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. .

Genie des Bois is a wonderful name for a perfume, and together with the tantalizing list of notes it had my expectations sky-high: a forest filled with leafy violets, totally up my alley! And I do like it, although not as much as I thought I would: to my nose it's just a little too much bois and not quite enough genie. As another reviewer has mentioned, the woody notes are very much the central players in this one, from start to finish. The opening is a blast of pure woods, a little bitter, even slightly rubbery, although not in a bad way. The drydown is a warmer, more powdery aspect of woodiness, a little sweeter and with some spiciness thrown in. All nice enough, and lovers of woody notes should definitely take notice, but I had more of a starring role for the violets in mind myself. That lovely accord of violets in the woods I was expecting does make an appearance somewhere in between, but all too briefly for my taste. So this is a like for me, not the love I was hoping for. Maybe I'll have more luck with Féminité Du Bois, or more likely Bois de Violette, to find my forest violets? I'm still adding this one to my wish list as well, though. It's not bad by any means, just not what I was expecting, and also complex enough that I feel I want to get to know it better.

just got this two days ago. to me, this opens up like Penhaligon's Violetta, all powdery violets. it quickly then becomes more spicy and woodsy and the powdery effect disappears but the violet flower and leaf remain(whew! violet usually disappears really fast). it's definitely much much more long lasting than Violetta and it's quite a pretty scent for day time without being either too weak or too overpowering. But I prefer my SL Feminite Du Bois over this.

this is a very dry cedar-y violet leaf with a slight violet powderiness on me. it's very unisex i think. it's mostly wood notes with violets peeking through here and there. at the beginning stage. i like this scent, but i don't love it. i do like it better still when it's been on my skin for about half an hour. the cedar calms down some and it's just a nice dry violet scent. very pretty.

I really like how violet heavy this is. For some reason I get sweet bakery from this, which makes me think of reading a book in a cute cafe with some violets in a small vase. Warm and cozy, like a soft sweater. I love this scent but it fades drastically after a couple hours or so. Poor longevity makes it tough to justify the price.

For me,this is like a light, summer-fragrance edition of Shiseido Femenite du bois Less complex, fresher and easy to wear. Delightful ,although I prefer Femenite du bois.( Maybe because I`m in my thirties and feel that Genie de bois is slightly to "young" for me.)

violetta dolcissima nei primi attimi che vira rapidamente verso un accordo più legnoso e quasi maschile. con l'assesstamento compaiono anche effetti resinosi che fissano la violetta su una base balsamica molto gradevole.

Interesting! In fact, it made me want to try all the other Keiko Mecheri creations. Unfortunately, though a woody violet sounded right up my alley, the choice of the woods is a slight miss for me. Rosewood is rich, deep, heavy, it almost resembles oud, and I don't like oud. If you do, you will probably love this. As the other reviewers have said, it's woody first and violet second - and the violet is so well done, absolutely delicious, but the woods knock it down to a 7/10. I can faintly make out the cacao pod and can say that I might've even loved the perfume if it had a cacao base with just hints of wood. This perfume is a bittersweet experience. It might've been my signature scent, if not for the rosewood.

it's really nice at first, like Lutens' Bois Violette with rosewood instead of cedarwood, but it's weirdly composed and some unpleasant notes poped up unexpectly during the evolution, also it lasts barely 1h on skin before totally vanishing. Frustrating

At first it's overpowering powder with a strangely metallic note (I think it's the ozone element?). Whatever it is does not work for me, it makes me nauseous in fact. Trying to move beyond that, I get the violet, a brief touch of spice (which isn't listed anywhere) then the sweetness of the tonka bean and benzoin, then last the rosewood finally makes its appearance and balances some of the bracing opening. It's soft but still powerful so I'd say this is more of a fall or spring scent. I think it would just be too much in the summer.

