Bois Pacifique
Eau de Parfum, Tom Ford (2025)

The eternal Givaudan wood materials, recycled and mixed in a hurry and mockery! I think they didn't even see the human nose, it was all possible that it was all done with AI or robots! What a shame...
Its nice but too ephemeral! Its so thin on the skin and disappears quickly!
Also, this has nothing to do with almighty Gucci Pour Homme 1. Wich is very different. Gucci is much smokyer, like real cedar and olibanum, with dark/gothic nuances, with a much warmer, waxy balsamic and heavy profile!
This is a decent Iso E + new wave of Akigalawood usage in modern parfumery.

I don’t see many people comparing this to CDG’s woody DNA—especially 2 Man—but that’s where it lands for me. You could also compare it to Bentley Absolute, though it falls much closer to CDG. Ebene Fumé already felt watered down to me, and this shares some of its opening similarities: light, transparent, but ultimately unoriginal and redundant if you already own Ebene Fumé. Stack it against Bentley Absolute and it’s even harder to justify—this is a waste of money. If this had dropped in the early 2000s, maybe it would’ve been worth sampling, but in 2025? Thumbs down. Unacceptable.

I leave short little notes about all frags I have samples of in a document. For this one I wrote - 'Beautiful neo-resin with soft amber and blonde woods. Familiar and easy.', honestly I could end this review there.

This begins a little richer, with more robust resin (it doesn't smell like actual frankincense) and deeper woods along with the spice. I really don't abide by gender terms, not for any political reason, but because I have always believed perfume never should be pigeonholed. We are though, currently living in very sweet times. "Men's" stuff is often quite vanillic and sweet, and "women's" stuff is even moreso. This is in agreement with modern trends, and is a sweet, ambery, pillowy affair as it dries. It's not boundary-pushing, but I appreciate how likable it is. There's a place for likable things.

I live in the woods, near the beach. I'm deeply familiar with "Pacific woods" (or whatever this roughly translates to). This doesn't smell like that concept though, but it is something warming to wear *while* walking the beach, or woods adjacent to it, in the cold air. So, yes, "Bois Pacifique", but not with the same objective as intended.

I was sent a free sample, which is telling. It's as if TF knows this is mass-appeasing and expects to get plenty of bites from dropping a lure like this. Were it a more unique composition, they wouldn't risk wasting the juice on promotionals...brands are stingy these days afterall.

So for me, I like it a lot, but I don't love it. I appreciate it, but it doesn't *move* me. It's a conventional beauty of the 2020s.