FRAGRANCE DU BOIS
HERITAGE

2016

PERFUMER
Francois Merle-Baudoin

Aldehydes
Bergamot

orris
Jasmine
frankincense

cedarwood
Sandalwood
vanilla
oud

‘Encapsulating the timeless style and grace of haute couture, Heritage is a luxurious jasmine perfume of remarkable depth and projection. A delicate but defiant powdery vintage floral with a crisp, fresh opening of bergamot that leans into the majesty of transcendental frankincense. Comforting warmth is derived from quintessential cedarwood and balsamic sandalwood, while creamy vanilla and a touch of natural Oud create an enduring halo of sophistication and poise.’ – Fragrance Du Bois

Heritage is one of the few Fragrance du Bois releases that had escaped me for a long time. I had smelled it in stores a couple of times, but it was one of the only ones that I never had a chance to wear, until today.

I figured it would become a real favorite for me, based on testing it on paper. While I do like it and would rank it quite high among the Fragrance du Bois collection, it’s not as great as I built it up to be in my head.

It opens a lot more aldehydic than I figured. Which, I don’t mind. But it makes for a very traditional, vintage-Guerlain (Samsara for example) vibe. I was reminded of fragrances with hyacinth, lilac, heliotrope. It has a powdery, sharp, floral and soapy quality.

What I like less is the way it moves into its drydown. After that aldehydic, fresh, floral opening, it dives head first into sweet sandalwood; too sweet, too sugar. This smells almost completely like a sandalwood-adjacent note (like javanol), rather than a proper sandalwood. There, I get some subtle suede-like tinges, but everything is overtaken by that sugary wood.

While I still enjoy it overall and it’s a style of fragrance that I would gladly wear, the base used here doesn’t live up to my (high) expectations and takes away most of the class and regality that this fragrance could otherwise exude. I like it, but I feel like this composition deserved a little bit more.