Bois des Iles

(Yes, this is a novel. I apologize in advance but I could not condense it.) When I first tried Bois des Iles, I could not figure out what the fuss was all about and I was bewildered by some of the reviews that I had read. It smelled pleasant but I wasn't getting ANYTHING like some of the stuff I was reading such as it is "out of Africa" and "purrs like a large sleek jungle cat"....."as if some golden, black-spotted cheetah were sunning himself on the sandalwood branches of a great plain" and "there is something deep, rich, almost smoking in the combination of the sandalwood and resin". Huh? I was left kinda baffled. How was what I just sprayed on supposed to be anything like THAT? That makes even Amouage sound shy. So, I just put it in "the box" and figured I was anosmic to most of it or something and it would be one of the greats that I would never be able to appreciate like everyone else. My friend (who has more perfumes than most department stores) said Bois des Iles was her very favorite in the whole world so I knew I had to be missing something because this sister KNOWS her perfume. So, I went digging in the box and found my sample and tried it again. Again, I get "pleasant" but where is the jungle cat sunning himself on sandalwood branches and the deep smoking resin? I assume something is horribly wrong with my nose and I am missing this African "Ambre Sultanesque" King of the Jungle. So, I chalk it up to my bad nose and put it away and give up. I later asked my friend how I could be missing this big potent African smoldering giant and she was like what are you talking about? It isn't like that at all...she said it was light and airy and a wisp of a cloud of aldehydic sandalwood wonderfulness. I was like "it is???!!! You mean there is no big roaring lion??" SO, I go digging in the dang box again and pull it out. This time, my brain is expecting something completely different....so, I spray it on and I go about my business and let it settle and do its thang. And as it turns out....its "thang" is about the most incredible "thang" I ever smelled. Wow. This isn't a big roaring cheetah!! This is a lamb!! Bois des Iles is the most polite, tasteful, airy.... wisp of a cloud of aldehydic sandalwood wonderfulness that I have ever smelled. It immediately became all I could think about until I got a full bottle. I literally felt like I might not live if I didn't have access to all of it that I wanted. Total obsession. Why am I rambling so long about stuff other than what Bois des Iles smells like? Well, because I think sometimes it is important to experience a fragrance without reading any elaborate and dramatic reviews that can mold your mind in a certain direction. Just experience it with a clean slate, without knowing what to expect. Because when your brain is geared toward a big roaring fire blowing African cheetah and you get a polite little delicate but ever so lovely lamb....your mind can get a little squirrelly and you can't really even understand what you are even smelling and you are left disappointed. So, forget the lions and the lambs. Don't think about anything. Just spray on Bois des Iles and ignore it. No spot sniffing and no cheating. Don't wear your nose out early on the initial blast because you will miss the finale. Just let it work its magic for a while. Just ignore it and go about your day. Then let yourself catch the wafts as they drift by. And if you do not smell one of the most devastatingly beautiful fragrances that has ever been created.... Start all over on another day until you do. Because you will.

