Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Perfumes • Bois De Turquie Eau De Toilette • Fragrances

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*TOP REVIEWER* WentworthRoth on 2/17/2011 11:20:00 AM more reviews by WentworthRoth

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Notes: orange blossom, mandarin orange, bergamot; orris root, jasmine, west indian bay, geranium; sandalwood, patchouli, incense and myrrh.

This fragrance opens with a classic citrus accord: sweet, bright, fresh. Once they disappear and they do it fast, the heart of the fragrance reveals itself. On my skin it is a tender composition of orris/iris framed by sparkly fruit and light floral notes. The dry down is characterised by sandalwood, it is velvety with a final touch of resins and strangely enough orange. Lasts for four hours on my skin.

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SculptureOfSoul on 4/15/2010 4:43:00 PM more reviews by SculptureOfSoul

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Ever since I heard of this I meant to sample it, but for one reason or another it's not until now that I finally have. The notes list had me intrigued: I love iris, myrrh, geranium, cinnamon, sandalwood, orangeflower and ginger. Of course, you know how it goes with notes lists..

Anyway, before I continue, here is the official notes list taken from NST

bergamot, tangerine, orange blossom, Laurus nobilis (bay laurel), geranium, iris, jasmine, ginger, cinnamon, sandalwood, patchouli, myrrh and frankincense


When first sprayed it was a bit of a shock. It seems the iris note landed first on my skin and was all I could smell for a few moments, something like the opening of Infusion d'Homme but much more pleasant, and much smoother and even velvety in texture. Moments later an equally smooth tangerine became perceptible, and it was rounded and deepened by hints of cinnamon and perhaps ginger. It is all smooth and sweet but far from cloying or thin. I'm trying to think of any scents that this smells like, but can't really - I guess the closest description would be crossing the opening of Lacoste Elegance (which I always thought had a sort of cream soda opening) with Infusion d'Homme - but it smells better than either of those and likely better than the combination of them.

So in a sense I guess I agree with the reviews I've read where they mention a cream soda like accord. It is faintly similar, but again, not at all effervescent like soda, but instead smooth and velvety. Somehow though, it avoids coming across as flat soda.

Within 10 minutes the bay and geranium are faintly noticeable, and from here to the heart the scent becomes progressively drier. The bay never becomes downright spicy, but is used in a restrained and skillful manner to prevent the scent from becoming overbearing, which could easily have happened if no counterpoint to the sweet/round/velvety opening emerged. It's amazing how something so rich and creamy becomes dry and even a bit dusty. The iris takes center stage in the heart and makes me think of a mix of the earthy iris of Iris Bleu Gris and the clean iris of Infusion d'Homme. The slight rubbery nuances of this particular iris blend suggest a suede like note in the context of the accord. The sandalwood and myrrh combo of the base are creeping into view now, and no doubt helped contribute to the 'drying effect.' The cream soda accord is still present but fading by the minute, and this stage of transition is absolutely beautiful. It calls to mind a temple of some sort - perhaps turkish, perhaps oriental - sweet spices, large and extravagant oriental rugs, incense burning in the distance. It is still early morning and the sun is just rising. A crisp and slightly cool air teases your hair while you sit in the lotus position and meditate. The juxtaposition of warm and cool, wet and dry, introspective and extrovertive qualities (and notes) is really amazing and unique.

From here on out the myrrh, sandalwood and to a lesser degree iris dominate to the end, with a faint patchouli note adding hints of a chocolate like note (faint though, and not at all in a gourmand manner). The smoothness of it all is now moreso than ever suggestive of suede. It's been a long time since I've sniffed it, but it called to mind Daim Blond's drydown. Like a cross between Daim Blond and the new Santal Noble.

The experience is akin to a small spiritual journey through the temple. At first you take in all of the sights, sounds and smells, the amazing architecture. The beauty of the earth as well as mankind and its accomplishments and creations fills you with awe, wonder and appreciation. Then you sit and meditate and clear your mind of earthly pleasures, remove the veil of maya, and are left with an even deeper sense of awe and wonder of merely being alive and conscious.

