Un Bois De Sépia by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido, 1994

When I first discovered niche perfumes after years of casually collecting designer scents, I searched out Serge Lutens and this was my favorite. I even bought a bottle. At the time, I just wasn't ready for all the Lutens weirdness, and Un Bois Sepia was a really good entry point for me. Looking back, I can see what attracted me. I was such a sucker for those common topnotes, that mix of grape bubblegum, violet, mint, and lavender that have made countless men's designer scents smell similar. At the time, I already had Vera Wang for Men and Hugo Boss Pure, as well as Ulrich Lang's Anvers, which all have the same identical topnotes, so I know I REALLY liked them without realizing what was going on. Un Bois Sepia also has these smellalike topnotes, which makes it easily the most "cheap" and "common" smelling perfume in the Lutens range, despite the fact that most people assume that title belongs to his L'Eau. Anyway, after the common topnotes fade, Un Bois Sepia goes into a very nice leather phase (my favorite part), which is unfortunately interrupted by that bleachy rubbing alcohol "aquatic" smell that ruins so many designer scents. Eventually, it goes vaguely dark and woody before ending up as a faded sweet patchouli darkened with the remnants of that aquatic chemical smell. In hindsight, I guess it was a step in my growth as a collector to pay $200 (ironically, this is one of Lutens' most expensive scents) for something that mostly smells like dozens of scents I could get for $20 at Ross. To that end, I wore Kenneth Cole Signature a couple of days ago and, except for the leather and the concentration, it was almost identical to Un Bois Sepia in terms of notes and progression. That being said, I can't stand to give Un Bois Sepia a thumbs down because I've worn it enough to have happy memories attached, but it's certainly not a great perfume...

Luca Turin, in "Perfumes: The Guide," presents an analysis of a few scents which would derive them, among them Bois de Violette, Bois et Fruits, and Un Bois Vanille from the earlier Féminité du Bois.He traces its history, ultimately deriving its concept from Chanel Bois des Îles through Caron Parfum Sacré to the cedar and fruity accord that Pierre Bourdon conceived while in Marrakech, and then passed on to Christopher Sheldrake. He in turn made it into Lutens' first introduction for the Palais Royal Shiseido collection. Turin says that Bourdon and Sheldrake "generously credit each other" with the concept; but the technique of "overdosage," in which a background note in one version of a scent is brought forward to a central position, each one in turn, to make a series of related perfumes, says Turin, is Bourdon's bit of genius. I don't know if you can properly call these scents "flankers" of Feminité du Bois, but the family resemblance is unmistakable.

Turin goes on to pan Un Bois Sépia, but Un Bois Sépia is just as much one of the flankers of Féminité du Bois as the others. It is the one that emphasizes the woods and resins and soft-pedals the fruity notes of the parent scent. Sandalwood, cypress, vetiver, patchouli, and opopanax make for an opulent effect that is truly memorable. Un Bois Sépia is not the most delicate, nor the most stunning, of the series, but it might fairly be said to be the subtlest, and to have the densest base note of the pentad. It develops incrementally through the soft, then the sparkling, then the deep aspects of the accord. Not the greatest in longevity, nor in sillage of the group, but perhaps the most soothing and comforting.