Essential Parfums Bois Impérial (fragrance visualisation: Despina Veneti©)

Essential Parfums’ impressive portfolio of utterly delightful, widely affordable and largely sustainable fragrances (The Musс by Calice Becker, Rose Magnetic by Sophie Labbé, Orange X Santal by Nathalie Gracia-Cetto, Nice Bergamote by Antoine Maisondieu, Mon Vetiver by Bruno Jovanovic and Divine Vanille by Olivier Pescheaux) has just been enriched with the woody/fresh/spicy Essential Parfums Bois Impérial, composed by Quentin Bisch. This was a collaboration eagerly anticipated by the French House’s founder/creative director Géraldine Archambault, who considers Mr. Bisch an “audacious creator with the soul of an artist”; understandably, she was no less than thrilled when the Givaudan perfumer agreed to create for her brand a fragrance that would showcase the unique, radiant woodiness of Akigalawood® (a Givaudan-created, fractionated note of patchouli oil that isolates the spicy, woody aromatic properties of the original material).

Géraldine Archambault of Essential Parfums, Quentin Bisch of Givaudan & Essential Parfums Bois Impérial (photos courtesy of Essential Parfums©)

Regarding working with Mr. Bisch, Mme Archambault shared with me: “I adore Quentin’s work, I find his olfactive signature so unique and modern. I told him that I wanted a dry woody scent, with non-obvious fresh top notes and an amazing sillage that wouldn’t be too overwhelming. Bois Impérial holds a special place in my heart, since it was done in memory of my Vietnamese grandmother. She was from the city of Huê, the Imperial City of Vietnam, and met my grandfather during the Indochina war, on the bridge of the “Perfume River”. We worked a lot on the scent, but what I was looking for was always clear in my mind – clear as a picture. I would see a man in a very simple floating house on the Mekong river – chic, wearing a simple beige linen suit and hat, leaning against the house, watching the river… This is the image that Quentin translated into scent for Essential Parfums Bois Impérial.”

Tony Ka Fai Leung in “L’Amant” (1992)

Perfumer Quentin Bisch confirmed that Akigalawood® is a material he enjoys using, when I pointed out that it was prominently featured in another wonderful scent created by him, Marc-Antoine Barrois Ganymede: “I love the ingredient’s multi-faceted diversity; after using it in a mineral, leathery, mossy fragrance like Ganymede, I was thrilled to showcase it as a star note in a fresh, fluid woody fragrance. Akigalawood is an upcycled material derived from Givaudan’s Indonesian sustainable patchouli oil. Its smell is reminiscent of freshly crushed black pepper and wet forest soil; I enhanced its warmth, woodiness and earthiness with vetiver from Haïti, as well as with its “father” ingredient, patchouli from Indonesia (both sustainably produced).”

Woman at a bridge over the “Perfume River” in Huê (photo via Baomoi©/Luxury Travel Vietnam©)

Essential Parfums Bois Impérial opens with the instantly captivating, addictive woodiness of Akigalawood® enhanced by two other beautiful ingredients: sparkling Timur pepper from Nepal and the perfumer’s own Thai basil accord. Both these components ideally create the desired effect of exotic, moist woodiness, and seamlessly link the spicy and fresh aspects of Akigalawood®: Timur pepper is a spice with yuzu/pink grapefruit undertones, while Thai basil possesses characteristic anisic spiciness and lemony freshness. Givaudan’s patented captive Petalia® adds elegance to the fragrance’s heart with its abstract, geranium/peony-like floralcy, while the woodiness acquires more body and depth with the emergence of green Haitian vetiver and tobacco-hued Indonesian patchouli. Next to being a resolutely contemporary and highly enjoyable fragrance, Essential Parfums Bois Impérial is also remarkable for its diffusiveness, about which Mr. Bisch told me: “The vetiver cœur blended with super long-lasting Petalia® keeps the freshness growing into the fragrance’s heart, and even further. Eventually, Ambrofix™ [i.e. Givaudan’s highly powerful ambery note, produced via fermentation from cane sugar] brings diffusion, and structures the woodiness in a modern way, aided by Georgywood® [i.e. a Givaudan synthetic fraction comparable to Iso E Super for its fixative power and clean/woody scent]. I aimed to keep my formula relatively short and direct, in accordance with the brand’s name – in other words, keep it ESSENTIAL”.

Vincent Pèrez in “Indochine” (1992)

Essential Parfums Bois Impérial took me for a much-needed fantasy voyage to the otherworldly beauty of Vietnam – to misty rainforests and limestone islands rising above the emerald waters. To walks along the Trang Tien Bridge above the Huong (the “Perfume”) River, surrounded by exotic blooms and unfamiliar trees. And then back to teenage cinematic memories of 1992, when both “Indochine” and “L’Amant” hit the big screen: Vincent Pèrez in his white French Navy uniform sailing around Huê, and Tony Ka Fai Leung in his white suit leaning over the Mekong river…

Notes: Timut Pepper, Thai Basil, Petalia®, Akigalawood®, Patchouli, Vetiver, Georgywood®.

Disclaimer: This review was based on a preview sample of Essential Parfums Bois Impérial – my thanks. The opinions are my own.

Editor’s note: Essential Parfums Bois Impérial is of 16% EdP concentration and 93% natural. It will be available in 100ml and 10ml formats, starting from mid-December.

– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor

Essential Parfums Bois Impérial 100ml bottle (photo courtesy of Essential Parfums)©

Thanks to the generosity of Essential Parfums, we have a draw for a 100ml bottle of Essential Parfums Bois Impérial for one registered reader in the USA, EU or UK. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favorite Essential Parfums fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 12/16/2020

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