Hinoki Fantome

I guess I’m alone here, but I actually really like this. It’s kinda weird, and it goes sweet on my skin. But every time I’ve tried the sample I keep smelling it to try and figure it out, it seems to be constantly shifting... it’s definitely not linear or mass appealing. I don’t have the candle, so I can’t really compare to that. My notes that I jotted down initially were: weird, complex. Sometimes smoky, sometimes fruity, sometimes sweet, with a light wood that remains throughout. Really really interesting. Amazing, unique opening, develops into something shifting and perplexing. Edit: after smelling several of their candles, I realized this actually smells more like the Boy Smells Iris Fantome candle than the Hinoki Fantome candle. (They both have a similar vibe/base and the difference is subtle)

I can hardly believe how much I like this fragrance. I do like woody, but I have never actually smelled a single smoky fragrance that I have liked. All of the stuff in the "people who like this also like" section are fragrances that I don't like. But man, do I like this. It is intense, so I can see how it would be polarizing. I don't get any of the salmon/ashtray/char smell. Just dark wood and smoke, but not a "natural" smoke, because it never gets irritating the way that actual smoke does. In fact, despite its intensity and impressive longevity, nothing about this irritates me. Every time I breathe in it just smells really really good. Earthy, forest, nature. This is why it is worth trying something even if it doesn't seem to work on paper.

9.0/10 It's part of my signature scents. I may stockpile it so it's with me til I die. You become the tree. It's also strong and long lasting. It was love at first spray. I found this at sephora. I fell in love and I saw that only the travel spray was available. That was a sign. I took home and it last like 2 months. It's a great no nonsense wood smell. It still doesn't smell like other wood smells because of the Hinoki. She's not like other (sandal)woods. I do give the smell 9.5 but it's 9.0 because of the bottle. Wtf is this big black cap? At least it's heavy, but if I lose that the bottle is so boring. I get it's probably sustainable, but really? Edit: I LITERALLY WROTE THIS REVIEW RIGHT WHEN THE FORMULATION HAPPENED! Diva down! 😭😭😭😭😭

i love this one. i only have a sample so i try not to use it often, and i’ve only worn it a few times. i definitely want a full bottle though. i feel like a hot tomboyish lady in the 70s who knows herself and is secure enough to wear a scent that’s not uber feminine. i don’t really like a lot of boy scent’s perfumes, i tried the sampler and the kush collection, and this one and not your baby are the only ones i like. but the hinoki wood is so lovely and calming but makes me feel so cool and hip. it’s not sexy or feminine, it’s just cool as hell.

There is just something about this that I really enjoy. It's woody, very woody, and has some slight dusty touches, which sounds kind of strange but it's one of my favorite parts about it. Opens with crisp woody notes before settling into a warm, dry wood scent. I find that I get really good longevity out of this. If you like Autumn Vibes from Maison Margiela, this is right up that alley.

Ugh yes! It’s as if Santal 33 had a baby with Patchouli 24 and called it Sanouli 57 this is beautiful and I managed to find it for just £44 for the 65ml and it’s STUN-ING! I love love love Smokey dark perfumes and as much as this isn’t as polarising as some in my collection I love its uniqueness and wearability.

Sigh. The old formulation felt like being in an actual forest, misty and foggy and breezy, with a tendril of cypress smoke. It had a subtle bracing quality to it, and it made me think that this was what taking a cold plunge in a secluded spa in the Hinoki woods must feel like. The new one is g a r b á g e

I'm a very feminine woman and I had this as my signature scent for two years before I really got into collected a diverse array of scents. It's fantastic, and I would get compliments on it.

The woods close to home, the grey haze and soot smell in the afternoon, Sydney in December, the creek dried up, a black bird in white blue sky, sweat after a long walk in the sun.

they massacred my boy. rip to the og formulation.

