Bois d’Ebene shines a spotlight on a spectacular palo santo (guaiac wood) oil sourced in Paraguay by employing a very simple, uncluttered structure that allows the starring material to shine uninterrupted. Palo santo is highly prized in Spanish and Latin American cultures as incense, and smelling this fragrance makes it clear why.
Bois d’Ébène smells of the cleanest, most pure woodsmoke imaginable. In flanking the spicy, earthy wood notes with a zesty juniper berry, smoky cypriol, and a dry, soapy-musky patchouli, Guichard has sought to emphasize all the airiest, incensey topnotes of palo santo as it is slowly burned on a mica plate rather than on the often barbeque-ish smokiness and bitterness of Palo Santo essential oil. Top marks therefore for a rare palo santo-themed scent that actually nails the spicy, powdery, and clean-earthy aspects of the wood itself over the oil. Given that the outcome is so calming, meditative, and mentally elevating, we see Bois d’Ébène working for anyone who wants to remain plugged into their spiritual side.
