Un Bois Vanille Serge Lutens for women

First spray: Smoky carmel, vanilla, some spice.

Drydown: Vanilla begins showing up more, along with the benzoin and coconut milk.

Two hours later: Scent is soft, dark vanilla, with sweet caramel and tonka bean undertones. Occasionally the coconut milk and licorice make an appearance, but really this smells like a very classy creme brulee.

I would reccommend this fragrance to sweet, creamy gourmand lovers, definitely.

Pleasant vanilla fragrance with extremely weak longevity (2 hours or less) and no sillage to speak of. I was expecting a lot more considering the price of a bottle, and am happy I only shelled out the money for a very small decant. For those of you who get great longevity from it, I'm quite jealous, as it really is a nice, smooth vanilla.

I was hoping by the name that this would be a woody fragrance with a hint of vanilla; however, it is a dollop of sugary vanilla with just a bit of woods in the background. I used to think I liked gourmands, but as I try more of them, I'm finding that they are usually too dense, too foody for me. Finally, in my opinion, beeswax does not belong in the world of perfumes, because I'm always left with the impression that I smell more like a nice-smelling candle than a nice-smelling woman.

A soft, sweet, milky gourmand with notes of honey, nuts, and caramelly Tonka. Very comforting and well-suited for fall and winter. Despite its niche status, this is not a particularly challenging or distinctive fragrance: it's a fragrance for those who like the edible quality of gourmands but don't want their fragrance to scream teeny-bopper or candy. If I had to compare this to a dessert, I would say it is reminiscent of a simple white cake or a creamy tart. Sweet but not toothache-inducing.

I have mixed feelings about Un Bois Vanille, perhaps because it comes from a grand perfume house and I was expecting a lot. On me it starts off like a slightly over-baked vanilla petit beurre biscuit, definitely gourmand. This component is still there all the way through, but gradually disippates a little and gives way to very light woody notes (sandalwood) mixed with licorice. There is coconut, yes, but not overpowering to my nose (I'm a coconut enthusiast so don't take my word on it though!)Throughout the perfume there is a 'cool' note (the beeswax? a hint of vetiver?) that prevents it from becoming too buttery gourmand.
After a couple of hours (and an extra spray I must admit) I find it quite overwhelming and it has started giving off a synthetic medicinal sweetness. A bit too much, so next time only one spritz it will be.

Yummy vanilla fragrance. All notes are noticeable, but vanilla is the leading for sure. Even I don't know if I want it or don't, I guess that I would feel myself eatable in it:)))

I like it:) It really smells vanilla natural enough.

Candy floss, melting plastic and soap. It resulted in an instant headache and the urge to rinse my mouth out repeatedly to remove the cloying, gag inducing coating that this perfume created. After reading all the glowing reviews talking about this amazing vanilla with smokey and woody facets I am sorely disappointed that this is what Un Bois Vanille turned out smelling like on my skin.

I was testing SL fragrances in a posh department store. I think £40-50 a bottle it was. I read about SL and I was fascinated and sooo wanted to try these.
I sprayed this one and I instantly decided - i was having it.
I should have waited for the fragrance to develop before paying, but well... It was a few years back and I still have 95% left in a bottle. It is overall a nice fragrance. Nice, not amazing, not special - nice. Why don't I wear it then, well, there is something in this composition that is like fingernails on a blackboard for me. Not sure what... Something breaks the nice, cosy, cotton candy lije sweetness on me. That comes out quite quick? After I've noticed it for the first time, I always smell it now.
Others like it on me...

Projection is ok, lasting power too.

I remember the lady at the counter gave me lots and lots of samples, pretty much every SL frag available then. That was well nice, but I never went back for another niche perfume.
I much prefer my mainstream ones ;)

This is what I thought L'Artisan's Havana Vanille would smell like. This is a smoother, more harmonious, cohesive, and pricier version of the same concept. Like Havana Vanille, it too, does not smell like the most natural vanilla, though Un Bois Vanille is warmer and silkier, with the supporting notes lending the slightest amount of depth and complexity in a very complimentary way. The beeswax and woods are detectable right from the opening.

That said, Un Bois Vanille still reminds me of a woman with a fresh blow out and highlights, wearing a Tiffany's charm bracelet and Ugg boots while driving a BMW S.U.V. It's luxury that is lacking in sophistication.

. . .

I tried wearing Un Bois Vanille to bed last night thinking (against my better judgement) that it would soothe me to sleep. I ended up getting up 15 minutes later, and layering the Lutens with the lovely Ambre EdT by L'Occitane, just to to get that "woman" I mentioned earlier, to stop texting and driving at the same time. Once the super-cedar and liquid labdanum from Ambre fused with the vanilla and spicy woods in the Lutens, I knew this would be a genuinely soothing harmony of elements, and I drifted right off.

Such a lovely scent! My first big spendy perfume, which I bought on the Champs-Elysees in Paris as a souvenier in 07. I use this often in autumn and winter and sometimes mix with Burberry Brit for a sophisticated edge when its vanilla warmness is a bit too sweet for me. This may sound strange, but I actually really like wearing this scent all on its own to relax before bed. Its coziness is something to behold!

It's absolutely different vanilla scent than many others ...it's smoky, I mean really really smoky.
The aroma isn't extremely sweet and gourmand like others vanilla scents mostly are.

First spray and I was totally shocked. The scent was more oriental than I thought. It was dark, woody, and smoky. Bitter almond gives it slighlty bitter edges.
After about half an hour the aroma transorms radically into slightly sweet, dark vanilla-licorice-beeswax smell.
That part is amazing, it's not an obvious vanilla smell - it's bold and rich.
The beeswax note gives it a nice waxy, little sticky and animalic kick which I like a lot.

