Bois Doré

Bois Doré was not what I expected. A mineralic vanilla-tonka scent, nothing about this says "bright woods" to me. It is, however, a beautifully-balanced, high-quality scent featuring a slightly unusual composition, in keeping with others from the Extraordinaire line. BD is sweet from initial spray, with vanilla present from the opening. It is smooth, creamy vanilla, not syrupy or cloying, punctuated by some peppery spice. The mineralic notes follow, adding a curious metallic quality to the opening. It is slightly discordant, but still works - adding a little bite and interest. As it develops, the tonka bean slowly emerges, marrying nicely with the increasingly dry vanilla. Some almond is in there, but I primarily get tonka. I really enjoy scents that feature vanilla-tonka-almond notes in some combination - the cosy gourmand sweetness is delicious in cold weather. Here, it is beautiful - just the right amount of sweet, good-quality, wonderfully warm and comforting. It becomes powdery and slightly woody as it begins to dry down, the tonka bean lingering. There is a smokiness to the drydown too, a nice counterpoint to the sweetness. It fades to a musky tonka bean scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. This is feminine-leaning in my opinion due to its vanilla sweetness, but is perhaps an example of a unisex vanilla. It is surprisingly tonka-dominant, not a bad thing in my book, but particularly here when it is high-quality and not just coumarin. A grown-up gourmand with a little edge initially, BD is not what I expected, but is truly lovely. Another underrated gem from this house, BD is an excellent tonka scent. My kind of gourmand. Tonka Doré. 4.5/5.

this might definitely be the best almond heavy fragrance ever, in the market. I tried this for the first time on a sampling card yesterday. went back to the perfume shop after 3 days of having tried both versions of the Moonlight Patchouli and the sales advisor offered this one as another good fragrance. this is definitely incredibly classy. it has the "old money" quality to it. with the way it's blended, with the ingredients used that make it like a divine cloud of almond and vanilla, this is mesmerizing. I didn't try it on myself but had it sprayed on the card. yet I'm still planning to get this when I get the perfume version of Moonlight Patchouli. if you like the generic Good Girl by CH, but would love to find a sublime, rich and refined person type of it, with class and no hint of "trying too hard to get attention", this can be the much much higher end version of that. and on another note, Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille lovers would also mostly love this. it honestly has an unmatched elegance when compared with other nice almond heavy fragrances. but I feel like Van Cleef & Arpels as a whole brand with their fragrances has a consistent "lux and classy" profile to them anyway. Just got myself a full bottle of Moonlight Patchouli EDP. I'll add this to my collection for the days I want to basque in the glory of a divine almond & vanilla creation instead. the whole brand is incredibly elegant and classy.

This house is so underrated and I don’t know if men has found their perfumes. They have many unisex ones like Bois Doré and even the rosy ones are so intriguing on men, especially Moonlight Rose. The scent is warm, very classy yet cozy. I love the mineral notes with Vanilla instead of brown sugary notes which sometimes ruins the beautiful Vanilla. There is a little bit salty feeling which makes this scent unique. Like almost all VC&As this is quite simple blend and that’s why they are so versatile, you can wear them wherever you want. The base is smooth and Cedar wood with Tonka and White musk create a soft and sensual touch to the blend. It wraps around you and it hugs you affectionately. The scent is lingering beautifully, not loudly, it’s an elegance in the bottle. VC&A’s style to make Vanilla is exceptional because it’s always classy, never a heavy gourmand which would be clearly edible. The longevity is surprisingly good and I can smell it on my skin next morning if I have sprayed it in the evening. This scent shares the same dna with Orchidée Vanille and Bois d'Iris - both of them are my favorites as well. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

Bois Doré by Van Cleef & Arpels is a small masterpiece of balance from the Collection Extraordinaire. If I had to describe it with an image, it would be that of a piece of precious wood floating in a sea of pure gold dust. Fabrice Pellegrin's genius in this creation lies in the contrast between mineral darkness and creamy sweetness. Initially it is pungent and almost "cold". Black pepper and mineral notes give a sense of metallic cleanliness, like wet stones. But it's an illusion that lasts a few minutes. Here the fragrance warms up dramatically. The combination of almond and vanilla never veers towards the "sweet mess" (extreme gourmand), because the tobacco and cedar keep the scent dry, elegant and decidedly unisex. The Drydown is the real protagonist and is the Tonka Bean. It's an enveloping, powdery, lightly toasted cloud that stays on the skin for hours, evoking a sense of luxury. It is the ideal perfume for those who love sweet fragrances but hate childish ones. Bois Doré is sophisticated. Despite the vanilla and tonka, the teak wood and pepper make it "adult". If you appreciate perfumes like Baccarat Rouge 540 (for the mineral part) or Pi by Givenchy (for the almond), but are looking for something darker and woodier, this is an almost obligatory purchase.

Someone on the BDK Velvet Tonka Page said that Bois Dore was better as a almond/Tonka gourmand fragrance. I have to agree. The teak wood, black pepper and vanilla are elevating the almond and Tonka, creating a “carmelized” or “toasted” accord. I’m getting sweet (not overly sweet) spiced almond in the opening and gorgeous almost milky woods as it dries down. Spiced almond cream brûlée. I feel Bois Dorè is sweeter than Velvet Tonka/ which doesn’t smell at all gourmand to me; nothing like a gazelle horn (which is what the inspo was for Velvet Tonka. A Gazelle Horn or tchereck, is a cookie filled with almond and orange blossom topped with crushed pistachios) VT is so velvety, so smooth, it comes across as a luxury body oil. What they also share in common is that awesome “rubber tyre” accord that I LOVE. There’s also fuzzy, fluffy texture I get from both fragrances which comes from the musk. Bois Dorè’s projection is above average and the longevity is fantastic but that’s really dependent on individual skin chemistry. Next to Guerlain’s Tonka Imperialè, (which is my benchmark gourmand Tonka or marzipans fragrance) Bois Dorè is my second favorite “Tonka” fragrance.