Bois d'Iris

(01F14F023), 2015 batch approx 55 ml. left (USD 49) The Interpretation of Iris in Bois d'Iris is something I never faced before. It's surprise me surprisingly and It's also stunning in the same time. This could be Iris interpretation as Gourmand (?!?) When applied Iris do greeting you right away. Iris in this is not makeupky like Dior Homme or Prada L'Homme. It's smooth buttery Iris, that sit on top with Vanilla perfectly. No so long you will be introduce by Sugar (in mild caramelized manner) and Sea salt. The smell of refine sea salt probably come from Ambergris (my skin enhance Ambergris very well) and this is authentic ambergris and also a note of Sugar.. This is create Sea Salt Vanilla Ice Cream accord on my skin. We walk to the heart now, Iris - Vanilla - Salt and Sugar still remains but more glittery. Incense starts to kick-in along with Myrrh & Amber. It's deep. Sensational - it stay here, quite a while. As we walk to the base, greeting my old friend - Vetiver. In this - coming in dry and hay like similar to Jo Malone Golden Vanilla & Vetiver. But this smooth out the edge, unlike the Jo Malone. Then the soap accord start to build up reminiscent of Prada Iris d' Cedar. To make you feel fresh and clean as fresh Labdanum provide mild human touch skin to soften everything. However, while the twist is very interesting it is become more typical Iris as it dry down, It make me crave a bit more. The scents is a bit thin and it would be great if it is a bit denser. Scent projection starts moderate low and become intimate at 2-3 mark it is not as close to the skin as Dioramor (that one is very close) however the longevity is impressive (6-7 hours) and it do enhance your skinscent extremely nice. For the experience and the twist provided, I will rate 10/10 In real life usage, this could only be given 8/10. ... Gender Classification : Unisex (55% Homme / 45% Femme) (I rate this more Homme as the wood has a bit bitter quality that suitable for men) Longevity : 6-7 hours Projection : moderate low, become intimate.

She pulls away from you, slowly. The room feels like it's watching you, waiting. You can hear her heartbeat in sync with yours...you feel truly alive for the first time. The burning crimson of her lips, so tempting. Deep purple iris-flecked eyes, dancing. You are awash in everything, it rushes to be noticed. The room, cool and clean, lingers in your every breath - the musk of passion and the pristine sheets leave you wanting more. Your lover's touch sends shivers up your spine, her sweet skin tries to swallow you whole - she oozes saccharine sweetness lit against the backdrop of sinking sun. This moment is burnt deep into your mind...the crisp white of your pillow is the last thing that registers - the powdered musk of a lost love, the last you smell. Today is for the living....tomorrow may never come. Day 67 - Half past five Listening to: The Weekend - The Hills Notes: I now understand what people are talking about when they say something smells like 'cocaine' - I never have, but this is that experience for me. It's pure and sinful all in one breath, and it's exhilarating. While not as complicated as I initially thought, this scent is extasy. The iris is front and center for the first hour or two paired with a cognitive trip of clean and slightly human-esque white musk. These core notes are accentuated masterfully with a rich and resinous saccharine note...soft vanilla and amber and a touch of myrrh and labdanum simmer beneath the enveloping musk. It comes and goes in waves and every time it comes around you want more. Perfect on a woman and quite intriguing on a man and this trip lasts over 12 hours. I also believe that Bois d'Argent by Dior is a similar but slightly more masculine version of this which highlights a more honeyed iris than a powdery iris and musk. This one is gorgeous though...

