Bojnokopff

The first fragrance which has sent me down a mystical imaginary rabbit hole. This had me imagining finding a real life Aladdin’s cave, in the middle of a dark, lush green overgrown forest. Very lavender with a great bitter chocolate note, but a significant, almost overwhelming, smoky punch from the guaiac wood which gives you a deep smoked Islay single malt mist. This is especially noticeable in the opening but blends effortlessly. It’s not one that you could wear under the radar for me. This packs a very unique thump and will turn heads, but I imagine it wouldn’t be for everyone’s nose on first whiff. It’s a very strange and wholly unique fragrance, but one which intrigues and entices you deeper and deeper, whilst you fall deeper for it. Feels like it needs to be worn with utmost confidence, but I don’t think you could wear this without it brandishing complete abandon upon you. This isn’t about you and them. It’s about you and it. Match for: fresh crisp cold dark night, a long coat and scarf, a dark, underground bar.

On my husband, Bojnokopff smells like cherry liqueur chocolates, smoke, tobacco, a smoother oud, and signature Fort & Manle cedar base. A huge improvement over the original Purple Hat version - they did a good job distinguishing it from rest of the line. The way the cherry plays brightly against the rich smooth browns of chocolate, tobacco, and oud reminds me of the apricot wow factor atop the smoky tea and wood in Indigo Smoke from Arquiste. That's what I thought he was wearing until I figured out the cherry and tobacco. Feels super smooth and oh so decadent. Update: We brought a sample with us on a romantic getaway in the mountains and with the changes in pressure while driving there, Bojnokopff perfumed the entire toiletry bag 😍 and we didn't get sick of it. One of our all-time favorites.

This is a fun experience. I did 10 sprays. It starts off with beautiful lavender, vanilla, and decadent chocolate (cake) and it just swirls around you as you move in the breeze. Not super long lasting, but a very nice linear scent. Lavender is wonderful - reminds me of Goldfield & Banks Purple Suede lavender which I adore - and it stays the whole time blending with the woody undertones while everything else fades. I think you could wear this anywhere anytime. It’s got dessert-like flavors without being sweet. Works great now in fall weather, but since it’s not sweet I’m also looking forward to trying it in warmer weather. Overall it’s a win. Update 10/1/2025: Still a winner. More cedar notes after sitting for a year. Oud is subtle and only close up on skin. Love that lavender and chocolate.

Try to visualise a handful of freshly picked lavender, straight from a ripe autumn harvest, herbal and densely aromatic, dry chips of oud and fine dark chocolate shavings with a crushed vanilla bean thrown into a pile of blazing embers. The fine white smoke that would emanate from the combusting mixture is Bojnokopff. I must admit I don’t have a lot of experience with genuine oud and can therefore not attest if there is some in here, but there is a certain clay like facet of genuine oud that I definitely recognise in here with a good amount of the meaty smoky guaiac and drier classically grainy woody cedar. Beautiful, perhaps a bit odd to wear out, but definitely a wonderful experience and a likely future purchase when I can scrap together a more substantial fragrance budget.

Another masterpiece by Rasei Forte. It's also incredibly unique and difficult to describe. The notes blend together well and create a mysterious and unique fragrance that will draw attention. However, it's uniqueness will be polarizing in my experience. The opening definitely can come off as medicinal, but I personally like this aspect. That medicinal note fades and the rest of the notes are more distinguishable. The oud in this is very soft and is more of a backbone to the very forward balsamic and smoky resinous wood. There is a little sweetness, but to me the chocolate comes off a bit more dusty and bitter, more nose in the cocoa powder than a candy bar. Best suited for cold evenings, possibly in a leather chair facing a fire and listening to Wagner on a gramophone.

Fantastic chocolate and lavender. This one smells deep purple. It has very distinctive and interesting stages, and unfolds like a short story. I personally love it as a woman but imagine it would be even better on a man.

A charming and sophisticated Victorian dandy with dark secrets.

Such an incredible perfume, words can’t do it justice. Bravo!

Just got my hands on the F&M discovery set and this is the first of their scents I'm trying. This is a warm, sweet, sexy scent best suited for cooler weather. Unisex, but leans masculine. Good longevity and sillage. It opens up primarily with a sweet lavender note. As the lavender starts to mellow out, I get slight hints of chocolate and oud in the background. The oud fades quickly, and then the vanilla mixes with the lavender to give some Rehab or Spicebomb vibes. Dries down to a dusty vanilla/chocolate base. For most of the journey, I find Bojnokopff to smell very much like hookah tobacco even though there aren't any of those notes listed.

