Bois Farine

Very first impressions: everything I imagined and wanted it to be and then some! I feel very blessed to have gotten my hands on a bottle for a reasonably good price. I’ve been wanting this for years SINCE it’s been discontinued, so I certainly wasn’t expecting to grab a bottle anytime soon if ever, so I when I came upon one for a decent enough price I just had to have it right away! In fact I’ve been wanting Jour de Fete for YEARS, well over a decade, but that one is even MORE expensive and harder to find, and this was often compared to it, so I figured if anything I’ll get this one first. I’m lucky enough to have the older bottle too, the clear and light one with the gold cap. Ok so at VERY first spray yes I totally smell the peanuts/peanut butter, but this only lasts for like literally a minute on my skin and it’s never bad it’s just..peanuts. But again only for a blink. Then it gets this playdoh smell but in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY and in exactly the way I was hoping for! You see, I LOVE that playdoh smell! But most scents that have it are decidedly SWEET, like hypnotic poison which I LOVE, but for the longest time I’ve been craving a less sweet version of that delightful playdoh accord without sacrificing any of the, well, playdoh-iness. THIS is IT!!! It’s got that playdoh accord down to a T, but it’s only barely sweet-just enough! Other than that it’s mostly just a delicious, milky, almond-tinged (but never almond-based/centric sandalwood. I totally ADORE this scent, and I’ll be looking to secure more bottles so that I can actually wear this without abandon and just spray it all over myself and wear it frequently as I’d love to do! That’s the only real downside of falling in love with and securing bottles of rare and/or DC’d fragrances-you want to wear them all the time, but can’t! Of course, now I ALSO totally want a bottle of Jour de Fete! One day! At least now I know it’s definitely worth the splurge for me. You see, this is one of my very favorite types of scents EVER. Lush had an amazing delicious scent/perfume called snow-something (not literally “snow something”, it was “snow”, I think, followed by something else, but I just can’t remember the name) that smelled like marzipan and it was AMAZING but VERY thick and it could easily get cloying. Jarling by JAR is also very similar to the lush one. Anyway, this is like a light, airy, reduced sugar/sugar free version of that scent and it is PERFECT. As for performance, L’Artisan is notorious for struggling here, and while it’s too soon to comment on longevity, it performs wonderfully as far as strength and sillage go. Perhaps this is due to having an older bottle, but if all bottles are like mine then I don’t know what the fuss is about! The performance is great so far! Of course I’ll update when the time comes. But so far I’m just taken aback by this beauty! I’d say that if you also love this type of scent, then it’s absolutely worth a blind buy, even at the prices it currently goes at!! Again, this is one of my VERY FAVORITE categories of scents, yet I have NEVER in all my years smelled something that is identical, dupe-worthy, or even decently similar to this! An amazing blind buy that I’m beyond thrilled to have! Edit: something about this, and I’m not sure what, is deeply nostalgic to me. If I figure it out, I’ll update with what.

Love this! I usually like everything from Jean Claude Elena. So unique and nothing like it in market. And to me that’s the point and best part of searching for a unique fragrance no one has and you can wear and be different. The problem people are having is that they have not trained their nose or are not comfortable with being bold or trying something outside of their comfort zone. Some say they don’t want to smell like peanuts but why not? Everyone loves Peanuts and even the ones allergic to it would want to try them. We all love other scents that normally would be strange and wouldn’t want to have on if it weren’t for us being used to them already in other fragrances. This would be amazing during winter and cold weather especially during the holidays. This is NOT for everyone upon initial trying, may think of peanut shells and some even would find this “bad” or “disgusting” as one person said, but it’s not it’s just different. People tend to forget that others smell you differently then how you smell a fragrance or think of it on yourself. Remember that people knock down things that are “different” or things that are foreign to them or not a trend yet. And the understanding and appreciation of something comes from you being patient and cultivating it or someone starting the trend and being different and unique. But this is such a niche and unique fragrance that to the trained nose or the unsuspecting, it will envelope them in a nostalgic time of celebration, holiday and love...a night where you want to cozy up with a loved one reminiscing on old movies...or make one want to soothe their sweet tooth craving by recalling sweets they had at childhood or on a holiday and a happier time with family. This scent is, let’s see how to put it exactly so you can imagine it perfectly...”The scent of arriving to a Christmas party in Spain and being offered dry creamy nougat turrón made of toasted almonds and peanuts coming from an antique beautiful wooden box to share with family and friends by the fire beckoning for some second helpings and quenching your thirst with some holiday booze to compliment!”

