En Sens Du Bois

There is nothing worse than donning a perfume and spending a moment or two pondering whether one might be in the process of poisoning oneself. Not a problem with the perfumes of Miller Harris, including this gorgeous spare, austere woody perfume: EN SENS DE BOIS. Every time I apply this perfume, I feel as though I just walked into a space filled with freshly hewn wood. Real wood, not the "stuff" which continues to gross me out and which somehow has gained a following in both the designer and niche realms. The scent of cedar should be familiar to anyone who has a cedar closet or otherwise uses cedar to dissuade moths from taking up residence in their home. How expensive can it be to use real cedar, given that it is obviously readily available? And yet, so many "woody" perfumes these days opt for "wood surrogates," which unfortunately in addition to smelling nothing like wood, tend to shroud all of the other what would have been beautiful notes. I've experienced this aromachemical overkill over and over again, and it has become so frequent that I cannot even consider the possibility of buying blind any perfume which boasts "wood" notes. Except for Miller Harris. This house produces truly natural-smelling wood-centric compositions based in the scents of nature. Here is what they write on some of the boxes, which I share because it is not only eloquent but also true: "Fragrance is as old as the earth. The evening scent of flowers, the woodland odours of plants and roots, the headiness of ripe fruits, the bouquet of wild herbs, the trace of pollen on the wind. Such things are my inspiration for, though they stir the senses, they are redolent of something deeper, harmony and inner peace." Three cheers for Lyn Harris, who continues to carry the torch of fine perfumery against all of the recent trends, above all, excessive aromachemical abstraction. I recommend EN SENS DE BOIS for gals and guys alike who enjoy the calming scent of natural woods. They are embellished with a variety of herbal, aromatic elements, but the woods are the main attraction here.

Cedar and woods underscored by a warm musk with a really pretty, sparkling, slightly churchy incense note. Very nice and meditative fragrance.

If there was a fragrance specifically created for meditation, yoga, or simple rumination, En Sens de Bois would be the one. I can't even call this a perfume, its function seems to be beyond that, it smells so natural and realistic, it almost transports you to another place when you wear it. For me I mostly detect lots of cedar, sandalwood, some pine, and a big charcoal and frankincense incense note that weaves throughout. The iris note is very earthy, and soft. This is all about the woods, and it is very naturally done. As Sherapop below me writes, there is not a hint of synthetic/Iso E Super/Crap wood bases that are used to replace wood notes in perfume nowadays. The lasting power is very good, although it wears extremely softly, that is one thing that I would change about this perfume. But otherwise, if you love incense and woods, this is your place.

Opens with a very dry woody smell, it's like chopping a tree and burring your nose into it. The most prominent is the cedar and it's paired with earthy iris/carrot. Half hour in and I start to get incense which blends well with the composition and gives a cold peaceful meditative state. 1.5 hours in and the incense takes the lead and by this time the scent barely lingers above the skin, which is a shame. Smelling it up close, the incense and woods are the main things I get. Good woody incense fragrance, but I wish it was more fierce with the performance. Scent: 7.5/10 Longevity: 6/10 Projection: 4/10

I should have loved this but it didn't perform well on my skin.