JD Sous Bois

Got this as a sample with my order and really like this, maybe even better than the bottle I ordered. This isn't something I'd normally try for myself, I tend to be afraid of animalics because I think they'll be "skanky" or offensive, but that's not the case with this one at all. I'd been stuck in a rut so I'm really happy to find something different and new. My first impression was this smells like a throwback, like it reminds me of a classic perfume smell, but I wouldn't call it "dated." After the drydown I see the comparison to Fahrenheit, but this one doesn't have the gasoline smell and doesn't give me a headache like Fahrenheit does. I'd describe it as leather/animalic + floral. The florals really compliment the main notes (musc and civet) well. The main florals I can make out are mimosa, orange blossom, and ylang. A woman could totally wear this also.

This opens quite lemony to my nose.. As this fragrance calms down it becomes a very feminine violet/heliotrope soap smell. I don't see this as masculine at all. I would wear this. Very musky, soapy, violet, heliotrope, powdery, slightly animalic but tame animalic, more like a kitten instead of a cat. It has the smell of a well-cared for house cat in the base, I like that. This is really pretty and very vintage smelling. It smells like something my grandmother would have worn but that is fine w/ me because I like vintage perfumes. If you like vintage, violets, soapy and powdery scents w/ a tame animalic kitten soft base check Sous Bois out, don't worry about it being in the Homme collection this is very feminine. Although this is the type of thing men wore in the past. Men used to smell of florals back in the day. It would be a good thing if they did again.

Musky violet on a base of civet and woods. Nothing groundbreaking, but still, a great choice at a great pricepoint. A totally unisex soft fragrance remotely inspired by Kouros and Fahrenheit, if that makes sense. But as I said, it's well behaved, do not expect the boldness of any of the latter two in that one. A like for me.

Large sheets of moss that have soaked up a bunch of soap, with a bouquet of floral notes and a faint underlying funk. Heavy moss and musk give it a soft, fuzzy texture. Moderately strong projection fades over 3-4hr, longevity 10-12hr.

Sous Bois opens with a big helping of civet and also seemed to have a bit of skatole, although that's not listed. So, the opening is pretty challenging. But it settles down somewhat and then a green accord appeared. By 'green', I mean leaves and stems. The green retreats a bit, becomes more mossy and a woody accord starts to appear. In this case, I detected a combo of cedar and vetiver. Beneath it all was a subtle floral accord on top of the funky animalic base. Interesting to experience Sous Bois as it evolved. Sous Bois has very good longevity - got a good 10 hours out of it, with pretty strong projection for the first couple of hours. Fragrance didn't strike me as overtly masculine; seemed more unisex. I compared it to Juste Filthy on one wrist and Juste Filthy layered with Scatamalis on the other wrist. Juste Filthy struck me as the more masculine fragrance and is at it's best when layered with Scatamalis. Sous Bois seemed greener and woodier. My preference is with Juste Filthy, although Sous Bois is good. Be aware that the animalic component is quite strong in both, so they warrant a sample, never a blind buy.