ÇaFleureBon Modern Masterpieces: Shiseido Féminité du Bois 1992 “Imperfection is Truth”

Mustafa Sabbagh Black series

Mustafa Sabbagh Black Series Tuxedo Riot

"Imperfection is truth, imperfection is human” Mustafa Sabbagh

Set against a Da Vinci-like immaculate black, the imperfection of bodies becomes the most sublime form of raw sexuality in Mustafa Sabbagh's art.  Smelling Féminité du Bois I can’t think of a better description than Mustafa’s words “imperfection is truth”. Back in 1992, juxtaposing the poignant side of flowers and woods, eternal sexual symbols set in a neo-deco bois pour femme, Feminité du Bois revealed the masculine side of femininity and vice-versa like a newborn olfactory Lady with an ermine.

Serge Lutens Marrakesh MArco Guerro

Serge Lutens Photo: Marco Guerra taken at M. Lutens Villa in Marrakesh, Morroco

Everything started in Morocco back in 1968, when the young Serge Lutens, who was there, let’s say for a love affair,  found a piece of wood and fell in love with its smell. “One day I’ll make a perfume called Cèdre” – he said.  So Féminité du Bois was born when Serge Lutens met Pierre Bourdon who, since the late eighties, was exploring at Quest the idea of a composition based on a fruity wood. The concept was then developed together with Christopher Sheldrake (who is considered the in-house Perfumer). As M. Lutens says, “the perfume wants to deliver the deep message of Cedarwood, naked, unadorned”.

”Serge Lutens makeup for Dior Anjelica Huston by Bob Richardson, 1973

Serge Lutens makeup for Dior Anjelica Huston by Bob Richardson, 1973

While revealing the naked truth of the wood itself, the fragrance became revolutionary because of its different approach to perfumery.  Féminité du Bois interpreted the unisex trend of the early nineties in a totally different way.

Serge Lutens (Nude), 1979, Color photograph

Serge Lutens (Nude), 1979, Color photograph

As a reaction to the spreading of the HIV virus and to AIDS, this was an era when sensual sexy animalic fragrances were eschewed and genderless healthy “fresh” smells were created to appeal to both sexes. Perfume became utterly antispetic and lost its connection with its medium, the skin.

peggy moffat for serge lutens

Peggy Moffat for Serge Lutens

Féminité du Bois' first rendition was a deeply human smell featuring a resinous cedarwood backbone (it is said it accounted for 60% of the composition) with a radiating honeyed amber flesh coated with a spiced candied violets and lovely orange blossom complexion. It was break with both tradition and the upcoming unisex mainstream and presented a sexual perfume with both masculine and feminine elements.

feminite-du-bois-shiseido ad

Moreover it set the foundation of the Lutens signature for Les Eaux Boisées, Bois de Violette, Bois et Fruits, Bois et Muscs and inspired compositions like Chene,  and Miel de Bois . The trend for woody-fruity fragrances which began with Féminité du Bois gave birth to a stream of beautiful interpretations of the theme, such as Dior Dolce Vita (also composed by Pierre Bourdon), Estée Lauder Sensuous, Miller et Bertaux #01 Parfum Trouvé and Jovoy L’Enfant Terrible.

feminitie du bois 1992 cafleurebon

Michelyn's bottle dated circa 1994

In addition to the Eau Timide flanker, of course Féminité du Bois went through more than one rework and repackaging (the first dark bottles were designed by Serge Lutens himself), both under the Shiseido and the Serge Lutens label getting softer and softer. In comparison with the 1992 version, the transparent bottle of 2009 reveals a thinner formula where the sheer pepperiness of iso-e super (more than 40%) partially backs up the tamed spices. The violets floralcy is enhanced instead, resulting in a still tremendously longlasting yet fading ghost of this former beauty.

Art Direction MC According to my interview with Maurice Roucel, he consulted on Féminité du Bois and would later compose Iris Silver Mist.

Ermano Picco, Contributor and author of La gardenia nell occhiello

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8 comments

  • fazalcheema says:

    Feminite du Bois is, indeed, one of the most beautiful fragrances I have ever smelled. I got a used Lutens version bottle as a reference but the one I am hoarding is the original Shiseido formula. the parfum version is so rich that even though i have yet not removed the cap from the bottle, the fragrance can be smelled by bringing nose closer to the cap…i hope to get bois et fruits and musc since these two are missing in my collection. i also lucked out on getting a vintag dolce vita bottle last month (have heard it is reformulated now). Amazing fragrance. I learned about Shiseido only during the last decade but their classics were out of this world and Lutens early years were so productive, giving us Nombre Noir and Feminite du Bois. Another Shiseido I love besides the classic Zen is Murasaki in original formula. Murasaki is just so Japanese yet not Japanese at the same time. It is hard to imagine Murasaki being released in Japan since Japanese tend to like subtle fragrances.

  • I just adore Féminité du Bois. I have a mini of the Shiseido, and a 50ml of the Lutens reformulation. I wish I had more of the Shiseido.

    Shiseido Zen was actually my very first perfume, given to me as a gift in the 1970s. It launched me on my lifelong love of fragrance. I still have 2 tiny flacons of the parfum, and several bottles of the edc. I stocked up in the 90s!

  • I have read much about Féminité du Bois but never as well written like this. Understanding the back story of the 90s and the imperfection as the truth of this perfume is intriguing. Thank you and I hope one day to find the original as you described it

  • I love this perfume especially the original version and I wish Shiseido would start again its release in the market. I believe that it is the most feminine smell smooth subtle yet with a hint of hidden power in its notes.
    Thank you for the lovely review and pictures so artistic and the whole story behind this amazing smell!

  • My mom wore Féminité du Bois and Shiseido Zen. I never realized how daring Féminité was for its time. I am going to see if I can find the original as I did not care at all for the current version
    Thank you for this article and insight into its creation. I read that Pierre Bourdon created Cool Water which is interesting as it is the symbol of clean and fresh

  • Thanks for the historical perspective on this iconic scent. I love FdB and would love to hunt down the vintage version.

  • bunchofpants says:

    Learning about older, hard-to-find formulations makes me wonder if I have missed a golden age of perfumery. So often everyone agrees that the current formulation of many fragrances is so inferior, and I’m sad that I may not be able to get a whiff of the classics.

  • girasole638 says:

    I haven’t smelled this one and possibly never will, but I love reading the reviews all the same. What a fascinating history perfume has had! Like bunchofpants above, I sometimes feel like the best may be behind us, but I sincerely hope it isn’t true and thankfully there are still some new releases that encourage that hope.