That was my experience on my first wearing. Some other random thoughts and observations: Overall the scent is quite light and ethereal. It is not raw as so many other MPGs, but instead extremely subdued, well blended, and restrained. Yet it still smells quite natural and very high quality, imo. The heart of the fragrance also reminded me of another MPG fragrance - Or Des Indes - although while ODI is an opulent and unabashed oriental, BdT was again lighter and more restrained. ODI *is* the olfactory equivalent of indulging oneself - perhaps hedonistically so - while in a lush oriental palace. BdT could take place in the same setting, but is the spiritual view of the same surroundings. It is still going fairly strong after 4 hours, but it is easy to lose track of because of the nature of the base accord - it is light and suede like. I think I detect a hint of vanilla further rounding out the sandalwood/myrrh/iris combo. Sillage is actually quite good - even after four hours - but again, easy to lose track of.

It is not a gourmand nor oriental - but some kind of combination of the two. The way it combines these two and manages to still stay relatively light and airy recalls V&R's Antidote - not that they smell anything alike - but how it managed to combine citrus and sporty with oriental and still stay relatively light. Also like Antidote, this is one of the most evolving fragrances I have smelled.

While this is light and restrained enough to be a contender for a 'daily wear' fragrance, for me the associations and ride it takes me on makes that seem like a sacrilege proposal. Perhaps best worn on an introspective walk on a spring or fall evening. Or to church temple or mosque. Or on a lazy sunday while reading a really good book.

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debrsl on 9/25/2009 10:42:00 AM more reviews by debrsl

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Nasty opening too reminiscent of an aftershave. In the dryown, I am getting some great sweet wood; however, it is very mild and Micallef does it much better in Gaiac.

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*TOP REVIEWER* themeglet on 7/12/2008 10:53:00 PM more reviews by themeglet

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Other   Eyes: Blue    

I don’t think I like this category of wood. Something in it is too sweet and clashing (clashing?) for me to find pleasant. The sandalwood is prominent, though something in the combination makes the sandalwood too sharp... (the bergamot? ginger?) I think I wanted this to be much drier, yet smoky and subtle... somewhere between Bois Blond and Fumerie Turque. To me, this comes much closer to Feminite du Bois—a scent that I don’t particularly like. I’ll echo chattykathy below in saying that the sweetness all but suffocates and buries the woods, while the incense hangs on for dear life. The orange blossom makes an initial appearance, which is nice; yet she disappears entirely within the first 5 minutes and leaves you with the distinct impression that she was *actually* Miss Patch in disguise. After the first 10 minutes, you have nothing less than a brouhaha of clashing notes. (OK, from this description, BdT would make a better action film than a fragrance.) To give an even more impressionistic description, I would say that this is the scented equivalent of listening to a tone-deaf, untrained 6-year old playing his/her version of "Mozart" on the piano. (It hurts us, precious!)

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*TOP REVIEWER* chattykathy on 7/6/2008 4:01:00 PM more reviews by chattykathy

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Here is the description of this fragrance taken from the Aedes website:...."Precious woods provide a theme for this smoldering fragrance from Maître Parfumeur et Gantier which would appeal to both men and women alike. The dark sandalwood and patchouli are festooned with the radiance of orange blossom and bergamot. The sheer jasmine notes are juxtaposed with the warm spice of bay leaf and myrrh. The elegance of Bois de Turquie is reinforced by the austere chill of orris root, while the incense which wraps the composition in a delicate veil lends a mysterious aura". ........OK, so where's my incense?? My mystery??? This was unexpectedly sweet and I really didn't like that. It is almost syrupy. It makes me think of a syrup that you would add seltzer to to make a soda or something. It reminds me of coca cola syrup that my parents used to bring home from the candy shop when I was a wee one in the 60's and this was a home remedy that people used for nausea. This might sound crazy but there is something in this that also makes me think of Escada collection. It has that fizzy sweet quality with the woodiness that Collection does but the sweetness is covering up the good stuff underneath. I actually like Collection better. For something called Turkish wood I really imagined something deeper, more earthy and interesting. It's not a bad fragrance at all and it is truly unisex. I was almost thinking that it would be more for a man from those notes but the sweetness definitely makes it cross the line effectively. It just seems to be lacking the depth that I thought it would have.It's pretty linear too. The only thing that changed on me over many hours is that it got quieter and a bit softer but that sweetness was still there and it ruined this one for me. It should be noted that I enjoy sweet scents in general but this one just seemed like the intensity of that sweetness was out of place. Lasting power is admirable for an eau de toilette, it was still going after 8 hours on my skin. Nice effort and concept but the execution fell flat for me personally.

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