Bois d'Arménie (2006)
by Guerlain

I've smelled Armenian paper and appreciate that smell. The notes of incense and spice in this scent looked promising. I found the scent to be very sweet, rich and heavy. The emphasis on benzoin may be appropriate but it is not something I would seek out.

25th November, 2011.

I have worn Bd'A several times now, and although I am not a huge fan of vanilla, I have decided that this fragrance develops the style of vanilla drydown that I enjoy. The oriental accords are heavenly, but what is really pleasing is that after 6 or more hours, after all the the other notes have taken their leave, the basenotes are still warm and comforting; as smooth as a superb single malt scotch or an exquisitely heady cognac.

14th September, 2011. (Last Edited: 15th September, 2011.)

Bois d`Armenie has a misterious aura of incense, benjoin and spices and it`s my favorite of the line. You would expect it to be an intense incensed fragrance, but it projects like an aura of a scent that seems to come from your skin, not like a fragrance you are wearing. The Benjoin has a soft smoky aroma of subtle vanillic nuances, and it`s beautifully joined by pepper aromas and a dry powder aroma, a kind of signature in this Guerlain`s line. Gradually you start to detect dry woods, and sometimes i catch a note that seems to me like a discreet leathery one. It ends out in that dry, woody, slightly musky aroma. If i would pick just one from this line, it`d be it. It`s a scent that still amazes after two years wearing it ocasionally

4th July, 2011.

Bearing in mind Annick Ménardo’s considerable originality, this scent of hers is surprisingly similar to Polge’s Cuir Beluga from the year before, likewise from Guerlain’s L'Art et la Matière collection, and both built on a formidable vanilla cut through with myrrh.

However, there is something just not right about Bois d’Arménie, something ‘off’ that is difficult to characterize. Luca Turin refers to ‘a flat, melancholy, honeyed, baby pee-like note’; I'd suggest instead something like dust frying in the grill of a radiator that imparts a glum and airless feel to the scent.

I’ll revisit it in six months for another go, but before then I’ll be luxuriating in Cuir Beluga.

19th May, 2011.

Surprised with this one. Not quite classic Guerlain to me but it's a compellnig scent. Resinous incense,not too strong ,sweet, a little smoke too. Otherworldly and woody ,some floral notes in this which keeps it lighter perhaps - you just want to keep on sniffing. This is a strong rich beautiful fragrance. Completely yummy . Unisex.

25th June, 2010.

When I was a little girl, I always cried at the fable "The Little Match Girl." I always thought she died because no one cared enough to buy matches from her or to let her into their warm, dry house. (now I know it is a warning against daydreaming)

Bois D'Armenie is my warm, dry house. When I wear it I feel enveloped in the deepest warmth; a soft, crackling fire that will never go out (indeed, longevity is over 12 hours)

To me this is one of the most perfect oriental woodies, and I've now sniffed a lot of them in hopes to find one as good as BdA. This is just sensuous. When I first tried it I couldn't stop daydreaming about it, and this became the very first perfume that I ever bought myself.

8th February, 2010. (Last Edited: 20th September, 2010.)