Bois d'Argent Cologne (2004)
by Christian Dior

A shimmery and restrained composition that is warm and perceptibly rootbeer-like. Myrrh and patchouli is what I got most. No honey, no leather, and certainly no iris. At least that's what my little sampler said to my nose.

To my mind BOIS D'ARGENT recalls Annick Goutal Myrrh Ardente, after a couple of Valiums that is. Kinda hard to get a rise out of this, know what I mean? The composition has surprising tenacity considering its frequency is pitched so low it keeps one guessing as to how much natural ingredients are actually in use. 'Bare minimum' is my guess.

It's not a bad fragrance but at this price-point of perfumery, 'not bad' just doesn't cut it anymore.

16th September, 2011.

A birch tree seeps honey on a cloudless September day.

29th April, 2010.

I got this in a sampler of 'almond scents' and it was not marked in any way as intended for men, nor did the Perfume Guide mention that it was for men, so I wore it. It is very light, very quiet and sedate which I like very much some days, subtle and lovely woods and honey; I don't smell any almond. But surely it is unisex, unless I am anosmic to some manly aspect of it? I will use the sample then forget this one, though it was a mildly pleasant encounter.

29th March, 2010. (Last Edited: 17th November, 2010.)

Nothing I'm ever going to love. Bois d'Argent is a very sweet fragrance with an assertive, rooty iris note, but oddly little goes on beneath the syrupy surface. Remarkably for something so thin, Bois d'Argent also has an ingredient that makes me cough and choke. At least it doesn't fall back on the same generic and synthetic fruity heart that ruins Dior Homme for me. Still, I can't help but find this scent simplistic and anemic - especially given the price and the pretentious marketing.

22nd December, 2009.

When I first tested this on paper and on my skin, my reactions were very much in the positive sphere. I had written phrases like: “Delicate,” “…restrained spiciness and sweetness,” “…soft incense,” and “…transparent but rich notes.” Then came the wearing. About two hours into my first wearing I began to be annoyed by what I was smelling. The annoyance quickly changed into genuine dislike and I had experienced this dislike before from notes I recognized in YSL’s Nu, Tom Ford’s Black Orchid. It was that floral / vegetal note that, with continued exposure, tended to make me disgusted, and, as in the case of the two mentioned, I had to wash off Bois d’Argent immediately. I very seldom feel the need to remove a fragrance from my skin, but this was one of those few cases.

21st October, 2009.

wow... for once in my basenotes life I don't have too much to add to previous reviews... I unloaded a full 3 ml on myself and............... not too much to write about. Iris? check. transparent incense? check. dusty old furniture? check. I know that it is only cologne strength but this is the equivalent of someone showing me a picture of a great steak they ate at a fancy restaurant, only the picture was in black and white and taken from a cell phone. I get the idea that it was awesome, and I can almost stretch the experience enough to warrant thinking about how the steak would taste, but there just isn't enough substance to capture my attention and make me want to go out and buy the meal... Even while I am wearing it I get the feeling that someone just passed me by smothered in the juice, but it was so bleh that I would forget the sniff in a moment. The topnotes vanish into thin (or thick) air, giving you a slight tease of floral iris that dissipates immediately upon hitting the skin... there is a very rapid transformation from cheap gas station incense into a rubbery note that reminds me of a newly opened package of dog chewy toys before fulling developing into a quiet patchouli drydown. This isn't a cloying hyperbole of a monster, but a whispering ghost of notes that probably could have played well together with better blending. If you could imagine Ben Stein reading War and Peace in a slow cadence, you would have a decent projection of how exciting this is. I'm not a huge fan of loud ostentatious fragrances, but at least let me know I'm wearing one. Oh well at least it was just a sample.

20th June, 2009.