Violet leaf
Cedarwood
Blossoms
04/03/2025
DrB1414
241 Reviews
DrB1414
Very helpful Review
5
The Melancholic Sister of Feminite
Bois De Violette from Serge Lutens. Another poetic and complex creation from the house, one that keeps me guessing whenever I wear it. To be more specific, I don't smell much of the violet flower here nor the violet leaf, at least not in a "tangible" way. The perfume is all about the spices, mostly cumin and the woods, with an ever-present purple hue that leaves room for interpretation. I wonder why Monsieur Lutens decided to add no color to this perfume. He loves suggesting what his perfumes are about to unfold by painting them accordingly. I would have had Bois De Violette, a light purple color. Yet he decided Sarrasins should be a deep purple. That, I never understood.
For me, Bois De Violette stays true to the Feminite Du Bois structure (the perfume that sprang the entire "Bois" series), taking away the difficult facets and perfecting them. I could never bring myself to like Feminite. As much acclaimed and loved as it is, I never fancied it - always felt too sharp on the spices and the cedar, and too fruity. More suited for women, I feel. Bois De Violette tones down the spices but keeps the cumin, maybe even amplifying it a touch, smooths out the woods in the base by adding a touch of oakmoss and fluffy musks, and tempers the fruity aspects to a mere suggestion. It smells how I wanted Feminite to smell - more melancholic, poetic, rounder and well-behaved, unisex. The opening is spicy but focuses mainly on the cumin note, not overly done but present. Immediately, the purple color starts to permeate the scent profile. At this point, I am left guessing the source of it. Is it plum, or violet, perhaps both? A fresh and crisp breeze blows through it like the chilly air caressing the grass in the forest. And then the cedar in the base feels supported by some additional creamy woods, musks, and bitter-green moss. A spicy and woody take on violet, devoid of trivial sweetness and full of surprises. Whatever creates the omnipresent purple sensation is going to be a perpetual source of intrigue for me. And that is why I feel this perfume is among the most poetic and intelligent from this house. It lets the wearer add his/her hero to the plot while laying down the grounds for the story.
IG:@memory.of.scents
For me, Bois De Violette stays true to the Feminite Du Bois structure (the perfume that sprang the entire "Bois" series), taking away the difficult facets and perfecting them. I could never bring myself to like Feminite. As much acclaimed and loved as it is, I never fancied it - always felt too sharp on the spices and the cedar, and too fruity. More suited for women, I feel. Bois De Violette tones down the spices but keeps the cumin, maybe even amplifying it a touch, smooths out the woods in the base by adding a touch of oakmoss and fluffy musks, and tempers the fruity aspects to a mere suggestion. It smells how I wanted Feminite to smell - more melancholic, poetic, rounder and well-behaved, unisex. The opening is spicy but focuses mainly on the cumin note, not overly done but present. Immediately, the purple color starts to permeate the scent profile. At this point, I am left guessing the source of it. Is it plum, or violet, perhaps both? A fresh and crisp breeze blows through it like the chilly air caressing the grass in the forest. And then the cedar in the base feels supported by some additional creamy woods, musks, and bitter-green moss. A spicy and woody take on violet, devoid of trivial sweetness and full of surprises. Whatever creates the omnipresent purple sensation is going to be a perpetual source of intrigue for me. And that is why I feel this perfume is among the most poetic and intelligent from this house. It lets the wearer add his/her hero to the plot while laying down the grounds for the story.
IG:@memory.of.scents
DrB1414