Delicious and comforting wood powder with regrettable longevity/silage. BFis true to its name: wood flour. BF smells as if a combination of woods, almond, and iris has been dried and pulverized into a fine flour. This combo also gives me a peanut butter cookie vibe when sprayed. I can feel the "powdery note" mentioned by Fragrantica but it is quite transparent (it does not interfere with the other notes). It is there to give a powdery feeling (which the iris also has). There is a combination of woods here, but at first I cannot say one stands over the other. The almond and iris eventually tone down and then this delicious sandalwood scent becomes more apparent. It is warm, semi-sweet and balmy. This is the best part for me since I love sandalwood. The sandalwood stays until the end, as the more prominent wood scent. On the downside BF goes skin very quickly. Within 30 minutes only I can smell it. After the 1 hour mark BF becomes less powdery and gives out a faint sandalwood scent. BF is pretty much history after the 4th hour on me. In short, I madly love the smell of BF, but absolutely detest its longevity and silage. If you like the scent of a peanut/sandalwood confection mixed with a powdery smell of woods/sandalwood, and are looking for fragrance who won't stick to you for a long time, the BF is for you. I personally own it. And even though I don't like its longevity, there are many occasions where I find that desirable. For example, I often wear it at night after a shower knowing that, comes morning time, I don't need to wash it off to wear my daytime fragrance.

What an oddity of a perfume!! It is a very very soft blend of natural animalic (not in the greasy hairy way, just NOT the industrial chemical clean-laundry musk..more like the balls of musk out grannys used to put on the wardrobes between the clothes and sheets) musk and powdery "white" notes of someting like wet dough and wet plaster mixed together. As it cooks into the skin it turns sweeter, veering more thowards a faint cooked dough or bread scent rather than the mineral plaster or clay touch. It doesen't however loose the mineral feel of the plaster even though it turns way softer and stays in the background. Also the jazmine and the iris start to show up, but very faintly as well, way in the background, making this scent rounder and giving it the delicate sweetness. The woods also show up as the base, and they can be pretty noticeable, and the benzoin also adds some caramel like sweetness to the flowers. I can aslo detect some spices but extremely faintly and just from whiff to whiff of scent or it could be one of the several woods this perfume has on its base. It is a very interesting between sweetness (which often makes quite warm scents) and airy coldness. It is very very soft and kind of airy. It is very conforting too...very cozy. I'd say it is another category of femenine as it is not the typical flowery/sweet/fruity scent...it is almost angelic due to it's "whiteness" and softness, like little farine clouds. My only complaint : extremely poor sillage and longevity. Extremely soft and faint.. I personally adore it

You could be one of the finest bakers to understand this fragrance. I like to spend my insomniatic mornings surrounded by grains, seeds, nuts, cacao nibs, sugar, honey, and spices. I have a special drawer wher I keep my best chocolates and a favorite baking sheet for toasting grains and nuts to bring out their eepest favors. Bois Farine is those sweetened, toasted grains and nuts. Think ground almonds. Imagine being in this hot patisserie at 3AM, grinding your own almonds to make marzipan. You have secret spices you add to this marzipan to make it especially addictive, and you store the whole spices in a sandalwood box a lover brought to you decades ago: the carvings are filled in with pastry flour. The smell of bread baking and brioche dough rising surrounds you as well. And you are drinking a warm cup of chai, in memory of your travels with that lover when you were young. Slide your fingers through the almond meal you have made, is it fine enough? A few more pulses in the food processor and then you will add superfine sugar and let it pulse until the almonds and sugar come together, almost like a smooth dough. But just before that the spices you are blending in the stone mortar and pestle from Mexico—there's a hint of the purest Mexican vanilla nourishing the stone (both from a different lover; yes, another travel means another lover) and it gets added to feed the addiction and bring those hungering for more to your threshold.

