ESSENTIAL PARFUMS
BOIS IMPERIAL EXTRAIT

2024

PERFUMER
Quentin Bisch

black pepper
timut pepper

rose absolute

cedarwood
leather
fir balsam
labdanum

‘Created as a quintessential version of the original fragrance, Bois Impérial Extrait takes you to the nocturnal side of the perfume. Darker, richer, stronger, it reveals a new sensuality and a rare intensity with twice the concentration of the Eau de Parfum. An absolute of seduction. A woody ambery nectar of rare intensity. On the skin, the opening retains its irresistible sparkle. Black pepper electrifies timut berry in an invigorating flight of spicy facets. Gradually, the floral heart settles in, revealing a new richness: rose absolute adds palpable density to the eau de parfum’s petal-like facets. Finally, Bois Impérial Extrait asserts its distinctive identity in its trail, blending the rising elegance of Atlas cedar with the depth of leathery notes and the liqueur-like effects of fir balsam and labdanum. Exceptionally long-lasting, Bois Impérial Extrait distills leathery, woody and balmy effects… until the end of the night and beyond.’ – Essential Parfum

With the massive success of Bois Imperial, it was only a matter of time, before we would get another version of it. Bois Imperial Extrait is said to be darker, richer, stronger and more sensual than the EDP. How does it compare?

A disclaimer to note is that I am still battling a cold, so my nose is not working at a 100%. Either way, I’ll give Bois Imperial Extrait another wearing soon, but these are my initial thoughts after 8-9 hours of wearing it.

For context: Bois Imperial (EDP) had been in my collection for… let’s say, at least 2 years, before I offered up the bottle in a swap. I think it’s a great release and easily one of the best fragrances on the market at its price point. It always gets compared to Ganymede, which is in my top 10 fragrances of all time. I’ve worn them side-by-side and back-to-back multiple times Personally, I don’t see Bois Imperial & Ganymede as all that similar. Of course there’s an overlap, but the seemingly accepted idea that they are practically the same fragrance, is one that I reject strongly. Bois Imperial being the much simpler, sort of sweet-vetiver scent, versus the far more eccentric spicier, mineralic Ganymede, which I easily prefer. Although it’s also not hard to fathom why a lot of people prefer the more mass appealing Bois Imperial.

I say that to say, that while Bois Imperial Extrait arguably has an even more different scent profile from Ganymede than its predecessor, the spices in the opening and the seemingly more complex composition, make it feel like a closer experience to Ganymede at times for me. Completely different scent still, but given how everyone finds Bois Imperial and Ganymede so similar, I figure the same will be said for this Extrait.

The spices are the first thing that hit you and in the Extrait, they are more pronounced, versus the somewhat flatter and wetter profile of the EDP. I feel that the same goes for the woodiness. Less of the almost clean, soapy nondescript woodiness from the EDP and a bit more substantial (or perhaps darker, as per the brands’ description). Like a sweetened cedarwood and wood shavings. And I feel the same can be said again for the leather; a stronger, rubbery leather tinge that persists throughout.

I want to be clear that these are minor changes, that add a bit more ‘oomph’ and texture to what is still a clearly recognizable Bois Imperial DNA. The mix of the sweetness, the spices and the woodiness reminds me a bit of BDK Gris Charnel at times or even something like Serge Lutens Feminite Du Bois with a contemporary twist. If the notes had listed a note like plum or fig, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

Bois Imperial Extrait retains that mineralic-ish quality that I find hard to describe, but as with the EDP, I don’t get the truly mineralic, acidic edge from Ganymede in this. I find Bois Imperial Exrait somewhat linear; I wouldn’t have minded a brighter or citrussy opening for example; it feels like you dive straight into the mid or drydown. On first wearing, I can’t say that I find the ‘floral heart’ to be distinctive either. But it does feel less one-dimensional than the EDP does to me. Performance wise, the EDP is one of the strongest fragrances that I owned; the Extrait is still going strong after almost 9 hours, so I’m sure you’ll be more than fine with either; it doesn’t feel ‘stronger’ to me, but that was never needed to begin with.

This is definitely a decent upgrade over the EDP in my eyes. It didn’t change the scent that much and I think you’ll likely feel similar about the Extrait & EDP. But it accentuates enough facets to make it not feel redundant. I feel like it is indeed a tad darker, richer and perhaps most importantly, more complex and dynamic. Bois Imperial EDP had a pleasant scent, but I find it very linear and it can feel like you’re essentially wearing a single ingredient (and that for many many hours can get boring). The Extrait feels like a more interesting wear on first impression.

As a stand alone, I definitely prefer it. I’d have to wear them side-by-side to see if the difference is enough to go out of your way to upgrade if you already own and enjoy the EDP; I’m leaning towards the extrait being worth the upgrade, but the price hike per ml is massive (quite insane when you think about it, which is easy to overlook with the smaller size; it’s actually more than 5x as expensive, which no other brand would get away with realistically). I find 30ml bottles perfectly fine, given the size of my collection, in which case, €130 is a solid absolute price, but for smaller collections or heavy users, the 100ml for €82 that the EDP offers is nearly impossible to argue against.

Either way, better than the majority of flankers.