Bois Noir

Chanel's masterpiece . Think Black , Think white , Think Chanel Bois Noir I have two bottles of Bois Noir , one 70 percent used bought in 2013 on ebay , the other one 125 splash sealed unopened , never seen the light kept in the fridge in small box with other sealed perfumes bought it 2016 from my friend's uncle . I have also Vintage Egoiste and Egoiste cologne concetree both before 1994 ( in 1994 mysore sandalwood was restricted ) after 1994 chanel Egoiste and Egoiste cologne concetree also chanel Coco , and guerlain samsara , changed a lot as monsieur Jacque polge said the "main" composition that holds all the notes is "mysore sandalwood" . after 2006 the glorious oakmoss was restricted . I have also Egoiste from 2003 oct , 2007 jun , 2011 , and 2015 reformulation . I heard that V . Egoiste is "identical" to Bois Noir No more No less , I heard from others Egoiste cologne concetree is Bois Noir , just remove the name from Bois Noir To Egoiste cologne concetree et voila . well,I don't think so Bois Noir is 70 percent different than egoiste and E,CC . I mean how can we compare an exclusive perfume made of Crystal bottle and the Cap made of real ebony wood to a commercial Egoiste ???? as Labaloo said : I don't think Fragrantica's list of notes is accurate or truly gives the pyramid justice , "I definitely agree" . here's the Full notes of Bois Noir ((at lest to my senses : Top notes : Bergamote , lime , nutmeg ,clove , coriander . Heart notes : Brazilian rosewood , Ebony wood or cedar wood , tobacco leaves ,lavender , Dried plum ,Marron glace (candied chestnuts) ,Carnation Base notes : Sandalwood , labdanum as a leathery amber note , frankincense , oakmoss , Castorium , ambrette seeds , musk , vanilla . the opening is very smooth ,the bergamote and lime very watery airy like , the nutmeg is light and the coriander "spicy" the opening is clean . the Fougereness in Bois Noir is a result of two notes authentic tobacco leaves , and the herbaceous aromatic lavender. those two notes mixed very well with the exotic rose wood it's smoky , rich deep ,the dark brown rosewood suddenly turn into a "Black wood" when the Ebony wood or the pencil cedar wood note appears . like perfume's name Bois Noir = Black wood . Bois Noir in this stage is very woody and enriched with tobacco leaves , then the Rose kicks in I have to mention the Carnation here is indeed very smooth , pinky and spicy , the dried fruits makes the whole thing even darker the plum is dark the dried chestnuts is rich stewed and chewy . the dry down is magical the "pine terpenes" smell from frankincense goes heavenly with the sandalwood very milky balmy vibe mixed with almost leathery almost dusky amber of labdanum , in late dry down when all the notes are gone what's left from Bois Noir is the Dusty earthy pencily oaskmoss . Note : my Bois noir bottle "the used" one I bought it with only 30 percent juice left I can barley detect the notes there's no opening no dry down all i'm getting is rose wood tobacco oaskmoss a hint of labdanum very disappointed . on the other side the one kept in the fridge contain all the notes I don't know why is it because the cold environment or maybe it's sealed with no air oxidation . vintage Egoiste and the Cologne concetree both of them aren't my cup of tea . the dry down in these two is different than Bois Noir , Vintage egoiste and CC dry down into marshmallowy powdery brown "ambrette seeds" , plus the coumarin the result is chocolatey dusky ambered with brown ambrette seeds . this dry down someone descript it as apple pie some said it's like cookies on the oven , to me it is one of the worst dry down it's unbalanced . one more thing egoiste and the cologne concetree both of them , they don't contain any "lavender" , they contain geranium , so "no lavender" in egoiste . there's no frankincense , ebony wood or cedar wood , bergamote , nutmeg , Castoreum , lavender , candied chestnuts . (in Egoiste ) . also Egoiste contain synthetic damask rose , unlike the supreme natural Carnation . also Egoiste contain higher percentage of coumrin which gives us a Tobacco - Hay like , unlike Bois Noir which contain authentic tobacco leaves . they do share some notes but please don't say they are "Identical" . chanel's golden age is the 80s , perfumes back then were thick , layered , complex full of natural components . Egoiste 2015 is sheer , watered down , not just egoiste even chanel n 5 , coco , dior , guerlain . by the way back in the 80s there were only 20 up to 23 synthetic components , today there's more than 200 synthetic components "lab made" . Bois Noir is Jacques polge's favourite composition "during his 38 years as chanel's nose " , I know he said egoiste , i'm not convinced , I think in his heart he meant the original composition which is bois noir . I think there's jasmine mixed with the sandalwood , there's also 4th wood along with sandal ,rosewood ,ebony wood , i'm not sure maybe it's the cedarwood ? overall this perfume is very woody rich and deep . If you're a fan of fresh clean out of shower perfumes or teens perfumes , or even super flowery , fruity patchouli like ,than stay far way .

