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 👍

un parfum absolument authentique d'originalité un phenomene des annees 80 j'ai adoré le porté quel deception lorsqu'il est devenue egoiste. Egoiste le phantome de Bois Noir.

The holy grail of designer perfumery!

I am completely thrilled to have the chance to smell this vintage and rare release from Chanel, but I don't think Fragrantica's list of notes is accurate or truly gives the pyramid justice. For starters, I would classify 'Bois Noir' as an (woody) oriental--and at most an oriental-fougere--as I'm smelling a base mainly composed of labdanum, frankincense, benzoin, and sandalwood--with only faint traces of oakmoss and coumarin adding a "dry" facet. Above this is a delightful blend of sharper woods (cypriol and cedar) which diffuses the upper reaches of frankincense into something quite heavenly. And then there are spices which are barely mentioned here: cinnamon, clove, and coriander, and only a whisper of lavender and rose. As well, there is an interesting--and subtle--fruit-accord hiding beneath the spices. At the very top, I do agree with mandarin orange/tangerine being the main player. Overall, this is a GORGEOUS composition full of expensive naturals that just may have been a little "ahead of its time" for 1987 (which I lived through, btw). Men at that time were still very much preferring full-on fougeres, and this might have come across as "too feminine" for most. Just my opinion. Egoiste seems to increase the "fougere-ness" of Bois Noir by amplifying the oakmoss, coumarin, lavender, and citruses, while retaining much of the original sketch. This is perfume history in living color.

