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Portia
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Hello APJ,
Sorry but I forgot to post yesterday. With all that’s going on around here somehow it completely slipped my notice that we had nothing going up.
Anyway, today we are talking about a scent that I didn’t really take much notice of when I smelled it. Perhaps it was nasal fatigue from smelling it in a bunch of others or maybe my taste has changed. A couple of years ago Jin and I went to the Palais Royale Serge Lutens store and had a fabulous morning going through the whole of the Lutens line. While we were there Elvire also showed us a historical lineage of Feminite du Bois since the original bottles and suddenly I understood.
Feminite du Bois by Serge Lutens 2009
Feminite du Bois by Christopher Sheldrake
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Beeswax, Clove, Honey, Cardamom, Musk, Orange blossom, Peach, Plum, Rose, Vanilla, Violet, Ylang-ylang, Cedar, Cinnamon
OK, so anyone who loved the original Shiseido version of this baby is never going to be satisfied with the newer version. That’s OK, plenty of other perfume out there for you to sniff and enjoy. Mourn it’s passing, you’ll have to move on.
Here is my bottle, bought recently from a friend on the FB pages. As you can see it’s the original Palais Royale export bottle stamp. So not the 100% modern version but ahead of the Shiseido curved mauve bottle that looks disturbingly like a human organ.
What I smell mainly is ginger. A spiced ginger smoothed over by beeswax and honey to create a plush and velvety opening. The stewed fruit comes in later, swirled in like mixing it through a cake batter. None of these opening heavy hitters really leave but as the fragrance dries down I am left with a sweet vanilla woodsiness and the cool crispness of green leaves. Fully fragrant longevity is not excellent, Feminite du Bois seems to soften off alarmingly after less than an hour and the dry down hums along very close to my skin for a couple of hours till I lose it completely.
PDI
Further reading: Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This
FragranceNet has around $100/50ml before Coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples from $6/ml
Hope your life is doing all right,
What has surprised you after years of neglect?
Portia xx
Australian Perfume Junkies 
I was recently at a Chanel counter and spritzed on some Coco. It smelled nothing like what I had been neglecting in my perfume closet! So I revisited my now vintage Coco EDT and fell in love with it again.
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Woo Hoo! Isn’t Coco the bomb. What a fabulous fragrance. It’s hard to relate it to most mainstream frags, sooooo good.
Portia xx
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I love FdB. I have back-up bottles as well as the Dolce Vita by Christian Dior which is quite similar (back up bottles of both). To me this is quintessential Lutens; however only about half of his collection do I get great longevity. This one is adequate silage and longevity, and perfect for fall!
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Hi there Shiva-woman,
Interesting that FdB and Dolce Vita are similar, you know I also have never tried Dolce Vita. You’re right, perfect for fall.
Portia xx
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Yes. I have moved on. *wipes nose on sleeve*
I had from 2002 until 2015 away from perfume. I had some ole favourites, but I actively avoided new scents. So a whole lotta catching up has taken place.
One I vowed to never try, let alone like, was Coco Mademoiselle. I bought the soap out of curiosity a few months back…AND LOVED IT. I own a twist n spray EDP. Took me a lot of years to discover it.
K xx
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Heya Kate,
Coco Mademoiselle! We had a couple stay at our home a few years ago. She wore clouds of Coco Mademoiselle. They stole so much stuff, towels, knick-knacks from around the house, cutlery and more. The memory has left me nasally scarred.
Portia xx
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Oh lordie…but that is awful!!! (the stealing part…not the perfume! although having the negative association isn’t so great either)
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Don’t know why but FdB smells like cumin on me…and yet, cumin is not listed as a note. Wonder if it is the honey? How I wish I got ginger and stewed fruit and cake batter and vanilla and woods!
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Hey there Marzipan,
Interesting. I love cumin in fragrance and I’m a bit bummed that my FdB is all sweetness and light. I do tend to amp the sweet though.
Portia xx
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Hi there Portia,
You’ve really made me want to revisit this one! Was lucky enough to snag an unopened bottle of the Shiseido version a few years ago and quickly decided I didn’t care for it and put it away in a drawer. I love the original Dolce Vita though, and the suggestion that they might be similar is inspiring me to give it another go.
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Hi Lorna,
WOW! You have an original! Lucky you. enjoy it to the dregs.
Portia xx
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