Un Bois Vanille

revisiting this perfume after like 5 yrs. dont rely on dabbing from the sample; pour it on. no baby swipes. i walked over to barneys and sprayed this on from the new 100ml bottles which look awesome with the new black labels and was shocked at how much better it was vs swiping. the perfume opens with a big sharp , acrid , smokey sweetened wood... and vanilla. other reviews that talk of sharp and bitter are true but its so good becos of the vanilla. i also get that wax vibe, kind of a turn off but its minor. ive smelled that beeswax before in cheap homemade perfume oils on etsy. kinda makes me wonder just how high quality this truly is. still a great perfume. think im gonna wear it to the christian death concert this halloween ! \m/

This is gorgeous. Besides being really beautiful, it is also very wearable. I enjoyed my sample enough to get a bottle. I had ordered numerous vanilla perfume samples, and this was my favorite.

This was a high pitched assault on my nose. I couldn't bear it. It was too sharp and bitter for me, there was no warmth even after it dried down.

I find that Serge Lutens' line is composed of things you adore or...not. I have to say I was disappointed in Un Bois Vanille - it is mostly a cloyingly sweet and commonplace (exactly like drugstore vanilla bodywash and lotion, ugh!) fragrance through the top and middle notes. The drydown, on the other hand, is lovely and finally lives up to the bois in the name. I am just not sure if it can save the beginning of the experience, which is of disbelief that Serge Lutens really made this. Then again, maybe I am just too much of a hag for this one, my dears! I think it would smell lovely on a young and charming school teacher. My small children would agree, I am sure.

I loved this when I first put it on, but I really like warm, vanilla scents in general. I immediately picked up the sandalwood. Hours later it is still a nice toasty, warm scent on me - complex vanilla, but still a little sweet. I like it, it is not overwhelming or overly foodie. Nice.

this stuff is it !! vanillas are pleasant but often boring and even when i find a different take on vanilla i find the smell of it gets extremely tiring after a few hours of wear. un bois vanille is a smart vanilla. its very sweet but not really in a vanilla way, in fact if i smelled this but didnt kno it was called "vanille" im not sure id even guess it was vanilla and thats why its smart. vanilla gets annoying after a while but becos this is more of an obscure vanilla it doesnt go down that route. the description from luckyscent is pretty accurate imo , burning wood and molten sugar. when i was a wee lad there was a house on fire somewhere down the block , i couldnt see it but i could smell it. i vividly member thinking how much i liked the smell of all that wood burning, not the smoke but the wood itself. it had this sweet smell like burnt caramel and theres some of that in this perfume. the beeswax is pretty noticeable too and im not quite sure why its there , it doesnt make sense to me . i feel like maybe it enhances the molten sugar element but at times it makes me think of a tube of lipstick , like kinda waxy and sweet. i dont hate the beeswax but i do think its unnecessary. not a deal breaker tho, just another normal oddity like all serge perfumes. i gotta give this high marks for being a vanilla thats interesting, different and unique in a sly way without bein too try hard of a different vanilla. has good sillage and longevity, ppl around you will smell it and are often captivated by its familiar sweetness but theres also that unnameable strangeness that they cant quite discern and thats the beauty of un bois vanille, its weird yet familiar.

I really wanted to like this scent for a few reasons a.) it has gotten a lot of good reviews b.) I love vanilla c.) who doesn't want a more grown-up, vanilla? I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with this perfume, it isn't unpleasant nor is it too strong or too weak. It doesn't however really meet the bill of a "more grown up vanilla" it is VERY sweet (I guess I was kind of hoping for a drier vanilla). Also, more than vanilla, I can really only smell the beeswax. I literally didn't even realize that was one of the "notes" until my bf said "you smell like candle wax". It was true, pure beeswax. Too bad, but maybe it's just my chemistry.

I think is is a well crafted perfume, however, I don't think it's quite for me. It definitely has a sweet and smoky feel to it. I was kind of hoping for a bit more vanilla or at least more sweetness from the coconut milk. I can smell the coconut milk which lends a slight creamyness to the mix, but it's not the star player here. Overall, this sems to me to be a sophisticated, not-too-sweet vanilla perfume with lots of smokyness. I think it could work for a man as well. The lasting power seems good and so does the sillage. I think on someone else this perfume could be magic. On me it'd just ok though.

I was disappointed! I wanted to fall in love with a grown up vanilla but ultimately found it too sweet and not sophisticated enough. My bf said I smelled like "a holiday candle" or "a cookie." I suggested I smelled like a sexy, mysterious holiday candle...it didn't go over.

OK.... VANILLA & Coconut are so prominent at first. the dry-down is nice, just not my taste. 5/17/11

In my opinion, one of the finest vanilla fragrances ever made. I normally go for very sweet vanillas, but the smokey undertones in Un Bois Vanille make this one especially rich and warm. This would smell equally delicious on a man, but I'm not sharing my two-bottle hoard with my husband.

I love the scent, but found the staying power very disappointing. 30 minutes after I spray it on, the scent is completely gone. Not much for the money.

Burning wood and molten sugar .... exactly. Not bad, but not for me.

Burning wood and molten sugar .... exactly. Not bad, but not for me.

Wonderful vanilla scent! I also get some coffee and wood notes, and it is just sooooo pretty....

wow! fantastic vanilla..better than i expected. i found my holy grail vanilla!!

LOVE! a beautiful and complex vanilla,not too sweet,and is a very warm aroma.WAY more interesting than the others in this group!

This is a Masterpiece. The deep, creamy vanilla is perfectly complimented by the sandalwood and licorice. Un Bois Vanille is absolutely hypnotizing. I am utterly speechless, I can't believe how magnificently balanced this fragrance is!!! Breathtaking. Magnetic. Mysterious. Inviting.

Lucky Scent really nailed the description of Un Bois Vanille! This vanilla is very mature. The smoky wood, wax and benzoin notes strip the foody edge off the vanilla. I can smell this on my skin and clothes all day long and its fragrance lingers in the air long after it's sprayed. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

I wear several perfumes and rarely if ever, receive comment. When I first wore this fragrance, two times within twenty minutes people commented that 'something' smelled 'really, really good. I don't necessarily wear perfume for others, but it is nice to hear. This is a very nice woody vanilla; not overly sweet like some tend to be. Happily, it also smells like a vanilla-based scent for a grown-up; not a little girl. I'm pleased with this purchase. Un Bois Vanille is comfortable and special at the same time.