Un Bois Vanille in the drydown is woody again.

It's suerly a very complex, contrary variation about vanilla.

this smell embodies everything I dislike about vanilla- it is edible in a cooky way and syrupy sweet. Well done, but meant to feed instead of just giving smell.

Blind buy for me. Could have bought a jar of honey instead ,pour it all over myself and pretend I love it.
Well.... Trying hard not to regret the expense.

I admit i totally misjudged this scent, perhaps because i was clouded by all the other scents i sprayed before. This is very lovely now! Smells like pure toffee candy..not too sweet but perfect. FB worthy!

This vanilla is woody and creamy. There is also a coconut twist. It's not over-sweet, not girlish. It covers my body with a warm sensation but unfortunately lasts less than other Serge Lutens perfumes.

Vanilla is a key component to both the contemporary dessert/gourmand and the classic amber oriental. Vanilla is almost inescapable in perfumery, but it’s usually found in the familiar company of labdanum, balsams, resins, spices or ethylmaltol in the above genres. It takes effort to dissociate it from the foody, cuddly feel. Despite its brief plastic/cotton-candy camouflage topnote (wonderful!), un Bois Vanille does just this. After the foody misdirection, BV avoids the expected. The tease of edibility shows itself as a licorice note, not cotton candy. The licorice also keeps BV from going the amber/oriental route since the genre is almost by definition warm, round, thick. Licorice here comes off as anise-like not candy-like. It’s cool and focussed and it brings out vanilla’s sharp, bitter side, making it more potent than plush.

After the expansive opening the heartnotes are fairly quiet, with a dry, airy feel that I would think to associate with frankincense, not vanilla. By drydown BV is dusty but still taut, reinforcing the point that vanilla can be strong and direct without being lush. BV stays cool as it winds down and resists becoming a skin-scent, further bucking a vanilla stereotype.

BV solves a problem for me. One of very few in perfume fan-dom, I don’t like Caron’s Pour un Homme. The lavender/vanilla combo has no synergy and reminds me of the feel of a stuffy head. In BV, the cool side of the licorice fuses with the vanilla in a way that I imagine Pour un Homme’s minty lavender and vanilla combo works for the rest of the world.

Warm, but not spicy. Think hot amaretto, baking sugar cookies, honey in sweet tea, melted butter. A hint of soft poweder and orange zest. The listed main accords were dead on for this one. It was strong and dense the first 2 hours, then softened down close to the skin. Extremely pleasurable.

What a wonderful woody-milky vanilla! Unlike any vanilla i've tried so far! Sheer pleasure to wear, and i actually don't like vanilla perfumes, they always give me a headache! This one is a different story, though.. my 11-year-old nephew was so enchanted, he asked for the bottle!

-trivia: Lutens pamphlet has slightly different ingredients:
Body: Sandalwood, Gaiac wood, almond paste.
Subtlety: Crystals, Mexican black vanilla absolute, Tuscan iris powder, liquorice, beeswax, styrax.
Sweetness: Coconut milk, Tonka bean, powdered musk, rose.

I am happy to share my impressions of my new acquisition Un Bois Vanille SL! As always fired blindly, just as described, and the first breath startled me-I felt pretty intense pepper: shock:, a note in which I run .. But that still have to wait and after about 15-20 minutes the flavor softened pepper disappeared, creating a wonderful combination of vanilla and coconut! perfume is well visible, loops, vanilla is very sensual, discreet and in no way annoying sweet and possessive! I feel it better when driving for more than seven hours! I love it! : wiz:

Such a wonderfully warm fragrance, sends me straight to a vanilla-coconut-benzoin cloud 9! :) Luscious, creamy, complex, not too sweet, just a buttery vanilla perfection!

I think I am in love!! Definitely a bottle in my future. Adding to the top shelf of me want list. :))

Just tried it again with Jo Malone Red Roses --- oooh sooo gooood! mmm...

Oh, yum! Yes, that's what I actually said after I first got a whiff of the scent from my wrist. I got the sweetness of the vanilla and rich coconuts right away. Good enough to eat! Then the woody notes started appearing, balancing out the lusciousness of the sweet notes. This is more complex than the regular vanilla cupcake fragrances out there ... this definitely would smell delicious on the opposite sex, too. After about an hour a sensual smokiness emerges that is just so captivating, giving it that masculine kick yet soft enough to stay ambiguous. The dry down on my skin remained creamy, sensuous and unbelievably ambrosial.

Not for me, this treacly hot mess of a scent. I cannot get past the sticky, gooey, melting in the sun black licorice notes which have been supersized to epic 'punch in the face' proportions. My sourpuss body chemistry doesn't make it any happier. For me, this gourmand is better left on the table.

A sophisticated gourmand. Lots of thick, creamy, sweet vanilla, tonka bean, some sandalwood and benzoin. I get only a small amount of coconut and no liquorice, thank goodness! The sweet creaminess is nicely balanced with the woodsy notes. Very moreish - can't stop sniffing myself with this one.

Pricey but beautiful if you like gourmands.

I don't know if it's my skin or what, but this fragrance left me completely underwhelmed. On the paper tester, this smelled like a pretty nice vanilla (tbh, it was nothing I hadn't smelled before in cheaper versions--a very sweet, plain vanilla kind of smell). On me, it smelled like a combination of sweet vanilla, rose, and baby powder, and basically nothing else. I'd tried it before now and just dismissed it as not really smelling good to me, but in my constant search for the perfect vanilla, I came back to it. Nah, still disappointing.

