Bois d'Encens

Ok not trying to offend anyone (hint: I actually am because you people are nuts) but how is it possible, at all, that the first note listed is anything other than Cedar? This fragrance NAILS cedar. It is genius Cedar. PERFECT cedar. Quite literally the most amazingly photo-realistic Cedar ever created in perfumery. CEDAR CEDAR CEDAR CEDAR AND ONLY CEDAR!!!! Now that I have effectively overstated the true nature of this fragrance allow me to elaborate. Many fragrances list 'oakmoss' or 'bergamot' 'leather' as notes in the fragrance. 99% of the time they actually smell nothing at all like any of these notes, but rather sorta kinda like like these notes. Similar to how a Yamaha keyboard can sound like a Piano, but you'd never mistake one for a Bosendorfer grand. No one in their right mind really truly smells leather in Cool Water, but perhaps some synthetic interpretation of 'leather' but again- Yamaha keyboard vs Bosendorfer. Now Bois d'Encens... This one smells exactly like cedar. It is what you smell from fresh cut cedar, or perhaps something that is handcrafted from cedar. I will never forget my parents had a turtle carved from cedar that had a pull out jewelry storage drawer. You couldn't smell the cedar from the outside of the turtle, but when you opened the drawer it was overwhelming! Beautiful. The kind of scent that burns into your brain and heart. When I sprayed Bois d'Encens on me I was instantly transported back in time to when I would sneak into my parents room with the sole purpose of opening that cedar turtle and taking in a giant deep whiff. I wanted that scent to last, but it only ever was good for a few deep inhalations before it was gone. I would close the turtle knowing that later the smell would come back. With Bois I get to smell that scent anytime I want! But alas, much like my coveted cedar turtle, the scent does not last for long. Longer than a few whiffs, but not long enough. Maybe 3-5 hours depending on many factors such as outside temperature or what I'm wearing. Sillage- moderate within the first couple hours, close to skin thereafter. Overall the execution of this fragrance is a thing of utter brilliance. The first from the Prive line that I have fallen for and am actually considering purchasing beyond the sample I have. With the only flaw being the longevity I give this one a solid 8/10.

As an incense lover, I'd been keen to try this. Whilst it is quite a lovely incense fragrance, I couldn't say it breaks any new ground or really stands out in what is becoming quite a crowded genre. It is based around 5 ingredients: frankincense, labdanum, vetiver, spices and cedar. All of these are easily distinguishable and I find the scent itself quite linear, except for the cedar & spices becoming more prominent after a few hours. It isn't quite as liturgical as say, CdG Avignon, but not as contemplative as Kyoto from that house either. In fact, it's kind of like a blend of that pair. Frankincense with a big compliment of cedar. It's staying power is really good, but it is quite subtle on me, so it doesn't try to suggest to everyone within arms reach that you've been sitting in a catholic mass all day. This is a good thing! I believe a full bottle of this is worth quite the pretty penny and seeing as I have a bunch of other perfectly delightful incense frags already (that do a very similar job), I doubt I'd be in the market for a bottle any time soon. That being said, there's no denying it's a very elegant, classy scent, so if you have the money....well, let's just say, there's no pockets in a shroud!

Bois d'Encens is an excellent rendering of church-style incense, bringing back memories of attending Mass growing up. Simple and high-quality, it is woody and spicy in equal measure with balsamic, resinous nuances. It is somehow sensual despite being thoroughly churchy (Catholic guilt?!) BE opens with peppery spice, followed closely by dry, woody vetiver. Resinous notes with a pine-like nuance emerge, forming the frankincense accord together with the woody spice. Initially dry and smoky, catching in the back of the throat, it is church incense through-and-through, one of my favourite notes of all. The amber accord develops as the scent progresses on my skin, becoming slightly animalic. It is a good, high-quality amber accord, resinous and rich, adding a smoothness to the hyper-realistic incense of the opening here. Cedar adds some woody depth, rounding out the vetiver nicely. The spicy incense remains until final fade. Sillage and longevity are moderate - I did expect better performance given the price and scent profile, but it's so good regardless. Perfectly unisex, and best worn in autumn/winter. Simple yet perfectly formed. The thurible swings. 4.5/5.