Finally, I am able to review this gem... I think this is easily the most likable scent from the collection Extraordinaire. On paper, it is very fresh but on the skin, it projects more musk like a skin scent at least in my experience. This kinda gives me a vintage vibe a vintage iris but so modern at the same time, making it a timeless staple. The wood in it makes it so lovely, so earthy and natural nothing synthetic also the incense in it gives a little edge to it if you know what I mean. What I hate about this fragrance is the fact that after 5 hours it is barely there? like you really have to stuff your nose into your skin to get a proper sniff again but it is supposed to be a perfume. don't get me wrong it is still there but the projection lacks a lot. maybe my skin chemistry does not work with this one. but you can always spray more am I right... anyway a beauty in its form. this oddly reminds me of a summer night looking at the stars or the moon, just being there in the moment and taking all the good energy in. 9/10 superb really, I could easily say that any wearer of this perfume is someone who knows how to rock a beautiful outfit, just an odd thought... I can almost imagine a woman sipping tea or coffee outside a nice cafe in Paris. do not why but I do. also, it kinda reminds me of babies, not like a baby powder but a mother's warm embrace kind of feel, I guess the creaminess of this fragrance gives me that emotion, and also it is a savory type of fragrance so yeah super good. as a side note, this kinda gives me the same vibes that miller harris' violet ida has, and obviously, it is because of the violet it is a powdery note to it but this compared to violet ida is more feminine and subtle.

At least to me, Bois d'Iris might just be the ideal woody gourmand. Of course, that's oversimplifying it, because there's a lot going on in this lovely creation, but that's what it comes down to: sensual woods and delicious sugary vanilla coming together in perfect, velvet-smooth harmony. This is a match made in heaven: the blending of these two aspects means this scent doesn't smell quite edible, but gives it a silky vibe that's almost chocolaty in a subtle way - and somehow it's more successful in that regard than most perfumes with an actual chocolate note listed! I thought I must be crazy to think this, but I see that one other reviewer has mentioned it, so there might be something to it after all. The balsamic notes stay politely in the background to provide depth, and the iris is the star of the fragrance only for the briefest while in the very opening - it's very well done, dry and natural and also wonderful in combination with the driftwood, but after just a few minutes it blends in seemlessly with the gourmand/woody main event. It does easily stays around all day though, and to my nose it gets better and better with time. It's easy to overspray since it's so addicting, but be careful - sillage is stronger than you might be aware of. My colleague hinted that he's "very sensitive to scents" and that I was "wearing more perfume than normally" today, and it's true I used four sprays instead of two just to be sure not to miss out on this lovely smell throughout my day. Lesson learned - better to keep this gem a bit more to myself!

Starts with: A cold, airy, floral iris (not lipstick-y on my nose; unlike DH, VUI), supported by a sweet backbone Settles to: An interplay of mild incensy woods and thin, sugary vanilla which makes it appropriate for any gender imo. There's also a surprising freshness in the background which reminds me of the seaside air, if that makes sense? When I was starting out in the hobby of fragrance collecting, I tried not to stray too far from what companies dictate "what a man should smell like". I used to not believe in the mentality of "all fragrance are unisex" and "wear whatever the hell you want"; that is, until Bois d'Iris came along. I tried to convince myself that I'm not supposed to like this, but I find myself drawn to it every time I smell it. For me it smells aloof yet cuddly, elegant yet confident, while still being quite versatile, and perfectly unisex - the hell with the marketing. Longevity as an EDP is satisfactory; it, however, sits close to the skin which works well imo (you don't want scents like this to shout). Perfect for milder weather, day or night, but there's a freshness to it that can make this work even in warmer days. I've never smelled Maison Dior's BdA so I can't make any comparisons, but I'm satisfied with how BdI works for my purpose - I plan to use this as a date scent that I know my picky missus would like to smell on me. Actually, this "female-marketed" scent has become a top contender to be my wedding scent... in the past, I would've scoffed at the idea. I'm a changed man now, thanks to BdI. :)

