Quatre pour Homme Absolu de Nuit Boucheron 2017

It is a cool day as I settle into my chamber in the woods. The previous occupant laid the finest laminate and polished it splendidly with lemons. Well, quickly open the windows and let the cool forest air in. For the air is indescribably clear and invigorating, and although the thermometer indicates cold, there is a subtler and purer warmth than in summer. Under the porch, green herbs thrive, creeping through the beams.
This chamber is simple, but it will suffice. I want to experience life anew, to approach real life, but without practicing any renunciation, unless it is absolutely unavoidable. Therefore, I have not brought much, just a few spices: pepper, nutmeg, and vanilla. So I stand by the window, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
Sweet grass seeps up through the cracks in the floor. Green wisps of spicy fragrance fill the chamber, overwhelming everything artificial and bringing peace to the spirit. Cedars sprout and shoot up at an unprecedented speed. I linger with my eyes closed for several hours, enjoying the silence, undisturbed even by my own thoughts.
“We must learn to wake up again and to keep ourselves awake, ... through the unceasing expectation of the sunrise, which must not leave us in the deepest sleep.” *

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To say one thing upfront, I do not know The One and I have only smelled Le Male once ages ago, so no comparisons from my side here.
Quatre pour Homme Absolu de Nuit starts with sweet lemon underlaid with lavender and a hint of sage. Quite quickly, this is overtaken by a soft, woody note, and I also perceive vanilla. That is probably the Akigalawood®. Fragrances with a ® make me skeptical at first, and yes, it does smell a bit artificial, but it is alright (much more pleasant than, for example, Cashmeran).
As the scent develops, it becomes spicier (pepper, nutmeg) and gains a fine green component from vetiver and patchouli. Then there is the cedar. I really like the scent. At the very end, the Akigalawood® and the vanilla reappear, but only very close to the skin.
The pleasure lasts on the skin for 5-6 hours, on fabric for 7-8.

Quatre pour Homme Absolu de Nuit is not so easy to categorize: on one hand, boring artificial wood-vanilla, on the other hand, beautiful green-spicy cedar. Everything is quite smooth, without edges or corners; there could certainly have been much more in it. But it is also a nice, warm no-brainer for the colder season.

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* from Walden by Henry David Thoreau