Feminité du Bois

Comparison of the original Shiseido Feminite du Bois, a vintage Serge Lutens release from the early 2000s Palais Royal era, and the new Serge Lutens formulation Am I setting myself up for failure? I asked myself this question when I conclusively decided that it was time I compared my vintage Shiseido Feminite du Bois, vintage Lutens release from the early 2000s, a new batch from Lutens I recently purchased about two years ago, and put my thoughts on the three to paper. I thought this was going to be a missive that blubbered on for pages and was going to be of no use to anyone, including myself. However, as I sit here and study these three snapshots in time of one of the most successful releases in the last fifty years, I believe I can keep this pretty succinct and clear... hopefully. The Palais Royal and the Shiseido versions open very nearly identically, except that the Shiseido does so with a bit more brute force and urgency. Bergamot, ginger, herbs and spices, and woods give such a stiff, spicy, tight, and impenetrable presentation that it nearly makes my eyes water. It’s one of those openings that makes me say “holy hell, this is a lot.” In the RP and Shiseido versions it’s off-putting, honestly, like some freshly cut wood and hot, chemically, off-gassing lacquer are smacking you in the face. In the new SL formulation, this opening is still there but it’s been neutered to a considerable degree. The volume of this opening dialed back from a shriek to conversational levels, and the dried green herbs and cinnamon and cardamom spices given more room to play. The very pleasant culinary qualities of the herbs and spices give the opening in the new SL a softer and more warming disposition compared to roaring flame of the RP and Shiseido. Then the Shiseido steps far out on its own, a good distance away from the RP and new Lutens, by giving us a huge dose of civet. The Shiseido is classically fecal, and doesn’t hold back - very nearly Jicky-esque in the intensity of the civet note. The RP has a good dose of it as well, but it’s less than half the size of the Shiseido. The new Lutens goes the full prim-and-proper-and-safe route by dialing back the civet to almost imperceptible levels, and, if speaking relative to the Shiseido, virtually non-existent. The new Lutens offers up more floral and fruity spiced amber instead. The new Lutens desperately wants to be pretty, and it is. By keeping the animalics and pushy amber notes in the background, the softer and prettier characters have more distinct voices. The Shiseido, on the other hand, gives all of its energy and time to the animalics and ambers to the point where the florals, fruits, and spices have been quietened, buried under a pile of sh*t. It’s only after a few hours when the civet finally calms down and falls away do those florals, spices, and woods come through a bit more clearly. The RP version lives halfway between the Shiseido and the new Lutens. As mentioned, the civet note has been dialed back significantly, but the warm and sticky amber notes are thicker and louder than the new formulation. The fruit and florals of the heart in RP are, therefore and again, halfway between the Shiseido and the new SL: quieter than they are in the new, but louder than in the Shiseido. The final dry down and skin scents continue to showcase the differences of the three. The Shiseido has considerable longevity, still going strong while the new SL fades to a whisper, and the RP again being halfway between the two. In the Shiseido and the RP this difference is due to the heavier emphasis on the more durable amber materials - the woods, the benzoin, the civet, etc. In the end, all three are a sandalwood amber. The new emphasizes more musks and vanilla as costars to the sandalwood, the RP is deeper and smoother with emphasis on the benzoin and a loamy patchouli, and the Shiseido gives us a baritone growl with deeply colored and coarse amber notes and rich leathery animalics. Feminite du Bois has definitely changed a lot over its 33 year life, and at the risk of causing a ruckus I do think that FdB has changed for the better from a commercial sense. The Shiseido release wouldn’t work today little alone be accepted; the RP nicely fit with its time, but probably would have been a little lackluster in 1992, aligning with the changing trends at the start of this century; the new SL satisfies today’s noses by being a lot less pushy, more demur, and nuanced. Do I have a favorite? I can’t say that I do, but the RP is usually the first to come to mind. This is probably because it was the first FdB I smelled, and so it has taken up more space and permanency in my scent memory. In all of its forms, Feminite du Bois is a fantastic piece of work. A modern legend.

