This perfume reminds me a teeny bit of #5. It must be the aldehydes, but I'm not sure. It really is a beautiful sort of everyday scent though. It's refined and mature, but I can see women 30 and over wearing it best. It has an intensity to it, but it really isn't cloying at all. I wish I were better at describing scents as to the actual notes, but this scent certainly upholds the quality of the Chanel name for sure.

No. Not for me. I can't smell it. Three big spritzes from a large decant on to freshly moisturised skin produce a faint burst of roughened wood and a fizz of cola. That dies in a couple of minutes, leaving almost no trace on my skin, and almost no sillage other than what I might expect if I had just showered with sandalwood soap. I wish I could be transported to bliss like so many other people are, but no.

I wish there was a maybe for "would you buy this product again", as I am on the fence about whether or not this fragrance is really for me. I bought a decent sized decant of the EDT from TPC and have tested it several times over the last 6 months or so. I'm giving it 4 stars because I do appreciate it and I do think it smells very good, but I don't really find myself wanting to wear it often. I've said this about other decants and samples in the past and then when I've run out I've decided I miss it and end up buying a bottle and loving it for a long time, so maybe this will happen with Bois des Iles.


It's funny how this EDT sometimes reminds me of No.5, and how other time it remind me of No. 22. It certainly seems to have notes that are found in both. Of course there's the massive aldehydes, but beyond that there is the jasmine, ylang-ylang, and neroli of no.5 and no.22, as there is similar vetiver and vanilla base notes. But Bois des Iles makes sandalwood the star note, blending it with the florals and resinous and woody notes to create a woodsy, warm, powdery scent that has very decent lasting power and silage. Again, I really like the smell, and am even ashamed to admit that I often prefer spritzing it in the air in a small room over wearing it. I like being able to walk through that room several times later that day and smell it. It does smell so good, but I think it is just not really the type of perfume that works with my personality enough to feel right wearing it...

Creamy sandalwood with a dusting of strong, nose pinching, almost headache inducing aldehydes. I read about this perfume and desired owning it. When I first smelled it, I was suprised how familiar it was. This has been done many times over the years one way or the other. Creamy, feminen smell with a very sophisticated, almost dated edge. It did bring to mind Samsara. Bois des Iles has a lovely, yummy, warm, creamy sandalwood side to it. But also a side that reminds me of visiting aunts, dressed best, hugging and kissing you, saying how much you have grown. And you just want to get away!
And I must add that this perception may be due to the fact that Bois des Iles has been reformulated. It is a tribute to sandalwood without sandalwood. Sandalwood has become very expensive due to regulations and scarcity, thus substitued in perfumery with synthetic polystantol and others. And from my experience, while polysantol has a nice warm wafting aroma, it can also be a little screechy. So just to clarify, my review is for the Les Exclusifs version. When Bois des Iles was created, sandalwood was imported from India in large quantities, so I bet back then it smelt devine!

First, an apology: this review will probably not be helpful to many because, as much as I like to read about fragrances, I have difficulty writing about fragrance myself. I did not like this at first because I thought it smelled too "old lady." I would wear it to, I don't know, daytime weddings or luncheons. Then I realized that I really liked the fragrance when I smelled it in my clothes. After two years, I have come to think of this as a signature fragrance, which means that I reach for this one more than others on the occasions that I wear fragrance at all. A spritz of the EDT behind the knee or at the base of my back 1+ hour before "showtime" is perfect. I like that the fragrance is not crazily overly popular; at least, I haven't noticed the fragrance on others (Yay! Mine!) Also, though I couldn't explain why, I haven't suddenly fallen out of "like" with it the way I have with other scents. There. Told you not to expect much. I just wanted to document my appreciation for no reason in particular.

What can I add that others have not already said? It is best here to go personal: Bois des Īles sinks into my skin and more than any other fragrance becomes a part of me. Wearing it feels like being home. It is sandalwood, jasmine, gingerbread, deliciously warm, comfortably elegant, beautiful, never pretentious. It works just as well with t-shirt and jeans or flannel pajamas as it does with a little black dress, soft cashmere, or lingerie. This was love at first sniff - from its sharp, aldehydic (and slightly uric) start to its creamy middle to its soft drydown, Chanel has captured all facets of sandalwood here. Lovely, lovely, I do not think I will ever be without it.