Gooey coconut caramel, tooth-achingly sweet! After a time I can make out some "bois" but not enough to make this work for me.

Thick and rich and really quite sweet. This is a vanilla scent with depth. When I smell it I think of vanilla, cream and dried fruits. It has a ripe quality which makes it interesting. The coconut here is more like real coconut shavings rather than the overly tropical synthetic coconut which usually abounds. It provides Un Bois Vanille with a milkiness that makes it smooth as well as tempering any sugariness that may try to sneak in. This wraps around you like a warm blanket. It's like sitting by a fire in the dead of winter while the ingredients are being dried out by the heat and the aroma is filling the house.
The projection is great and the staying power is too. A real treat to try.

Tried this recently and really wanted to love this. The licorice in this drives me up the wall. Hate it.
Its coconutty-vanilla-licorice. The dry down is nice, but initially it makes me kind of angry. Grateful for a sample, will not be purchasing!

Un Bois Vanille is the scent that first got me interested in the Serge Lutens line. I've been intrigued by its treacly-rich coconut-caramel feel for years, and finally bought a bottle almost 10 years after I first smelt it.

Un Bois Vanille is a vanilla-coconut bomb for me. It's very morish; maybe just a tad TOO heavy for the hot climate where I reside, since it's so linear and tenacious. If the "Bois" (Wood) part of the fragrance was more prominent, I would gladly wear it on its own. As things go though, I only use it for layering with other scents to add creaminess and warmth. (Try this under Bvlgari Black!) Just be careful to apply a minimal amount when layering because Un Bois Vanille is like an Angelfish; oh-so-pretty and harmless-looking, until it obliterates everything else.

On the flip side, the sillage and longevity is incredible in my experience. This has no problem holding its own in a marathon against Thierry Mugler's Angel. If you are on the market for a dark, rich, boozy, gourmand vanilla which is going to stay vanillic from the start to the end, this beats most others I've tried.

Being not used to the world of gourmands, I must admit this one took me by surprise by how sweet it was. Very much like toffee candy was my first impression, or vanilla fudge. This is the sweetest gourmand I have tried. I could see how this could be appreciated by many people. I myself would love to smell this on someone. However it is the very best kind of fragrance if sweet, sugary, cloying gourmands are your thing. To someone else this could be a masterpiece in that field. To me, it's just caramel toffee candy. But still it would smell nice on the right person, of that I'm sure.

Gorgeous, boozy, creme-brulee/vanilla/toffee scent from Serge. Thankfully my girlfriend and I both loved this one and we managed to share the ticket price - Yay!

Indulgent, sexy and sweet to the tooth!

Wristsniffer ,you wonderful sweetheart,I thank you so much for your kind words. It means a lot to me.

I agree with everything you said. Good for you,for boycotting cruelty too! :)

(In my eyes,There is no place for fur, except on animals. An animal's fur does not belong to humans.)

It is not your fault,that you did not know before you bought the perfume. These things are often hidden from us the consumer,with no consideration or warmth of emotion. Sad.

Peace Love and Hugs Wristsniffer

**Sorry all for this non review.These things need to be said.

Thanks for being brave enough to post your message about animal testing in your review, TENDERHEARTED. I own this scent, but it was purchased before I learned about the animal testing that's gone on at Shiseido (the Lutens sister company), and I've refrained from purchasing any other scents from the line because they haven't exactly stated - anywhere that I've read in my research - that animal testing has ceased. Animal torture is never a reasonable price to pay for beauty. I've also refrained from purchasing many scents released under haute couture designer-house brands because of the fur that's shockingly appeared in so many collections. What's wrong with the world?

This is a beautiful scent and I can't even recommend it to others because I don't support its purchase. Shame.

Sorry but I will not even buy a sample of a Serge Lutens perfume, until he stops having them produced by a company that keeps cruelly testing on animals. Not sure if his perfumes themselves are tested on animals,but I do not trust him.Tragic.

I DO have a 100% cruelty free imitation of a 1/3 ounce perfume oil of this very scent. I simply adore it! :)

I have not smelled the original scent,nor will I. I am reviewing the imitation.

It is so creamy,sweet,exotic. Filled with the finest vanilla dreams,and the siren song of coconuts calling out in the balmy tropical weather.

The woods are deep,the scent is magic,the licorice sticks are here too,so gorgeous! This is a complex gourmand aroma.

Then there is the nightly scent of marshmallows melting,smoking on crackling fire. I can hear the ghost stories being told by the tents now. Make sure my marshamallows are vegan please! :) (yes they do make vegan ones ;)

This perfume oil is incredible! This is gourmand at it's candy confection finest! The layers do not topple each other. They are in sweet tandem,and this oil lasts a great 10 hours on my skin! :)

**Do not be shy to PM me for the imitation oil information. I love that this oil is very inexpensive too,as I do not want a tiny sample. I want a nice big bottle that I can afford. I am poor,and I would never be able to afford a Lutens (even if he was cruelty free). Please do not feel bad for me,as I am rich in love and happiness. :)

This is definitely an exquisite vanilla fragrance, but for me, I prefer it on paper. I'm actually wearing it right now (using a sample vial) and I'm actually get a bit of a headache from it. I love the burnt caramel/vanilla vibe I get from it, but not smelling it this close to me isn't working out.