This grew on me. When I first tried Bois Farine I was shocked to find that what I blind-bought was an unwearable weird stuff. I didn’t scrub it though, and was reconciled with it to some degree after day dragged on. And then a month later I suddenly decided to try it again. What can I say – it was a success! I sprayed my wrist only once remembering past experience, but found that I keep rolling up the sleeve of my parka and my glove to sniff the wrist. It smells like powdered wood to me, luckily I don’t smell any peanut butter that I hate and a lot of reviewers get. This is an odd scent, I can’t dissect it into notes like I always can. It’s so exotic for a perfume, that you just live it as an experience. Can’t say I detect iris as usually I don’t really like iris scents, and I don’t get jasmine at all, and not musk. I don’t rightfully know what I get except for some unusual wood – not your typical sedar, but I love how Bois Farine makes me feel. It’s comforting and has character, and staying power was super surprising for an L’Artisan – I sprayed once at 9 am, and could still smell it at 6 pm. I didn’t get much sillage, but I don’t strive to get it, I find that when a cloud comes into the room before the person, it’s an invasion into other people’s privacy, as all the people that use public transit can vouch for. So Bois Farine is a well-behaved little scent that lives with its master and lets live.

The scent bears a white powderiness similar to that of flour. It's odd in a good way. There is a very gourmand peanut nougat in the opening, but it only lasts a minute or two. The heart of the fragrance smells like a tea latte of smoky black tea with a few dried jasmine flowers, lots of steamed milk, and some powdered sugar. This is a sweet take on iris. I love to burn palo santo, my absolute favorite wood, and I smell heaps of it in this perfume. Love it. Now I know where the smokiness comes from. I really didn't expect the guaiac note would be so true to the actual wood, but leave it to L'Artisan to craft a fragrance of such remarkable quality. It's my palo santo dream come true. It reminds me of the drydown of Theorema, where the palo santo is so good I didn't think I would ever smell it so good again. It's not just a woody perfume. It certainly has the white powder that I expected with a name like "Farine." It's a similar powderiness to L'Eau D'Hiver minus the touch of green. Instead of green, Bois Farine is smoky and a tad floral. Both are warm, cozy, and comforting in cold weather. Bois Farine is a definite winner from L'Artisan. Considering it's not a heavy perfume, sillage and projection are both awfully good with only one spray. One spray drifted up to my nose for several hours. I bought this without testing first--no regrets! This is one of the best woody-iris perfumes out there.

Blind buy. Very happy with it. When I was reading reviews, I instantly wanted to try this one, because l find something soothing and edgy on flour/milk/wheat scents. Right now, I am actually doing an experiment. I am wearing Bois Farine on one wrist and Serge Lutens, Jeaux de Peau on the other. And I am having so much fun! Bois Farine reminded me of Jeaux de Peau right away, because it gave me this bakery feeling and I couldn't think of any other fragrance that would smell like this. So. It is very interesting how I get almost the same feeling with both fragrances, they remind me of passing by the bakery in the morning. This is one of the most comforting scents for me. But they are also very different. Like two different approaches to baking bread. The main difference is that Jeaux de Peau is gourmand, Bois Farine isn't. For me, at least. JdP is more complex, it actually has wheat and milk notes, it is richer and edible. Also more yeasty. Bois Farine is colder, it is dry and powdery. But although it isn't gourmand, it reminds me of bread, dough, flour.. Bakery, basically. The drydown is different. JdP becomes loud and yeasty and Bois Farine becomes nice and silent, powdery sandalwood. Bois farine is maybe more wearable because you don't feel like you are wearing bakery but the association of it. They are both masterpieces, in my opinion.

Bois Farine conjures up the finest powder; it feels the same way to my nose as would sifting flour through my fingers, a satiny granularity. A pulverized peanut dust, raw hazelnut and macadamia, a soft almond caress. It's somewhat marzipan, somewhat heliotrope, a little tapioca, entirely round and supple. The iris is a cool pastel, contrasting with the warmth of its surroundings, only vaguely cosmetic, but mostly baked in and unadorned. I am then reminded of Mead writing pads that I'd love to buy as a kid to scribble in, and the smell of clean, immaculate paper; I relive the excitement of it and anticipation, with ballpoint pen at hand and an unfettered imagination. It is, however, the "bois" in Bois Farine that is the pivot: the nutty qualities of sandalwood, a pale cedar that feels as if it's milled into meal, oils expressed, dampness revealed, then sprinkled with even more powder. There is nothing conventionally gourmand about Bois Farine as its forward woodiness prevents that. Yet, Ellena imbued the edible with that which is not, suggesting the totality of sensory environment. In the far dry down, my wrists reveal the most beautiful cedarwood. It helps that it seems to love my skin and has a heavenly sillage—a joy to wear.

