Déclaration Bois Bleu (2001)
by Cartier

Notes:
Top: Lemon, Bitter Orange, Bergamot
Heart: Cardamom, Birch leaves, Nutmeg
Base: Blue teakwood, Vetiver

Bois Bleu is a limited-edition flanker of Declaration and as the sky blue color suggests, its 'fresher' yet still has the entire structure of JC Ellenas homage to Eau d'hermes intact within its more welcoming exterior. Ellena dials down the tone of the Declaration pyramid and burnishes it with a lemony note at the top which sprinkles down into the Declaration structure with an after effect that is brighter and more citrusy while the smoky woods component is made office-appropriate. The cardamom note is as finely balanced as ever, its spicy freshness melding well with the birch-woods accord, and even the latent cumin note makes an appearance. This non-invasive surgery will make Declaration more appealing to those who found the original to be a little too strong in cumin, yet its still a step up from the laundry-clean Gendarmes of the world. Don't worry if you can't find Bois Bleu; just layer Declaration with Eau d'Orange Verte to get a similar (or even better!) effect.

BTW: 'Blue Teakwood' is marketing department speak for 'cedarwood' which is perfume house speak for loads of 'Iso E Super'.

Rating: 7.0/10.0

Fresher version of Declaration, which I never liked but the Essence version is fantastic on me. Bois Bleu (or as my hilariously mislabeled sample is maker "Bois Blew"), takes on Declaration and strips it of it's winter clothes and gives him a furry swimsuit. The citrus makes it feel summery but the good ol' Declaration cedarwood and cumin woodsy notes keep the entire thing heavy. We have a manic perfume here.

Just wonderful stuff. A woman can easily pull off - not too strong "aftershavey" masculine, as some guy's cologne can be (for a woman).

Classy for a man to wear too, of course. ;-)

Mellow, spicy, citrus-herbal, mild woods. Would really be great in hot weather.

Beautiful pale aqua, largish bottle.

I was really diggin this years ago, but the older i get, the more my nose seems to mature,now this is just an (OH WELL)bottle,any body wanna trade?

This scent is one of the coldest woodsy scents ever. Quite beautiful in its chilly austerity. A great success by Cartier.....the bois really do smell bleu.

OK, let me preface this by saying I have a bottle of the original Declaration and also Declaration Essence, and I love them both.

But... Bois Bleu is probably THE most disgusting scent I've ever tried. I sniffed it briefly once and thought I liked it. The other day I got a sample and when I got home and sprayed some on, I couldn't believe how bad it was. It actually has the distinction of being the ONLY fragrance that nearly makes me vomit. Seriously, I smell it, and I get that same ache in my stomach etc.

It smells OK for about 20 seconds and then the bottom drops out and there is just a nasty muddled foul note in there that just comes galloping out, bringing all kinds of other funk with it. They tried to make this scent "cool and wet". They succeeded in making it clammy. Seriously, I would sum this fragrance up in only one word, "clammy". Plus it smells really badly of "wet dog". It stinks. Also I get the impression of walking through a damp woods and sinking my teeth into a giant slug. There is something of mollusk slime in this scent that is just revolting. So, it's clammy in two senses of the word. And as it dries down on skin, there is something even worse-- Oh, jeez, how do I say this... well, there's kind of a note of metallic blood and saltiness, kind of like planting your face somewhere you'd rather not, purely out of...ahem, obligation.

The other two versions of Declaration are nice. I think they work because they have a real dryness to them. They're arid. Something about trying to take this scent accord, and make it wet and fresh actually just makes it really gross.

#1 Worst fragrance ever in my book!