Even though it doesn't work for me, I still think its a well done frag by SL - It's girly, sexy, gourmand, and delicious. I think on my skin, I actually prefer the dry down (after about 4 hours) better. Too bad it still gives me a headache.

now I really don't see a coco note in it! There is a warm, almost caramel- like note, but it comes from burned benzoin which is featured in it! the licorice note too is quite strong, and the sandalwood beneath; very warm, creamy, comfortable fragrance, but mostly for witer, here are the notes, if anyone knows how to add them on the list above ?
notes de tête
lait de coco, absolu vanille noire, cire d’abeille
notes de cœur
benjoin caramélisé, réglisse, pâte d’amande
notes de fond
bois de Gaiac, fève tonka, bois de santal

A very nice and spicy vanilla interpretation: both bitter and sweet, creamy and spicy. It is mouthwatering, it lasts a lot. The only drawback- you can find plenty of vanilla interpretations- Spiriteuse Double Vanille(Guerlain) and even Comptoir Sud Pacifique. I do love Lutens' vanilla, but I enjoy the CSP Vanille Abricot too.

I had just gotten this one and put it on. I didn't have it on an hour and someone stopped me and said ..."YOU smell GOOD!!" I smiled and said it was vanille. She said....OH! Anyway......if you ask me that's a thumbs up!!

This is vanilla, almost drowned by dominant other notes: booze (brandy?), licorice, woods and benzoine.
In the beginning the licorice rules, quickly followed by some boozy note and sharp woods. After that i can clearly detect beeswax.
In about 20 minutes Bois de Vanille becomes a warm black beeswax smokey vanilla with a remote hint of coconut.

Lovely in wintertime, mature and distinctive.


Edit march 23 2012
In warmer weather the coco is very dominant..!

The description here is uncomplete. It contains: Black vanilla absolute, licorice, sandalwood, coconut milk, beeswax, caramelized benzoin, bitter almond, Gaiac wood, tonka bean. I don't smell coconut at all. Gorgeus and yummy fragrance. The caramelized benzoin + vannilla are prevalent on my skin. very well done!

Why aren't vanilla listed as a note??

I'm curious how this compares to the vanillas i own: Yves Rocher Vanille Noire, Diptique Eau Duelle.

One of my all time favorites! Dark vanilla, not sweet but definitely rich and warm. This is similar to Prada Candy without the very sweet top notes. I would swear this has benzoin in it as well, though it's not listed in the notes. If you love vanilla, this is a must try.

This is pure, smokey, vanilla deliciousness. I'm always wary of both coconut and licorice because I find coconut tends to turn synthetic on my skin, and I just don't like licorice. But here, it works. Oh boy does it work.

The licorice here is smokey and almost medicinal, but not quite. Its a dark, leathery type of licorice that doesn't really announce itself the way you might find in Lolita Lempicka or Pink Sugar. This is subtle and smokey, and you might not even know it was licorice by it's smell. The coconut dances around the edges and serves to enhance and call attention to what might be a soft vanilla smell. The sandalwood is beautifully done, both a soft smokey wood to enhance the licorice, and a smooth and creamy sweetness to give the impression of vanilla. It's hard to tell which note is really the dominant one here, they're all blended so well.

Altogether, this makes for a sexy fragrance that's both sweet and smokey. It's a perfect balance of the two, with the sweetness being just a touch more stronger than the smokiness.

It's rather subtle and stays relatively close to the skin. If you find Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille and Guerlain SDV is too masculine or has too much booze, tobacco, and smoke, then this might be a good alternative for you. Though the vanilla here cannot compare to the vanillas in those two, the overall sweetness with a touch of smokiness idea is probably what might appeal.

How funny is it that vanilla, the most prominent note in Un Bois Vanille, isn't even included in the note pyramid? I think somebody's playing with our heads. Anyway, I can see how Maru8862 got a claustrophobic vibe from this fragrance. It will either strike you as a soft cashmere blanket of scent or smother you with the vanilla love. As with most of the Lutens, you have to sample first, because they provoke strong, love/hate feelings.

UBV is so much more than just a generic vanilla fragrance. There is a toasted almond note to make it interesting, and beeswax to add a rich creaminess. Although there's an anise/licorice note, it's not a screaming Twizzler's sort of thing, which would ruin this soft fragrance in my opinion. UBV is almost a skin scent on me, with minimal sillage, but it lasts forever, wrapping me up in warm coziness.

While it's a great scent, refined and quite smooth, I just expected more from this. I wanted depth and darkness of vanilla forest probably with some earthy notes or more resinous creature.

But at first it reminded me of vanilized Pink Sugar. Licorice took over in this composition and was very confident. Un Bois Vanille dries down very close to skin woody coconut + vanilla. After few hours it's just too faint for me, I expected it to be stronger. Overall, it's a nice find, but for me it's still just one of vanillas versions.

So why weren't I in love instantly and was left so indifferent? Well... I own Pink Sugar. And I'll say Pink Sugar ain't worse licorice cotton candy. Further, I also own CSP Vanille Coco. Which is coconut and vanilla scent. These two are massive, strong fragrances. So, following the logic, if you fancy something similar, but classier and/or less strong, Un Bois Vanille is a must try.

I wish I can buy a bottle of this but it's very expensive in my country :(
I love vanilla scents.
Sigh...

I'm REALLY NOT a Lutens fan usually , but this one was an immadiate : Damn wow !
YES a vanilla scent can be complex ! definitely .(i'm sure there is much more notes than those displayed)
I really love it , this is the first Lutens on my wishlist ! :-D

Got this as a 1.5ml sample spray, so was able to apply it liberally, on about 3 or 4 occasions.

THIS is sweet. And since I have polar tastes ~ Hot, Dry, Spicy, Oriental (think Ambre Sultan or L'Air du Desert Marocain) on the one hand, or super sweet gourmand (like Angel and Elixir Charnel Gourmand Coquin, CK Euphoria or Estee Lauder's Sensuous Noir) on the other hand... this is right up my alley on the initial spray.

