Perfume Review: Parfums DelRae Bois de Paradis

Whereas Bois et Fruits by Serge Lutens is a smell of the woodier and wilder part of the Paradise, Bois de Paradis is what Eden’s fruit and rose orchard smells like. Created for DelRae by Michel Roudnitska, Bois de Paradis is a heavenly (pun fully and shamelessly intended) blend of woods, blackberry, fig, rose, amber, and spices. In my opinion, it is one of the most exquisite scents, a seamless, magical harmony that is luscious, sensual and irresistible. When I smell Bois de Paradis, I, like Baudelaire, “see a panorama of blissful shores, a-dazzle with the sun’s monotonous blaze, a languid island where Nature lavishes rare trees and luscious fruits…” I adore the blackberry note in Bois de Paradis, it is ripe and succulent, its dark sweetness perfectly balanced by woods. The rose note is quite prominent on my skin; it is a honeyed, lush rose and is stunning combined with fruits. A certain peppery or perhaps even incense-like quality of this scent keeps the lushness of fruits and roses from being overwhelming. The amber note, ornamented by fruits and roses, is stunning, an amber note to die for. The fragrance comes in Eau de Parfum and is very long-lasting on my skin, 10-12 hours at the very least. Bois de Paradis never fails to make me happy even on the dreariest of days, one sniff and it takes me to “vast seas whose monsoons bear me away to enchanting climes, where space is more blue and more profound, where the air is redolent of the smell of fruits and leaves and the skin of human beings.” It is Thanksgiving today, so, in spirit of the day, I am thankful to DelRae and Roudnitska for creating this amazing perfume. Bois de Paradis can be found on Beautyhabit.com, $125.00 for 1,7oz. *The photo of Bois de Paradis is from parfumsdelrae.com. *The painting is Venus Verticordia by Rossetti, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, UK.