I haven't worn BF for ages, and had forgotten how much I enjoy it - but my bottle almost threw itself out of the fridge (I keep my perfumes in tall larder fridges in the spare bedroom - they're only turned on during very hot weather as my house is horribly poorly insulated) this morning. I chose to interpret its bid for freedom as a request for some attention, so... I'm wearing it today. On first spraying, I was surprised at how VERY dry Bois Farine is. I really can almost taste it. That initial dryness is almost acrid, but dissipates after 30 minutes or so and leaves behind a truly beautiful, slightly sweet and powdery - but creamy - sandalwood. I wear quite a few "men's" fragrances and think that Bois Farine leans slightly masculine, although I don't give a stuff. I love it. I started writing this review about seven hours ago, but can still clearly smell Bois Farine; I know that L'Artisan fragrances can be short-lived, but this one is still clearly discernible to me, despite my dry skin - and the fact that I often become completely noseblind to whatever I'm wearing (which can result in unnecessary re-spraying).

I blind bought a bottle, and after first wearing it for about an hour, my impression was that it reminded me of construction materials, particularly gyprock. Anyone who has worked with drywall will know what I’m referring to. After the initial spray there was also a piercing, chemical smell reminiscent of a black permanent marker. I could understand the breadflour connection, but I still felt less like a baker kneading a rye and more like a drywaller covered in chalky gypsum. You know what? This really grows on you. After wearing it for several days, I have to agree it does smell very floury with a hint of musky sweetness. The projection is about half a foot, but it lasts hours and smells so cool, dry, and powdery. It’s reminiscent of putting your hand into a bag of baking flour and feeling the cool, silky texture. I can picture myself applying ten sprays to a cozy sweater in the morning, letting it sit, and then throwing it on immediately after a shower. It would feel like covering myself with almond-scented talcum powder. This is the very definition of a niche fragrance. It’s unique, odd, and highly addictive.

I have a newer bottle and I can’t imagine how gorgeous an older formula must be! Stunning powdery Iris on a bed of creamy sandalwood with nutty nuances- that’s basically what perceive. It’s incredibly elegant, perfectly unisex and I think can be used for most occasions. The opening is when I experience the “nut chew” or a nutty nougat - its gone as soon as I sense it which make me sad but it returns is a different form in the dry down. After a few minutes, I get wafts of glorious Iris- slightly lipsticky, more dry, rooty and more of a creamy, pressed powder texture than loose powder. The Iris is a little bread like- similar to the Iris I smell in l’ange Noir. Layered behind the Iris; I sense vanillic benzoin and milky sandalwood. I find Bois Farine projects well for 3-4 hours before sitting closer to my skin. That’s when the nuttiness returns but instead of a chewy nuttiness, it’s a creamy, milky nuttiness with swirls of benzoin, gaiac and cedar wood with a touch of musk to keep everything clean and fluffy. An absolutely masterful blend! I’ve got to track down an earlier formula! Batch 2016

As someone who was an avid raw-flour eating child, this one is a hit. Bois farine is just that: woody and wheaty, but in the nicest, most elegant way. The opening smells a bit like a mixed nut butter in a really good way; you get the richness of the nuts but not a disgusting false pistachio or sugary almond. After that, it's powdery, just like raw flour with a creamy quality from the sandalwood, and pretty linear. To me, it smells like the fabric used in the old bread cabinet some people used to have before. A bit dry and stale maybe, but the woody notes, which feel really well crafted, keep the scent elevated. The iris here is not the central point, but it gives that rice powder feeling that keeps Bois Farine from being just a weird gourmand. I'm still waiting for Jean-Claude Ellena to makes something that would disappoint me, but he's just too good. Probably the most comforting scent for me with Cèdre Secret, I love to wear them to bed; it's also really good for layering certain scents. I love Bois Farine as a base for Iris Silver Mist or Iris Torréfié.

You know those confidence boosting statement perfumes that can stop others in their tracks for good or bad but will certainly get noticed. Truth be told I love some of them. And then there is Bois Farine on the other side of the spectrum, delicate, polite and discreet. The name is quite fitting actually; smells like flour, unsweetened pastry dough, nuts and the most tender woods imaginable. It doesn't really evolve, only becomes even more quiet with time so if you like the initial spray you'll probably like it till the end. Is it wearable? For me yes, yes, YES, but I often appreciate peculiar, quirky scents. Keep in mind that it is truly a skin scent, won't project much no matter how many the sprays but it lasts, sometimes even until the next morning if applied generously. I find it marvellous; such a homey, comforting and serene scent. The olfactory equivalent of a well fitting cream cashmere sweater; super soft, comfy and impossible not to enjoy wearing it.