Someone once asked me: "When you choose a perfume, which stage is the most important to you? do you decide based on the top, middle, or base notes?" -- Having been guilty of many impulse purchases, I answered with wisdom that the middle and base notes are the most important to me, and that I can wait past a lesser opening before I judge and decide whether I like the perfume or not. Today I went to a local store, remembering that I liked Bois d'Iris and wishing to try it again. I left the store wondering why I had liked it. The opening had a sweet custard-like smell, then I sensed the smoke and woody notes, which persisted for the longest time. The smell itself wasn't bad, just unbearable for me personally. I left the store thinking to cross this one off from my wishlist or to come back in a colder season and try it again. Third stage emerges, as I'm sitting comfortably on my couch at home: an incredibly smooth combination of vanilla, orris and vetiver. I suddenly realise I cannot stop smelling my wrist and that it has an aromatic quality that I am rapidly falling in love with. So, coming back to the above question, Bois d'Iris poses a real challenge for me and makes me wonder if I should rethink my answer. It is a gorgeous perfume and I love the dry-down, but is it worth sitting through the first couple of hours before the smell gets there? I will challenge myself to smell it again and again until I find the answer.

Bois d iris is a very unique iris scent. Slightly Different than any other dry and non sweet iris perfumes I have smelled. Well that isn't from a niche brand. I don't get any of the sugary notes at all. This fragrance for me is more about the dry and powdery iris and driftwood and a soft saltiness of the ocean. I would've called this perfume iris ocean or sea iris. Something like that. It is a very clean perfume like Chanel 1957 but without the peppery notes on top. Also Chanel 1957 is more soap and water clean with iris where Bois d'iris is more salty ocean air clean mixing with powdery iris. Unisex. If you like dry iris scents with a new twist this is a good one. Edit: while I do like this I have to downgrade it to just a like vote. The sad thing about this line I am finding is the lack of longevity. Such a shame. I have 2 more from this line to test but if there longevity is as bad as the most of the 5 (midnight patchouli was the exception for longevity but leans masculine IMO) I tested today I will not be adding a full bottle of any of these vancleef perfumes to my collection. In fact I wish they would bring back the original vancleef from 1992. I have a decant of that given to me by a wonderful friend I met here. Now that one has longevity!

Ah, Bois d'Iris... I had a love affair with this one initially, then broke up with it and sold it away, only to return to it years later with a greater appreciation for what I had and lost. Now it's one of my all-time favorites, kind of a soulmate. I haven't tried all the iris perfumes out there, but I've tried the main ones. This one just hits on all the right levels for me. I think its main strength is that it's not trying too hard. It's lipsticky and semi-sweet, slightly woody. Doesn't scream, but doesn't whisper, either. It speaks normally and clearly, mainly about the romance of the iris aroma, which is classic and timeless. I got rid of this very early on because I felt it was an underachiever. I came back to it because I realized it was just a kind of understatement I wasn't able to appreciate at the time. Classic and timeless, understated and sophisticated, just as much as it needs to be, and an absolutely perfect companion to any sort of activity. I can vouch for it as an accompaniment to great films, for instance. Unisex, all weather, day or night, a perfect companion, and a great perfume.

I love woody perfumes and orris/iris, so I was bound to enjoy this one. I also liked Traversee du Bosphore (iris/rose/amber/sweet) which this reminds me of slightly, except that Bois d'Iris is less sweet, far more woody, but still soft and floaty like TdB. This is natural, with a soft yet definite presence. It opens with a very distinct high quality iris/orris note that reminds me of Iris Silver Mist by Lutens, but then becomes more woody, very cedary, also sweet - a bit nutty, like nougat and rice paper. The general impression is soft and gently elegant. It's one I'd wear if I didn't want to wear something too 'perfumy', for example on holiday in the country it would work beautifully, enhancing the natural smells around you yet lending a very pleasant aura. If it was a colour it would be soft green or mauve, yet it's also quite sunny and uplifting unlike the more melancholy iris-based perfumes (I love those too, but I think Bois d'Iris is warmer thanks to the sweet, soft woody aspects) I could imagine an author or composer wearing this while musing in a sunlit library. Lovely stuff!

