Shiseido • Feminite du Bois • Fragrances
(100 reviews)
| Average Rating. | 4.3 |
| Would buy this product again. | 75% |
| Package Quality | 4.2 |
| Price | 3.8 |
| Ingredients | |
lostgummi on 9/6/2011 9:34:00 PM more reviews by lostgummi
Age: 19-24 Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium Hair: Red, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Blue
on my skin this is candied violets and dried plums, but not too sweet and a little smoky
also something pleasantly "old-book-scent" about it
new signature scent!
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largloworm on 8/9/2011 11:18:00 PM more reviews by largloworm
Age: 56 & Over Skin: Normal, Fair, Warm Hair: Red, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Brown
I just received this bottle. Was surprised to see it wasn't an atomizer but decided to decant into a roll on and a spray. I do not want to spill this precious stuff!
Bought it on it's reviews. I didn't think I'd like it as people that like a lot of the same frags. as I do didn't care for it
I wish I could talk about all the notes......All I can say is it is unlike anything else out there. Not in your face perfume, and individual. Not so strong that it announces itself before you enter the room but very memorial perfume. I hope to never be without it I think. Next week I may change my mind because this is my first experience with it but this is easy to wear for me. I LOVE it!!! Not sorry! Hope i can find more!!
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riveroflethe on 3/24/2011 7:44:00 PM more reviews by riveroflethe
Age: 30-35 Skin: Normal, Medium Hair: Brown Eyes: Green
I hardly have the words to describe the ineffable beauty and 'truth' of this fragrance. In a strange way, it reminds me of a famous painting I once saw called "La Tentation de Saint Antoine." (The Temptation of Saint Anthony).
I see the image a woman of profound beauty emerge from the thick of the wood. The moonlight illuminates her rounded hips and ample heavy breasts but she still remains something of an apparition. Her hair is so dark and dense that it can barely be distinguished from the opaque darkness of the forest from which she emerges...She is a bold yet silent woman. She listens. She is a woman who loves and desires ardently but she is not coy. She is naked but not transparent. If she is a figure that tempts, it is because she is so elemental that she eludes...
There is something of a shadowy, symbollic quality to this fragrance that is nonetheless wearable, even comfortable--like skin. When I say that, however, I do not mean to suggest that there is anything vaguely animilic about this fragrance. On the contrary, the wood of this fragrance is devoid of the mustiness and dankness of the earth. Rather, it is a gently rustling, deep, voluptuous wood moving like music beneath the stars. On the skin it is like embers, warm and intimate, like a secret held close to the body. The secret unfolds invitingly, the way pages of a book turn themselves. The embers suggest the warm 'halo' of fire but there is no fire in this fragrance--figuratively speaking of course. It is not a fragrance that presumes to seduce; it is not a 'sex in the bottle' potion and for this reason it is quintessentially enticing. It evokes--in a silent and serene way-- the intricacies and inexhaustible depth of a woman's psyche without invoking the menace and terror that this eroticism poses to men--especially men in long dark robes.
It is a masterpiece--sonorous and deep like a cello.
Well worth the price and the fragrance does indeed live up to its name. It is a terrible pity that this fragrance is hard to find in the US.
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elaborate on 3/6/2011 4:36:00 PM more reviews by elaborate
Age: Unknown Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
Side by side comparison between Shiseido and SL's versions of FdB.
Shiseido version is the older one, and lots of folks prefer this over the SL's relaunch. Some says the SL is more costly. Other says the SL relaunch doesn't smell as great. So here we go: R wrist spritzed with sample that was given to me by a SA at a SL counter, L wrist spritzed with Shiseido bought online and a tin of grounded coffee in front.
SL went on first - as I am more familiar with Shiseido - it is unmistakably FdB. Then Shiseido went on too. I try to apply the same amount of FdB to both wrists, but the Shiseido pump is much more powerful, so I add a few more miniature squirts to my L wrist.
Shiseido starts with more oomph (could be due to volume used but still I think it is stronger), most apparent is the cedar. SL also has cedar but it's much more muted and it has this black pepper smell and a bit of heat which reminds me of chilli.
A swift 10 minutes later the cedar in Shiseido stays strong but the basenotes have came out to play, it reminds me of Christmas (ginger, cloves, dried fruits, pinch of coriander seeds). Calling it Christmas becoz I am reminded of mulled wine. SL stays on the cedar plus a bit of heat route, cloves is also obvious, fruits are very hard to find.
