Bois D'Iris

Bois d iris is a very unique iris scent. Slightly Different than any other dry and non sweet iris perfumes I have smelled. Well that isn't from a niche brand. I don't get any of the sugary notes at all. This fragrance for me is more about the dry and powdery iris and driftwood and a soft saltiness of the ocean. I would've called this perfume iris ocean or sea iris. Something like that. It is a very clean perfume like Chanel 1957 but without the peppery notes on top. Also Chanel 1957 is more soap and water clean with iris where Bois d'iris is more salty ocean air clean mixing with powdery iris. Unisex. If you like dry iris scents with a new twist this is a good one. Edit: while I do like this I have to downgrade it to just a like vote. The sad thing about this line I am finding is the lack of longevity. Such a shame. I have 2 more from this line to test but if there longevity is as bad as the most of the 5 (midnight patchouli was the exception for longevity but leans masculine IMO) I tested today I will not be adding a full bottle of any of these vancleef perfumes to my collection. In fact I wish they would bring back the original vancleef from 1992. I have a decant of that given to me by a wonderful friend I met here. Now that one has longevity!

I reviewed this quite dome time ago (I believe), during which time, I've allowed the bottle to sit and macerate. This is still a well constructed, unisex fragrance of high quality, which I easily associate from VC&A's Collection Extraordinaire. Nevertheless, I'm downgrading this from a love to a like for one reason - the choice of "bois" used here. I trult dislike driftwood! It smells like the driftwood used in Nassomoto's China White. In both cases, it is so strong that I have trouble loving either one. I think this would have been more admirably served if the driftwood were replaced by something like cedar or sandalwood. The thing is that if they used one or the other, it wouldn't be as unique. So if you crave something different, you will probably enjoy this more than I do.

This stuff is soooo good!!! I just wish the performance was better. This is a make-up iris with noticeable vanilla that lends it to be a bit gourmand. What makes this unique is a slightly churchy incense and marine/aquatic vibe running in the background. The marine aspect is both slightly salty (I'm guessing the ambergris note) and fresh. Both the incense and marine effects are subtle but noticeable. This could easily be a sibling to Dior Homme Parfum/Intense, but the incense and marine accords give this such a nice twist. It's like wearing DHP in a church by the sea. As stated early on, the performance on this could be much better...it sits close to the skin and I have to reapply after a few hours. But, I love this so much that it doesn't bother me to do so.

Bois d'Iris is gorgeous, a woody, deep, vegetal iris with a little vanilla, but it's definitely a skin scent. The projection is quite faint, even with several lengthy sprays. This is lovely, but I think there are other iris fragrances that offer more bang for the buck, especially at this price point. I do think the performance is unacceptable. Maybe 15 minutes after I sprayed it (several times) on a tester strip, I asked my husband to sniff it, and he had to inhale several times to pick up anything at all. When I asked him to describe it, he said, "Very faint." He preferred the OG Trésor that I offered him afterwards, probably because he didn't have to struggle to smell it.

Oh hell no.... Opened my back up bottle that I purchased in 2022, to wear as my SOTD and to my utter disgrace, the fragrance was gone in 2 hours. Like WTF???? VC&A, what have you done to my beloved signature scent that I have been wearing for years??? This stuff used to last for hours on my skin and leave the most intoxicating sillage. People would run a mile to get to me just to ask what I was wearing. I've gone through so many bottles and then you do this? Come the eff' on for Pete's sake. This is why I will not buy anything else from this house because everyone complains of the abysmal longevity. Money wasted!