The drydown however transforms into a very thick amber. I know its not listed in the notes, but wow, the sweet really transforms, rather quickly, into amber, amber, amber. A little too much for my taste. So much so that it catches at the back of my throat/nasal area... like, when you've eaten too much honey... maybe its the beeswax I saw someone referring too.

Oh well.

Cheers!

Un Bois Vanille is the Lutens fragrance I like less..I had it and gave it and I did the right thing.Heavy on coconut and vanilla,very sweet a ''headache'' in a bottle sometimes for me.You need to have a really sweet tooth to enjoy this one!It is exotic,creamy,sugary coconut that stays and stays on all day.I believe that there are many coconut scents like this at the market.You might don't need this if you already have a coco-vanilla perfume.It's just plain coconut and vanilla on me.As I said the lasting power is enormous!!If you like sweet perfumes consider of it but still try before you buy especially if you are suffering from headaches or migraines!

wow beautiful sweet scent very vanilla smell i am quite suprised that the notes do not have vinalla in them but you can defently smell the coconut. it is a very strong scent and perfect for sweet people like me.



THIS IS NOW MY NEW FAVOURITE PERFUME

THANKYOU SERGE LUTENS FOR CREATING IT

XXXXXX

This fall I tested Prada Candy, and at first sniff I thought I would love it. However, its longevity and sillage disappointed me - in an hour i couldn't smell almost anything.

Then a few days ago I got a sample of SL Un Bois Vanille. And wow! It simply blew me away. Sweet, delicious vanilla, burnt sugar - this is what Prada Candy tried to imitate, but couldn't just get the quality right.

This is going to be my First Serge Lutens Perfume. I simply love it. <3

This is a pure liqueur fragrance!You could imagine that a drop of this sweet liqueur touched your wrist. It smells as an expensive bottle of very matured bottle of sweet alcoholic drink.Very thoughtful perfume, strong powerful smell! .

I always judged it by the drydown and it was like reading a book from the end. One guy said to me that he uses it very very sparingly, just tiny spots near his face, I thought it is so because he's a boy who carefully walks inside sweet vanilla debris. Now, with my own 1 ml sample, I understand why: at first the scent seems hardly tolerable, rather cloying with unpleasant evil licorice plus resin or something oppresive and this something is not (!) sweet at all. I met it on somebody like that and never recognized it on this unplesant stage.
In 1 hour or so it calms down and becomes pleasantly smokey - woody - slighly sweet, well, it goes like saying: Survived?! Let's be friends then. Some greetings from Chergui are also heard.
And only the very drydown what comes in 3 hours could be reminiscent of cozy confectionery.

Addition: Finally, I got the clue where is the chocolate, Luca Turin is so enthusiastic about. It lies behind that shocking therapy within the first hour. When I sprayed it the other day being in a challenging mood, I got flattering friendship with serious-looking (not smiley) maestro-chocolatier. Where had he been before?! In an hour or so when the scent calms down, the dark chocolate becomes something à la crème and that’s exactly what I like about Chergui - pls note, some see only the wallpaper of hay in there, well, after all it’s Lutens- Intel monitor. :))

Thank you to ekati for the kind gift of a sample of this. I love it. Funny, I didn't detect coconut but have just seen it listed above - I just get a yummy pure vanilla, woodsy, smokey, intoxicating smell. A comforting winner. :)

This is lovely. It doesn't have a strong vanilla fragrance at first. The most noticeable smell to begin with is liquorice, which I found very pleasant and unusual. This gives way to an incensey fragrance and eventually a nice coconut/vanilla scent. My only criticism is that it does fade quite quickly.

I always like the scent of Vanilla. But this one doesnt leave me smelling like freshly baked cookies. In face this fragant makes me feel very happy. With the coconut milk i smell so yummy that i wanna bite myself. Lol.

Luv it xx

YUM! I used to layer this with my precious pure Oud oil and just be the happiest girl on earth. It is divine, creamy vanilla with a whiff of cooconut milk, but not the beachy tan oil kind, but the kind that makes you close your eyes and smile. two sprays are enough to get me through the day, and the deep creamy notes go SO well with the pure Oud oil, the two combined are just TOO SEXY to be true... it's like my OWN fragrance and everybody keeps asking me what am i wearing...
Alas, the bottle had ran out and i can't find a retailer that sells Un Bois Vanille anywhere, and believe me, I've looked EVERYWHERE!
Yes, I am sad now.

its nice and interesting vanille perfume. I love it base notes.Such a cream :))

it is sooo mouthwatering and tasty!!!

This is one of the best done good quality vanilla fragrances. It's not synthetic or cloying, the Projection and longevity are both good. This is a good buy and one of the few fragrances worth the expensive price as not many vanila scents can compare to this one.

this one is really the best vanilla perfume i've ever smelled. this is so gourmand and yet very classy. it does not smell like other vanilla fragrances. this one is more mature and has more class. the lasting power is very good. another plus is that it is not so common like other vanilla fragrances in my country.
this one might give u a feeling of luxury.i think u have to use it carefully as it is very strong, so do not use too much of it.
this will definitely be my next purchase .

How can I describe this. One word: wow. I'm amazed by this perfume. First I got the black licorice, very prominent. Then, I got the coconut. After 15minutes I smell the bees wax. LOVE THIS!! Great scent for wintertime. Boyfriend loves this!

Of all the vanilla scents that I have ever tried and/or owned, Un Bois Vanille is a clear favorite for me.