Half an hour later on the Shiseido the Christmas stage is still going strong, although a bit weaker. SL turns into a puff of cedre with a bit of spice, it's much weaker. I can smell Shiseido with my nose a inch away, I can only smell SL with my nose brushing my wrist. SL is smoother, quieter. Shiseido more sparkling, with a bigger presence.
I often hesitate to choose one thing over another and this time is no different. Which one is better, I guess, depends on where you want to wear it. If I am planning to wear it to a uber sober workplace then SL would do well, anything else Shiseido is what I would choose.
(Comparison done on 29th August 2009)
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chrystelica on 6/5/2010 11:01:00 PM more reviews by chrystelica
Age: 25-29 Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine Eyes: Blue
This is for the vintage parfum. Amazing. I would love to smell the newer version for comparison, which I'll try tomorrow, but this is pure heaven. The cedarwood, velvety plum and soft spices make this a very memorable scent for me. It takes me back several years in time. Somewhere from my past I remember this like it has been my own since its inception, which is bizarre. It smells as familiar to me as my own skin. I have to agree with the reviewer who mentioned wanting to bathe in a vat of this. It isn't too strong, no matter how much you put on.
This has a depth to the variety of notes in the fragrance, the clove, cardamom, cinnamon I can't isolate, because the spices are so rounded. Instead of projecting, it's embracing, the scent wears close to the skin, like most asian fragrances. Classic and glorious. Mysterious and enveloping. It is well-rounded, yet strong, the sweeter notes (orange blossom, rose, which I also can't isolate) bends like bamboo around you, but doesn't break. Shiseido has this particular quality in their fragrances that makes the notes very hard for me to discern individually.
This is not very femme, even might smell slightly masculine for some, but any lover of japanese koh (incense) would probably love this. It has a radiant, warm depth that is like bathing in a moonlit lake at night.... without the water moccasins and mosquitos.
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cors on 3/28/2010 2:52:00 AM more reviews by cors
Age: 19-24 Skin: Sensitive, Medium, Warm Hair: Black, Straight, Fine Eyes: Black
The closest I can get to a signature fragrance and in my opinion, the most versatile out of the Bois series. It is the perfect blend of plum, candied fruit and cedar. Very unusual, feminine and sophisticated. I have tried both versions and prefer the Shiseido version, which is less sweet than the new release under the SL name but it doesn't last as long. This may have been discontinued but is still reasonably easy to find online and most of the time, cheaper than the SL version.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Wyrmiax on 3/12/2010 6:41:00 PM more reviews by Wyrmiax
Age: 44-55 Skin: Very Oily, Fair-Medium Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium Eyes: Hazel
Prune juice, plain and simple.
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*TOP REVIEWER* lirial on 2/22/2010 11:05:00 AM more reviews by lirial
Age: 25-29 Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium Eyes: Hazel
I received a decant of this, and I've been dying to try it. Well, I finally did. In short, I don't love it and I don't hate it. The sharp cedar smell is immediate once it's applied. On me, within a few minutes it settles and I smell cinnamon, clove, and a hint of cedar. After about an hour, I'm left with geranium, fig, and clove. I don't get the cumin notes that the previous reviewer mentioned, but that sound like a positive! I'm glad that the cedar is much more subtle after it dries down, because I can't handle strong woody fragrances. Overall, this is a lovely scent, very spicy with a bit of fruit and floral. It's not something I would turn to regularly, but it's pleasant.
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andrearn9 on 1/31/2010 12:08:00 PM more reviews by andrearn9
Age: 44-55 Skin: Dry, Medium Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
FdB is truly a stunning fragrance, but there's a caveat. There is a luscious scent of woody plum with a hint of cinnamon, clove and cardamon that is just breathtaking. So clean! So lovely! You literally want to immerse yourself in that scent. If I coud jump into a vat of it I would, that's how gorgeous it is. HOWEVER, underneath that loveliness there lies a hint of cumin which gives FdB the skank factor. Now, you may or may not be comfortable with skank. The B.O. smell. The woman's knickers scent after she's been doing some strenuous activity. That smell. Are you comfortable with it in a perfume? Because if you're not, FdB may not be for you. I am NOT comfortable with that aspect and really wish it weren't present in the fragrance. If it weren't there, FdB in my mind would be the most outstanding fragrance ever created and I'd never wear anything else.