This review is specifically for the ones who owned original composition of Egoiste 1990 till 1994 and still hunt it through second market. And guys I’m not here to complain about reformulations I just want to give this beautiful perfume a proper review and yes the review will be long. In 1979 Mr. Karl Lagerfeld asked the house perfumer Mr. Jacques polge to make a baroque perfume and specifically resembles the venetian style with Chanel touch. . So from 1979 till 1983 Mr. polge worked hard to create something new and it has to be big and complex and again new. 1984 Chanel lunched coco. Before that women perfumes were floral-floral aldehydic- floral powdery-chypre or citrus light. So coco was new ? yes it was polge a composition mainly based on sandalwood a precious material from Mysore. and it wasn’t enough he has to give it a lift so he mix it with vanillin powder or something I don’t know what is it ( I doesn’t smell like vanilla though) and paires it with lots of jasmine orange blossom and tuberose. From beginning to end you smell soft milky balmy sandal and exotic jasmine orange blossom as if they were one note. Then at the top there’s huge does of Mandarin oil which smells floral not citrus and coriander- frangipani-mimosa and sweet pepper. Then mid notes : jasmine-orange blossom-clover-Rose-orris root-angelica-ylang ylang-carnation-clove-cinnamon and cascarilla. Then the base : patchouli-vetiver-tonka beans-sandal-olibanum- opoponax -labdanum-civet and musk. The feeling when wears the perfume : milky balmy buttery sandal pairs with jasmine orange blossom very comfortable to wear you’ll feel worm and ahhh the jasmine this notes or combination between the sandal and the flowers I mentioned make my heart melt. then the mid notes flowery then the base where the big guns. The civet watery like cat piss (sorry but it was like that) opoponax is raw gum resin no smoke you’ll feel it very clearly at the base resemble the rich baroque style. Then the resins mix olibanum with labdanum also raw here no smoke but they were presented differently then the raw opoponax it’s hard to descript them here. What colors comes to my mind when wear coco ?? white all white almost like a white wall then you stick to it yellow mimosa more white flowers jasmine orange blossom tuberose then pinky satin rose then the purple clover then stick to it brown colors civet resin and at the topes huuuuuuuuuuuge does of orangy color of mandarin oil. I’m looking at an oily painting from baroque period opulence colors. rich dense opulence baroque like no other it was very very expensive to make that’s why Chanel in 1989 had to reformulated. Just 5 years since it was released. And yes I’m talking only and specifically about the original coco not the reform which smells like cheap candle long gone the white note. Why speaking about coco ??? I had too because BOIS NOIR its the masculine version. BOIS NOIR 1987 “ it was an old idea of mine “ polge said An old idea so there’s no need to spend time to create something new for men. The composition is already there I mean the balmy milky buttery compo we talked about in coco. Top notes : bergamot-lime-mandarin-coriander-myrtle-birchwood-rosewood. Mid notes : lavender-tobacco other aromatic notes I can’t figure then rose-jasmine-prunes- cloves. Base : sandal-musk-tonka beans-labdanum-myrrh-olibanum-oakmoss-cedarwood-leather-castoreum. the idea again to create a baroque perfume it was amazing new and still new nothing like it or even close to it. Men’s perfume at the time where mostly Fougere aromatic chypre or clean citrus cologne. The feeling when wears the perfume : again the main compo is the whitey note from head to toe you feel it creamy buttery milky sandal mixed with vanillin powder feels like. Then paires it with creamy rich lavender instead of jasmine orange blossom we find in coco. The lavender presented differently in bois noir then the typical barbershop lavender and very different then jersey parfum with its clean soapy vibe. Then you hit immediately by the second main note the rosewood feels smoked intense and probably the deepest richest woodsy note I ever smelt the perfumer over dose the usual percentage of it and then paries it with aromatic notes . this is the main player note at the heart. The flowers at the back with a hint of prune fruit smells nothing like prune but you do feels it like mmm a raw resin ??? or a gum. Then the base its 100 % like coco the same development with slightly different instead of raw gum resin the opopnax he used raw gum olibanum as the main player note at the base with resins notes labdanum and myrrh presented not in a gumy raw as the olibanum they feel like mmm ?? bubblegum mixed with raw resins very hard to describe it. One more thing the cloves at the heart they are not spicy it’s like a worm watery tea diffuse in the air and it doesn’t smell like tea or anything fruity or gourmand. What colors comes to my mind when wear BOIS NOIR : white from From beginning to end like a white wall stick to it woody intense deep smoked black wood paires it with aromatic notes lavender color rose pink color worm heart melting feel then raw olibanum color at the base resembles baroque then black leather then at the top huuuuuge mandarin bergamot oil. like watching an oily painting with its rich opulence colors. Egoiste 1990 Top note : tangerine-coriander-mahogany. Mid: rosewood-rum-tarragon-sage-orris root-geranium-coumarin-rose-prunes-cinnamon. Base : sandal-vanilla-amber-ambrette seed. Believe or not Egoiste despite its expensive notes mainly sandal rosewood was indeed the first chanel perfume that feels cheap and low quality when compare it and measure it to chanels high standard. Non of chanel’s previews perfumes were like that all of them contain lots and lots of raw high quality materials. For example antaeus 1981 original base was : oakmoss-cedar-beeswax-myrrh-olibanum-patchouli-leather-sandal-castoreum and ambergris. Egoiste is not baroque it feels dandy remind me of autumn The feeling when wears the perfume : dusty Fougere very powdery nothing aromatic here and it feels dry. People at the time including me wandered about the musty dusty note in egoiste no one knows and then suddenly I found an old sample of egoiste written on it the full pyramid notes. BOIS NOIS is woody aromatic Egoiste on the other hand woody Fougere. Besides the musty dusty notes there’s a liquorice sweet brownish note annoyed me a lot its was the compo between the Rosewood and rum starts form the beginning till the end gives a feeling of cinnamon-christmas potpourri and cookies. Did I mentioned the ambrette seeds at the base ?? again musty. Ok What colors comes to my mind when wear Egoiste : brown all brown imagine a thin pale white wall stick to it dry musty dusty aroma with brownish ambrette and pinky rose. The sandal wood presented differently then Bois Noir. It feels milky and that’s it. At the end I really wanted to talk about the sandal in Bois Noir Mr. polge cant add the strong base mention before to the creamy sandal just like that he need make it stronger and denser by adding vanillian powder like in a way that allows him to add the strong base mentioned in Bois Noir and this is 100% same as coco and egoiste didn’t have a base except for ambrette and amber that’s why the sandal feel different. I wrote this review due to my own experience with them I new all of the perfumes mentioned very well wears them before. Unfortunately if you by a vintage coco-bois noir or egoiste 90% you’ll get a bad experience with them due to age and oxidation.