Keiko Mecheri GENIE DES BOIS is a woody violet perfume, which opens only slightly sweet and becomes significantly more woody within a couple of minutes. The drydown is rather heavy on cedar, with the violets somewhat less pronounced. If I had not known that this composition was created by Keiko Mecheri, I might have guessed L’Artisan parfumeur, for the base here exhibits an AP-like aesthetic, being very smooth, natural-smelling and, again, with a cedar emphasis. The good news is that GENIE DES BOIS has pretty big sillage and excellent longevity, so for those looking for a durable woody violet: here it is! I initially thought that I was in love with this composition, but it proved to be merely a crush as I began to grow weary of it several hours later. Its relative linearity may have been a factor, but mainly I think that the cedar began to get on my nerves just a bit. The notes are of the highest quality-—no criticism there, I just felt by the end that this was not a perfume that I need to rush out and add to my collection. I do, however, appreciate that the violets are not overly sweet in this creation, which can sometimes be a problem. GENIE DES BOIS might for that reason work quite well for men who wish to don violets without being thereby obliged to smell like candied pastilles.

I don't find Genie des Bois that similar to Feminité du bois as some have written, nor to Bois Oriental. If anything, in spite of different notes, it reminds me most of Bois et Fruits in a similar "clingyness" that is not present in for example Bois de Violette. The first half hour I sense benzoin, almost resinous, rather than cedar. Metallic some have written. To me it evolved into a smell reminding of children's scented rubbers or the rubber trolls so popular at a time. Understand me correctly. I like this scent and will gladly use the sample I've got, but given the work to find and purchase it, and the pricetag, I wouldn't buy it.

I picked up a sample of this scent yesterday after an inviting sniff of the bottle. This morning I spritzed it on and am now enveloped in the scent of my high school dreams, "Woodhue" by Dana. Yes, this dates me back to the 60's... The scent is light and sweet and definitely "woody". A soft, feminine scent. But, considering that it also smells slightly artificial, and the price is a whopping 155 Euros a bottle. (Woodhue used to cost me about $5 a bottle.) I will enjoy wearing the sample a second time, but, I won ́t actually purchase it. If you have been hunting diligently for Woodhue, this will fulfill all your wishes.

I feel very differently about this fragrance than most of the reviewers here. I think this is an underrated gem, and shoukd be way more popular. To me it’s ALL about the sweet powdery violet with only a background of rosewood and violet leaf. When you hold your wrist up to your nose yes you can get the woods more directly, but as it wafts in the air around you powdery violets akin to Parma sweets is what I smell the most. There is a slight resemblance to feminite du bois but only slightly. You can have both.

I was recommended this as a potential substitute for the discontinued Dsquared She Wood. The opening is almost exactly the same - just a bit louder in the Genie de Bois. However, after it's set on the skin for a few minutes it develops into something very heavy and balsamic. It reminds me of those ointments grandmothers use to soothe the pains in their joints. The violet and the wood are very short-lived, this is full-on balsamic. Incredible staying power though.

GdesB is a woody, violet-centered perfume. It is linear, light, and offers reliable longevity and sillage. The violet is earthy, with a touch of a metallic tones. No gourmand element (so it does not remind me of either Feminite du Bois(s)). Call me crazy, but if Serge Lutens' elusive Iris Silver Mist is beyond your price range or is unavailable, try this less-refined option. Your aloof, elegant Iris itch just might be scratched with GdesB.

Sweet powdery violets with the base of a slightly medicinal benzoin. I am glad I sampled this first, since I was intrigued by the woody violet description. As it dries down on me the powdery heaviness clears and the violets stand alone like a floral bouquet. It's ok, my thoughts when I smell it are dainty and soft, but not something I would purchase personally.

My favourite K. Mecheri scent by far. It's a rather unusual interpretation of violet: rich, full-bodied, juicy, feels a bit boozy even, and very, very woody. It's loud and straight-forward. Neiher too sweet, nor powdery. A bit linear maybe, but very pleasant. It has good sillage and, unlike some other wonderful scents from this brand, decent staying power.

I love this combination! It's a beautiful powdered and candied violet with exactly the right amount of violet leaf added to give it a green feel alongside the candy. The drydown is soft and powdered but the Violet never does leave. And the longevity is amazing! I've got 6 hours so far!

I like the drydown, but the initial blast was green and sharp and the persons beside me didnt like it. But everyone agreed the drydown was nice.... HOWEVER, it didnt last long :(

An unexpected violets bouquet rejuvenated by misty green notes یک دسته گل بنفش غیرمنتظره با استفاده از نت‌های سبز غبارآلود

I took a sniff and a sample of this some weeks ago, I must say I'm intruiged

if someone has a bottle for sale in europe, please message me. <3