Bois d'Oud

By the editors · 2 min readLabdanum drapes a resinous, leathery cloak over the bright bergamot spark, turning the opening into smoked honey rather than citrus zest. Saffron threads its medicinal iodine edge through dry Virginia cedar, amplifying the wood’s pencil-shaving dryness and pushing the heart toward a hot, sun-bleached lumberyard. Cedar reappears in the base, now sweetened by tobacco leaf whose prune-like fermentation softens the rough wood and picks up patchouli’s cocoa-brown earthiness, creating a chewy, almost chocolaty accord that lingers on skin. Projection stays within arm’s length for six hours, then collapses to a skin-whispering leather-tobacco fuzz that smells like an old cedar cigar box left in a warm car. Cool autumn evenings and smart-casual offices suit its polite sillage and muted sweetness best.