Bois Rouge (2007)
by Tom Ford

Bois Rouge reminds me of Creed’s Bois du Portugal. Both have a similar wood accord, which is the central theme. The differences are that Bois du Portugal is highlighted with a sharp lavender and has better projection. Bois Rouge has a smokiness not found in Bois du Portugal. I think this Tom Ford is quite pleasant and deserves more than it has received to date.

16th January, 2011.

Bois Rouge surprised me as an unusual leather fragrance on my skin. It`s interesting that it doesn`t seeem to be a dominant note from the reviews i read, but on me the leather is the key aroma. It`s a dry leather with a suede touch, something like a new leather jacket aroma, but less dry. I get a fast citrusy opening, followed by a metallic flowerish aroma, and then what dominates on me is a dry, ambered, woody leather. It`s not a strong one, it haves a light projection and sillage, but a fair longevity on my skin. Sounds elegant, and it`s one of my favorite citric leathers at this time.

2nd December, 2010.

Another Tom ford fragrance with a very chemical opening. Not quite as bad as Japon Noir, but still smells bloody and rusty. After being on my skin for a few minutes it starts to smell like burning plastic and rose. The more I smell the more of a headache I get so I'm gonna wait until it tones down a bit before I can finish this review.

So here we are now, 30 minutes later.. toned down? Yes. Tolerable? Yes. Good? No. Now it smells like a smokey jasmine, mixed with burning plastic. About 45 minutes have passed now and it's well into the base notes where I get some sandalwood, and vanilla, but still notesand disturbing odors from the top and middle. I'll be scrubbing this one off my skin as I did with Japon Noir (which I meant to give a thumbs down)

Bois Rouge just isn't a good fragrance, at least not to me. If you're more into colognes and edt's than perfumes like I am, then stay away from this one.

19th April, 2010.

I'm afraid I couldn't last until the promised two-hour nirvana -- the powder and amber and vanilla were making me a bit nauseated.

The comparison to various other fragrances (BdP, Habit Rouge, etc.) seems apt. Bois Rouge is vaguely classical but nondescript, like the perfume mirror in which you see whatever you want to see. I can imagine it generating a lot of tangential associations, none of which are really exact fits.

15th April, 2010.

I believe Bois Rouge is misunderstood and not well tried out due to the price. The comparisons to Bois Portugal are remote at best. Creed's juice has a chewy vegetable like nature to it and just smells old and tired to me.

Bois Rouge is another Tom Ford that asks a lot up front. The inky opening can be intoxicating if you're ready for it. If you're not, it's a long ride to get to the next part of the journey; about 2 hours later, you'll find a heavenly luxurious incense woods that rivals the Amouage offerings like Epic Man and Jubilation. This part of the dry down lasts for many hours and is incredibly far superior to Bois Portugal.

Due to this exercise in patience Bois Rouge requires, it's not an easy thing to judge, and surely not a daily wear. I scored a free 4ml sample, and bought another off ebay and I'm pretty much set for life. I'm happy to add this to the arsenal.

18th March, 2010.

I'm with SirSlarty on this one -- I picked up Bois de Portugal. Actually, I picked up quite a big of Habit Rouge in the opening, but the drydown was almost identical to Bois de Portugal. For the price difference, I'll just buy testers of Bois de Portugal.

19th October, 2009.