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Bois d'Orage / French Lover drydown

post #1 of 39
8/16/09 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 
How do you people like the drydown of French Lover? I've seen wonderful reviews in the directory who do not mention a Iso super E drydown but when I use the search function for French Lover ór Bois d'Orage I do get some mentions about a casual drydown.
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post #2 of 39
8/17/09 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Bump anyone?
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post #3 of 39
8/17/09 at 9:49am
I don't think it's Iso E Super I smell in the drydown, but another massively obnoxious woody-amber. The drydown ruined it for me completely...I thought at first it might have been a strong synthetic musk, but now I'm thinking woody-amber. Either way, not pleasant.
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post #4 of 39
8/18/09 at 1:38am
Thread Starter 
Fuck. That really sucks.. had high hopes for this one from Vibert's review
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post #5 of 39
8/18/09 at 5:20am
The problem With BDO is that it starts very promissing and it collapses with in 30 minutes.
The only that is left is a synthetic smell without any BOIS or Orange.
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post #6 of 39
8/18/09 at 6:10am
I can smell the BOIS and the ORANGE after 1 hour of application so ... I think its only worth 60% of its price. On the other hand, Musc Ravageur worth every cent hahaha. I still like French Lover though.
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post #7 of 39
8/18/09 at 6:30am
Is there even orange in it? It's Bois d'Orage, not Bois d'Orange.
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post #8 of 39
8/18/09 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Is there even orange in it? It's Bois d'Orage, not Bois d'Orange.

Well, now this make it even worse... i dont get the ORAGE feeling.
Orage means STORM.

There isn't any storm going on except the storm of disapointment that u get after paying that amount of money for bois d'Orage.
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post #9 of 39
8/18/09 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moreda View Post

Well, now this make it even worse... i dont get the ORAGE feeling.
Orage means STORM.

There isn't any storm going on except the storm of disapointment that u get after paying that amount of money for bois d'Orage.

lulz...hardly a storm in a bottle indeed. I still don't understand how it added anything relevant to the line. They already had Angeliques SLP, so why bother with a re-tooled variation? I figured they would have at least just added a "concentree" like they did with Bigarade...instead they had an entirely new perfumer add a bucket of nasty synthetics to make it last longer? Seems like an odd decision to me.
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post #10 of 39
8/18/09 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

lulz...hardly a storm in a bottle indeed. I still don't understand how it added anything relevant to the line. They already had Angeliques SLP, so why bother with a re-tooled variation? I figured they would have at least just added a "concentree" like they did with Bigarade...instead they had an entirely new perfumer add a bucket of nasty synthetics to make it last longer? Seems like an odd decision to me.

Gheheheheh

U know,Frensh lover is an acceptabble name.
It is very masculine scent, there is somthing dirty and clean about it.
But bois d orage..... hhhmmmmm well i defenatly dont feel any Orage.

Musc ravaguer, that is really worth evry penny u pay for. I agree.
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post #11 of 39
8/18/09 at 7:42am
I'm 100% sure I get Iso E Super in French Lover/Bois D'orage, but not only in the drydown - it's there the whole time for me and ruins the fragrance. The vetiver and woods that come along with it are amazing though, so as long as you enjoy that fizzy cedar note, I think you'll like it, Inconceivable Zen. I just have sensitive sinuses and the fuzzy-ness of the "cedar" bothers me.
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post #12 of 39
8/18/09 at 9:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

lulz...hardly a storm in a bottle indeed. I still don't understand how it added anything relevant to the line. They already had Angeliques SLP, so why bother with a re-tooled variation? I figured they would have at least just added a "concentree" like they did with Bigarade...instead they had an entirely new perfumer add a bucket of nasty synthetics to make it last longer? Seems like an odd decision to me.

SoFresh I gotta disagree with you (but it's not just you), people are constantly comparing AslP to BdO, and I just don't get it at ALL. They share one thing in common IMO, and that's the angelica, which isn't nearly as prominent in BdO, again IMO. AslP is lighter, more floral, and more casual, whereas BdO is darker, woodier, and certainly more traditionally masculine. I always hear them compared and just personally I find them completely different.
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post #13 of 39
8/18/09 at 9:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

SoFresh I gotta disagree with you (but it's not just you), people are constantly comparing AslP to BdO, and I just don't get it at ALL. They share one thing in common IMO, and that's the angelica, which isn't nearly as prominent in BdO, again IMO. AslP is lighter, more floral, and more casual, whereas BdO is darker, woodier, and certainly more traditionally masculine. I always hear them compared and just personally I find them completely different.

