SERGE LUTENS
FEMINITE DU BOIS
2009
PERFUMER
Christopher Sheldrake
Pierre Bourdon
Virginia Cedar
Plum
Cinnamon
Peach
Cloves
Ginger
Violet
Ylang-Ylang
Rose
Orange Blossom
Benzoin
Sandalwood
Musk
Vanilla
THOUGHTS
* Feminité du Bois was first released under Shiseido in 1992, but in 2009 a version was released in the Serge Lutens collection.
Feminité du Bois is probably one of the more popular Serge Lutens releases. I enjoyed it enough to commit to a bottle, for which this review has been updated.
Instantly this fragrance felt like it has a strong duality. The peach and plum and perhaps also the ylang ylang are smooth, almost creamy. They play nice with the sweeter woody base.
On the other hand, there are the spices. A strong blast of cinnamon and dry clove is present. When I sampled this, the ginger stood out for me more, but from my bottle, clove is much more prominent. It already smelled like a spiced fruit compote, but this time around, it’s a full-on Christmassy affair. It is very similar in notes to Serge Lutens Arabie, but Arabie has a much more resinous texture and feels more gourmand and like a dessert, whereas Feminite Du Bois stays more woody.
This is almost like an aromatic tobacco with plum. While sweet, it doesn’t feel too similar to something like Plum In Cognac, which is more lactonic and gourmand. Instead, the sharper spices make Feminite du Bois a more mature wear in my opinion (without ever being challenging at all). I still haven’t smelled Tom Ford Plum Japonais to compare it to.
What I like most about this fragrance is that the peach and plum seem to get stronger as it dries down, as opposed to being overpowered by other notes. I like this more and more during the wear and with each time I’ve smelled it now.
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