The good thing is I've found that spraying it on my clothing and hair only eliminates the skank factor. I get all of the good and none of the (to my nose anyway) unpleasant. I will say I've sampled the SL's version of FdB and he has (again, to my nose) eliminated a lot of the skank.
Edited: Moving this down to 2 lippies. My chemistry is really bringing forward the cumin notes in this fragrance and, quite frankly, it's downright embarrassing so I've stopped using. Whoever had the bright idea of putting cumin in a fragrance should be slapped - repeatedly. It ruined what could have been the perfect scent.
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*TOP REVIEWER* brookebaird on 1/2/2010 1:23:00 AM more reviews by brookebaird
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Blond, Curly, Medium Eyes: Green
This is the skin scent that rises above all others. The light musk coupled with ripe fruit is georgeous without being overpowering. It is the perfect nuzzling scent. Unlike the four Serge Lutens spin-off's, this works well year round is a bit more understated than the other "Bois" fragrances.
I understand the juice will be sold for double the price in the Serge line-up. Grab it while you can.
PS. Make sure you buy the spray as dabbing is not enough.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Mac789 on 11/7/2009 5:54:00 PM more reviews by Mac789
Age: 44-55 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
Feminite du Bois is so dynamic, so constantly evolving, that it is two fragrances on me, depending on what I perceive during each wearing.
The first fragrance is based around semi-sour plum and cedar. The cedar is the assertive Atlas variety, meaning that it takes on a grilled or somewhat charred quality that appears almost immediately and lasts through the drydown. The plum note has both sweet and unsweet tones the way a real plum does, with the unripe green closest to the purple flesh and the sweeter, golden flesh encircling the stone.
Some days, I get an entirely different fragrance. This one is centered around beeswax, orange blossom, and musk. Beeswax is a note I enjoy, and orange blossom enhances it beautifully. While a cedar note is still apparent, it is far off in the distance; it is the scent of splinters and not that of felled trees. This aspect of FdB is equally as pleasurable as the first.
Was there ever a fragrance more aptly named? And yet, the "femininity" of this woods fragrance is not traditionally feminine at all; absent are lush florals and sugars and those token notes that signify womanliness. FdB is more maternal (or fertile) than it is feminine, and it accomplishes this without decomposing into the mulch pile where the rank animalic or the sweet smell of decay stands for precisely the same thing.
Mention must be made of the abundant cinnamon in this fragrance. It works because the musk is kept low key (whereas Rousse amplifies both musk and spice, each to the detriment of the other) and the spice isn't sweet. So omnipresent is cinnamon that it is unclear what is spiced: the fruits, the floral, or the wood?
As others have detailed, FbD has poor lasting power. I don't find this an irritation. The scent has so much character that to smell it non-stop would be to tire of it; the fade-out allows you to apply more or to leave its remnants at the skin-scent level.
Unlike so many other scents, FdB still smells new. This is one of its strengths, as is the fact that it doesn't smell experimental. It falls together perfectly despite what was obviously a very iconoclastic posture. And yet, parts of it are not terribly attractive taken singly. The cedarwood can be harsh and perhaps meaty. The musk can steam through the beeswax and overtake it and the orange blossom; the plum can turn sour. So disparate are the faces of FdB that they almost convince me that our enjoyment of fragrance is mostly about perception; in the same way one can enjoy a campfire one night and the next find it acrid, we react rather than responding to the reactive.
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sharviss on 9/21/2009 12:25:00 AM more reviews by sharviss
Age: 30-35 Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool Hair: Red, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Blue
A beautiful woodsy, spicy perfume. I do love it, my only complaint is the lasting power. Two hours and it's completely gone.
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Godisgrisan on 9/16/2009 3:39:00 AM more reviews by Godisgrisan
Age: 30-35 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
So, this smells like candy necklace candy. Weird, and none of the foresty feeling I was hoping for. Resembles Ava Luxe's Silk, but this is slightly more comlex and interesting than Silk.
In the drydown it gets slightly dirty, which I find intriguing. However, a dirty candy necklace, having been around someone's neck through a couple of days of not showering ... not sure that is something I want to smell like, however interesting an idea it is.
