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Bois Farine - THIS is what I wanted...

post #1 of 19
6/22/09 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
... when I bought Lann Ael a few months ago, which disappointed me greatly by smelling like sugary cereal soaked in sugary milk-type drink. I haven't actually put the Bois Farine on my skin as of yet (bunch of samples just arrived today - eeeee!) but just out of the vial it smells very cereal-y. Wahoo!

What frags have matched a specific desire for you (eg. for me, Bois Farine = cereal, and I have been looking for this for ages)?
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post #2 of 19
6/22/09 at 9:08pm
Great question! And one I cannot answer, since in my case the need is emotional and not categorical. I am looking to be transported--the "high"--and I have had just as many downs as I have ups.

Note that the ups are brief, as they are for any addict of any substance, in this case something, let's be honest, huffed:

CARNAL FLOWER: Was there ever a tuberose so frankly oily, dripping, and green, to the point that it resembles a floral gasoline? Felt like living inside someone else's sensual existence, totally transportive in a biospheric sort of way. This met a long-forgotten desire to smell the way Rita Hayworth looked in Blood and Sand.

CRISTALLE: A fragrance that is more efficient than I am. This is a multi-tasker. I am not. It makes me work to live up to it. Or at least want to.

UNE ROSE: Gee, look at me. I am not 20 any longer. I am too old for coy. A fragrance of liberation and acceptance. Brilliant.



This is not to say that I am not still looking for a vanilla that isn't tormented by herbs, spice, or crass celebrity.

I think I am fairly well satisfied in other departments.
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post #3 of 19
6/23/09 at 12:27am
I guess I'm with Orion in that the thing I look for is an irrational (call it emotional) connection rather than a specific itch that needs scratching. In the one case I did feel that itch, I had already found the scratch before I started the search. (Before I'm completely lost in metafore: I found Jour de Fête, which had me interested in almond accords - I then went on a "perfect almond" quest, and Jour de Fête won.)

A slightly different interpretation of your question, though: there *are* certain fragrances that have challenged my preconceptions about which notes I did and did not like. I hold those fragrances quite dear, as they mark milestones in my understanding of scent.
Tam Dao is the big one: I went from "yuck" on first acquaintance to "eternal love" now. Cedar, pine and incense, three notoriously difficult notes for me.
Actually, before that Philosykos had already challenged my cedarphobia.
Parfum Sacré did the same for soapy rose, Ligea La Sirena for powder.
I suppose those scratched itches I didn't know existed.


Bois Farine smells dangerously like a peanut butter sandwich to me, by the way
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post #4 of 19
6/23/09 at 1:40am
To me, Bois Farine is like licking bread sauce (that lumpy porridgy accompaniment we Brits have with turkey) directly off a bread board.

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post #5 of 19
6/24/09 at 9:21am
The bread note in this is so spot-on! My 5 year old grandson sniffed it and immediately said "Grandma, it smells like a sandwich!".
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post #6 of 19
6/24/09 at 10:06am
I don't get bread or wheat, or peanut butter either, as some do, in Bois Farine. I'm trying it this morning for the first time. Well...maybe it is pastry like in its sweetness. I get the fennel and iris. It's definitely gourmand, though. The sandalwood predominates on me, but I almost get a sweet narcissus impression. I'm loving it, I'll say that!

Quote:
What frags have matched a specific desire for you (eg. for me, Bois Farine = cereal, and I have been looking for this for ages)?

Whenever I'm looking for something very specific I almost never find it. My best discoveries always seem to be the unexpected ones. Bois Farine is lovely!
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post #7 of 19
6/24/09 at 4:11pm
I've never had the experience of wanting to scratch an olfactory itch, except for the scent of mimosa (and I've smelled them all--no perfume smells like the flower and it apparently wont' until someone makes a synthetic--but that's another thread!)

I do find that some perfumes just hit the spot, though, and Bois Farine is one of them. It is like true love, Cinderella's glass slipper, you-were-made-for-me.....Lyric is another, Tam Dao another, Chergui....mmmmmmmmmmmmm
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post #8 of 19
6/24/09 at 5:00pm
Thread Starter 
Veuve, I am going to have to try Tam Dao again. I tried it once and HATED it. Like, right off the bat, and then throughout the drydown. Found it horrible. But it gets so much love i think I need to give it another go.

I also thought of another frag that hit the spot - I wanted a hay/farm/fields note and I got it in L'Eau de Polder by Mastenbroek. Beautiful creamy field/farm scent.
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post #9 of 19
6/25/09 at 2:51am
By all means give it another go - I'm highly biased, of course - but hey, it's not required to love it. There's plenty people who don't. For a similar smooth sandalwood note but without the sometimes abrasive pine and incense notes, try Ava Luxe no. 23.
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post #10 of 19
6/28/09 at 11:49am
Bois Farine was one of the biggest disappointments for me. I had the peanut butter note for about 5 minutes or less and then it went to to smell like chalk. CHALK! Like the one you would use at school. I've tried it a couple of times since then and it hasn't changed. I'm still looking for a perfect nut/walnut scent (btw, Mechant Loup turns very masculine, cologne on me).
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post #11 of 19
6/28/09 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Darwinia View Post

Bois Farine was one of the biggest disappointments for me. I had the peanut butter note for about 5 minutes or less and then it went to to smell like chalk. CHALK! Like the one you would use at school. I've tried it a couple of times since then and it hasn't changed. I'm still looking for a perfect nut/walnut scent (btw, Mechant Loup turns very masculine, cologne on me).