Beautiful, absolutely the most beautiful, gentle and mild, woodsy incense perfume!!!! It's gorgeous!!!!! It's the loveliest, gentlest incense. I'm completely in seventh heaven when I wear it, which is hmmm......most of the time.......I can't get enough of it!!! It's deep and rich, comforting and soothing. It envelopes me in a soft cloud of lightly smokey woody fragrant spicy sweet incense, but it's a smokiness that's more like a powder than smoke-up-your-nose suffocating smoke. It's soft and smooth. It's exquisite. I adore it!!!! It is much loved by everyone who smells it on me, especially my husband, and even complete strangers tell me how wonderful I smell and ask me what it is!!! And it lasts for 24 hours!! I'm serious!! It's lovely and strong for about 10 hours, then softens to just a little more than a skin scent for the rest of that time, but it virtually never goes completely away until after 2 showers!!! Which is fabulously fine with me, especially as I only need to spray 3 or 4 sprays on!! It's the most perfect perfume for me - it's divine!!!!! It's one of my favourite perfumes, and I treasure it dearly!!!

Armani Bois d'Encens is a refined mildish Incense frag. A hit of slightly sour spices in the beginning before the labdanum and woody cedar comes into play.I get hints of olibanum as well even though it's not mentioned here. It stays pretty linear after that for the rest of it's scent life. This is not a resinous or smokey Incense like CDG Avignon or Interlude so even people who dont particularly like incense can pull this off. Projection is Ok, pretty much in the safe zone and well behaved. Longevity likewise is slightly disappointing for me considering the price, around the 5 hour mark. I like this frag and incense is one of my favourite notes, so I enjoy wearing this but I hesitate to blindly recommend it because purely from a price to performance ratio, this is barely ok. Far better options at cheaper prices exist, Avignon to just name one or even Montale Full Incense if you want better longevity. So if price or performance is not an issue go for it, one of the best clean incense frags around, versatile enough for office or dates. 8/10

I've been after a more incense-y, or mysterious fragrance that stands out from typical masculine scents that resemble Axe body spray a bit too much. I haven't smelled a fragrance like this before, in a very good way. At first, during and immediately after application, it smells heavily of soap, but in under 2 minutes, I feel like I'm back at my Eastern European Church's Mass. After a couple of hours, the scent becomes more reminiscent of a pine forest. A very uncommon, sophisticated, and refined scent. I'm sure there are ways to maximize its longevity and spillage, plus my sample bottle's dabber application method might not be the most effective at doing so, but I find that this fragrance lasts around 3 hours for me and is undetectable past less than half a foot away from the skin. Wore it on a night out, and the evening concluded with my very intoxicated friend all over me, head in my neck, telling me I smell good 10/10 for me, will get a full bottle when I have sufficient disposable income

Armani Prive Bois d'Encens is yet another solid offering in the Prive line, understandably a staple in the line since its 2004 inception as it offers a bold, mostly-wintery, mostly-masculine contribution to the line that seems otherwise slightly lacking in the current line-up. It's extremely spicy at its onset with lots of pepper and woods, and then almost immediately begins to calm down to be only very spicy, but still quite spicy and woody, as a resinous, semi-sweet base starts to unfold. It feels like the sweet rather than the animalic side of resins, though, nothing too untamed, the pepper perhaps being the wildest aspect of the whole risk. The result is a masculine winter fragrance that's elegant for formal and nighttime wear but still has the air of being a men's anytime signature scent for cold weather, especially. Performance is solid, well above average on projection and great on longevity. I definitely recommend trying this out. I waited far too long to try my sample. 8 out of 10

After delving into incense based fragrances after quite a long time I guess I can say I've finally found my holy grail. Bois d'Encens - (Incense Wood) is a perfect, consistent blend of compounds. It's dry, with perfect sillage(moderate to very big), huge longevity(usually over 12 hours, sometimes even to 24 hours!). It smells luxurious and majestic, I'd say. There is a perfect combination of spices(mainly black pepper) mixed with resins(labdanum, olibanum) and woods(vetiver, cedar). There are really great incense-based perfumes, mainly in niche genre(Olivier Durbano Rock Crystal, Montale Full Incense, James Heeley Cardinal, Comme des Garcons Incense Series - especially Avignon), I like most of them, but almost all of them are lacking with something. They don't have that "wow factor" to me... And Bois d'Encens has it! It has everything what I want. It has only one disadvantage - its price. But it's totally worth it. My must have and sooner or later, I'll get it.