Please keep in mind that all reviews of Bois Noir these days are of a perfume from over 30 years ago. The perfume, even in the best maintained bottles, has softened and changed and probably lost a lot more of the dynamics that it would have had when fresh. The sense of roundedness could be as much a function of how it was designed to smell, as it could be of just pure aging for decades. It certainly lasts long, but it not some powerhouse monster that the ratings above might suggest (even if it once was in 1987, for which we will just have to take people at their word). With that disclaimer, here is my experience of the perfume. When Bois Noir opens, you are immediately struck with the familial resemblance to Egoiste - however, you also get the sense right away that is its own creation. The opening is extremely rounded and fruity without being overly juicy or sticky. That's the first thing that strikes you - the overall dryness while still staying fresh and sweet. The mandarin and plum sweetness (the fruitiness maybe bolstered by some tagetes absolute as Jacques Polge mentioned in some interviews) create an overall soft, fruity and sweet entrance into an expansive and enveloping heart that immediately strikes you with its aromatic freshness, subtle smokiness and translucency. I smell something herbal, like maybe some clary sage combined with something like lavender in here - a gray, softly fuzzy, aromatic accord (maybe I get the impression of fuzzy from the visual of the soft fuzz that covers sage leaves). This is bolstered and rounded by a spicy carnation accord, again not uncommon in men's perfumes. In addition the rich and sumptuous rosewood combines with the fruity top and a smoke note and dry vanilla rising from the base - creating this impression of Christmas cake or Gingerbread cookies. And this is where the connection to vintage Bois des Iles becomes most apparent. The aromatic accord never really vanishes though - and the whole thing at this point feels like a beautiful fougere (but not a crass one, but like the original softly aromatic Fougere Royale) that is wrapped up in swirling layers of dark fruity vanillic smoky wood. The tobacco accord gives a feeling of being inside a warmly lit beautiful wooden room by a fire at some point after a comfortable dinner - ready to settle down with a book or a friend and a glass of cognac. Very bourgeoisie comfort, that I am a sucker for. When the base notes come in, you sense a distinct frankincense note in addition to a dry bourbon vanilla. In comparison to the ambrette overdose of both Bois des Iles and Egoiste, Bois Noir has less of it, resulting in less of that saliva slicked skin smell that makes ambrette absolute such a erogenous musk. Now, where is the sandalwood, you might ask. Weren't this, Egoiste (both Cologne Concentree and the regular version) and Bois des Iles all supposed to be huge sandalwood masterpieces? Well, that's the crazy thing. You get the sense that this formula used a lot of the real stuff, not the synthetic. So what you get is the absolute quiet hushed peanutty creaminess of the real stuff. You don't get the much stronger synth sandalwood accord that needed to be made in the 90s once the supply of the real stuff ran out. So you don't get a loud, obvious sandalwood. Because real sandalwood is just not a loud, obvious or shouty note at all. The drydown is all creamy sandalwood wrapping the frankincense note with a dry bourbon vanilla and with just a tiny lick of ambrette. I would not even be surprised if someone told me it had the tiniest smidge of oakmoss to complete the fougere accord. So all in all, how does this relate to Bois des Iles (it's aunt) and Egoiste (it's son)? WRT Bois des Iles, what you get is the core of the gilded oriental gingerbread sandalwood. The rich ylang laced floral heart and big dose of ambrette and the opening aldehydes are all gone. In their place, there is a now a fairly conventional, but still beautiful fougere accord which forms the core around which the borrowed gingerbread/amber wraps itself in layers of sweetness. The gingerbread accord does not extend into the long drydown. The vanilla/amber accord of Bois des Iles is sweeter and the beautiful vetiver that tangos with the sandalwood is gone. In their place is a simpler, less baroque ending - which is more straightforward, modern and conventionally masculine. What is actually surprising is the relationship to Egoiste. The story goes that Bois Noir was a flop and so it was taken back and reworked. However, the reworking seems to make it even more bold and out there. The very distinct fougere heart is toned down significantly. The sort of amyl salicylate freshness from Bois Noir is attenuated or taken out. The very sexual ambrette is bumped up. The dryness and smokiness from the incense is removed. Overall Egoiste ends up being even more out there, more rosy, softer and more gender bending than the more conventionally masculine Bois Noir. If this is what the reworking was, you have got to admire the cojones on Mon. Polge. He did not make it more conventional, but actually less so. You can also understand the people who sometimes say that Bois Noir feels unfinished. While I wouldn't go that far, it is easy to see that Bois Noir contains two perfumes. A central fougere that is then wrapped up in a second one made of fruits and classic Chanel orientalia. They intertwine around each other, while maintaining almost distinct identities. In contrast, Egoiste actually feels like it really links the two together in a more rounded cohesive union where it is hard to split out the accords as distinctly.

Bois Noir Black Woods Nose Jacques Polge Year 1987 Bois Noir (Dark Woods) is a 1980s powerful male scent but can also come off as unisex and has something that I as a female who wears men's colognes and unisex frags enjoy - a dark sensual allure and power vibe. Somewhat similar to Egoiste, this is lighter and softer and has more vanilla and spices. This is a warm spicy fougere slash Oriental. It smells great in cold weather. Unfortunately this beauty has been discontinued. I bought this back in the 80s and I had an older friend who gifted it to me recently. I was feeling nostalgic and relived the fragrance. Starts off with a fresh orange scent, quite perfumy and rosy with a rose note that to me briefly smells of Miss Dior and more feminine than masculine. Before long though the citrusy rose scent disappears and the more aromatic lavender rosewood and coriander emerge. The scent is distinctively Oriental with woods and spice. The sandalwood and bourbon vanilla are the final dry notes which take over. Smells rich, sexy, warm woody and spicy. Because there are no top middle and base note structure in the formula this is a linear and very faint scent more an eau de toilette of smooth and weaker concentration. As such it smells better as a dab on and I apply it as such dabbing it on my wrists and neck. I'm a sucer for woodsy scents and the sandalwood here is absolutely gorgeous. The dry vanilla gives the scent a smooth clean effect and almost borders on powder but is not as powdery as Egoiste. This is almost a prototype of Egoiste. A beautiful and very easy to wear fragrance if you're accustomed to unisex and men's colognes that are vanilla and woods based. I love to wear this in winter time and now that the weather is plunging into the 40s 30s in NYC I love to wear warmer and more Oriental woody fragrances. Get it if you can find it!