Fun fact: when I ordered a full bottle of this as a blind buy, Boy Smells sent me two bottles instead of just one! (To whatever Boy Smells employee put my order together, you're a good one.) I gifted the extra to a friend and it has since become their signature scent. The first whiff of Hinoki Fantome is a firm embrace of sun-warmed resiny woods, as sticky as sap in your nose. It invokes the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku - forest bathing, spending time out in nature, which has proven health benefits, especially in regards to mental health. No small wonder, then, that Hinoki's various wood notes (including its namesake hinoki cypress, one of the most sacred woods in the Shinto tradition) provide a calming, grounding effect, which is only enhanced by a subtle, earthy patchouli note. Very quickly into the dry-down, the fragrance takes on this light, almost other-worldly sweetness, like whipped, creamy cantaloupe souffle. There's nothing lactonic or fruity listed in the notes, but there it is all the same. To my nose, anyway. This effect gets more prominent with each additional spray, so to keep it from getting overpowering, I stick with only 1-2 spritzes, maybe 3 if I'm going to be outdoors. The leather note remains very understated throughout Fantome's development, which is one of the only disappointing things about his fragrance; I love a good leather note and would love if it were more prominent here. The other slight letdown is that in terms of smokiness, this doesn't quite live up to the bestselling candle it's based on and named after. But in fairness, per Boy Smells' promotional materials, Hinoki Fantome EDP was never intended to be an exact copy of its waxy predecessor, but more of a "take" on the original scent. I think of it as a sort of flanker to the candle, though it stands up incredibly well all on its own. I definitely see the similarity to Maison Margiela Autumn Vibes; both fragrances have that sweet wood DNA. But while Hinoki plays up the resin accompanied by a mysterious undertone of melon, Autumn Vibes sources maple for its sweetness and leans harder on its spicy notes, and it's easy to tell them apart. To me, they are different enough that you could justify owning them both. Intensity and sillage are both "just right" in my opinion, as long as you don't overspray. Two sprays last for 8-9 hours on me. TLDR: If you love the Hinoki Fantome candle, chances are good that like me, you'll appreciate this Eau de Parfum, not because it is a carbon copy - it definitely isn't - but for its own merit.

Deeply woody, intensely smoky, borderline expectorant with how resin heavy it is. if this isn't a japanese forest in a bottle, then nothing is. definitely not for everyone, it's almost too much for me at times, but when it hits, it hits like nothing else. it is absolutely not an everyday fragrance, but it sure makes a statement whenever you decide to use it. it's a cypress forest fire you smell from your kitchen as you grind spices on a cold winter night. part of me wishes this perfume was better balanced with something sweeter, but i think that would take away from the intensity of it. it wears insanely well too, long lasting and radiating off the skin and clothes. the hinoki fades into a slightly (emphasis on slightly) gentler leather and cedar as the hours pass, but the hinoki reigns throughout.

When I first received this perfume I really hated it. It didn't smell like "hinoki" wood to me at all (it still doesn't). And it feels a little busy as a fragrance. A lot of layers of scent that feel like they are competing with each other. But, resigned to owning it, I started wearing it just to see how it wore throughout the day. To my surprise, this is now in my top 10. It's definitely not an everyday scent for me, and I really have to be in the right mood. But it works well with my chemistry and when I hug people I get a lot of compliments. It's not a skin scent, but the sillage isn't huge.

If you don’t like patchouli you’re not going to like this perfume. This is basically a hinoki-patchouli concoction and I’m here for it! I’m reminded of a smoky Byredo Mojave Ghost made lemony by the Hinoki sprinkled with tobacco and patchouli. Don’t really get much of the leather note, more like suede. To me this is a unisex fragrance leaning a tad on the masculine side! I really like it! It’s great for warmer weather, think late summer to early fall! The dry down is my favorite part— soft and buttery like soft suede!

