Shiseido - Feminite du Bois

Some time last winter I received a little sample of Feminite Du Bois. Feminite Du Bois is said to be a real masterpiece of perfume, until recently produced by Shiseido. Feminite Du Bois was Serege Lutens first perfume inspiration for Shiseido, but the perfumes is made by Christopher Sheldrake and Pierre Bourdon. Nowadays Feminite Du Bois is a part of Serge Lutens own line of perfumes, Les Salon Du Palais Royal Shiseido.


Well, I´ve had the little sample and was of course curious about the famous perfume. But, hmm... I didn´t like it. Oh well, I didn´t particulary dislike it either, I found it to be nice, totally ok and fine but also totally dull. Feminite Du Bois didn´t do anything for me. I read reviews about it, written by perfume lovers that I respect and couldn´t understand how they could think it was so amazing. Time goes by and my little sample of Feminite Du Bois was almost forgotten.


Then I happened to got a small bonus in a swap, an original spray sample of Feminite Du Bois from Shiseido. The other was an anonymus homedecanted sample. I think it was about time to give Feminite Du Bois a second chanse. It could be whole lot of different to spray or to dab a perfume on.


Ooooh, yes... I think you can guess what happened? I realise I am wearing a perfume that I must sniff constantly. Feminite Du Bois in spraysample from Shiseido is something totally different from the other Feminite DU Bois sample I´ve got. Of course they are the same scent, but while one of them is sparkling of perfume magic on my skin, the other one is as dull and stale as before.


I don´t now if the difference depend on the fact that I spray it on, or if it is because of reformulations. Serge Lutens himself has stir up some emotions, since he admit that the perfume has been changed, but without anything changed. Sounds kind of strange, if you change the recepie, how can the outcome be the same? I don´t know if my first sample is from before or after the reformulation. All I know is that the spray sample is filled with magic, while the other isn´t.


While writing this I have a spray of the magic perfume on my left arm, and a dab of the not-magic one on the right arm. And the difference is so big that I can get a stiff neck from smelling only at one side. And still I can smell that they are frustrating alike. What is the actual olfactory difference?


Feminite Du Bois, Shiseido (spray) smells a lot more, it is something in it that make it almost bubble and sparkle on my skin, like a heavenly brew made by -nice- witches. A brew of fruits, spices and woods, and even tough it´s plum (I can have some problem with plum sometimes) it´s not that kind of syrupy sugary plum. No it´s like a purple glow surrounded with almost golden shimmer. The other version is like if someone have tried to make water colour painting of the purple forest without being neither talented or inspired.


This difference confuse me a lot, I want more of Shiseido´s Feminite Du Bois, but at the same time I want to figuring out what the difference depends on.


The spray version is really longlasting and with a good sillage on me, while the other seem to lack also in staying power and sillage. I do recommend Feminite Du Bois, but the Shiseido sprayversion, you might get disapointed if you try some other version.






Pic: Background forest fantasy, photobucket

Serge Lutens - Ambre Sultan

I have never seen bellydancing live, only on tv, but I hope I will have the opportunity to see a real bellydance show sometime. I am usually a big admirer of people that have talents that I don´t have. And aren´t dancers worth to admire, there is something almost more than human to have such control over one´s body, a feeling for the rhytm and motions. But also, a lot of dancers start traing at the ages of 3-4 years!

Some dances I like more then others, tango is brutaly sensual, flamenco is intense, people that are good in jitterbugg take my breath away when they swing each other around, a prima ballerina looks like she´s made of glass, but is actually very strong, street dance is cool and moodlifting, swedish polska is suggestiv and belly dancing is beautiful, magnetic and utterly feminin.

Ambre Sultan by Serge Luten´s could very well been created with a beautiful belly dancer in mind. As readers of the blog know, I wasn´t that immediatly drawn to Ambre Sultan. We where closing in to each other with some slowlyness. When writing this, I can´t understand how I could miss Ambre Sultan´s glowing, sensual and spellbinding beauty at first.

As you might know, I use to like strong and powerful perfumes, and Ambre Sultan IS strong and powerfull, yet also discrete, soft and reluctant in a fascinating way. Now I find Ambre Sultan to be so good, that I think of it as a kind of golden essence of everything that is good within oriental perfumes. Different from a lot of my other oriental perfumes, Ambre Sultan is even suitable to wear during summer. It´s pretty warm now, and Ambre Sultan is really pleasant to wear. I can´t think of many more sensual perfume to wear a warm, comfortable summer evening. Wich of course doesn´t make Ambre Sultan to a less better winter perfume. It´s suitabel all year round in my opinion, but maybe not during the most crispy time of spring.

Ambre Sultans is filled with something bubbly and glowing. When wearing it, it feels like the perfume itself is lighted from inside. Filled of sweetness and body, but there are also something brisk in it, that makes it unique and personal. Ambre Sultan make me very comfortable, it´s like having an excellent dinner in a cozy restaurant in a far away exotic city. After the meal you feel really comfy and a little hot from the spices, you lay back and watch the belly dancer perform on stage. Candles, soft fabrics and scented oils create a special atmosphere. After a while you don´t know if it´s you, the belly dancer or the entire restaurant that smells so good.

The sillage in Ambre Sultan is great, but not to much, and it´s really longlasting and only gets better and better... It´s like a reaction with the skin chemistry that keep deepening it and make it glow.

Ambre Sultan is a perfume for beautiful belly dancers, a perfume that smells of oriental jewellry, saturated oils and aromatic, brisk and unknown herbs. Yet another masterpiece from serge Lutens, created by the very talented perfumer Christopher Sheldrake.