EDIT: I've come to quite appreciate the candy necklace scent, and found some more depth to what's surrounding it here, have to bump it up to a 4.
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SSacrebleu on 8/16/2009 6:36:00 AM more reviews by SSacrebleu
Age: 19-24 Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Violet
Feminite du Bois was one of those fragrances I purchased just after 1 testing. It's one of my signatures (yeah, I have few), it's the kind of fragrance I think that's dedicated to me.
First of all you get balm and resins out of it. Incense, animalistic honey. And tender carnations like aura gathering all these warm, strong notes.
Sometimes, in warm weather it may smell dirty, very dirty. That's why I decided that it's best in colder days, for warm ones it may be too sharp. But it isn't sharp at all, it's pretty polished scent (if you know what I mean, f.e. Alien is very polished, smooth ).
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*TOP REVIEWER* KelseyP on 4/3/2009 8:43:00 PM more reviews by KelseyP
Age: 30-35 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Cool Hair: Blond, Straight, Medium Eyes: Blue
I love this, but I swear, it smells nothing like the reviews I'm reading - I get loads of cumin, salty skin, and and floral musk undertones - but none of this plummy notes and cedar. Where? Does my skin magnify cumin? Is it because I cook so much with it that I notice it so much? I can't know for sure, but what I do know is that this smells eerily similar to Worth Courtesan so it's nothing I would rush out and buy.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Dagney on 1/23/2009 1:23:00 PM more reviews by Dagney
Age: 30-35 Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Warm Hair: Black, Straight, Medium Eyes: Brown
FdB is a masterpiece. This is the only fragrance I've ever purchased unsniffed and I have no regrets. Opens with a true cedar scent (like the cedar used to build fences/decks). Development of the fragrance on skin is complex - I get amber (reminiscent of Amber Sultan), plum, and some floral notes that sweeten the fragrance. I usually reserve FdB for special occasions because it's such a special fragrance. But really you could wear this anywhere. I hope to always have FdB as part of my collection.
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schumaster on 12/9/2008 9:31:00 AM more reviews by schumaster
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
All I can say is wowww....
I received a sample of this from a lovely MUAer and fell in love with it immediately....
Now, Im no good when describing notes, but this is the scent that I would call "Scent of a woman"
Such a shame that it is now discontinued....however I was really glad to find it in my local Sephora, they still have several and the price was quite decent for a Lutens creation...
This is definitely one of my Lutens favorites!
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AnlisaC on 11/13/2008 5:09:00 PM more reviews by AnlisaC
Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal Hair: Brunette Eyes: Blue
I love this fragrance, especially for the fall. It smells so woodsy on me with almost a hint of musk. I can't wait to purchase this again at the Duty Free in Zurich. My only problem with this fragrance is that the box is so unattractive, although I love the bottle. Unfortunately it is very expensive and some what hard to come by in the states. Oh well, I can't stop smelling my wrist!
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redwill0w on 10/22/2008 1:29:00 AM more reviews by redwill0w
Age: 44-55 Skin: Dry Hair: Red Eyes: Brown
When I first bought this, I regretted it. I was charmed by the name and the idea of such a scent, and purchased it without having tried it first. Unfortunately, on me, the cedar was utterly, obnoxiously dominant. I like the scent of cedar in the woods, and have made some very beautiful scented oils, etc., using it, but this was ridiculous. It didn't smell like soft woodland cedar - more like hamster shavings.
Interestingly, a year or so later, my chemistry has evidently changed. Now this is much softer on me, more complex, an elusive, dream-like chord rather than one pointed and overwhelming note. The cedar is there still, but now it is honeyed, veiled and lovely. I'm glad I did not give one this away.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
lilliputty on 9/29/2008 10:05:00 AM more reviews by lilliputty
Age: 30-35 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
A friend of mine introduced me to this scent and at first it reminded me a bit of Ghost, which I used to wear years ago but after a while I just fell in love with it. It makes me feel absolutely gorgeous even on a day when I'm not looking or feeling my best. I've had comments about it since I started wearing it, although mostly from other women :) Maybe men don't actually realise it's my scent which is putting them under my spell hahaha. Love this perfume, am considering stocking up on as many bottles as I can in case it gets harder to find in the future.