Pulls heavily towards the tobacco note upon first application, which was a bummer because it is marketed as more woodsy than smokey. HOWEVER after about two hours on the skin, it settled down into a GORGEOUS sesual, warm and woodsy scent with a HINT of smokiness. Super similar to Maison Margielas Jazz club at first, but after settling becomes an even more intimate and unique scen experience. Wish the tobacco note was toned down a bit, but other than that, a lovely scent experience.

I received a sample of this. This reminds me of my outdoor adventures. I think of Yosemite National Park as I wear this. This makes me think of the moment that I'm in the woods and take a big whiff of my surroundings. It reminds me that I have the opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life & take in the amazing aspects of nature around me.

ok, I'm feeling you boy smells. A pretty straightforward Hinoki scent, this EPD captures the Japanese cedarwood in good essence. Besides that, its creamy and earthy so its almost chocolately; or maybe oud-y. For its price, I'm not mad at this, but still not sure if i would buy. . Only downside to it is that it didn't last the longest on my skin.

i was repulsed by this scent at first- like physically recoiled. but i gave it 20+ mins to dry and it smelled, honestly, really nice. it was a very warm, ambery scent. i'd say it leans on masculine. very, very powerful opening, but i am begging u to let it dry and then decide how you feel about it.

One of my favorites from boy smells. It’s strong and very smoky. At first spray it smells like a burning forest. As it drys down, the woody notes come out and mix with the burnt paper-like top note. Definitely not a crowd pleaser, but amazing for unique fragrance lovers. -sm3llstrange

I like hinoki scents a lot. This one is not as smooth or pleasant as CDG's Hinoki or Jo Malone's Hinoki, but it's a fine woody hinoki scent. It's sharper than others, but still wearable. Unisex and slightly masculine. I would purchase and enjoy it the candle format for sure.

i confess - it’s good! smoky woody up top, then settles into a sandalwoody creaminess (sandalwood isn't listed in the notes but it's undeniable to me) the smokiness is like mesquite smoke. so in that way, yes it does smell like BBQ but that’s part of the charm

Something about this fragrance keeps drawing me in...imagine lounging by the fireplace in a warm cabin during winter, while sipping whiskey with orange bitters. It’s warm, woodsy and comforting.

i feel odd... i thought it was gross at first, but there's definitely something that keeps bringing me back to this one. i cant tell if i like it or not, haha!

I loath patchouli and smoke but on my bf this smells incredible. Like he’s been in a dark bar with wood paneling and leather chairs. Hot.

sitting by the fire at a trendy cocktail bar. there's a bitter-herby note that's nice in sniffs but overwhelming if constant

Agree with the comments saying the hinoki note is nice and strong, but upon the first whiff of this I literally muttered "barbecue?". The dry-down is a bit softer, but the sharpness and smokiness is noticeable throughout, and this gives more of a burning woods rather than alive woods impression, especially at first. The tobacco makes it almost feel like a long lost second cousin of Jazz Club as it wears, but I wish this had a bit more roundness to it like that does.

I received a sample of this one and was not a fan at all. It was too sharp and a strong woody smell. But I layered it with my Nest Madagascar Vanilla perfume oil and they are so beautiful together. Even so I won’t buy a full size since I only like it layered.

Think I need to either give this another shot or try this layered with something else because I'm really not a fan of how this smells on me, which is a shame because I understand and appreciate the idea. I love a good tobacco-y, leathery, earthy fragrance and usually gravitate towards these kinds of scents. However, this smells like a house fire and pit smoked barbecue on me. I tried wearing it out a few times and while I like it once I've worn it for *several* hours, it's not enough to justify wearing it and having it in regular rotation. I can't pinpoint what note it is that makes it smell this way on me as most of them are familiar and in other scents I use. While there is something weirdly alluring about this perfume that makes me want to try and like it, I just can't do it right now.

