This is going to be a series of posts about my not so successful forays into the land of perfumes. Scent is individual, of course, we can’t all like the same things, and that is fine. So, hopefully offending no one, these are my personal foes.
The honor of being the object of Part 1 should go to the Master, the great Serge Lutens, revered by many (including me) for his prolific work of excellence, but in such extensive a universe there ought to be a few sour apples. Which one am I talking about?
Miel de Bois!
My God, on me that is a scrubber if there ever was one.
I read a lot of negative reviews about it, nary a good one, but I had to try for myself, obviously. Well, sometimes the majority can be trusted. It is a sweet, cloying, urine-yellow (synaesthetically speaking) mess on me. The overdose of honey is such a strong presence, only one spray dominates the room instantly. Even my nine-month-old was visibly startled and began sniffing the air. I could only stand it for a few minutes, than had to scrub it off (and you need something strong, too!), so I’m sorry that I cannot say anything about the scents development. But that would defeat the title of this post anyway!
Notes include ebony, gaiac and oak wood, honey, beeswax, iris and hawthorn (according to Now smell this). It was created by Christopher Sheldrake in 2005, and is available only in the bell jar at the Palais Royal Shiseido in Paris (it was included in the export range for a limited time a few years back, it is still available at most resources that feature Serge Lutens export line, I wonder why).
With this post I do not want to trash any perfume, nor do I want to criticize anyone’s tastes, it is just my opinion (this being my blog after all). I just feel it is a more rounded picture to also write about fragrances I did not love, than only about the winners. Because we all encounter those we would like to love, but can’t, don’t we?
See you tomorrow!
Olfactoria's Travels 
Miel de Bois was one of the rare perfumes that I bought as soon as I smelled it at the counter – just loved the rich floral/barnyard bouquet. It wasn’t until I’d sprayed some on in my bathroom at home that I thought, “Boy, I really need to clean the toilet!” – and Miel de Bois was to blame.
I gave the bottle away to a friend who loved it – and then a year later found it propped up on the back of the toilet in her guest bathroom. Perhaps to be used as a “hair of the dog” air freshener?
Lol, I am glad I’m not alone with my “love” for this one. Your friends guests are probably not lingering for long in that bathroom…:)
Thank you for my very first comment on my blog!
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The image of Miel de Bois is so small, but I feel like I can smell it from here! Thanks for the warning.
Lol, a bigger image would have been too much… 😉
Miel De Bois was my first blind buy, and my most successful one to date. I absolutely adore it 🙂 For me, MDB is far more about the woods than it is the honey. It smells like a plank of wood, covered in fine honey and left to heat in the sun – ❤
I wish I could smell what you smell here. It sounds lovely indeed. Unfortunately Miel de Bois doesn’t work on me – at all! 🙂
Oww 😦 It really seems like one of the few scents which truly relies on skin chemistry!
It seems like it. It is definitely a polarizing one.
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