Nuit d'Issey Bois Arctic

First, re: the smelly scientist... This is not a bubblegum scent at all. Are you in high tropical heat or something? Or chewing bubblegum? Drugs, maybe? One million lucky is bubblegum sweet. Stronger with you freeze opens with bubblegum. This is not bubblegum anywhere along the way. With that out of the way, I wanted to give this a few wears before I reviewed it. It's a great scent with a couple twists and turns. It starts out with a very bright and only slightly sweet citrus. The Grapefruit/mandarin/pepper work fantastically. After the uplifting opening, you get some more minty green vibes from the geranium and basil. There is an effervescence similar to noir argent in the mid, probably from the black pepper. You can smell the nuit d'issey dna here. Green is a big player in the mid, at least in cooler weather. I'm not a big fan of green scents but this works very well l. I have a feeling the vanilla-tobacco base will come out faster in warmer weather. I applied 5 sprays 12 hours ago (2 neck, 2 wrist, 1 chest), and the tobacco vanilla base is all that remains, still slightly stronger than a skin scent and very pleasant. I go noseblind to this at various points throughout the day. 6 hours in I stopped in at an office to work for a bit. Someone entered the room half an hour later and mentioned it smelled very manly. I couldn't smell it myself but it was still filling the room. I'm glad that happened because I almost wrote it off as an average performer. It's not the best in the line, but it's certainly the most unique and will get a lot of wears out of me year round.

As SmoothHomme said, it's static. I love that description. First time wearing this I wasn't sure what to think and I attribute that to the static vibe of this. I first thought maybe Ambroxan 🤔 ..no. what is that? Well, a year later and I can say this is my 2nd favorite next to Pulse Of The Night. It's not super complex however this and POTN are two of Isseys easiest and most pleasant to wear (for me). Opens fresh Basil, green Mandarin some fresh Grapefruit with Vanilla back. As it transitions the Basil sticks around with the Vanilla most to my nose with the green Mandarin and Grapefruit sitting back some letting the Vanilla warm up. However, the Vanilla never gets too warm or heavy. Tobacco is dry sweet and you almost have to search for it, but it does play with the Vanilla taking turns coming in and out or sitting just behind everything. There is some powderiness from Tonka. Moreso in the far dry down. Thus does evoke thoughts of fuzziness or static or likely what the perfumor intended , arctic cold fog but in a strange warm way. For reference I consider Ganymede cold. This is more "staring out the window from a warm house at the snow outside cold" . Spring, Fall and Winter for this one, it shines in early Spring however. That green fresh opening with a warmer back acts much like Layton far as functionality. This is a Love, and as with all Issey Miyake's best works this one gets tossed to the side like all the other discontinued flankers. If you can find this get it.

Just got around to wearing this Starts off citrusy and fresh. Packs a wallop but smells really pleasant. During the mid and the base the slight tobacco comes out and gives it a warmer feel compared to the top. I can’t say this really makes me think of “artic wood” or the northern lights but it smells amazing. I guess in the right situation it could invoke such thoughts. This smells fresh but has a masculine undertone that fits it nicely. And is quite unique. Cool thing about this is that it created this scent bubble around me. I kept and kept getting whiffs of this from one small spray to my wrist, it’s a fragrance that just lingers in the air around you. And people are going to like how you smell. The base gives off hints of Nuit d’issey Parfum, so you can pick up this is a flanker. Lasted a easy 10-12 hours. Even after a shower still on my wrist. I think you could wear this in many occasions. And many seasons. Haven’t gotten to try it in really warm weather but it may work. Hard to find but if you do, it’s worth it. *update. Deep drown down I think it smells more of which it’s trying to give off the image of. I don’t know what snow smells like if anything but for some reason the deep drydown of this, when I smelled it the first thing that came to mind is snow. Although it’s a warm tobacco ish smell!

#1500 in my "Tour de Fragrance" When Issey Miyake launched their first fragrance in 1992, I said it smelled like my armpits after a week on a field exercise with no access to a shower. L'Eau D'Issey Pour Homme line are all sour crap. Only a handful of Issey Miyake scents have been good scents, and they immediately realized their mistake and pulled them from the market. "Pulse of the Night", gone. "Polaris", gone. "Noir Argent", gone. "Blue Astral", gone. "Austral Expedition", gone. And also this one, gone. Great scent, high quality, vanilla, tonka, tobacco, basil, Miyake's characteristic grapefruit, though not their normally dry and sour variety, so of course it's discontinued and is only available from scalpers on eBay, and decanters that have some vial stock left. I just ordered a backup bottle of Nuit d'Issey EDP before they kill that too. The good die young at Miyake. Whoever the product managers are over there, they must be close relatives of the CEO or children of major stockholders to still have their jobs. For something along this line I can recommend an Alfred Dunhill Signature Collection EDP, "Egyptian Smoke." Not a dupe by any means, but similar vibe from a fragrance line whose days I hear are also numbered. Get them while you can.

Finally got my hands on this and I think it's an excellent fragrance. Easily a 9/10. Bottle design is beautiful. One of the best designs I've ever seen. Sillage is good. Projection is good (this is an EDP for those who are wondering). It's similar to Nuit D'Issey Polaris. So if you have that one you don't necessarily need this one. The main difference is the fresh opening in Bois Arctic. Very well blended. The notes transition nicely. It really does seem like something you would wear while watching the Northern Lights or sitting by a snowy campfire. A lot of people say this smells like Noir Argent or Nuit D'Issey Parfum....I have both and I would say this is different from either. Noir Argent has a very smoky dry-down. Nuit Parfum has a very sharp citrus opening. Bois Arctic has a softer take on both and the vanilla / fresh side is more prominent (whereas it's arguably non-existent on the other two). Overall great release from Issey Miyake. They nailed the execution of their idea and it's the only scent I've come across that does winter freshness well. That alone is worth a high score in perfumery.