Not to my tastes - pretty sure nothing from this fragrance house will work for me - but I’ve been trying to experiment outside of my overtly feminine sweet/floral preference, so I picked up the Boy Smells exploration kit. And.... hm! Interesting...... First spray smelled exactly like salmon sashimi dunked in soy sauce. Almost immediately, it moved into stinky ashtray. I’ve toughed it out and about an hour later, it’s settled into a musky, oaky smell that’s a lot more tolerable. I wouldn’t want to smell like this but that’s just me. If you like more masculine, woody smells then this might be more your style. I find it very unique.

Wow. Full disclosure I got this as part of a perfume advent calendar and of everything included in the set it’s the one that I just couldn’t take to and that I liked the least. I thought the dry down would be worth it but for me it was too much. For the longest time I smelt like an empty fireplace so much smoke and tobacco. Forget ‘by’ the fireplace you’re in it! Sadly not for me and would say it leans more male, definitely don’t blind buy it I’d recommend you try a sample if you love smoke, wood and tobacco it might appeal to you and work with your skin chemistry.

this opens super green and smells like seaweed to me, then i get earth and woods and a slight peppery thing along with a strong smokiness. this doesn't smell like tobacco though-it's more like charred wood. it's damp greenery, fir mostly i think? like a forest with the smokiness of a nearby campfire. it's smells both waterlogged and smoky at the same time. quite an odd one, at least on my skin.

Smoked salmon. Not exactly my scent profile. It’s been on me for 2 1/2 hours now and it’s plenty strong still but more of a woody/smoky scent now. Not a fan on its own... I sprayed Taunt by Dedcool over it and it’s a much better combination now. I can’t imagine wearing this without something sweet and vanilla to curb the smokiness.

Smelled to me like clothes after a bonfire....basically, straight smoke. Could only wear for a few minutes before trying to wash it off. After I washed it off, it the leftover smokiness became an interesting element to layer with, but I don't think I could wear this on its own or at full-strength.

I was hoping for the same experience as with the candle, so I blind bought this. And guess what? It smells like yeast! Unfortunately I don’t like it... The best Boy Smells perfume for me so far is Violet Ends.

On initial spray, I liked this. In theory, it has every note I like in a fragrance. Not five minutes into wear, I began to get this urine-like note à la post-asparagus-dinner. Not my favorite.

I was very disappointed by this one. I was expecting something closer to the candle, but the perfume version smells like synthetic leather and dirty ash trays.

Perfect for when you want to smell like the year old McDonald’s cup that is being used as an ashtray in your friendly neighborhood drug dealer’s car.

Ick blech augh. I see one review that’s “combination of Santal 33 and Tam Dao but worse” and I don’t disagree. I love Tam Dao and hate Santal 33, and this is sort of... TD plus the things I hate about S33? Something is very off and sour about it to me, almost sickly-spoiled. It was nearly unbearable on application; as the day wore on it mellowed into something smokier and less sharp, but still unpleasantly acrid somehow. I’m wondering if it’s the leather, which is my problem with S33 as well. In any case this was pretty bad on me. Great news though, incredible sillage and longevity! Spent the whole day at work fretting whenever someone got too close to me until I found something on hand to layer it down with. Ugh.

This one was unpleasant on my skin. As someone else mentioned, it initially smelled like salmon. I would agree that the initial spray is very fishy. After that goes away, I'm left with a mix of burnt rubber and burnt woody smell. It looks like the ratings on this one are relatively low and I can see why. This is definitely not a crowd pleasing scent...not an easy reach if you are going to be in public as some people around you might really find the scent offensive. With that being said, I don't like to judge any perfume too harshly because perfumes/ colognes are so subjective. So, I won't say this is bad for everybody, it's just not my taste. Please test it on your skin before buying a full bottle.

