Reviews of Bois du Portugal (1987)
by Creed

Starts with the nostalgia... I am at high school, all girls are wearing sweaters with shoulder paddings (god save us but that nightmare seems to be returning) and boys have high waist blue jeans and it is completely brut time. More austere male teachers have more pungent coniferous resine scents that you feel as a pain deep in your nasal passage... Yes Bois portugal have a very common pungent resinous top notes. But only in half an hour develops a burning woods accord sweetened by oakmoss. It is amazing. Sadly this rules only one hour more before ambergris gets up and ride all scent to pit of mediocre.

I own this and I want to like it more than I really do. It just doesn't last on me like GIT. It's one the orientals from Creed and it is a wonderful scent. Masculine and slightly dark.

But another reviewer called it "80s" and I can get that. One can imagine this being very popular and "edgy" in the boardrooms about 1985.

I like this but I don't love it to the extreme so many of you do. Its virtues are many, esp its lightness which starts right at the opening, and continues to the almost everlasting drydown. Yes, it's a sophisticated, boardroom scent but it lacks the aggressive, masculine feel of Vintage Tabarome, or---to leave Creeds altogether and step out into the outdoors--Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet.
I can't help but wonder if Churchill would have considered BdP a bit of a ligtweight

This is an 80's frag --the time when fougere, chypre and woods ruled male perfumery as the ubiquitous aquatics do today. It was Drakkar Noir country, --the woods were closing in on all sides as oakmoss battled fern. In this scenario, BdP was a safe and refined alternative with well blended notes of cedarwood, sandalwood, and vetiver (The same combo the GIT uses today, btw minus the oriental/woods)

Bless all BdP fanatics, but for me, it's 4 a star scent at most

After about a half hour on my skin, the delicious, sexy cedar really stands out, and made the "old man" aura dissipate -- somewhat. However, sadly, the ambergris takes over and the fresh-from-the-barbershop old man returns. Overall, I think of it as a subtler, perhaps more wearable version of its 80s counterpart, Macassar.

Bois du Portugal is definitely a sophisticated power scent that is warm, extremely rich and very masculine. It has pretty good sillage and very good longevity (but maybe not as much as previous reviews have made out, although it could easily last 6-8 hours). However, there’s something distinctly ‘80s about it that has prevented me from completely falling in love with it. Some would argue that it’s a timeless classic but, to a certain extent, I disagree – it's just okay.

[Original submission date: 25 May 2008]

The lore is that this was "created" for Frank Sinatra. Maybe so but whether Sinatra wore it is doubtful. According to Bill Zehme's manual about Sinatra and his grooming habits, he favored Agua Lavanda Puig and disliked strong fragrances on men. And this is a strong fragrance. The reviewers who compared it to Old Spice are not wrong. This is a dense, spicy, woodsy scent with strong notes of cognac, tobacco, and leather. The dominant notes, though, are the spices. Possibly clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg whose sweetness is muted by the cognac, tobacco and leather. Think Bill Holden or John Forsythe, maybe; think CEO circa 1940. I understand why this is not generally considered a "babe magnet." It's too old word men's clubby. It's not a fragrance I like enough to wear but on the right person it would be wonderful. I love Creed, it's my favorite house by far, but I must say that if I feel tempted one day to wear this frag, I'll save the money and slap on some Old Spice.

This is definitely a high class fragrance. When you first smell it, it comes off as harsh, but after a while it mellows down to a very classy, almost "old man" scent. It is a strange mix of sweet and bitter at the same time. Considering I'm nowhere near old enough to pull a scent like this off, I give it a neutral. That being said, this is a true gentleman's cologne, and should at least be sampled by anyone who likes fragrance.

Topnotes begin full-on; strong, pungent and they make themselves known. Develops to a more woody mid that is better and more subtle, less bitter than the opening. The drydown is a nice wood, vetivery and spicy affair. Overall not terribly smooth norrefined or as superlative as it's made up to be. Quite linear to me. If you're under 30 you may think it old-fashioned and old-man-ish. This isn't Creed's best but fairly long lasting though.

I think Vibert nailed this one; from ash tray to a bar of soap, more or less. It's not a terrible fragrance, but the problem for me is that there are two other fragrances that are better, going in two different directions (one of which I would have liked BdP to go). There's the super-"cheapo," Lomani, on the one hand, and Carven Homme on the other. CH has rich rosewood, vanilla, spices, and amber in the drydown, with the lavender playing no more than a background role (and hence no "soapiness"). With Lomani, the lavender is much stronger, but it plays off citrus, spice, oakmoss, and amber, and I find that it's never boring. BdP is too strong initially in one way, then it's nothing special in the drydown, in a different way. If price is taken into account, I'd give this a negative rating, but I'll go with neutral, judging it as if they all cost the same amount.,

While I loved the approach, after but two hours on my skin all that was left was a strong and lingering scent of baby powder. Were my body chemistry different I would enjoy wearing this scent. Alas.

