedar notes, allowing for the rough edges to be smoothed away, while retaining the strength of woods.

The fascinating quality of this radiant composition lies in its ability to weave a fruity facet into the woody layers, without clichés of sweet and sugary notes that dominate many feminine fragrances. At the same time, it carefully blends the gender line without appearing androgynous. Ultimately, like all things beautiful, Féminité du Bois is suitable for anyone who would appreciate it.

Féminité du Bois includes notes of cedarwood, orange blossom, rose, violet, honey, plum, beeswax, clove, cardamom, cinnamon. The fragrance is discontinued in the States, however it is still widely available in Europe. Online, it can be found from various discount fragrance stores.

Painting: Jan Vermeer. Girl with a Pearl Earring. c.1665. Oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, the Hague, Netherlands. From abcgallery.com.

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.