This is a masterpiece! Dark, gothic, deep and mysterious liturgical incense. Together with CDG avignon, this stays at the top of church inspired fragrances and it's surely one of my favourites. It's pungent almost astringent in the opening to turn much more softer, warm and earthy during drydown. Pepper, some coniferous, vetiver and animalic hints give birth to a multi-faceted incense based composition that while smelling dark and gothic it's incredibly elegant in its minimalistic approach. Not too powerful but definitely remarkable. If you want your incense to stay close to the skin but to result incredibly distinctive at the same time, there's nothing like Bois D'Encens. The original packaging came in a precious wood bottle and was available as a 50ml EDP at a quite unaffordable price. They now made a "smarter/cheaper" version with a dark glass bottle coming in a 100ml EDP size. Highly recommended! Rating: 9.5/10

OK, so I have been delaying this review too long because I love this frag SO much but wanted to find my own description and not repeat the description given by Armani. But I have failed. This REALLY does give you the sensation of rushing out of a rainstorm into a cool, stone-flagged church in an Italian city (Florence?). The sensation of the incense, wet stone and hint of moss hitting your olfactory centres is EXACTLY the sensation I get when a waft of this frag meanders up from my chest in the middle of the day. And it will last, fantastic longevity and perfect projection. Not VERY complicated, but not too simple. I think Mr Armani has done everything perfectly to create his signature fragrance (correct me if I'm wrong about this being his signature) I'm not sure I can do this frag justice with a review, but I've done my best.

Remarkably spicy fragrance with a MAJOR top note of Black Pepper! This hits so strongly in your nose, it almost puts a fear whether this will be a bit smoother or not. It does get smoother, in the heart note. The heart is of soft sweet notes of Labdanum and potent Vetiver! Initially I smelled Myrrh but it might be a specific incense accord used here. The base is woody and definitely ISO E SUPER. I compared my bottle of Iso E Super to the drydown of Bois d'Encens and its dead on a match! I would say for a sweet and spicy incense fragrance, this is quite delicious and demanding of your attention. Your wrist will be to your nose constantly! Sillage is quite remarkable, past arms length and the longevity is quite potent at about 5 to 6 hours before it fades to a synthetic Iso E Super smell. Great fragrance!

Rating - Outstanding. This is hardcore. Bois d'Encens is the ultimate incense fragrance with killer intensity and authenticity. Haha. It is pretty harsh straight to business incense here. It has this woody resin smell to it too. And spices are greatly blended to it so a normal person won't tell there's ones. If compare it to Passage D'Enfer then I think I prefer Passage due to it's colder, more evil mind. This is incense, the thing. And Passage is aura. That's the difference. Though, that doesn't mean Bois d'Encens is worse. No, it's effing terrific fragrance, you have to have serious guts to wear that. Not all will be able to simply pull it off. Only complaint is the price. We have it for 280$ for 100ml -.- Verdict. This is great but L'Artisan is cheaper and comes in great bottle too.

Bois d’Encens captures the meditative spirituality of frankincense, but it feels connected to something more ancient than The Church. It opens with a striking flash of cracked peppercorns immediately doused by a procession of zesty limes & herbs du Provence—the austere hum of an olibanum accord. The processional then blooms into resonant echos of velvety labdanum and dry cedar. The style is honed, dark, & organic, but it’s neither musty nor damp. It’s fresh. Compared to CDG Avignon, which I find too citrusy, this fragrance is impressively well balanced. It smells very austere but in an expensive kind of way. Scent imagery: Mid to late 90s Donna Karan runway collections, contemporary brutalism, ancient runes, beads of cool water on clean skin, dark slate tiles, & silvery echos