There's a creamy richness in this perfume that comes from the pure indulgent scent of vanilla that's been blended with the other notes to perfection.

I detect a definite bourbon scent in the fragrance that runs through the its heart, and the licorice, coconut and sandalwood also stand out, but in a way that they are in balance with the other notes.

A very soft creamy dry down transforms it to a skin scent. I find it so dreamy and luxurious.

This really is a sweet perfume lover's delight. Oriental and gourmand, it truly is a masterpiece of perfumery. For me, this is the best Lutens, as well as an outstanding vanilla.

It's expensive, but worth the price tag. A scent I could not be without. 9/10

another favorite vanilla of mine,tried a sample and goshh im sold! will buy this
i don't think i'll ever have enough vanille scents bc there's always one that i got to have
this is a good example!
ooh and it last longer then datura noir wich i also like but UBV wins in my book
edit: owner of a bottle ^_^

I do not like to smell like Coconut bathroom freshener! This scent disappoints me so... Maybe it's a question of chemistry, but I will now stop trying Lutens samples. They do not do any good for me.

This feels like my guilty pleasure, something I enjoy at home but would probably not wear out. It is amazingly good quality vanilla, so sweet, a bit caramelised. I do love it, I just don't want to flaunt it. It is something I would wear as a comfort scent, as in when I am feeling under the weather and need a bit of cheering up, like a cosy blanket of burnt sugar. Definitely feel-good stuff.

I wonder why some reviewers say that there is no vanille here (and why vanille doesn't appear in the site's pyramide description). As far as I can smell, there are several precious and refined vanilles, and that's what that perfume is all about. An interesting touch of wax too, and beautiful woods as basenotes. But vanille it is, mainly ! A very sweet one, a bit syrupy.

This was my first Serge Lutens, which I bought when I had no idea what a niche perfume was. I was an exchange student in Berlin at the time, and Un Bois Vanille kept me warm through the frigid winter. Perfumes: The Guide describes it as the smell of a coffee shop, and that's not far off. It definitely has an air of steamed milk and warm woods about it (but not quite a coffee note). It's not really about vanilla, though I do smell vanilla in there. It's more about sweet, resinous wood. Even though I have now tried just about every Lutens perfume, this one remains my favorite.

really amasing,fantastic perfume!!!I can detect very well cocco,cedar wood,licorice and very sweet vanille.

Bois Vanilla is an instant love! (Thanks to a gorgeous swapper I’ve finally got my hands on a decant of this)
Upon the first spray, I can smell something intriguingly sweet, in a clean sweet but not synthetic sugary way, like the creamy, slightly dry coconut infused edible cupcake sweetness but not that typical vanilla-y.

Soon the sweetness gets more complex, somewhat like brown sugar sweet and dried fruit and resins. Then it gets drier, a little bit spicy as in dried fruits kinda spicy plus a little bit dry sweet woods smell. Later on a discreet gardenia scent comes to play (which is already nicely present there since the beginning, as the fresh sweetness, but I just didn’t pay much attention to), it is nice and unconventional, it give the quasi tuberose nice blooming summer night feel (but does not go for the white flower bouquet direction or smell of real tuberose at all) and the cozy vanilla, dry coconut powder and sweet spice all tangled together, which is just like gramma’s hug in a golden sunny afternoon in warm autumn.

It’s a really complex vanilla scent, but still easy to wear.
Worth trying!

As others have mentioned, the name of this fragrance is misleading. There are no woods in this vanilla as the name implies and I don't smell the coconut like others do. It's just a sweet pure vanilla with lots of licorice that make it smell like a mix of vanilla and burnt sugar. The opening is trully disgusting: so sweet you want to rub it off immediately. Luckily, it mellows and becomes less sweet the longer it sits on the skin; I actually like it at that stage.

Good sillage, good lasting power, but overall nothing special. I expected something darker from this one, but it's pretty innocent and easy to wear when the weather's really cold. Nice, but there are much better vanillas out there and at a much better price. I will finish my bottle but I'm not planning to come back for this one.

All I smell in this scent is vanilla and butterscotch, with a bit of smokiness. I don't get coconut, or licorice, or anything else - I also do not experience an opening, middle notes and base notes - to me it is linear - smells the same at first spritz as it does hours later. Although I say this smells like vanilla and butterscotch, it is not too sweet. I guess it's a lot of vanilla and a little butterscotch, with a dash of smoke and a teeny bitterness to make it less sweet - it is gourmand but nothing like Miss Dior Cherie let's say.
A nice fragrance, but nothing special & certainly not worth the $120 (to me) as I like other vanillas better. but if you're a vanilla lover, this one is worth trying out!

UBV is a mysterious "grown-up" vanilla scent. Sweet, yes, delicious, yes but with a wee burnt, smoky twist tickling your nose mischievously.
I can also detect a hint of coconut and some honey. Oh, it´s gorgeous and I adore the way this scent idea was realized.
You must love vanilla if you try this perfume but you should also be prepared to find this "vanilla forest" a bit different from what you had expected :-) One of the SL frags I love, it´s a gourmand adventure.

This is certainly different from most of the vanilla perfumes I have tried. So much so that I had to really sample this over a span of time to give it its proper due.

I tend to gravitate towards smokey, dark vanillas and expected something along those lines with this (especially since it is a Serge Lutens). In contrast, Un Bois Vanille is a light, almost marshmallowy, sweet vanilla scent. That initially put me off, I think, simply because I had a preconceived idea of what this perfume would smell like.