This is a very beautiful perfume. It is blended and balanced in fragrance. I have found it holds close to the skin and gently dries down to a Wood synthetic. Citrus is Mandarin, which has a slightly different scent profile to Tangerine. The whole thing hums a tune of order. Needs more volume though. It was not widely available for good reasons. It strikes me as a work in progress. In the search for market the following release Egoiste is more vibrant with the use of Tangerine and the amping up of Top Notes. With the Egoiste and Egoiste Concentree the top notes and Citrus with this amplification, to my nose, seem unbalanced. They have my mind thinking and tasting Apple Pie. Drydown is again to a Wood Synthetic. All have a life of about 5 to 6 hours on my skin. The Egoiste of today pales. My palette prefers the elegant and better balanced Pour Monsieur Concentree and Wow! The Vintage Pour Monsieur.

This is actually a splendid composition, but a major commercial flop, because of the very exclusive distribution system that led to a partial makeover. Bois Noir was meant to inaugurate Chanel's hyper-exclusive fragrance line. So exclusive that they were selling only at the flagship boutique at 30 Rue Cambon, Paris. Obviously they sold a dozen bottle, so they decided to sell in some other Chanel boutiques around the world. Still poor sales. The idea of what is now the Les Exclusifs lines was well ahead of Its time. So, let's do some jazz and magic! Chanel Perfumes, (who own Chanel fashion, and not vice versa), hired Jean-Paul Goude, (at the time married to Graces Jones), sent him to Rio de Janeiro to shoot an historic commercial that launched........EGOISTE, which became a ravaging and well deserved success. Egoiste is nothing less than Bois Noir with a new catchy and appealing name,

I had a chance to wear Bois Noir and Egoiste(regular, not the concentree). Bois noir is a slightly more concentrated Egoiste, maybe 15% stronger, but thats about that. Overall - egoiste and Bois noir to me smell like a light cherry compote. It is pleasant and unusual, but there is an overdose of something like allyl ionone and it gives away its designer character and never reaches niche level of quality. I also dont see it as sandalwood perfume, just like bois des iles isnt, its a fantasy on the sandalwood, but not it. Would i recomend seeking it out and overpaying - absolutely not. Get yourself older bottle of egoiste and you are good. Longevity and projection are fine, ull be noticed by others through the day.

I got 250ml of Egoiste Vintage and 125ml of Bois Noir. My first impression of the Bois Noir was "it is just like the Egoiste". However, comparing the two, the Egoiste has much more spices (especially Cinnamon to me) and a strong leather nuance. many notes of fragrances here are not always accurate, but I think it does a pretty good job of describing the difference between the two. If you compare the individual notes of Bois Noir and Egoiste, they are as different as they are similar. Egoiste is more fragrance-like than Boir Noir, in terms of characteristics. Boir Noir is a nice scent; you can feel the high-quality sandalwood and rosewood, but it's just a natural scent.

Let's start with Bois des iles 1926 - A symphony of sparkling Aldehydic bubble and warm sensual mysore sandalwood. I have to say that Bois des iles is the Queen for Sandalwood taste in Chanel Power house, and Bois Noir 1987 is definitely the Former King. It's like rounded version of Egoiste. Indeed, Egoiste is reformulated from Bois Noir. Bois Noir give the feeling mixing Bois des iles and OG Egoiste. Nothing less, nothing more, just beautiful fragrance that becomes history. A statue of Male Fragrance.

Quite an interesting and intriguing scent. The sandalwood blends well with the rose and woody facets to create a sorta-kinda Arabic feel, however, the addition of the lavender and rosewood adds a 'cookie' note to this, which whilst fascinating in and of itself, is a little jarring for me. I can see that this would appeal to a more select group of people, however, this is still quite a pleasant scent, though not 100% for me...

It reminds me of my grandpa, he passed away when i was 9 :^( Its a great old shool classy colonge tho