This was the third of five fragrance from Chanel's Les Exclusifs line that I recently added to my collection, it started with Coromandel, then Jersey, Bois des īles, Beige and lastly, No. 22. Overall, I have mostly soft woody oriental gourmands in my collection, florals are almost absent, Enter Chanel... To me Bois des īles is somewhat similar to 22, minus the aldehydes and with a creamier base note. That base note consisting of Sandalwood, Vanilla and Tonka Bean with a hint of Vetyver is very soft and comforting to me. It makes Bois des īles very versatile, I can wear this at home as well as to work because it smells sophisticated and elegant. Bois des īles definitely has a more floral opening than what I am used to so I really enjoy venturing out a bit, and I enjoy how this fragrance develops throughout the day into that warm cozy skin scent. Beautiful classy Chanel spray bottle, 6.8 oz, retails for $210. Big bottle, but once it runs out, this is a definite repurchase. A word of warning to your wallet: I never paid too much attention to them, but now I find that these Chanels are addictive.

Bois des Iles is a pure, clean, crystalline representation of sandalwood, set in a perfectly arranged bouquet of aldehydic flowers with culinary spices smoldering dryly underneath, perfuming the whole like the fragrant smoke of clean Japanese incense.


There is something wealthy about Bois des Iles, but not in an ostentatious way -- each ingredient within the composition seems to be of the very highest quality, and like a great meal, instead of being drenched in heavy sauces, each ingredient shines with the simple perfection of its natural state. The ingredients together produce a magnificent experience.


The sandalwood in Bois des Iles has a distinctly animalic and slightly leathery quality, and reminds me of human sexual smells and the slight glow of clean, healthy people. This component is hardly dirty, though. It's like a perfect, distilled smell of exquisite humanness. There is much more of this quality in the parfum than the edt -- the parfum leans toward raunchiness and reminds me a little of horses and leather tack, while in the edt, this component is only a light mist that lends warmth and humanity to the whole of the composition.


I love Bois des Iles because its simplicity and richness reminds me of an exquisite moss garden in that it's deceptively complex and intricate, but seems completely uncluttered and beautifully ordered nonetheless. It makes me feel utterly calm and beautiful. It's a meditation on abstract living flowers floating in an ancient sandalwood bowl, wrapped in chic French aldehydes. It's the epitome of simple, luxurious quality, and it glows in an aura of deliciously good taste.


The edt is deceptively long lasting. BdI doesn't scream, despite the basenote-heavy composition, so it won't whomp you over the head with a projected "smell," but instead it shrouds you lightly in a rich golden sparkling aura. The parfum is decidedly more noticeable and animalic, and it seems denser. All of the notes project louder and with more presence. The edt is like the whisper of a soft, impossibly expensive cashmere dress shimmering with gold dust, where the parfum is like a heavy silk satin sheath. Both are incredible.


Because it's expensive and has limited availability, it has an exclusivity factor that makes it very intriguing. It's not the sort of thing you'll smell everywhere, and it's certainly unique, but at the same time, I can't imagine it offending anyone's nose. It's not controversial, overtly sexual or quirky, but neither does it smell like anything else -- It's just delectable beauty of the highest quality.

I recently bought a 75ml bottle of Bois des Iles from Selfridges in Manchester. The 75ml bottle is £100 and definitely makes it the most expensive EDT I have ever bought.

I think its fabulous, earthy and woody. It has excellent silage. I wore it at work the other day and got several comments about how fantastic it was. I got told I smelt beautiful and sophisticated, without being girly and flowery.

Very lovely fragrance as can be expected of Chanel - created initially in 1926. This is like a fresher and soapier version of no5 with added sandalwood, gingerbread accord and a TINY bit of incense that was in no22. This is great fragrance and definitely one of the best in the Les Exclusifs line. I really love this fragrance for autumn and maybe for winter too, although i'd wear no5 and coco for winter. This is a very elegant soapy sandalwood scent. Like a previous reviewer said, Bois des Iles does for sandalwood what no5 does for jasmine... I completely agree. I will DEFINITELY repurchase this fragrance - no doubt! :)