Anyway, I put the vial away and decided to try it at a later point with my head cleared of any expectations. Well,today was the day I tried it again, and ....... I still don't like it much. The coconut comes through very strongly and really overpowers whatever anise and sandalwood is in there. Too bad - a heavier dose of sandalwood would have mitigated the candy sweetness of this and given it more depth.

Overall, not enough bois in this vanille.

I am a self-professed vanilla slore to the fullest. Anything loud, boisterous in it's presentation, sweet and yummy is always a hit in my book.

There has not been a vanilla thread/topic about yummy vanilla 'fumes where this fume was not mentioned. It, next to ANGEL seems to reign supreme in the Vanilla Handbook of 'Fume Gods. I almost bought a bottle of this stuff (full bottle) blind, but something told me to heal and grab a sample instead. Boy, am I glad I did.

Thick, syrupy vanilla combined with hella smokey incense laced with loads o licorice is what my skin made of this. A very dark, yet dank vanilla. Me didn't likey :( I didn't get a yummy concoction. As a matter of fact, the licorice and smoky contents of this made me rather nauseous and also a little shy and embarrassed to wear.

Sillage? Sillage loving beauties will love this because it sure does leave a trail. It gives you 5-6 hours of full-bodied sillage and it wears close to you the rest of the day.

Lasting power? Very intense. But for $100 perume, I'd expect it to be up there in lasting power with ANGEL. However, it'll give you about 7 hours. Very decent.

Will I buy? Nope.

I am currently enslaved in the process of painting our bedroom and during a moment of procrastination (ok, a *lot* of moments) it occured to me that Un Bois Vanille is not unlike ceiling paint.

Beginning with a loud burst of liquorice and heady coconut, this is the vapour part of the renovation. As the perfume begins to dry it gets 'streaky' in the same manner as the ceiling drying from pink to white, partly the liquoricey beginning and partly the absorbing creamy coconuty vanilla it is destined to become.

In the end what you are left with is a flawless, matte, creamy white finish that uplifts your heart every time you rest your mind upon it.

Luckily, I don't find Un Bois Vanille too sweet. To me, the liquorice brings this back to a more complex and interesting vanilla.

I just hope I haven't been too naughty all year and Santa will still see fit to baste me in vanilla this Yuletide.

*fingers crossed*

I had the sample for this in February. I thought it smelled like coconut cookies/macaroons. Well, fast forward to today and I'm wearing a little of it! Still, it's very foody and has a heavy coconut smell. After awhile, it has a vanilla-chocolate note that appears. This has too much coconut in it, for me to truly enjoy the fragrance.

On my skin the sandalwood came through louder than the vanilla. Unfortunately not my scent.

Ahh, this is so extremely sweet. Imagine the sweetest fume you own and then multiple that by 3 - you'll get the sweetness of Un bois vanille. Yet, the scent is so addictive. Right now I'm struggling to add this to my "i want" and buy a bottle, but I do understand that I won't be able to wear it without killing everyone I meet. Really. My cat is avoiding me since I put this one on my wrist. Beautiful yes, but I think that after a while one can easily get sick using this. And something burnt is disturbing me a lot.

smell like Indult -paris


i love this fragrances

When I've asked my husband if he likes the smell, he asked me"is it body lotion from Body Shop? - smells good" I feel the same way: it smells like vanilla body lotion, not like Parfum on me. Disappointed.

I was so surprised when this came out of the sample tube- it was sooooo boozy! I thought for sure there was bourbon or cognac in the composition! It was so wonderful-my brain was really reelilng with enjoyment of this scent-creamy, spicy, gourmand but not sickeningly sweet or foody. It was bliss-for about a half an hour to 45 minutes. Then sadly, the gorgeous scent just wandered away from my skin. When quickly arriving to the `dry down`(I put it in quotes because it came so fast that I did not experience a middle) it became very simple and plain, lacking exhilarating qualities---but it was still an excellent, extremely refined vanilla, like I had never experienced before.

I've bought instead of Miel du Bois, but the second is an another world...I think that Un Bois Vanille is too sweet and the Coconut fragrance's too oppressive

Sweet licorice and creamy coconut milk make a loud entrance, giving the wearer the feeling that they are in for a gourmand ride....these notes are brief, however, and fast on their tails is a sweet cedarwood (I know it is sandal, but I get cedar). The vanilla rounds out and sweetens the wood, but does not dominate the composition. Just as I think this is going to remain a stright on Wood scent, the coconut-not milk this time, but Hawaiian Tropic-charges in and gives the Cedar a run for its money. I agree with others that there is an aged liquor feel to it, like an Armangnac. This is not a terribly complex scent, and not particularly feminine either. It has the aura of an essential oil, but the ingredients are not oily in the least. To note, this is the first perfume I have EVER met that causes an itching reaction on my hand. I do enjoy it, but feel that as s woody as it is, I would prefer it in a candle than on a body.

I have only tried a designer duplicate of UBV but it has become my VERY FAVORITE scent. Sandalwood? Coconut? Licorice? I don't smell those notes whatsoever and I never would have ordered it based on how unappealing those notes sound to me! I ordered it because of the vanilla in the name because I adore vanilla. WOW! I was so pleasantly surprised! I get compliments all the time when I wear this! It's soft, soothing, gentle and happy! There are no harsh notes, at least in my dupe. If you can't afford the real thing, look around the internet for a duplicate. I have no desire to buy the real thing because I love the dupes so much.

it starts out as a dry smokey maple
scent an harsh opening but it dries down to a pleasent creamy vanilla
and a bit of coconut. i think this will
be an ideal scent for the beach despite
it's strong opening this can be worn
in warm weather and i like this better
then daim blonde.

