Feminite du Bois: old and new versions compared

Did they recently make a new version? by recently I mean during this year?

It is now being sold under Serge Lutens umbrella and I do feel it has been tweaked, to be in compliance of course

So you are correct, it is lacking some of the depth of the Shiseido version.

Oh my! I didn't know the name also changed

If I can find it I'll try it just to compare... but I don't trust this new one

*sooo glad I bought Feminite du bois a year ago*

That's a real shame for those of us who have just discovered it. Once again, we must slink off into the netherworld of gray market goods or aftermarket or whatever it is the warehouses are called now. I have a few of the old bottles & I'm clinging to them tightly. They are good & I don't see why they have to be ruined by bean counters in corporations. That's what this is BTW, a switch over to cheap synthetics. That's why they aren't fighting it.

I'm finally starting to get the old one, too!

SL released an EDT version of it last year
If I remember it right.

perfumes are like everything today,
people tend to be more and more superficial, they don't care for art (movies, fine art, music, perfumes...)

they want something they can understand quickly, without searching, trying, thinking... and yeah that's a shame because the industry is so pleased to create something easy that they can sell for a huge amount of money and at the end we are the losers, us who want to discover and understand beauty

By the way, you can still buy Shisheido version at some US online discounters

http://www.fragrancenet.com/feminite...9?cur_letter=F

That's too bad. Shiseido's Femenite used to be my signature fragrance for some time (a year - which for me IS a looong time to wear just one frag). I have a sample of the new Lutens version but I never got to sampling it in comparison with the Shiseido one.
Also afaik there used to (?) be a Lutens frag named Bois Oriental which was unbelievably similar to Femenite. I also have a sample of it - I'll make a side by side comparison.

It's different alright, still good, but a bit less rich. Also, I thought the original FdB had longevity issues. Has anyone ever used the extrait version? I see bottles for sale on e-bay, but never actually knew of their existence before.

I never new there were several versions of FdB so I can't help you with that :/

Bois Oriental has almost the same composition but the plum notes aren't there. Also, the wood is very powerful compared to Feminite.

I was just looking at the members' collections and Ultranova has a pic he identifies as the parfum version of Fem. du Bois.

I have a 'Parfum stylo' extrait of FdB - it is a roller pen holder with 2 tiny vials of the extrait totalling 1.8 mls. I find the extrait to be a lot richer and more complex and for a parfum, it does not project too far - much more of a close skin scent. The parfum also comes in a 15 ml bottle - same shape as the the EdP - I did come across one once but had to pass - as I nearly passed out when I saw the price !! The bottle is just the most beautiful piece of art I have ever come across. I also have Bois Oriental and testing them side by side, I don't find the woods too powerful compared to the extrait of FdB but it IS a lot 'woodier' - after all, the contents of Bois Oriental are taken from facets of FdB. Longevity of the extrait is surprisingly not very good on my skin but despte that, am totally treasuring those few drops that I have. Bois Oriental is as close to the original thing as could be and if you haven't smelt FdB for a long time, you could be fooled into thinking that it is the original scent. Doing a comparison, Bois Oriental tend to be more 'masculine' because of the emphasis on the wood notes - simply heavenly. Bois et musc and Bois de violette are also stunning in their own rights - Bois et musc is my comfort scent and one that I always reach for when I am looking for something not too complicated yet special and Bois de Violette has a delicate old world freshness and charm it is irresistable. The only 'Bois' version I don't have is Bois et Fruits - which is where the plum notes come to play - I have tried it several times and I still have not been convinced that I need it, too fruity? - hmmm, maybe one day I'll come around to it !

The good news is that there are PLENTY of original-formula bottles out there, and they are about half the price of current SL import versions.

PLUS, the old bottle is more lovely AND is a darker glass, which protects the juice from damaging light.

This is a fragrance I learned of via this board, and I cannot thank the BNers enough for the recommendation. It is truly magnificent.

I had *exactly* the same experience as the OP.

I need to snaffle up a bottle of the Shiseido stuff whilst I still can ! I love the smell, and don't want to spend the money I would have to if I was to buy it under the SL label !!!
Still have most of a 50ml bottle, tho...

Yep, same experience here. I have a sample of the old Shiseido EDP to which I compared the new Serge Lutens offering... Much weaker by comparison, but I didn't know at the time that the SL version was an EDT (I figured it was an EDP since I thought all SL offerings were EDPs).

What is the "soie de parfum" sold at fragrancenet.com?

I did my side by side comparison of all three and I can only confirm what's been said here already:
The original Shiseido version: packs a punch! rich, with a nice hint of ainseed in top notes, luscious mid notes, woody drydown + excellent silage. Overall the best of the three.

Serge Lutens version: weaker, way fruitier on me but not sweet, stays close to the skin; very much like the body mist/deodorant version of the Shiseido frag; very little wood - almost imperceptible. The weakest and least appealing of the three. I normally have no problems with longevity but this stuff is next to ephemeral. Sore disappointment.

Bois Oriental: starts sweeter than the two with prominent fruity notes, the middle notes are very much like the Shiseido original but more mellow and without the peppery accent, the drydown is woody-spicy and very nice. Good silage.

Personally if I were to choose between SL Feminite and Bois Oriental I would definitely go for the latter. The Shiseido original is unbeatable.

Also the FdB extrait is way too pricey for me to even consider purchasing. I'm definitely stocking up on the original and maybe I'll get a bottle of Bois Oriental, well someday at least.

@darkdreams: I think it's perfumed body lotion.

Thank you. Makes sense.
You should try SL Bois de Violette. I did not try Bois Oriental but I think I like BdV even more than the original Feminite-which I love!

I remember reading on NST that a soie de parfum is between an EDP and a parfum in strength...not sure if that's accurate. I would think soie would indicate the texture though (silk)...so maybe it has an oil base?

Same here. I didn't like it first, now I'm considering a bottle. I think cedre is now my favorite note. Love it!

The only other one where I saw "soie de parfum" is Hermes Caleche. And from what I've read it means EDP. But for Feminite I doubt it means EDP or anything stronger. Because 100ml of "soie" cost less than 50ml of regular EDP at fragrancenet. Maybe it is a body cream or some perfumed dry oil? Don't know but I am not paying $70 to find out.

Afaik there is a lotion in the range in a bottle that has the same shape as the extrait bottle. The Shiseido original may require some layering if the wearer has dryer skin so I would consider that a good investment (aside 6 bottles of edp )

I can sometimes find the 'old' Shiseido Feminite du Bois in Switzerland. If anyone wants me to buy them a bottle and ship it to them I will gladly do so at cost.

Oopsy - it's actually soiN...not soiE. Doesn't soin mean "care"?

Oops, you are right, it is soin. Mistery solved.

Now that I think about, I even tried it once in an airport. Me so dumb!

Wordbird is an excellent dealer

The new version is now in stock at Aedes. But wouldn't it make more sense to buy the Shisheido version at half price?

Personally prefer the Shiseido one. Its more sensible IMO to get it for half the price of Lutens. I'm sure when the Shiseido one starts getting more scarce, the prices will definitely increase, especially when more people seem to notice the better quality in Shiseido.

The old version is still on sale at some European countries if you check the Shiseido website.

got the chance to try the neve SL version today.

What the hell have they done to FdB???

This sweet horror is not the orignal version I own.
Does not even come close.

Shame on you SL.