Bois Farine is as many have already written an unique fragrance. On me it start with a mouthwatering peanutbutter note, I like peanuts and have nothing against smelling like them. But ooooh, they don ́t last. Not at all, they are only there for such a short time it is actually amazing I noticed them! After the lovely peanutbutter there come something very soft, pretty and gourmand kind of fragrance. But as I have noticed with some other L'Artisan the fragrance is much to weak on me! I can tell it smells really good, but I get mostly frustrated because I want it to smell more, stronger and longer! It is so weak I can ́t really judge what I smell, only knowing that whatever it is, it smells so good, smoth and lovely. Why oh why are Bois Farine so shy on me? I only have a 1 ml sample, but even if I have a whole bottle I guess it would be empty very fast. I should have loved it, if only I could have smelled it a tiny bit better.

Bois Farine tells the discovery by Jean-Claude Ellena of the "white scenting wood " a tree growing on L'île de la Réunion, with its red flowers exhaling a smell of flour. A scent that referring to hands kneading dough cake, without being foody or disgusting or trivial. Instead, it's a complex composition, impalpable, almost physical, which gives mouth wathering, while being quite abstract. The first effect is very winter fruit: almonds powder and toasted hazelnut, with a slightly bitter appearance of Coumarin and tobacco, hay, dry and herbal. Then the "mealy" notes unfolds, powdery, almost mineral, like baby powder. And this is after a few moments that are emerging creamy woods, sandalwood and vetiver, to provide a darker dimension, slightly smoky, and a little whole grain effect, rye bread. Bois Farine is a marvel of subtlety and creativity who melts into the skin like a soufflé prepared a Sunday in winter.

Loved the scent, truly unique. But the longevity was TERRIBLE! Someone in the reviews below wrote 2-3 hours. On me it was 1 hour, and I am a generous sprayer. It is a very comforting scent though, definitely for women. If you keep reapplying is every now and then, you might get something out of it. I sold it because I just could not deal with poor performance. No matter how much I sprayed, it just would not last, neither on skin nor on clothes. It has been discontinued, probably because it is not the most versatile scent. It is definitely not your office/workplace scent, nor would I wear it when I run my errands. Probably on a date? In terms of similarity to other scents, I'd say Boucheron Fève tonka is extemely close to Bois Farine (and similarly poor performance). For better performance you should try Tonka Imperiale by Guerlain. It is not as soft, but very similar profile.

After a massive perfume storage reshuffle, whereupon I put my fragrances back in their house boxes, getting rid of an unsatisfying attempt at categories and note dominance (e.g. Big White Florals, Small White Florals, vanilla, salty beach), I was left gazing upon my L’Artisans all together. A rather mottley collection, lids coming apart, labels eaten by glue and fallen off, everything half matching with the sexagon style, but for some reason I wanted to spray this baby, interestingly and lovingly half used. I adored it when I first got it, such an unusual challenging strange but comforting wearable fragrance and to me, very feminine. By lunchtime, getting back from hauling fodder, I’m getting a nutty sandalwood thing, gorgeous, I KID YOU NOT, that reminded me of GUIDANCE. Yep. GUIDANCE. The same blown warm white sweet yeast.

I'm increasingly drawn to Bois Farine. Such a weird beauty, such an impressive lasting power for a soft scent. For me Bois Farine is mostly woods with sandalwood dominating the accord, dry and pleasant nut aromas, a weird but nice flour impression smoothing things out and a fleeting, whisper-like floral note on top of it all. It gradually develops some gentle resinous/nutty sweetness - and has a dry (as opposite of moist) warm and comforting overall feel, like your old trustworthy cashmere sweater. But breaking this scent to the parts does not really do justice to it. It's completely unique, I've never smelled anything quite like it. Wearing Bois Farine is like falling in love with a friend. You know him, you've had such a great time with him - and suddenly you just understand how the things are for you two...

This is a very unique and comforting scent. It smells dry and woody but has a flour-like smell that is very pleasing. It isn't sweet though, it smells like clean white wood. Flour-y wood. Bois Farine means "wood flour" and that is exactly what it smells like. It doesn't smell like food much to me at all. It isn't that kind of flour. But there is a bit of warmness to it from the sandalwood. And there is a slightly nutty quality. The dry down is slightly sweeter and I feel like I smell a tiny bit of tonka although it isn't listed. My nose is pretty much missing anything floral in there. Bois Farine is very light and sheer, you could wear this heavily and it still would not be overwhelming. Great for anywhere in close quarters with others where you want your fragrance to be more discreet and polite.