Let's talk about EDP first, the first version I tried. Neroli, Aldehyde, Bergamot.... I like it a lot, but I don't think it's very recognizable at this stage. Bergamot seems to be suppressed by something, appearing mild and restrained, and the dry wood base makes the color darker. A little sour (I guess it's ylang ylang that covers the bergamot) is not bad. Later, bergamot was not willing to be stepped on by ylang ylang. Emergence soon. The powdery feeling in the middle has dropped sharply, and it smells hazy. Ylang ylang and jasmine can be regarded as one kind. A crescendo, lightly sour (Samsara-like) mixed with vanilla to produce what they call a "gingerbread", wonderfully delicious aroma. The flavor at the time reminded me of almonds. Orris root and tonka bean are Chanel's signature elements and essential ingredients for oriental fragrances, respectively. Pale orris root goes well with ylang-ylang. Combining EDC's N°22 and N°5, they are in the same line, and can sort out the gene sequence of Chanel's female fragrance (is it Ernest Beaux's work?). Semi-Oriental at the end of vetiver, myrrh and benzoin, Bois des iles slowly emerges a greasy moisturizing feeling to the middle and bottom notes. I believe Bois des iles does not contain real mysore sandalwood. The most likely use is sandalol, as the raw material of mysore sandalwood is restricted by regulations. It should have components (molecules) of the camphor family. EDT is very different from EDP, not just in shades. (EDT is very light and has to be sprayed several times.) The top notes of Bois des iles...especially the EDT version, always connect me to the N°5 EDT. EDT has the sweetness of peach, and the peach aroma of Bois des iles is close to sweet peach, and the texture is hard and brittle. One day I smelled my Samsara collection again to compare the special floral/woody acidity that ylang ylang produces when it meets sandalwood. Because Bois des iles also has this scent that fascinates me. Aldehyde is superimposed on sandalwood, and EDP has too much ylang-ylang, too powder. Although the presence is improved, it is higher than EDT, but the relative details are more insufficient than EDT. In contrast, EDP is dull and sluggish, and it is difficult to show the lightness of EDT. Neroli oil has a brightening effect, and the entire fragrance and rhythm of Bois des iles is lightened. The sandalwood didn't last long, a small technical regret, but that didn't stop me from falling in love with Bois Des iles. It is a pity that the Vintage in 1926 was missed. EDP is neither an island nor a forest. If you can, really get to smell EDT. EDP is the makeup version of EDT, and the makeup is still a bit thick. (looking at the powder in one place) From a consumer's point of view, EDT is balanced and light, EDP is warm and sweet, focusing on ylang ylang-based floral fragrance, and the powdery feeling is prominent. EDT is spectrally neutral, while EDP is more suitable for women. Ernest Beaux is obsessed with ylang-ylang (jasmine), which can be seen from the structure of N°22 and N°5. The usual experience with the (EDP) Bois des iles is partly based on the overlapping of images from the 31 Rue combom with the N°22. EDT Bois des iles is the N°5 of half sandalwood.

(This review based upon the EdT. Bottle date is c. 1990 or a bit earlier) To my nose Bois des Iles smells like Chanel (at least at the time this bottle/fomulation was produced) tried to rework No. 5 for the male market. Keeping in mind my bottle is quite old and the top notes have definitely died off to some degree, the top notes of this early or pre 1990s EdT of Bois des Iles are muted by comparison to the exploding star characteristics of No. 5's top notes. In fact, on skin, I can barely smell the aldehydes and the fruit, but on the blotter they are much more apparent: again, not much in the way of aldehydes compared to No. 5, but definitely some lemon, peach, and a hefty dose of ylang-ylang. In the background on the blotter, heart notes of neroli, muguet, rose, and jasmine hold their places below the fruits and muted aldehydes like they are ready to catapult to the forefront at any moment. On skin they are already at the forefront, getting there pretty much immediately, though on skin the rose and jasmine are the stars, while the neroli and muguet are generally very quiet. Pause. I need to stop and think for a minute; it's very easy to get lost in this perfume - trying to work out what I'm smelling at any given moment; it is time I remind myself to relax and breathe, to soak it in and enjoy it. So, that's what I will do, and tell you, dear reader, how it's making me feel. To my defense, it is easy to get carried away with Bois des Iles and lose sight of what is most important when wearing a perfume: the time and space needed to just enjoy it. This thing is an incredible shape shifter; it moves so fast and so deftly that you force your brain to keep up with it, and with that force you forget that you need to shut up and stop thinking and just enjoy it for a moment. And, thoroughly enjoyable it is. If it was Chanel's goal to rework No. 5 so that men could be more comfortable wearing it, one, I find that goal to be trivial but that's a luxury of living in today's world, but two, yes, they succeeded. Bois des Iles manages to maintain the floral radiance and luminosity that makes No.5, but not letting it run so far like it does in No. 5. Bois des Iles is much more understated and subtle; it is full of a quiet yet massive energy rather than No. 5's loud and massive energy. It is gloriously smooth, decadent, sophisticated, rich, and complex while maintaining a luminous and breathable character that never bogs you down and always strives to lift you up. You only need to wait for the final dry down to fully understand what I mean: if, like me, you spent an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to keep up with Bois des Iles at the start, the dry down is the calm that we've been waiting for as Bois des Iles brings us the creamiest, smoothest sandalwood and musk combination that will make your knees melt and your heart nearly stop. It's the type of accord you wish you could smell throughout your entire home because it feels like home. There is something so comforting and warm about the end of Bois des Iles that you almost kind of forget how frenetic you felt at the start. What a masterpiece of a perfume.