Incense is one of my favorite genres to collect. This is pure olfactory art and satisfaction. I also have CDG Incense Avignon, and while it may be a tad redundant, I find them to be different enough to warrant a purchase. This is less soapy/citrus. This nails that Catholic Church incense vibe I remember when growing up. I feel the use of cedar wood was properly done here. Quality is on par, but I must give the upper hand to Bois d’encense , which means incense of the wood in French. Yep, that’s what you get here , incense and wood with a touch of spices to support. The dry down is fantastic and it’s lasts a long time. I regret not getting the myrrh imperial one, it’s going for $1,000 now, best myrrh fragrance I’ve ever smelled. Great work Armani! 9/10

Magical fragrance! Yet again the Armani Prive collection has delivered a wonderful fragrance of the highest order. Sharp Labdanum opening into Frankincense, dry peppery spice and dense luscious woods, I get from this fragrance. It's a mystical incense scent of superb quality and has a unique feel with it too. Took me a couple of tries to write a review but that's no reflection on the impact Bois d'Encens made on me because it was immediate. If you love incense, and precious resins without an overly smokey vibe this is definitely for you. Longevity is a little bit of a let down and that is probably the only minor criticism I have of these Armani fragrances. The only one that has great lasting power for me is Myrrhe Imperiale, followed by Oud Royale.

I've smelled a lot of incense perfumes, and this is the best. Many use frankincense essential oil which is nothing like the burnt smoke smell that occurs when burning the raw resin on hot coals - resulting in that mystical ancient church smell. Alas it's not that simple to recreate that smell in liquid format. Bois D'Encens also doesn't have the weird sugar-free sweetner vibe, as is found in Avignon, Cardinal, Full Incense, Plein Jeu III-V etc. (I do like these fragrances by the way...) Instead, Bois D'Encens in contrast is a dusty, peppery smell that is much closer in my imagination to ashy incense recently burnt in an old thurible. As noted by others, it does also have woody elements. Yes it's expensive, but quite easy to find decants online.

An excellent, bold, mysterious incense perfume, actually my favorite, it really is a skinscent so if you are looking for "statements" avoid. It starts of peppery and then follows a pungent ambery, slighlty animalic note (labdanum) along with a light airy frankincense which also reveals a citrusy vibe. Then it dries down to a mainly musky cedar with some vetiver. Overall it evokes the feeling of a restive and menacing void, sheltered by an alluring but insidiously calming ambience. Personally, I find all the phases extremely beautiful and I adore the fact that it wears as a cologne. If you like incense and mercurial and multifarious fragrances BLIND BUY IT.

Bois d’Incens is a truly breathtaking woody/incency perfume. It’s an expensive fragrance that smells expensive. Doesn’t have the most phenomenal performance unfortunately, but while it lasts, it’s glorious. A warm, soft amber, resinous, woody masterpiece of the kind. Cannot say it reminded me instantly of something that I own already, but it’s somehow in the same category with Encens Suave. This is darker, woodier, deeper, more masculine and more incense heavy without coffee and vanilla nuances. If one day I had the opportunity to get a deal on this, I would happily add it to my collection. It’s a splendid perfume without a doubt!

Whilst i believe this might be more a masculine scent, it works perfectly with my skin chemistry. I have been looking for the right incense scent for a long time and came across Bois d’Encens by accident. Initially intrigued by the sleek, dark bottle, I was shocked by the scent within. This is a masterpiece of smoldering incense, mystical and provoctative. It brings me back to sunday mass in Poland when the priest would bust out the frankincense and cleanse the air. What an experience to be so vividly transported! Overall, a beautiful scent, not too overpowering with a lingering finish that screams sophistication.

I love this cause its all incense but not totally churchy and claustrophobic, it feels like a whiff of incense floating high above a forest in the dead of winter. It smells like winter air in a snowy landscape. Much more spartan and austere than than its contemporaries like Full Incense or Avignon. It also has a radiant, shimmering effect that the others dont have. It seems to slightly alter the mood of the entire room without being loud or dense. This is my favorite incense by far, as I love its darkness, austerity and simplicity. Truly bewitching, mysterious and etherial!