I was late to the party. Bois Noir was released, discontinued, then remade as Egoiste all before I could walk or even think about saying the word perfume. As someone who loves Egoiste, Bois Noir was always pinging loudly on my radar as a wishlist perfume. Then one day I happened across a bottle for a very great price and bought it without thinking twice. For as much of an Egoiste proponent that I am, Bois Noir is a notch above. There is a highly divided camp on this subject, but there you have it - there’s the side I’m on. Bois Noir was not what male perfume consumers wanted and were used to. Jacques Polge and Chanel were quite forward-thinking when they made Bois Noir (perhaps, which we’ll get to in a second), but the aggressively mediocre tastes of the perfume consuming public won out, as it nearly always does. It’s not a new story, and it is still happening today. Bois Noir was culled and completely reworked for a more mainstream friendly Egoiste. Fast forward to today and Bois Noir would likely be a hit for the brand. Tastes change, sometimes boldness and bravery win in the long run, but boldness and bravery do not pay the bills of a very large house like Chanel. Hence why, despite some of the gorgeous and legendary work on offer from the brand, they still give us stuff like Bleu de Chanel. I am on the fence with whether or not to recommend that you, a diehard Chanel fan if you are like me, chase after Bois Noir. It is atrociously expensive when you’re able to find it, and I cannot in good conscience say that it is good enough to merit the aftermarket price tag frequently attached to it (easily four figures, and beyond, at this period in time). I’ll try my best to explain why. The opening of Bois is quite dark and a touch sweet. Somehow the orange fruit note has turned brown, shaved zests and oily rinds cooked into some Oriental dish that smells spicy woody and a touch smoky. The notes cede quickly and logically to a very woody rose and lavender combo that continues to keep the lights dimmed. It smells quite a bit like something Guerlain would’ve done, a mashup of and similar in feeling to Habit Rouge, Eau de Guerlain, and Derby. This is the “perhaps” in my introduction; I find this quite funny and ironic, actually. Polge and Chanel wanted to give masculine perfumery something different, and the public told them it was too different, yet it simply harkens back to past codes. It is a really gentle floral heart, quite tame and forgiving to the nose, but also very beautiful. The balance achieved by Polge with the rose, lavender, spices, and the woods working their way upwards, creates a tender and open-hearted feeling. Another key difference to Egoiste will be noticed in the dry down and the skin scent, since Bois Noir was of a time when real sandalwood could be used. It is creamy, floral, and sanded down to be as smooth as silk, yet, still, the lights are dimmed to very low, dusky levels. Helping the sandalwood base achieve this is a caramelly vanilla cooked down to be as thick and dark as molasses.... Actually, finally putting that thought to paper, rather accidentally in a rough draft of this review, makes me realize that there is something molasses-like to this base. However, do not take this mean that Bois Noir is a sweet perfume. Yes, there is sweetness throughout that will be detectable to all noses, but it is tasteful and far from cloying, lumpen, or sugary. This is all rather pointless, actually. What you will smell of the Egoiste today has little in common with the Egoiste that replaced Bois Noir, little alone Bois Noir itself. So, do you chase after this pricey unicorn? I don’t know. That’s up to you. Diehard Chanel fans shouldn’t let it pass them by without giving it a sniff, but in the long, wide, world of perfumery it smells easy and familiar - not really deserving of the legendary and cult statuses tied to it today. But, it is very good. It’s lovely to wear, and I do love wearing it. Maybe that’s all that it needs to be.

I recently smelled this one. It's s excellent. But it is more or less identical to my vintage 90s Egoiste which is fantastic, too. So don, t bother to spend a fortune just to find out that it is Egoiste. Well, the new Egoiste from around 2015 has nothing to do with them. It, s bland, linear, soft and more synthetic. The original Egoiste is one of the best perfumes.

Lucky to own 4 bottles of this hard to find fragrance, 2 spray and 2 splash. All of them were in sealed condition. I opened and used 1 of each. It is very special, more complex than all different version Egoiste (owned L'Egoiste, Egoiste CC, Egoiste[different batch]). Also find it is smoother and creamy.

Just the elder brother of egoiste vintage version 👍 became a holy grail 🏆 a bit over hyped because of its rarity! Not a big difference between bois noir & vintage egoiste 😀 I have both in my collection 👍