I have never been a huge lover of vanille centered fragrances, but this one i absolutely love. I find it to be one of the nicest, prettiest, cleanest, not overly gooey vanille i have ever experienced.
This is the vanille by which all others will be forever judged. Truly a breathtakingly beautiful composition.

I love vanilla but I often find it gets sickeningly sweet on my skin. This combination has a satisfyingly gourmand note but a lso dark, burnt edge which makes it smell rich and mysterious. I find the sillage is not great but it lasts a long time close to the skin. Perfect winter fragrance - makes me think of roaring log fires in a country house library full of well-loved books!

Usually I'm a big fan of Mr Lutens and vanilla in general (especially in Autumn), but this one is seriousy overrated and overpriced. On me it smelled exactly like Body Shop vanilla, apart from the chemical bit. It's nice but not worth the money.

I normally LOVE vanillas and was dying to try this, and I am disappointed. But so happy that I didn't buy it unsniffed from ebay because I got a sample first. From the outset, a strong camphory-boozy quality made me feel ill in my stomach. Hmm its the caramel - like burnt caramel - ugh! I ve never had a reaction this bad from a fragrance. I was almost tempted to go wash it off. Its more like a really dark vanilla with just a hint of sweetness, but that quality, I cant quite describe it, put me off. I think its the combo of Gaiac wood licorice and caramelised benzoin. It just smells off to me. Not a creamy vanilla in the least. Please try a sample first before buying.

I think it's really great. I love the vanilla an liquorice combination, it's very sweet, sticky and caramelised. The coconut adds a subtle creaminess, too. It reminds me of Pink Sugar, but this is a kind of more sophisticated version of it. It's deeper and has more facettes than the flat and over the top sweet Pink Sugar. Very well done!

I don`t think that the notes are complete in the description, because it started as a pretty citrus-vanilla combination (lemon scones?).Later I smelled a lot`s of soft coconut, vanilla and just a bit of licorice - if sandalwood was supposed to be in the base, I didn`t feel it much at all.
It is a warm, slightly childish fragrance, naive and sweet.Not my favorite, but definitely has it`s charm.

I think i found my favorite one under Serge lutens fragrances.
This one is really good.
I smell much of the coconut milk and the vanilla and also the woody note which make it smells like the typical Serge lutens style "distinctive".When you tryed some Serge Lutens fragrances you know what i mean, each fragrance have these special serge lutens note!
When i smell this wonderful scent it reminds me at a summer holiday in the Caribbean,drinking some creamy coconut cocktail.So i think this fragrance is good for each season.

The thing is, I don't like vanilla fragrances. I can't stand them. I find them heavy, cloying, sweet, girly and boring. But this is a vanilla scent with a twist: it's smokey! I can actually imagine myself wearing this on a cold winter's day.

To my dismay, I often find Serge Lutens' fragrances too sweet for my taste and always seem to approach them with a sense of resignation, concerned as I am that I will not be able to enjoy what I am about to sample.

I do love the smell of vanilla; and especially the wonderful, fragrant aroma of fresh vanilla pods. The idea of a wood and vanilla fragrance is appealing to me, and I thought that perhaps Un Bois Vanille could be something to enjoy, my worries about sweetness put aside. And I did, on the whole, with some reservations.

I should say first, on the negative side, that to my nose there isn't that much wood in Un Bois Vanille. I had the same "where's the wood?" interrogation with SL Cèdre some time ago.

The opening here is an intense blast of coconut and vanilla. Definitely gourmand territory! The fragrance immediately feels rich, and you know it's going to last. I am glad to say that the vanilla does feel very natural and mouth-watering.

The warmth of Un Bois Vanille continues to develop quietly — there isn't that much evolution, but rather the fragrance feels like it has to be enjoyed as a whole. The coconut note subsides and is replaced by something caramel-y. Vanilla fudge or toffee, something like that. Richness and sweetness, once again. Luckily this does not feel as sirupy as, for instance, Chypre Rouge.

At this point I would really have loved the woods to kick in, but sadly they did not. There is a slight licorice note that permeates from time to time but on the whole the fragrance remains a thick, intense coconut/vanilla/caramel affair.

To summarize, this is a pretty good, natural vanilla that you might enjoy (especially during cold days) if you like very strong gourmand fragrances and don't mind the ever-present sweetness. Projection and longevity are both excellent.

As usual Serge Lutens full of scent thinkness, fullness and this one is opening as an intense honey scent to me. I feel like I would be laying in the field full of flowers at summer day. I can clearly smell the sweetness of life :-) Beautifully done and it last on me forever. Well done.

A lovely vanilla that climbs up my nose, twists my nose hairs and makes me run screaming for the sink and the soap. I'm not sure what note does this, but it's prevalent and horrible. Maybe it's the beeswax combined with the woods, but whatever it is, it's dreadful. Over the top is a nice pleasant sweet vanilla. Weird. EDIT: Experiment with 100s of scents now leads me to believe this is the combination of vanilla and sandalwood that turns so foul on me.

I really, really, reeeeeaaaaaaally can't get over the beeswax, I can't stand that smell in a perfume. Maybe it's the chemistry with my skin, or my nose, but no, not for me.

I realized that Serge fragrances don't work on me at all (after trying at least 10). They smell better on paper strips than my skin. A lot of his fragrances I love, but can't wear. Un Bois Vanille is an incredible Vanilla fragrance, a lot more sophisticated than most food vanillas, sensual and proper for a confident woman. It's out of the ordinary, but I guess all Serge Lutens are. Unfortunately, on me it smelled like extremely sweet candy.