It isn't exactly nuts (no particular type, anyway) but you might like Parfumerie Generale - Aomassai. It is warm, near gourmand, wood, warm spice & black licorice. It sounds strange, but this is not the sweet licorice usually associated with sugary anise scents. this is a woody, caramel version. It is dark & mellow.

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post #12 of 19
6/28/09 at 12:10pm
Mmmm, yes, Aomassai is a lovely gourmand. It has those lovely toasted smells that you can revel in without actually wanting to *eat*.

Darwinia, I'm a nut fan too, and Bois Farine wasn't right for me. This may be a stretch, but If you like incense and/or vetiver, you might try Etro's Shaal Nur. I fell hard for that fragrance because to my nose, it has a wonderful "nutty" quality. That's more in the abstract sense, though; it doesn't smell like a particular type of nut to me.
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post #13 of 19
6/28/09 at 12:16pm
LedByMyNose, I enjoyed your Bois Farine story. I think the last time I said "THIS is what I wanted" to myself was the day I first tried L'Artisan's Fleur de Liane. I grew up in Hawai'i, and one of my fondest "smell" memories is the fragrance of a muddy hiking trail surrounded by damp tropical greenery and perhaps a hint of sultry white floral. FdL does a darned good job of bringing back that place for me. It has the additional benefit of hinting at the sea in the distance, as well. Sigh...
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post #14 of 19
6/28/09 at 1:06pm
Kumquat and Haunani - thanks for the suggestions! I actually own a bottle of Shaal Nur - no nuts for me there, but lovely lemony line...err.. notes, I mean, and a hint of incense. I have a sample of Aomassai stashed somewhere - it comes out like really strong Chai tea with carmel and cream (and it's still on my 'to buy' list). I agree - both are fine gourmands.

I'm looking forward to Payard's chocolate series - especially the Pistachio Ganache (I should get my greedy little hands on these in two-three weeks ).
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post #15 of 19
6/28/09 at 1:10pm
I tried the Pistashio G. I found it really sweet, more like Pistashio Ice cream. Too rich for my blood!
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post #16 of 19
6/28/09 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Darwinia View Post

...I actually own a bottle of Shaal Nur - no nuts for me there, but lovely lemony line...err.. notes, I mean, and a hint of incense...

I just LOVE Shaal Nur! It seems to be different things to different people. As I posted once on a separate thread, I think it's a hard one to categorize, being sort of citrus, floral, woods, incense, spice and vetiver all rolled into one. Somehow the combo is nutlike, to my nose! Luca Turin labelled it "warm vetiver", and I don't disagree. I don't think SN fits my concept of gourmand, though, like Aomassai does.

I'm pretty new at all this, so please take all my impressions as simple personal observations!
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post #17 of 19
6/28/09 at 2:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haunani View Post

I just LOVE Shaal Nur! It seems to be different things to different people. As I posted once on a separate thread, I think it's a hard one to categorize, being sort of citrus, floral, woods, incense, spice and vetiver all rolled into one. Somehow the combo is nutlike, to my nose! Luca Turin labelled it "warm vetiver", and I don't disagree. I don't think SN fits my concept of gourmand, though, like Aomassai does.

I'm pretty new at all this, so please take all my impressions as simple personal observations!

I've come to realise this after some time - each of us has a different skin chemistry. That's why I have a hard time deciding upon a scent just by reading the reviews. My skin can bring out the sharper notes in some fragrances and dull the sweet. For example, Jousef Statkus that was so elegant and incensy on my friend, but on me smelt like rabid cat urine (pardon the comparison - the smell was truly awful), and a spritz of Molinard's Habanita guarantees I'll be asked if I work in the undertaking business because I have a formaldehyde note lingering around me. I just keep asking myself "Is this what I wanted...?"

Back to the topic - I'm happy that Bois Farine works for some and in a good way. I'll be sniffing around

P.S. I guess it takes a really well-composed fragrance to not only be complex but also multifaceted when developing on the skin.
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post #18 of 19
6/28/09 at 3:09pm
My last 'This is what I want' scent was Orris by Tauer. It was everything that I wanted an iris scent to be: dirty, animalic, strong, masculine and extremely long lasting.

I really, really, really wanted to love Bois Farine, but on my skin it has a synthetic, almost sour note that hits the back of my throat and made it impossible to love. But I admire it greatly. I get my 'bread' fix from L' Heure Bleue (vintage Parfum de Toilette) by Guerlain.
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post #19 of 19
6/29/09 at 8:22pm
Thread Starter 
I've had more time with Bois Farine now, over the past week, and I'm completely in love. I agree with you, MikePerez, about the weird almost-synthetic note, but I find it very compelling. This is a very weird-smelling frag but I just can't stop sniffing my wrist. It really is like 'wood flour', strong, floury, damn, LOVE IT. Must get FB of this ASAP.
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