Essential Parfums · 2021 · Quentin Bisch

Bois Impérial

Mid-range$$, 2 of 5

VersionEau de Parfum

Crushed Thai basil, grapefruit and timut pepper over earthy vetiver and cedar, settling into spicy patchouli woods and ambergris-like warmth.

Top noteswhen you spray it

Heartas it settles

Dry-downwhat stays

Bois Impérial’s scent picture, a draft: basil, grapefruit, black pepper, vetiver, woody notes, akigalawood (oud) drawn so far; dashed outlines where nothing is drawn yet

Top noteswhen you spray it

Bois Impérial, top notes: Basil, Grapefruit, Black pepper

Heartas it settles

Bois Impérial, heart: Petalia

Dry-downwhat stays

Bois Impérial, dry-down: Vetiver, Woody notes, Akigalawood (oud), Patchouli, Ambrofix (ambergris), Cedar

What’s inside it

What the label names

4 scent ingredients on the label, familiar names first.

A label must name certain ingredients, most of them ones that can cause allergies; some houses print more. It is never the whole recipe.

1 citrus1 herbs & lavender1 spices1 powder

6 more lines on the label, not there for the smell

The label, as printed on the house’s page

Our match of the notes

Shares its notes

Intense OudGucci · shares black pepper, agarwood, patchouli, ambergris and 1 more$225 for 90 ml · about twice Bois Impérial’s about $106
SalvoMaison Alhambra · shares black pepper, vetiver, patchouli, ambergris and 1 more$24 for 100 ml · about a quarter of Bois Impérial’s about $106
Oud 27Le Labo · shares black pepper, agarwood, patchouli and cedar (Atlas cedar)

Matched by the notes each house names. A shared note is not a promise they smell alike.