Bois des Îles
Eau de Toilette, Chanel (2007)

Ernest Beaux as artist, Jacques Polge restorer.

Bois des Îles is a reworking of No5: rose-jasmine, iris, muguet & ylang-ylang, floating on a soft cloud of sandal, which overtops the vetiver. The heart has been dialled back to give more space to the woods, and the aldehydes are also less evident. On top of this, green verbena-citrus leads the head notes.

In restoring this old formula by Ernest Beaux, Polge leaves traces of his own work; echoes of the cigar box of Antaeus, and Ungaro - which my notes call ‘dense, rich but also snappy [and] despite the edge not very structured, rather baggy.’

It would be nice to smell the original as it was in its prime, but alas that is a lost dream.
As it stands, what we have is seen through a glass, hazily.

The record shows that since No5, Beaux composed No22, and other 'number' scents that have been struck from the catalogue. He composed Cuir de Russie and Gardénia, which were released in 1924, and their success may have galvanised the Wertheimer brothers into action; they bought a controlling stake of Parfums Chanel the following year. If they had hoped for more like those, they would have been disappointed. Chypre - which appeared in 1925 - has since disappeared, and the only one of Beaux's later perfumes to remain is this.

I have to say I'm not that impressed with Bois des Îles, it is beautiful - there's no denying that - but it's a rehash of No5; a recycling of old ideas but lacking the same focus. Perhaps that's due to this being an old formula given a modern makeover - like an old painting which has been subtly changed by a restorer who, despite his best efforts, can't really know what was in the mind of the artist, an artist who likened himself to that 'Damned poet' Baudelaire.*

[* Cf: Son Parfum by Nathalie Beaux]

A nice, very classic feminine wood fragrance. I don't see how you can go wrong wearing it. I would call it a versatile staple.
Its floral and fuzz of peach makes the woody notes more submerged and subtle than a straight-up lumberjack fragrance, so it has a more graceful presence. There's little powder so Bois des Iles can be worn places where powder borders on inappropriate (airlines and outdoors).
Bois des Iles has a nice balance of notes, a pleasant ease. It's not strident, noisy or dramatic and doesn't try too hard. It doesn't really come to you. It asks that you come to it, which is one of the differences between a fragrance with manners and one without. I think of it as occupying a similar niche to Hermes ‘Voyage D'Hermes' but with a little more wood and a little more presence, but both can be used for travel. I love Bois des Iles' more complex, smooth character.
And there is the matter of the Chanel sheen that adds polish to so many of their fragrances. Its presence here takes this woody fragrance to the next level. Since this is now discontinued, I hope the newer EDP can fill the EDT's shoes.

This is a beautiful, rich, long-lasting fragrance. It has a fair amount of overlap with Egoiste, but it smells more floral and feminine, and not as dark. My preference is for Egoiste, as nice as this is.

Bois des Iles has the woody aspect, primarily, and a floral aspect in support. The woods are great, but not quite perfect. The richness of the wood smells like it's 90% of what it should be. It smells slightly incomplete.

The supporting floral notes are really well done, and the combination with the wood is nice.