A heady one, this. It reminds me a little of Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentrée (which it predates by two years), in both good ways and bad. Good in that they both project a certain middle-aged authority, bad in that there's something a little sickly sweet about both of them. BdP is definitely the better of the two: spicier, more interesting, better ingredients. I can't take a full application on skin of this, but a light misting and one spray onto my undershirt gives me a great deal of pleasure for the rest of the day. A little more spice and a little less sweet would have made this a clear thumbs-up for me. Definitely best suited for cooler weather.

I'm not giving this a thumbs down because of poor construction or because it's a Creed. I'm giving it a thumbs down for the simple fact that I don't like this scent. To my nose it smells too "perfumey". It's also strong but not in a good way. I can imagine how overapplying this would quickly turn you into "the cologne guy". What I mostly get from this scent is wood that isn't balanced out by other notes. I'm sure there are other notes but the aldehydes and wood overpower everything else that my nose can decipher. But if you like old school scents then you might want to give this a try.

There's something about this scent alright. At its first impression, it does remind me of my grandfather. However, this is the scent that all fakes were made to be. This is the original, natural, pure expression of dominant masculinity. The top notes of citrus and lavender are heavenly and addicting, while the base softens up and lasts almost like a Lutens, very un-Creed like in its longevity. I own two sample decants, and will have a bottle by next fall!

I can see why Bois du Portugal has its admirers. It appears to stand utterly opposed to the polite and pretty millesimes that represent so much of the modern Creed line. Bois du Portugal opens LOUD, with a smoky leather assault that catapults straight out of the bottle. This is a take-no-prisoners accord if ever there was one: leather and burning wood all the way. The smoke hangs on for quite some time, eventually even taking on an "old ashtray" character that might pass as macho camp, in an ironic, post-modern sort of way.

My gripe concerning Bois du Portugal is with the drydown. As the scent develops, a surprisingly soft, powdery note emerges above the ashtray, building a very soapy accord that dominates the base. I hate smelling like soap. It makes me feel uptight and stodgy. Once the soap asserts itself Bois du Portugal transforms from assertively potent to stuffy and, I dare say, elderly in a matter of a few minutes.

What I'm left with is an extended drydown so fusty and so morbidly nostalgic that I feel as if I've walked into a nursing home. What a letdown. I'm already comfortably ensconced in midlife, but I can't imagine wearing this scent for at least another twenty years.

After reading all the reviews of Bois du Portugal it sounded like an ideal fragrance for me. My tastes have been evolving towards the more masculine end of the spectrum. I gave it a try and it definitely was as advertised, a finely crafted, very masculine fragrance which I genuinely like. That being said, I also felt a bit of disappointment. While I do like it, I really don't like it any better and many cases less then several fragrances which cost me 1/4 as much: Yatagan, Cumming, Santos, Bel Ami... Based upon the Creed mystique I guess I was expecting "All this and a bag of chips too" and someone left out the chips. So very good fragrance but I really question the value.

At first I was taken aback and wondered whether the sample had gone bad. I wore it a bit on my wrists. Murky, musty, dusty, musky. The last third of a thick cigar. The complete opposite of me: ultra-strong, ultra-masculine, ultra-formal. I thought this would be a perfect fit for the classical stereotype man who is the size of a bull, never even had a feminine side, always wears a suit and tie and neglects his family. Seen Twin Peaks? Major Garland Briggs is BdP personified.

But I'm being unfair. So much for the first impressions. I'm trying this for the second time now. The greenness is there, although it is the dark green of a thick pine forest before a thunderstorm, and the sweetness can be found as well, hidden beneath the resin and spices. In all, this could be a good scent and I like some parts of it (perhaps it is the legendary "Creed base") but still probably not for me.

Although I'm a big Creed fan, for me this one is an awful lot like the much-cheaper Old Spice. It's nice enough, and the dry down is very nice - but - it doesn't seem as classy as the other Creeds I wear regularly. The practical guy in me would buy Old Spice and then with the money I saved buy a different Creed. Cheers!

To me, this smelled like Chaps, the old drug store cologne by Ralph Lauren.

I can't decide if I like it or not, but that's what I got out of it....Chaps. Oh...and flashbacks from 7th grade.

I had such high expectations from this after reading so many positive things about BdP. I must say, though, that for my taste, this is a little too "old man." Admittedly, it does improve during drydown, but it still smells a little old for a 30-year old. I like the smell of grandpa, but I don't want to smell like my grandpa. It's pleasant, just not how I prefer to smell.

The most phenomenal drydown of any fragrance I have ever experienced. This potion just keeps getting better with each minute its on your skin.