Bois roi d'agalloche

I am admittedly a huge fan of the brand and uncle serge's vast creative catalogue and ability to create new genres within niche perfumery, so take this with a grain of salt but... Bois Roi D'allagoche is the best release from Serge Lutens in years, and very much worth the asking price. Take all of the smolderingly sweet/resinous facets of Indian agarwood, and none of the fermented top notes of the experience, and that's this composition. There's a little nod to Borneo 1834 with a chocolate-laden patchouli accord; additionally there's an extremely judicious dose of what feels like castoreum --if it's not real, it's an incredible recreation-- but the majority of the experience is true-to-life Indian agarwood on a hot coal. Fans of Areej le Dore's Oud Zhen, and well as Russian Oud, would love this..the caveat being this is skewed a little more towards a mass market; so there's no fermented notes at all. But if you were to tell an Areej Fan this was Oud Zhen II, they would most likely believe you. This is not some new, profound, composition, but this is a new bar for Allagochian agarwood soliflore compositions to meet. It's all of the sensual, alluring qualities of agarwood, and none of the unpleasantries.

Oud softened with chocolatey patchouli, very regal as the name suggests, a lovely darkness to it. It opens with intense earthy patchouli before the smoky oud snakes through to become dominant for the main accord then settling back into a balanced pairing. Strong but never screeching like high-street oud perfumes — no burnt plastic — instead powdery, rich and diffuse, like the inside of a mysterious, old wooden box or string instrument. There is a trace Serge Lutens sweetness, amber if you will, probably immortelle, bringing a subtle smoothness and warmth. Bois roi d'agalloche sits comfortably in the Serge Lutens family alongside Ecrin de fumée and Borneo 1834 . Fans of the brand and of those two perfumes in particular will enjoy this.

Extremely sophisticated and regal Oud scent in the same vein as Arte Profumi’s Bois D’Agar. The key refined oud note is surrounded by a lovely patchouli and ambery notes. The scent does not offer anything new but it is beautifully blended and easy to wear. The unisex scent has moderate sillage and very good longevity. Oud lovers need to check this out not for the uniqueness but the sheer style it exudes. Enjoy!

Took me a few times to test this fragrance to fall in love with it. Smells a little stanky in the first 10mins but drys down to a beautiful earthy/ambery/Oudy scent. Smells very high quality 👌

Strictly translated this perfume means “Wood King of Agalloch” or “King of Agalloch Wood”, but this is Serge Lutens, remember. Should we presume word games? It doesn’t seem like it. Oud is indeed the king here, and it’s treated like one. The oud is prominent only in the first third or so of the perfume’s life, and, just like a king it’s made to be, it is adorned with gold and finery. The medicinal and fecal edges of oud are present, but they have been shrouded by warm and resinous amber notes. This has an effect of giving the oud a regality and elegance without removing the complicated and difficult parts of its personality to do so. However, those facets of oud are the first to depart and oud’s woody side links down with the amber base. There it makes a seamless and very pretty marriage with labdanum to be pleasantly warm, golden resinous, a bit sticky and a bit sweet, and very comfortable to wear. You just want to curl up with it, like a warm blanket. Patchouli is nestled around the oud and labdanum for some black top soil earthiness to add even more breadth to the landscape. This presentation of oud is hardly anything new, but here it is at least very well done. No details are overlooked, and it smells very complete and cared for. As with most Lutens perfumes there really isn’t much of an evolution to the perfume; what you smell at the start is pretty much what you’re going to get to the end. But, perhaps the most pleasant part to it is that even though it is grand and powerful, it never shouts at you or pushes you like oud often can. Its presence is impossible to ignore, but it doesn’t crowd you or the room. This isn’t Lutens's first go at an oud centered perfume, but the predecessors of Bois seem to have fallen away from the brand’s attention in addition to some of them generally not being received well by the perfume consuming public. So maybe Bois is Lutens's Hail Mary pass in the oud genre - one more go and hope that it’s caught. I’m not sure how this will be received since oud lovers are not likely going to be impressed, and long-time fans of the brand will likely wish it would “do a bit more”, but I hope to be wrong. It’s a solid oud perfume, and I think the best one Lutens has yet to create.