But didn't Malle himself explain that BdO was infact based on ASLP? I agree that they have some differences, but they're remarkably similar to me.
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post #14 of 39
8/18/09 at 10:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

But didn't Malle himself explain that BdO was infact based on ASLP? I agree that they have some differences, but they're remarkably similar to me.

I suppose, the inspiration may have come from AslP, I just feel perhaps moreso than any other common pairing that they differ from each other so much to in fact be viable as seperate entities.
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post #15 of 39
8/18/09 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

But didn't Malle himself explain that BdO was infact based on ASLP? I agree that they have some differences, but they're remarkably similar to me.

I think they are very similar to me also. Of course they take different directions, once on skin, but spraying them on you can instantly smell the similarities. I happen to prefer Angeliques Sous la Pluie.
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post #16 of 39
8/19/09 at 11:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by L'aventurier View Post

I'm 100% sure I get Iso E Super in French Lover/Bois D'orage, but not only in the drydown - it's there the whole time for me and ruins the fragrance. The vetiver and woods that come along with it are amazing though, so as long as you enjoy that fizzy cedar note, I think you'll like it, Inconceivable Zen. I just have sensitive sinuses and the fuzzy-ness of the "cedar" bothers me.

I second that. In my opinion FL contains a huge amount of Ise E Super.
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post #17 of 39
8/19/09 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

I suppose, the inspiration may have come from AslP, I just feel perhaps moreso than any other common pairing that they differ from each other so much to in fact be viable as seperate entities.

Well if some people (like yourself) prefer BdO, then I guess they made the right decision! As long as someone's buying it, they did their jobs.
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post #18 of 39
8/19/09 at 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Well if some people (like yourself) prefer BdO, then I guess they made the right decision! As long as someone's buying it, they did their jobs.

I actually prefer AslP, but I came to that decision after purchasing Bd'O. It's not really a big deal, I'll eventually own AslP too. And though I appear to be in the minority I feel, they distinguish themselves enough to both exist.
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post #19 of 39
8/19/09 at 12:28pm
I think it's worth owning both. The opening of Bois d'Orage is fantastic and I'm curious as to how the dry-down is "generic amber & woods". Which other fragrances have a dry-down like Bd'O? I get a lot of high quality vetiver and smoke - very dry in its opening, but nothing sweet in the dry-down for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

I actually prefer AslP, but I came to that decision after purchasing Bd'O. It's not really a big deal, I'll eventually own AslP too. And though I appear to be in the minority I feel, they distinguish themselves enough to both exist.
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post #20 of 39
8/19/09 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
Ok this is a very interesting pespective

Love to hear more people about this. Do you have the 7 % or the 9 % concentration Anthony?
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post #21 of 39
8/19/09 at 5:44pm
I've had multiple samples of the 7% when it first came out and only a couple of the 9%. My 100ml bottle of 9% was seized & destroyed by Canada Customs

When I heard the concentration increased I was very excited. Because I waited so long between testing the 7% vs. 9% I can't recall the differences.

Quote:
Originally Posted by InconcievableZen View Post

Ok this is a very interesting pespective

Love to hear more people about this. Do you have the 7 % or the 9 % concentration Anthony?
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post #22 of 39
8/20/09 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
Guess i just have to test it then .

Any other people who do like the drydown?
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post #23 of 39
8/20/09 at 3:22pm
...
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post #24 of 39
8/30/09 at 9:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by InconcievableZen View Post

Guess i just have to test it then .

Any other people who do like the drydown?

I like French Lover from top to the drydown. Haven't even noticed that the drydown is ambery. And it's not really...
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post #25 of 39
8/30/09 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moreda View Post

Well, now this make it even worse... i dont get the ORAGE feeling.
Orage means STORM.

There isn't any storm going on except the storm of disapointment that u get after paying that amount of money for bois d'Orage.

Dittos
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post #26 of 39
8/30/09 at 11:04am
I think my nose might be missing something (like I hear that some people's noses tune out to certain musks?) because I sprayed myself in French Lover (maybe 3 sprays on my arm) loved it instantly (went to buy it before realising there wasn't actually enough money for it on my card!) and then walked around Sydney for another 40 minutes or so, and then... gone. Totally gone. I thought I might have overcharged my nose since I had a few samples on paper and Dior Homme on my other arm. Re-sprayed myself , started to make my way home. An hour or so later, totally gone again. Damn this! That was one of the finest openings since Eau Sauvage! Here's hoping for some silent reformulations.