I got myself a tiny decant because I wanted to try out iris fragrances and it was not what I’d expected—it’s an interpretation of iris I’ve never encountered before. My main impression of it is a woody (like white wood) and vanilla-y iris over a bed of earthy vetiver. Vanilla becomes a lot more detectable on me in the dry-down stage. I find it to be a very serene fragrance that conjures up images of morning mist. Beautiful and well-crafted. I’m impressed. Like another of VCA’s perfume I’ve sampled before, it stays close to the skin. Thus, it’s a quiet fragrance, with a reserved yet self-assured elegance, which really tickles this minimalist’s fancy. It’s mysterious and compelling in the same way a quiet person can make one curious and wish to pry. It’s a near-perfect scent for me, with the only unfortunate aspect of it being the vetiver. I don’t find this note pleasant and it’s too detectable on me. I keep thinking about it, though. I’m definitely going to give it more tries. Update: I’ve grown to like vetiver! Also, the iris in this reminds me of the scent of doll heads.

Bois D’Iris is a lovely fragrance for a sophisticated and self-assured person who does not need to scream for attention. However, the name could be considered rather misleading, as the scent itself is much warmer and richer than you would believe. All in all this is a dry, resinous scent with sweet and creamy nuances. Incense and myrrh are dominant to my nose, balanced by the delicious sweetness of vanilla - sugar is also listed but is obviously just marketing. This marriage of vanilla and incense is smoothed out by the buttery subtlety of an iris accord, making what you would think the primary note, in fact a supporting one. Overall however, I really enjoy this scent - it’s perfect for those ‘in-between’ days during that period of transition between summer and autumn. If you have smelled Encens Suave, you will notice an obvious similarity between the two. However whilst Encens Suave screams, Bois D’Iris whispers, which I greatly appreciate.

One of my favorite notes is Iris, which always surprises me, with its varied interpretations . Iris can appear soft, creamy , dusty, sensual or, as in this case, melancholic. It's an interpretation that I really like and that ended up on my wishlist. A fragrance that opens dusty, but only for a moment, giving space to woody, dark nuances, which make it appear to my nose, I don't know why, veiled in this feeling that is so important and integral to our lives. Yes, because it is intrinsic to us, and that life which is not permeated by it even for brief moments cannot be defined as such. Try it, and be reborn from the ashes, and keep a fond memory of it. In short, without this feeling we would not be able to grow and strengthen ourselves, to find the will to fight to get out of it. “Melancholy is not an escape from reality, but from the unreality of the world.” Raheel Farooq “La Madeleine à la veilleuse” painted by Georges de La Tour

this is a beautiful plush iris perfume. the vetiver note stands out for me, swirling with the incense and woods, there is smoke in this vetiver, all adding to a rather ethereal quality to my nose. there's a pipe tobacco note for me too. can't stop sniffing my wrist. that lovely dry sunbaked slightly sweet driftwood. a good dash of ambergris. lovely. only lightly i smell black vanilla pods. more myrhh than vanilla. this is a very meditative concoction. it reminds me of the dry down of Passage D'Enfers not in smell particularly (sweetened incense), but in the feeling i get from it. and Chanel's Sycamore in the balance of vetiver and dry woods sweetness on my skin. Bois d'iris is refined. and to me, is indeed all about woods and iris, surrounded by some magical meditative soft notes of sweet incense, ambergris and myrhh. this is not the scent of a place on this earth, it is from a beautiful place inside the mind.

Bois d’Iris is one of the most refined and understated fragrances I’ve had in my collection. From the first spray, it comes across soft, smooth, and effortlessly elegant. The iris here is not overly powdery or cosmetic, instead, it feels woody and airy, blending seamlessly with cedar and clean musks. What stands out most is the texture. There are no sharp edges, no loud transitions, just a continuous, polished scent that feels natural on the skin. It doesn’t try to impress, yet it keeps drawing you back in. As it dries down, it becomes even more comforting. The woods soften, the iris stays present, and everything settles into a clean, slightly warm skin scent that is incredibly easy to wear. This is the kind of fragrance you reach for without thinking. It works in any setting and never feels out of place. Quiet, refined, and perfectly balanced. Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 7.5/10 Projection: 6/10

This perfume holds a special place in my heart. It smells almost exactly like the wooden holiday cottage me and my family would visit every summer when I was a child. It has been in our family for a very long time and as far back as I can remember we would go there every year. When I smell this perfume I feel like I am right in that cottage, hearing the wind in the trees and the waves of the water down by the little beach... The first time I smelled it I got so stunned by the similarity I was in shock. My review is more personal rather than pragmatic, but I really wanted to express the nostalgic sense of both joy and sorrow I feel when wearing this perfume. It is a strange phenomenon, how specific scents can take us back to specific places in time and memory. This perfume is nothing like the scents I am usually attracted towards, but I adore it because of the memories I associate with it.

