Sunday 29 November 2015

Bois d'Ascèse Review


Earlier this year, fast-food giant Burger King announced they were releasing a limited edition ‘Flame-Grilled Fragrance’. Said to evoke the scent of a cooked patty, it promised customers the experience of ‘feel[ing] like they’re in a restaurant any time’. The fragrance was only sold in Japan, and there only for one day (April 1st, natch.). How it smelt, I’ll probably never know, but should I ever be struck by the urge to appropriate the odour of barbequed meat, Naomi Goodsir’s Bois d’Ascèse presents as a very viable solution.
The composition is built around a massively smoky, phenolic cade/birchtar complex with some additional sweet woody accents coming from Iso E and perhaps guaiac. At such high concentration, this accord is unapologetic in its grilled meatiness. The top includes some terpy citrus notes that introduce an incense contrast. The latter however, only really becomes apparent in the deep dry-down when much of the smoke has cleared. What remains then is actually quite sensual and animalic, being a soft mix of incense, musks, resins and moss (replacer).

House: Naomi Goodsir
Perfumer: Julien Rasquinet
Release date: 2012
Notes (per Fragrantica): whisky, tobacco, cinnamon, amber, labdanum, oakmoss, cedar, incense.

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