Blind bought a travel size of this. The drydown of this is absolutely gorgeous. Smokey, woody, masculine. But wtf is the opening. It’s very acrid and strong to my nose. There's just WAY too much going on at first. It takes about an hour or 2 to settle down but to me it's not worth sitting through the opening for. I'll bet this probably goes on smoother if I spray in the air once and walk through it. I haven't tried layering this yet, but I imagine anything mellow and sweet would pair nicely with this. The first perfume that comes to mind is Commodity Gold, so I'll give that a go and see if that saves this for me.

Looking at the accords and notes for this fragrances, I would assume that this scent would be right on the money for me. When I was able to try it, I was very wrong...it smells like someone marinated a used ashtray in chemicals for a week and poured it into a bottle to sell it as a fragrance. No thank you!

Why did this give me a massive headache and the need to puke immediately after i applied it? It mellowed down after an hour or so but i need whoevee came up with this smell of dirty ashtrays need to be put on trial, or jail. I'm going to vomit now

I like hinoki as a note, but the addition of something charred and musty here is a big turn off.

Blind bought this impulsively and, despite having returned it the same day it was delivered, I must admit, was impressed by the clear evolution of the fragrance from the very first spray. It's heavy on sandalwood, which I've never been a fan of on myself (because all I get is pickled juice), but leather is prominent in both the opening and later dry-down, as well. The tobacco notes, I'm assuming, are what potentiate the smokiness of the fragrance which is both appealing and slightly repulsive, due to its reminiscence of... dank weed (? It's an interesting scent but, living up to the fragrance line's branding, an adolescent "boy smell," in my humble opinion. It would perfectly suit the charming scoundrel girls' swoon over but by whom, knowing better, would never allow themselves to be carried away. All that to say, it's not a scent I'd personally consider unisex but would recommend men test if they're going after a particular mood because the dry down, after about two hours, is lovely.

Surprisingly I really like this perfume. I got the discovery set when hinoki fantome just came out and they provided a sample separate from the set. I went in thinking I’d love tantrum (spoiler: it just smells like green bell pepper to me) but this perfume snagged me at first smell. To me it opens sweet and lingers as an incense scent. Idk what it is about it but I like it a lot as a winter fragrance. I’ve never had the candle so I don’t have that to compare to. Be warned that this perfume is SUPER strong—one spray usually does the job, otherwise it’s very overwhelming.

For some reason this is predominantly liquid smoke artificial flavoring on my skin, for most of it's wear. Pure campfire. I don't get many of these other listed notes at all until after that departs. The tobacco is the next note to take up space, and is okay. Finally, this fragrance becomes a very nice soft wood with a hint of sweetness. A bit of smoke is still in the background, but it eventually fades to norhing. I can't decide if the nice end result is worth the trouble of enduring the long barbeque pit opening (hours).

PSA - if anyone is looking for the original with the HUGE black cap they have some in stock at a store called Les Précieuses in Quebec City, Quebec Canada. Here's a link: https://www.lesprecieuses.ca/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=15986541775&gbraid=0AAAAACcknrA3muCXwFF_swBk41Nyh8BRB&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnJfEBhCzARIsAIMtfKJQJNEohBJ2eELPH_iVbWRvSacKCSpgsmCoAZeU4Qhszlu5v2_HB78aAr6REALw_wcB I just scooped up a bottle online and can't wait to enjoy it! Cheers - you're welcome! lol

don't spray this on yourself multiple times, i love hinoki fantome & i will layer it with my other fragrances but im unsure if its the tobacco note or the hinoki note but it's completely unsettling after awhile, kind of reminds me of texas style barbecue. 10/10 for longevity & projection though, kudos for that. i will need to take a break from this fragrance.

Don’t blind buy. My skin ate this. Does not matter how much I saturate myself with it, after 10 minutes it’s like it never happened. So strange as this is definitely not the case with other Boy Smells. I’m curious if this new reformation/ Sephora shelf bottles are any different.

oh come on man!! Hinoki Fantome was one of my favorite OG boy smells candles , particularly due to a sweet smokiness that seems to have been replaced with a more bitter, herbal note for the fragrance. Boo