(And on Musc Ravageur, it's nice yes but you can't criticise French Lover for being synthetic in the same breath as you praise MR. It's really nice, like a bakery and lingerie store in one, but it is *so* synthetic-y, a sharp almost metallic musk with other unchanging softer musks to pad the sides, chemical breakfast! Again, I do really like it, so it's not a negative criticism.)
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post #27 of 39
8/30/09 at 11:15am
Yep, I also feel that FL is very rich in Iso-E Super... Not a bad thing if you consider that it makes it very wearable, just not very original which makes it decidely less interesting for me. Would wear occasionally if received as a gift.
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post #28 of 39
8/30/09 at 12:09pm
Yea, what is this specific type of woody-amber used in French Lover? Its not the cheaptastic woodyamber of Guerlain Homme...rather it smells like a sort of refined Iso E Super...an Iso E Super 2 ?
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post #29 of 39
8/30/09 at 1:40pm
Sorry, I don't know what E Iso Super (or whatever it is called) is. Nonetheless, I think FRENCH LOVER is NOT a great achievement.

I bought it because of the rave here on BN but never really liked it. It doesn't smell good on a man (IMHO) but has a somewhat sickening and cloying side to it. Whenever I wore it, I was always glad to take off the shirt I had sprayed it on because it made me uneasy and I didn't feel at home with it. It never adapted to my body chemistry and always smelled strange in an unpleasant way.

On the whole, iI think Frédéric Malle's scents are overrated and too expensive for what they deliver. In my opinion, even Musc Ravageur belongs in this category because it lacks a certain rawness a scent for a male should have. Sorry, guys.
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post #30 of 39
10/24/09 at 10:30am
Thread Starter 
I tested the frangrance in Amsterdam a few days ago and immediately bought a 100ml bottle.

It is great, and I get a musk/oakmoss/vetiver/cypress drydown, no amber.
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post #31 of 39
10/24/09 at 10:58am
I get totally nothing out of it.
Even after blind sniff 3 times... my very good friend InconcievableZen
tried 3 times to make me like it.... and i really really hate it from the bottom of my heart.

dont u ever try to let me sniff and smell it again
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post #32 of 39
10/24/09 at 1:02pm
I love this fragrance with its spicy green woody character, it always reminds me of walking through a forest in the fall after the rain. A good quality cologne.
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post #33 of 39
10/25/09 at 12:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luis View Post

On the whole, I think Frédéric Malle's scents are overrated and too expensive for what they deliver.

I am beginning to feel that too.

French Lover starts promisingly but then in about 2-3 hours it's gone. I've observed this during the last few times that I've worn this. The sillage is dismal too. I've asked my friends if they can smell it on me but they can't.

I think I am going to show this one the door, soon.
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post #34 of 39
10/25/09 at 3:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gupts View Post

I am beginning to feel that too.

French Lover starts promisingly but then in about 2-3 hours it's gone. I've observed this during the last few times that I've worn this. The sillage is dismal too. I've asked my friends if they can smell it on me but they can't.

I think I am going to show this one the door, soon.

I had a sample that was like that which was 7% strength but lasted a bit longer on my skin. The full bottle I purchased is 9% in strength as it was changed just for the reason you mention. The new one lasts several hours on my skin and the opening lasts a lot longer to.
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post #35 of 39
10/25/09 at 4:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gupts View Post

I am beginning to feel that too.

French Lover starts promisingly but then in about 2-3 hours it's gone. I've observed this during the last few times that I've worn this. The sillage is dismal too. I've asked my friends if they can smell it on me but they can't.

I think I am going to show this one the door, soon.

Let me know if you decide to give it the chop, I'd be glad to take it off your hands.
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post #36 of 39
10/25/09 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 
I have the 9 % and get 8 - 12 hours on it, (probably more as a skin scent) with 2 - 3 sprays
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post #37 of 39
10/25/09 at 11:51am
I gave Bois d'Orage a skin test yesterday. The sharp smoky opening is not my kind of thing, and while the (Iso E Super?) drydown is pleasant enough, I would never spring for a full bottle of this.

What gets me is that I could swear I have smelled this basic structure--especially the accords of the opening half-hour--before in a different, more common scent that I cannot place right now...
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post #38 of 39
10/25/09 at 12:09pm
i hate it!!!!!

forgive me mister B
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post #39 of 39
10/25/09 at 12:16pm
I really like it. The only reason I didn't buy it until now is that I like Vetiver Extraordinaire even better. It's true that it isn't worth the money, but then, considering the real production costs, which scent really does?
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