Bois des Îles Parfum
Chanel (1926)

I have quite an old bottle, the aldehydes within this are still absolutely functional, but there is a vinegar-y tone ro whatever fruits might've been here and have one off.

I'm fairly certain that I'm not smelling everything that this used to contain at all, so it might be skewed, but I'm surprised by how powdery this is! Very, very soft orris, which is entangled beautifully with sandalwood. It's hard to tell them apart.

There's vauge resins as this dries, but I'm also impressed that the aldehydes hold out so long, they're still on my skin after 3 hours slightly.

This feels extremely autumnal to me, a gloomy evergreen forest with gray, chilly skies. Very cloudy, but evocative. It makes me want to rest, and is unexpectedly quite peaceful. Yet, this is also quite cerebral, especially in the late drydown stages. It's calming to the spirit, but it's something that I would wear if attending class. It's present, pensive, peaceful, but intelligently structured even if my particular bottle is past it's prime. The important bits are still retained.

The parfum is less aldehydic and more focused on that gorgeous sandalwood than the edp. The parfum imparts a transporting sacredness. I am beginning to think Chanel parfums are mind altering drugs, they are that good.

Bois des Iles continues to be my favorite Chanel in both forms. I still love the edp for its 3 part experience of sparking aldehydes, heart breaking floral heart, and sensual sandalwood drydown. I adore the parfum for its rich meditative sandalwood.

Vintage EDC: softened aldheydes, warm floral, gingerbread-tinged sandalwood, and the purr of real animalics. Divine! This is creamier than even the current extrait and less sweet. There was so much more depth with the vintage perfumes! When I experience the level of artistry like this I think "My God, humans were once capable of this!"

Chanel Bois des Îles (1926) is the awaited follow-up to the landmark Chanel No. 5 (1921), and created by Ernest Beaux upon request by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel to be what has been accepted as the first woody perfume for women. Unfortunately, it never made the same level of cultural impact and ceased production sometime after Chanel's passing, as did much of the original Chanel lineup outside the best sellers. Chanel resurrected the perfume in the 1980's when a younger Jacques Polge decided he wanted to tinker with the formula and make a modern masculine iteration as Chanel's house perfumer, to sit alongside a re-released original. This tinkering resulted in the creation of the limited and now ludicrously-coveted Bois Noir (1987), which sat alongside Bois des Îles briefly in 1989 when it finally saw reissue, until the formula of Bois Noir was altered for what was considered a more widely-palatable and mass production-friendly Égoïste (1990) the following year, with Bois des Îles quietly being discontinued again. Now the legendary perfume said to be inspired by Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades is a part of the Les Exclusifs range in Eau de Parfum form, while the original pure parfum concentration is available at boutiques or select counters at higher-end department stores, packaged much like it has always been. In an age of niche perfume selling exclusivity and a breaking down of gender barriers in perfume, Bois des Îles is as artistically important now as it has ever been.

The fragrance is the root of Bois Noir, Égoïste, and No. 18 (2007), but doesn't precisely resemble any of them, as all of them have borrowed parts of Bois des Îles and focused on making a new scent around those borrowed parts. In the case of the first two, Jacques Polge created semi-orientals with sweet citrus at the head, while with No. 18, the damask rose and musk became the focus, but Bois des Îles is in effect the "complete picture", being far drier and more complex than its "children". The opening is classic chypre, with bergamot, peach, neroli, and stinging aldehydes in a fashion not unlike Guerlain Mitsouko. Iris and muguet counterbalance rose, indolic jasmine, and ylang-ylang in the heart, which provides a tart and sensual floral experience for which grand old chypres like this are known. Bois des Îles does not become lost in the conventions of its style however, as an amazing sandalwood emerges, giving gravitas to the name which translates as "Wood of the Islands", joined by oakmoss, musk, a feathering of animalic styrax, and a tonka/vetiver tandem to reinforce the arboreal theme. Like many classic chypres, this was offered to women but would be equally elegant on a man, and carries a grace that is out of time compared to modern synthetic florals or freshies. Various concentrations produce focuses on various facets and differences in perfomance, but the tested parfum/extrait is an all-day affair yet still more transparent than one might suspect an extrait to be. I also get a bit more sweetness from the two parfum variants compared to the sadly-discontinued eau de toilette, and imagine the long-gone cologne was likely drier still due to a shift in focus to top notes that tends to happen with eau de cologne concentrations.

Overall, Bois des Îles was just niche before the term existed, and exhibits a character many modern niche perfumes possess inasmuch as it focuses on a particular theme and has all of it's composition bent towards it, plus will only appeal to people who enjoy that theme, with no use whatsoever to a wider mainstream market looking to just smell "good" or "pretty". Bois des Îles is a handsome perfume for anyone who loves a rustic and slightly sultry floral woody chypre experience that reveals multiple sides throughout the wear yet remains centered on a woody theme. Sometimes you'll catch rose, other times you'll get some peach, and yet others the jasmine and animalic aspects will come out to play, but always that sandalwood, softened vetiver, and oakmoss underneath will remind you why Beaux gave this a name rather than a number like it's older sister. Bois des Îles can be hard to sample outside a boutique as only stores provisioned to carry the Les Exclusifs range offer any form of the stuff, but if the great old dames like the aforementioned Mitsouko, Joy Jean Patou (1930), or Hermés Caleché (1961) appeal to you, then Chanel Bois des Îles is a definite pit stop in your fragrance journey. For everyone else just looking for Chanel's "greatest hits", this one might be a pass because it is a rather "serious" perfume due to its warm and dark nature, and there aren't many instances where it could be worn for somebody who isn't an enthusiast anyway. However, once you fall in love with Bois des Îles, you might increasingly find yourself making exceptions to wear it. Woodsy, wild, and wonderful, but not to be approached carelessly! Thumbs up.

A lovely fragrance in its own right. For me it comes off as a gentle floral with a slightly sour or bitter, wood accord (which isn't a bad thing). It has a mellow base which lasts on my skin.

A classic aldehydic fragrance with themes of vintage Chanel. Not overly sweet or floral, it is a balance of Ylang Ylang and vetiver. It doesn't come across as a floral despite the Rose and Jasmine notes. This smells classy and an Evening formal scent.

Bois des Iles the best sandalwood fragrance I've smelled, and one of the best fragrances I've experienced, period. There are aldehydes, florals, and semi-sweet fruit and spice notes in the opening - but they're so well blended that it's nearly impossible to pick them apart from the perfectly harmonious whole. There's an unbelievable sensation of smoothness.

The accord morphs fairly quickly into a surprisingly direct sandalwood phase. The florals recede, and we're left with a semi-dry, somewhat powdery sandalwood note. It's glorious. So many sandalwood scents bury the note with fillers and try too hard to augment some facet of the note, with often unfortunate results. For that reason, I've been underwhelmed by most sandalwood scents I've tried. Bois des Iles lets the sandalwood augment the character of the rest of the accord, instead of the other way around. The sheer quality of ingredients here is what makes that approach work. Few scents in this price range are so clearly worth their price.

Men and women can easily wear it. Quality is top notch. It's unique, yet extremely comfortable to wear. People love it. Outstanding.