In 1992 Serge Lutens oversaw the creation of Shiseido’s Féminité du Bois – the groundbreaking scent that put a masculine note of cedarwood at the core of a feminine fragrance.
Féminité du Bois was a hit, and so when Lutens was looking to develop some fragrances for the launch of his perfume shop in the Jardins du Palais Royal, he cast his mind back to FdB and came up with Les Eaux Boisées, a series of four frags, each one an exploration of a different aspect of FdB. Bois et Musc explores the musc aspect of FdB, Bois Oriental is a variation on its amber aspect, Bois de Violette, highlights the violet notes and Bois et Fruits explores the fruity aspect of FdB.
Of the four, Bois et Fruits is my favourite.
It opens soft and dry with cedarwood. Soon thick, jammy fig comes forward, adding a fruity richness that takes it to the heart where thick dried plum, peach and apricot – all part of the Prunus family - add a fruity harmony that surrounds the cedar wood with a candied lushness. The dried fruits aren’t overly sweet or sugary, they are toothsome. Over time, the dark resinous aspects of the cedar wood bloom and combine with the sumptuous fruits so that the drydown is creamy, opulent and sensuous.
In Bois et Fruits the wood stops the fruit from being too sweet or cloying and the fruit tempers the dryness of the wood, allowing the best of the wood and fruits to shine.
Dried fruits, cedarwood…sounds wintery and Bois et Fruits is a great scent to wear on cold days, but so elegant that it is perfectly suited to warm weather too.
Notes: cedarwood, fig, peach, plum, apricot
Type: EdP
Parfumeurs: Pierre Bourdon and Christopher Sheldrake
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