This is the scent that sent me down the perfume rabbit hole - admittedly, after I had been hovering in its vicinities for quite a while. A friend had bought it, and she let me smell it, and then we could not stop smelling and smelling and smelling. It was in the evening, and I was tired and about to go home, but I stayed on, because I could not get away from Bois d'Iris. It is how others have described it: dry, sweet, warm, cosy, woody, elegant. Very elegant indeed. An absolute marvel of a scent. It mostly reminds me of Dune. Both perfumes are like sitting on a wooden, sun-soaked peer. Bois d'Iris is more evocative of early evenings to me, while Dune smells of late afternoons. On a more mundane level: this a perfect for smelling wealthy. Along with Violet Blonde, Bois d'Iris might be my poshest smelling perfume.

Bois D'iris is such a subtly beautiful scent. It starts off with a burst of powder and alcohol and before you know if, you are getting a powdery Iris and sugary vanilla, with a hint of woods and I think amber. It is a really cosy scent for me. It does about 6-8 hours on my skin, or over night. If you wear it to bed, the smell just pulsates from your pulse points. A beautiful bed time scent and rather unique in my collection. Even if you are not a vanilla fan, I would suggest trying it. I would say it has pretty good projection. I keep getting whiffs and thinking how beautiful is that! If you like powdery, sugary vanilla Iris, I would certainly recommmend! I bought a full bottle after trying it once! And the price fluctuates so you can catch it at a good price if you keep an eye out and buy at the right time.

I've recently become obsessed with Iris/orris root/powdery fragrances. And I'm really enjoying this one. So much that it's moved to my top 5. I love a good powdery Iris fragrance and this one is stunning. It's mostly Iris but surrounding the Iris is a warm vanillic amber with a touch of sweetness. The woodsy driftwood comes forward once it starts drying down to give some depth. It is powdery, but not straight powder on me like Prada candy (I really like this one too). I'm not comparing BdI to Candy, as they aren't a like. Bois d'Iris is much more refined, complex and better overall. Performance & longevity are decent too - but I don't mind reapplying when I need/want to. It's such a comforting fragrance for me to where as the weather transitions to fall and winter.

This stuff is soooo good!!! I just wish the performance was better. This is a make-up iris with noticeable vanilla that lends it to be a bit gourmand. What makes this unique is a slightly churchy incense and marine/aquatic vibe running in the background. The marine aspect is both slightly salty (I'm guessing the ambergris note) and fresh. Both the incense and marine effects are subtle but noticeable. This could easily be a sibling to Dior Homme Parfum/Intense, but the incense and marine accords give this such a nice twist. It's like wearing DHP in a church by the sea. As stated early on, the performance on this could be much better...it sits close to the skin and I have to reapply after a few hours. But, I love this so much that it doesn't bother me to do so.

I had a sample of bois d'iris and fell completely and totally head over heels in love. Besotted. It was the fragrance equivalent of holding a lit stick of incense at a moonlit beach, salty air and all. Then it dried down to a heavenly, cozy amber, with a powdery make-up and lipstick finish. Divine, and so understated. Then I bought a full bottle and the smell is totally different :( I know I'm going to have to let it oxidize and age but I'm so sad it smells so different brand new, I'm impatient! And knowing I have to mature the perfume to get that beautiful smell back is killing me... Update: I never got the smell back :-( was this reformulated or something? It smells like sweet cigarette smoke now it’s so depressing.