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Thursday, June 01, 2006

Perfume Review: Bois d'Argent by Christian Dior

Bois d’Argent is a part of the collection of three colognes created for Christian Dior under the guidance of Hedi Slimane, the designer responsible for Dior’s men’s division. The author of Bois d’Argent is the very talented Annick Menardo, the perfumer behind such scents as Bvlgari Black, Le Labo Patchouli 24 and Lolita Lempicka. You can find some more background information on the cologne trio in my review of Cologne Blanche. I will just note once again that although these scents are intended for men, they are most definitely unisex. Bois d’Argent is soft, subtle, delicate and eminently wearable on a woman as well as on a man.

As in Bvlgari Black and Patchouli 24, Menardo masterfully combines here the seemingly incompatible or, rather, the extreme opposite elements: the dry, austere leather and incense and the soft, sweet notes of vanilla, iris and honey. The result is a gentle, velvety fragrance, perhaps the most subtle of Menardo’s creations, yet its subtlety does not make Bois d’Argent indistinct or pale. The incense, which is most prominent in the beginning, does not completely disappear till the very end, beautifully complimenting the woody accord and, in the drydown, adding a certain dry pepperiness to the sweet notes of honey and vanilla. The leather is barely a hint here as is the patchouli; rather than being the central players in the composition, both notes serve more as a counterbalance to the sweetness of vanilla and honey, and I must say that they certainly succeed in their function, since the scent is neither too dry nor too fluffy and sweet, but is just the right balance of both. On my skin, Bois d’Argent is a delicate harmony of soft woods, gentle incense and the wonderfully subtle blend of honey, iris and vanilla. This is a smooth, soothing and quietly beautiful fragrance. It feels light and stays close to the skin but lasts quite a long time. I am going to reach for it very often this summer.

Bois d’Argent is available at Neiman Marcus, $115.00 for 4.2oz.

18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks again for another brilliant review, M.! I love Bois D'Argent, too. On my skin, it has a dusty quality. Maybe it's the iris? This once again revived my lemming for full bottles of Bois D'Argent and Eau Noire. Sigh.

11:18 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Ina,
Probably iris...Sometimes it is dusty-powdery on my skin too. But dusty in a good, enjoyable way.
I don't think I could wear Eau Noire as often as the other two, but I want a bottle anyway. Just to have it. Shob bylo :-)

11:21 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL! I can totally relate. Yes, it's a good dusty, not a bad musty type of dusty. This trio is just so brilliantly done. I also adore the packaging.

11:30 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Love the packaging! The boxes and the bottles. Especially love the big bottles. They are so comfortably simple and chunky :-)

11:37 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For me, hazy rather than dusty. It does have some sillage, but in a gauzy evanescent way - it's there and not there. A real beauty that seems suited for any season.

Colombina, you have me salivating with your last three reviews. suffice to say, PG received an order yesterday.

4:09 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Leopoldo,
I am curious, please tell me which one you ordered? Or was it a sample set? :-)

8:31 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Christina,
Those two are my favorites too. Although I can't say that I don't like Eau Noire. I like it a lot, it is just a less easy-going scent for me :-)

8:32 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

V,
Misty haze describes it very well indeed!

11:44 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marina,
now you've got me hunting for samples for this *I can't resist anything with promise of iris* and the Cologne Blanche... and btw that's so exciting that you will have a personal perfume made for you!

-Monica

12:05 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, Monica!
BTW, the package hasn't arrived yet, hast it? Probably there are delays because of the bank holiday. Hrmph. I hope it arrives soon!

12:09 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sample set ordered. I don't have the readies for full bottles. I also ordered a sample of Yuzu cos that hadn't launched the last time I got anything from PG. Love Coze the most from series 01... perfect cool weather scent for me.

12:24 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Leopoldo,
Coze is my favorite from the 1st collection too, closely followed by Cuir Venenum.

12:34 PM EDT  
Blogger NowSmellThis said...

Tried this on a card but not on skin, and definitely thought it the most interesting of the 3. Will have to snag a sample one of these days.

2:25 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

R,
Aha! We agree. I am happy. :-)

2:40 PM EDT  
Blogger marchlion said...

Marina, somehow I feel like I didn't really give this a fair shake. I will re-visit it after your compelling review.

6:50 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

March,
Give it a better shake, definitely :-) I think it is one of the most pleasant scents out there.

6:54 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds dreamy. I am going to have to see what this new stuff smells like since I liked the original version so much. Anyone try this yet? Is it good?
-http://thisthatandeverything.com

3:11 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

where can i get bois d'argent? its not at neimenmarcus

7:41 PM EST  

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