Celine Bois Dormant is wrapped in a double-breasted blazer, one of Hedi Slimane’s famous signature as Celine Creative Director – Bottle ©Celine, women ready-to-wear double-breasted classic blazer in chalked-striped flannel ©Celine, wood background ©Pixabay, collage ©Emmanuelle Varron
In November 2019, I had one of the most unexpected surprises of my “perfumista” life when I spotted the Celine Haute Parfumerie collection. All eleven fragrances had been announced, with nine already on the market: Parade, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Cologne Française, Dans Paris, La Peau Nue, Eau de Californie, Reptile, Black Tie, and Nightclubbing. The last two, Rimbaud and Bois Dormant were to follow in the fall of 2020. Due to the Pandemic it took a longer time to have the collection designed by Celine Creative Director Hedi Slimane completed. First was Celine Rimbaud at the end of 2021, inspired by the famous French poet, then Celine Bois Dormant was quietly launched recently in Paris.
Celine Bois Dormant official artwork – ©Hedi Slimane
I have already shared my enthusiasm for these fragrances with what in my opinion is their “haute couture” technical perfection. Individually they stand on their own merit yet each has a magnificent orris butter as a common denominator. The Celine Haute Parfumerie collection is a precious olfactory wardrobe in which one can choose THE perfume corresponding to any moment of the day. While the three perfumer’s names are top secret, it is an artistic feat they smell as if they were composed by a single nose. All worked with a single olfactive voice, or rather with a single nose, to create a cohesive, recognizable Celine DNA under Hedi Slimane’s guidance.
Charles Perrault La Belle au Bois Dormant’s tale sixth of six engravings by Gustave Doré (1897) via Wikipedia
I have eagerly awaited Celine Bois Dormant whose very name evokes a fairy tale (Sleeping Beauty in French is translated into La Belle au Bois Dormant). Like its ten predecessors, Hedi Slimane links Celine Bois Dormant to his personal olfactory diary, and to a precise memory of his life. Here, it’s London and his search for second-hand suits made in the Savile Row district renowned for the timeless quality of bespoke tailoring, craftsmanship and menswear inspired fabrics. The Creative Director was only 19 years old, and was creating in search of establishing his own style. Celine Bois Dormant is also a special tribute to the famous English flannel double-breasted jacket that is regularly found in Hedi Slimane’s collections dedicated to men and women.
Eva Jospin La Forêt noire (The Black forest) bronze sculpture – ©Emmanuelle Varron at a 2019 musée Zadkine exhibition
As in all of the Celine Haute Perfumeries’ fragrances, a star raw material stands out from the first seconds upon spraying and is present until the drydown. For Celine Bois Dormant, cedarwood is immediately identifiable, with its green and resinous pencil facet, dry and metallic. I imagine Hedi Slimane when he was a student at the famous Paris art school known as Ecole du Louvre, using his pencils to draw shapes as precise as his clothes are cut. Bergamot delivers its fresh and juicy notes, accompanied by an aromatic and peppery juniper for a duo that inevitably evokes a “Cologne” spirit. As in suspension, the cedarwood does not give way, but is in tune with the different ingredients that make up Celine Bois Dormant. It transforms into a luxurious softness when the orris butter unfolds, like a warm and enveloping flannel. The Celine DNA is unmistakably linked with the Haute Parfumerie collection’s other ten creations obvious. It is a skin scent that can be guessed from afar and captivates up close. Here, the signature orris butter is powdery, timeless and reassuring. Aristocratic and chic. The vetiver brings an earthy base at the drydown, commuting with the cedarwood and the juniper, taking me to a forest in the early morning, the first rays of the sun illuminating the trees’ bare branches that have just awaken. I hardly perceive a female form lying on the ground, apparently sleeping. A thick blue flannel coat envelops her, with a few delicate blonde locks falling to the floor. Behind me, I can hear hesitant footsteps, at the same time captivated by a woody and aromatic fragrance bursting with the calm of the place. Here I am immersed in Sleeping Beauty’s tale, a few seconds before the liberating kiss. Undoubtedly the most beautiful moment that one feels: the heart beats faster, doubts invade the mind, the feeling of love oscillates between fear and impatience.
Sleeping Beauty in the Woods as imagined by Midjourney AI technology – Bottle ©Celine, AI keywords and collage ©Emmanuelle Varron.
Celine Bois Dormant was noted by the brand to be a daytime version of Celine Black Tie (white orris butter, cedar, tree moss, vanilla, musk and which is considered an evening perfume) purported to be worn by Hedi Slimane. For me, from the very first seconds, I immediately found a strong link to Celine La Peau Nue, a perfume that I wear regularly and that I consider a masterpiece. A subtle, enveloping afterglow is present in both these fragrances, structured like a backbone of orris butter, bergamot and vetiver. Both hearts beat to a diametrical rhythm: the sweetness of a rose coated in rice powder for Celine La Peau Nue, and the strength of cedarwood for Celine Bois Dormant. Two perfumes that subtly play on lovers’ skin, for a sense’s communion of eternal sensuality.
Official notes: bergamot, juniper, white orris butter, cedarwood, vetiver.
Senior Editor’s note: Celine Bois Dormant is the eleventh and “final” fragrance in the Haute Parfumerie collection according to the House in 2019. While Celine has already opened the door to new products through scented candles (one being called after Celine Nightclubbing), THE question is whether Hedi Slimane intends to expand this collection, start a new one or leave these existing perfumes as they are, unique and irreplaceable works of art.
Disclaimer: A huge “merci” to Celine for the bottle provided for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Emmanuelle Varron, Senior Editor and Paris Brand Ambassador
Celine Bois Dormant: the 11th Wonder in the Haute Parfumerie Collection – ©Emmanuelle Varron
Celine Bois Dormant is available in Paris in “avant-première” at its 390 rue Saint-Honoré Haute Parfumerie flagship, its La Samaritaine pop-up store, and will be available worldwide in Celine boutiques, department stores corners and on its official website e-shop from 22nd September.
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