Genie des Bois

As soon as I removed the cap from the tester and sprayed this on my wrist, it smelled incredibly similar to Dolce Vita by Dior. I have been wearing that one a lot recently, and this smells like a variation of it. It's like Dolce Vita with more violet and with rosewood instead of cedar or something. I adore these types of fragrances; those sweet, warm, powdery and woodsy scents. The perfect mix of comforting and classy. Unfortunately, it seems to have very short longevity on my skin, since at around the two hour mark I literally had to press my nose onto my wrist to get anything at all. Such a shame as this is a GORGEOUS scent! As I was browzing through the bottles on the shelf I was expecting to like Iris d'Argent more as I am a fan of iris, but I ended up feeling kind of underwhelmed by that one. This Genie des Bois was love at first whiff however. Really not that surprising at all as I love sweet violet, and combined with warm woody notes, it's just devine. A very warm and inviting fragrance. Iris d'Argent feels rather cold in comparison. Just wish it had better projection and stayingpower..!

I am completely addicted to woody bases that smell like this - from Serge Lutens Bois (Feminite du Bois, Bois et Fruits, Bois de Violette) to Armani Prive Cuir Amethyste to Dolce Vita to Genie des Bois. They all share an unmistakable woody accord that is extremely similar. I think if you like one, you will like all. And more than likely if you dislike one, you will dislike all. I happen to LOVE all. Genie des Bois seems to be more about this woody base than anything else. The woods is the star and not just a background player. This is definitely unisex and I honestly could not choose if it leans feminine or masculine. To me, it is straight down the middle. It is more delicate than the SL bois offerings...has more of a fragility to it. It reminds me very much of Cuir Amethyste minus the fruit and leather. Same level of intensity of the woods and very similar feel as far as ingredients. It seems very high high quality and smells expensive. This was a blind buy for me and I could not be happier. Absolutely what I was hoping for and then some.

this was a true meet cute for me. i was perusing a sale at a local perfume shop earlier this summer and i found one bottle of this tucked behind loads of Acqua di Parma bottles. i had heard a lot of great things about Keiko Mecheri this year so i gave it a sniff and to quote Borat “wa-wa-wee-wa”. it’s nothing like any other perfume i have or that I have tried. it’s juicy, it’s sporty and it’s kind of sexy - like a mysterious librarian with thick thighs and a previous tennis career. it’s definitely a unisex scent, almost androgynous, which is great for me personally as i like to radiate both feminine and masculine energies. as for longevity i find this one lasts an entire day on my skin and for MONTHS on clothes (even after washing). i would go as far as to say this is actually a safe blind buy because i have already gotten so many compliments on this one. EDIT: i’m almost out and i can’t find it in Europe anymore and i’m heartbroken. please respect my privacy during these trying times.

This was one of my first perfumes and it has a special place in my heart.

Violets are my flowers of the week, having started with Violet Tendencies (Smell Bent), moved on to My Queen (Alexander McQueen), then Putain des Palaces (Etat Libre D'Orange} and ending with the rather elegant Genie des Bois. Based on the four perfumes listed above, it could seem that when violet is the main note, there are two paths perfumers take - leathery or woody. Genie des Bois (french for Genius or Genie of the Woods) evidently marries violets to woods, in a linear but elegant fashion. There are no great olfactory discoveries in different stages of dry down, its all violets and woods from the moment you apply all the way to the distant dry down. It is this very linearity and lack of development that fails to grab my interest. I admit I also would have liked something a little sweeter in there, handled beautifully in some other violet offerings I own but drowned in the cedar in Genie des Bois. I don't see myself running out to purchase a big bottle of this anytime, not when My Queen is there with sweet heliotrope intertwining her own violets and woods. I do recognize that the violets and woods in Genie des Bois are beautifully blended and "good", whatever that means in the land of aromachemicals, but they don't have me hippity-hopping with joy through the olfactory forest. Genie des Bois may make a passable masculine since - as Auguszta pointed out below - it lacks the excessive sweetness and powderinesss that can be associated with violet perfumes. The sillage is nice, not excessive but yes about 2-3 feet surrounding you, and the lasting power is about 6 hours, which is good. .