Yet another masterfully crafted composition and a classic Serge Lutens style scent. As they say, with Christopher Sheldrake, complexity is the name of the game, but to be fair, Feminite du Bois started its life back in the day as a Pierre Bourdon fragrance he did for Shiseido while Serge Lutens i believe designed the bottle. Anyway, back to the modern scent you will get today from a Serge Lutens bottle composed by Sheldrake - warm spices (after many hours of experience, i think Nutmeg accord is very prominent here), fresh juicy fruits, sparkly sensation from the cedar in the opening - a truly magical opening that makes me re-spray again and again just to be able to feel it again. Words really cannot put the feeling into writing here. After the opening, the scent "loses" the sparkly parts that tickle the nostrils, but remains very much spicy, warm and fruity, with fresh wood setting in from below. The fruits also develop out of the fresh, juicy stage to more ripe, a bit sweeter form. At the mid stage of development, floral influence sneaks in, but it does not move the composition to sweet feminine direction, as the warm spices and woods are very much still there to balance it out perfectly. As it dries down, the scent goes into slightly more woody, creamy direction - almost as real fruits drying in the sun. Despite the naming - this is not a female centered fragrance - it is very much unisex, i can even call it slightly masculine leaning in the opening due to the warm spicy tones, but in the drydown it is very much universally appealing. Truly a magical composition. The only downside here is longevity and projection - not the greatest in both directions, so if you are one of those people for whom fishing for compliments from complete strangers while walking down the street is important, this will not be your pick. If you are however, a connoisseur of artisanal perfumery, this is a must pick for your collection. Also, anyone coming into your personal scent bubble will be in for a very pleasant sensation. This is such a complex, versatile composition that the only time i cannot see it working would be the cold winter days - it simply lacks the punch to cut through the cold air. Any other time - spray away.

The journey begins with an unexpected invitation: not the typical floral or citrus explosion, but a first contact with cedarwood. It's a dry, almost austere wood at first, immediately setting a tone of solidity and structure, challenging the expectation of a traditionally "feminine" perfume. It's the initial intellectual impact. Almost instantly, the fragrance unfolds in layers, revealing the complexity that lies beneath that first woody impression. The dryness of the cedar begins to be embraced and "dressed" by the ripe pulp of dried fruits (that juicy but dense plum or peach), the spicy warmth of spices (cinnamon, clove), and a whisper of flowers (violet, rose). This is where the concept of "candied wood" or "frosted wood" comes to life: the tension between dry and sweet, structured and fluid, warm and slightly melancholic fully manifests on the skin. It's a phase rich in texture, like touching polished wood next to soft velvet or caramelized fruit. As the perfume settles and blends with the skin (the drydown), the cedar becomes warmer and more personal. The fruits and spices integrate further, perhaps losing some of their initial prominence to become a sweet and aromatic veil that wraps around the woody backbone. The fragrance becomes more intimate, comfortable, and long-lasting. The sophistication persists, but now it's a more serene and deep warmth. The journey concludes with a feeling of a woody embrace, subtly spiced and fruity, remaining as a constant and elegant presence, reflecting the legacy and introspection that the perfume represents. In essence, the olfactory journey of "Féminité du Bois" is an evolution from surprise (the initial wood) to textured complexity (the candied wood) finally settling into an intimate and lasting woody warmth, a sensory reflection of its deep conceptualization.

This is a crazy story but this scent is growing on me. I initially purchased it because of Dolce Vita and, of course, got disappointed due to FmDB not being exactly the same. Amateur mistake. First I got taken aback by the sharpness of it and had to leave the tester bottle for a while. After trying and sampling a few more feminine woody and strong fragrances and falling in love with some I came back to the tiny 10ml I had in my drawer to see if I can give it another chance. And oh boy, how incredible human nose is - I started to vividly perceive way more notes that made this fragrance so beautiful. Astonishing. This is sophisticated, strong, a tiny bit vintage, but none the less sexy and exciting. It is very unique and, even though it draws similarities to DV, it is different in a good way. After drying down on your skin some softness emerges and envelops you like a veil which has to be due to similar notes with DV. I am strongly convinced that Christopher Sheldrake is a magician, as his scents are very, very evolving and ever so changing depending on your body chemistry. I truly believe that you shouldn't buy this thinking it will be a dupe of DV as you will be disappointed, but you should treat this as a separate, unique scent that might have quite a few similarities to DV. It needs to stand out on it's own to be fully appreciated for it's timeless beauty. Never thought that I will get here but I strongly consider buying a full size bottle.

Upon First spray, I got a waft of that choking feeling one gets when someone with too much perfume walks by - I mean, not really a smell so much as a plume of fragrance so strong that nothing at all can stick out to the nose from sudden sensory overload. I'm so glad I didn't judge it on that first whiff and run off to scrub this off because this is very interesting. I really don't know what to make of this or whether or not I even like it. I also get the "pencil shavings" that I believe is common with a lot of spices and ginger. This is a very warm spicy and it actually doesn't go overboard once it dries down (and it dries down quickly on me). I like that the projection isn't too "in-your-face". The silage on me is arm's length - possibly a little more - and longevity is not a problem at all. The imagery it evokes is a woman at a party ... she might not be the best looking, but she's causing most of the men to turn their heads her way. There's something mysterious and irresistible just about her presence, like they want to know more. She carries with her the promise of an experience they've never had before. It's very evocative. Some have been asking about whether or not a man can pull this off. Absolutely he could. This is a scent that doesn't smell too masculine on me, but it certainly doesn't smell feminine either. It's just itself. Either gender could wear this and smell amazing. I think I just decided I love it.