I finally gave in and bought a decant of Bois Impérial because of all the hype online… and honestly, I’m shocked.
I know perfume is subjective, and everyone’s nose is different, but this might be one of the most confusing fragrances I’ve ever smelled. On my skin, it literally has this weird saliva-like metallic smell mixed with something sharp and overly synthetic. I kept waiting for it to “develop” into something amazing because people talk about it like it’s life-changing, but the dry down still just smelled unpleasant to me.
The only thing I can genuinely praise is the longevity, because somehow this thing survived even after showering. That performance is honestly insane. But personally, great longevity means nothing if I don’t enjoy the scent itself.
What surprises me most is that there are so many cheaper perfumes out there that smell way more pleasant, wearable, and comforting than this. So seeing people hype this up as a universally amazing scent genuinely confuses me.
No hate to people who love it, wear whatever makes you happy. But after trying it myself, I really can’t imagine wanting to smell like Bois Impérial all day.
And at this point, whatever Essential Parfums is doing with marketing and social media hype is clearly working, because this fragrance had me fully convinced before I even sprayed it 😭