FRAGRANCE DU BOIS
NEW YORK 5TH AVENUE
2020
PERFUMER
Shadi Samra
Rose
Bergamot
Caramel
Cypriol
Violet
Cashmeran
Vanilla
Guaiac Wood
Musk
‘It’s not easy to create a fragrance inspired by the name of one of the most diverse, evolving and breathtaking cities in the world. New York is an unforgettable inspiring place. With two different beautiful images in the perfumers mind, the glorious summer in New York, and the fancy winter which means spending Christmas time in the best place on the globe. This sweet woody perfume is dedicated to the winter in NYC. It’s woody, sweet and warm spicy. Opening with a simple top note of bergamot and rose, which works as an introduction to a sweet floral and spicy heart note represented by caramel, violet and cypriol. The long-lasting base note is composed of vanilla, musk, kashmir wood and guaiac wood, making the balance of a sweet warm notes.’ – Fragrance Du Bois
New York 5th Avenue is a release that I tried at Jovoy and I was very intrigued by the opening. You’ll see this compared often to Oud Satin Mood on other sites, but they aren’t close to my nose. Oud Satin Mood is one of the loudest fragrances, while New York 5th Avenue is a much more subtle and mature Fragrance du Bois release.
There’s a soapy rose in the opening, but it’s not as vibrant as a lot of rose fragrances. This has a real understated quality, with the rose being soft and a bit fresh. I don’t want to say it’s earthy, but it’s not fully clean smelling either. I think it’s the cypriol giving a fresher earthiness underneath the rose. I don’t get any of the lychee-esque fruitiness from Oud Satin Mood here.
As it dries down the caramel accord takes this fragrance in a different direction. I have to be honest here and say that the drydown isn’t working on my skin as well as I expected. With the fragrance being subtle to begin with, as soon as it starts to dry down it becomes a skin scent and I have a hard time picking up on most of the sweetness. The scent itself is gorgeous and I’m glad it’s not as loud as some similar sweet roses, but maybe a halfway point would work best for me.