I was a little taken back with the opening of this didn’t like it at all , however like most great fragrances once it settled into the dry down I was wrapped up in the Smokey woody wisps, with full rich lavender & vanilla, I didn’t get any chocolate, on me this wasn’t delicate, more in your face. Leans more masculine in my opinion definitely not a blind buy. I’ve been smelling it for hours now still No chocolate. I would love to smell this on a man. I’ve worn it for a few days and it’s hot for me.

Reminds me of Oreo cookies. My favourite part is the first hour where it's a combination of oud (band-aid or aged wood aroma) that gets mixed in with textured chocolate or cocoa powder and milky cream (Oreo cookies). In the drydown is where this gets too familiar or pedestrian for me in that, on my skin, the oud disappears and it turns into a boozy vanilla liquorice type smell which I've come across in many other fragrances that contain vanilla and that are marketed for cold weather. I selected "Vanilla Oud Vertus" as a "reminds me of"...they are not that similar but they obviously centre around vanilla and oud as notes...I would say that Vanilla Oud has something a little different to it...and so if I were to get a fragrance with this DNA, I'd personally opt for Vanilla Oud by Vertus. Always sample so you can come to your own conclusion.

This opens with a very enjoyable and sizable accord of chocolate, lavender, and especially oud, with vanilla backing it up. It doesn't stay that strong for all that long, but it is respectable. It's a nice fragrance, but usually gourmands are not really my kind of thing--this is the kind of perfume I would prefer on someone else.

Here's the open..... It's winter outside. But no matter because you're sitting on a heavy red leather high back chair in an old dusty library sipping a single malt whiskey straight up with one oversized rock after hopping off your horse where the stablehand forgot to clean up the mess and a thin but distinctive residue rims your boots. Stay with it....You rest your boots on the table in front of you, light another ciggie and suck on a square of dark chocolate. A lady in a low cut red dress walks by you appreciate her saunter whilst catching a whiff of her deep vanilla afterglow. Your welcome!

smells like old Japanese stomach medicine (called Seirogan)

I first tested this fragrance on a paper strip at a store, and my initial impression was very negative. The scent was unpleasant from the very beginning, but because fragrances can behave differently on skin, I decided to give it a second chance and test it properly. Unfortunately, my experience completely changed once I wore it. On my skin, it smelled unpleasant and difficult to enjoy. A friend of mine also wore it to a winter party, and I noticed the exact same thing. To my nose, the fragrance resembles a tire shop or the smell of black petroleum/oil. I know fragrance perception is subjective, but I asked more than 10 people to smell it, and the majority had a similar negative reaction. I appreciate that some people may enjoy this scent, but based on my personal experience, I found it extremely unpleasant. My rating: 0/10.

There are rooms that exist only in the moment we walk through them. Bojnokopff is one of them. Late 1800s. A club hidden behind a door that shouldn't be there. “Every great magic consists of three acts,” said Michael Caine in The Prestige, and this is the second: the moment of the turning point. The tables are covered with long tablecloths, the velvet of the chairs is worn, the air saturated with smoke. The kerosene from the lamp dances among the blackened mirrors, the playing cards abandoned on the table tell fates that were not ours. And then the third act: prestige. The magician is gone, yet his presence still hovers. “Now you will look for the secret, but you will not find it, because you are not really looking.” Bojnokopff is just that. Trickery, illusion, prestige. It is the certainty that we have seen something impossible, the question that remains suspended in our heads when the curtain closes: what have we witnessed? magic or fiction? ig: @pietroparodi

I remember trying out the 'original' about 5 and a half years ago, and I was immediately put off by it. I don't know what's happened with me, or if indeed the scent has changed, but this is a really smooth, beautiful scent. There is a Mysterious Oud (Bortnikoff) element to this -- not the WHOLE scent, but a particular accord and/or note which for me makes me feel it's just too similar. I know there are other parts to this scent that are NOTHING like that, but for me it stands out. Kinda like listening to your favourite band's side project, with the same vocalist, but a completely different music style, and just thinking "this sounds the same". Listen, Mitso, I know they're not the same, but to me they kinda feel like it. Just my take...

The Cheshire cat smell... I get that fairytale like essence, and specifically "Cheshire cat" from Alice in wonderland. It has the harmonic lavender with vetiver, cedar, & patchouli with bits of chocolate. This blend is purple, and i believe it is because of the lavender. It is relaxing. Nice.

For those wondering if this is different to Mr. Bojnokopff's Purple Hat in the old bottle. I confirmed with Fort & Manle on instagram that they are the same, just rebottled :)

Not related to the earlier release mr. Bojnokopff; something akin to arabic perfumes with good quality you can get for 40$.