I loved the Bois des Îles EDT that I sampled years ago. It shared a lot in common with No. 5. It had the aldehydes, but it smelled a lot more woody. I was never able to put it out of my mind entirely, so I went out on a limb one day and purchased a bottle of the Parfum. Instead of opening it, I let it sit for almost a year. With all due respect to myself, what was I thinking? How could I let this magnificent siren smolder in its box, all alone, all that time? When describing Bois des Îles (parfum), where does one begin? The Parfum also resembles No.5, with aldehydes that smell like a dry, fizzy champagne. They last hours on my skin. Bois des Îles is a master at "now you see it, now you don't." One moment I smell lilac, the next I don't. Another moment I smell coconut, the next I don't, and so on and so forth with notes of vetiver, benzoin, vanilla, orange and some ethereal white flower. But one thing that is evident without fail is the generous amount of creamy sandalwood that is the focus of this timeless beauty. Bois des Îles (parfum) must be the best sandalwood fragrance in existence. It is effortlessly silky and somehow exotic, capturing the true nature of the precious wood. The sandalwood is beautifully supported by a lactonic peach, which brings a syrup-like sweetness to the Parfum. While I love both concentrations, the sweet, rounded scent of the Parfum makes it seem more voluptuous, and even a bit sexy, whereas the word "sexy" never crossed my mind with the EDT. The other thing about Bois des Îles Parfum that I can not get enough of is the animalic musk. It smells very much like the one used in No. 5. It caught me off guard, as I didn't really think of Bois des Îles as a musky perfume, but it is on my skin. It's very musky! The musk melts into my skin like butter. I know that Bois des Îles is an old perfume, and I have never smelled a vintage, but the current interpretations seem perfectly modern at this point in time. Vintage-style modern perfumes are all the rage these days (e.g. Maai, Salome, This Grand Affair, etc.), and Bois des Îles seems as though it belongs in that category. In my book, Bois des Îles is a masterpiece, especially the Parfum, which I am so glad I purchased blindly. It is every bit as stunning and memorable as No. 5.

When I found out there were 12 more Chanel fragrances to be found at the boutique, I rushed myself to the Chanel boutique here in town to get me one. The saleslady sprayed a few cards for me: No18, Eau de Cologne, 28 la Pausa and Bois des Iles. I didn't like any of the first three, but Bois des Iles caught my attention right away. Went home, sniffing all the cards and was convinced Bois des Iles was the one. Got back to the store the next day after reading some of the reviews on this site and was really eager to try Coromandel as well. Asked for a spray on each hand so I could pick either Bois des Iles or Coromandel. Went for a walk around the Vondelpark here in Amsterdam which is close to the boutique and knew right away that Coromandel was the one. I haven't smelled anything like it since I first tried Antaeus or Egoiste: I knew I found my new signature scent in Coromandel. I did like Bois des Iles as well so I returned to the store again two weeks later. This time I wanted to try Sycomore as well and to cut a long story short: I went home with a bottle of Sycomore. I'll give Bois des Iles another shot this autumn, as it makes the perfect autumn fragrance. The problem that I had with Bois des Iles is the opening, which smelled very "soap-like" on my skin. After 15 minutes or so Bois des Iles gets darker and warmer and from that moment on, I really love the fragrance. It's as comforting as Coromandel is after the opening. Edit: a few tries later and I love the opening now... It reminds me of some flowery perfume my mother used. Warps me back in time. Lovely! After that it's heavenly. Can't wait to get the full bottle this autumn... 10/10 Edit [sept.2011]: Bought a big bottle a few weeks ago and it's my second most used and loved frag now after Coromandel. From opening to the last whiff this is such an awesome fragrance. It changes all day and it's different on each wearing. The aldehydes from the opening make me high. And the rest of the notes take me further into heaven... This is a true work of art!