Naomi Goodsir Bois D’Asc\u00e8se Eau de Parfum is a dark and comforting smoky fragrance of smouldering amber and woods. The heady opening features notes of peaty whisky infused with swirling tendrils of heavy-hitting tobacco. But this smoke and booze centred olfactory exploration is not a perfume of late night revelry and cigarette-filled bars. Bois D’Asc\u00e8se is rather a silent meditation on the ashen remnants of something sacred which has gone up in smoke. Somali incense feels ancient as it crackles with contemplative stillness and wisps of delicately blended spices such as cinnamon resemble the flickering sparks of the mind\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n
Bois D’Asc\u00e8se means \u2018the wood of the hermit\u2019 in French and invites us to take time for ourselves; to turn inwards; to look back towards our primordial comfort zone. The origins of the word perfume itself are derived from the old Italian par fumare \u2018to smoke through\u2019. Bois D’Asc\u00e8se was also conveyed as a trip into Naomi Goodsir\u2019s background. It is inspired by a small wooden church she once owned in the Australian Outback, which was often surrounded by the burning of The Bush. The whisky note is an homage to her Scottish heritage. <\/p>\n
Bois D’Asc\u00e8se\u2019s deep, richly smoked scent of mystical memory is a unique statement in perfumery. Cade wood is key to the scent\u2019s deep, charred effect and cistus labdanum imbues the extended base with its shadowy presence. Bois D’Asc\u00e8se is a quiet blaze of captivating smoke and mellow amber tones. Enlivening to the senses and a balsam for the soul, one cannot help but be stirred to the core by its warm embrace. <\/p>\n
The nose behind Bois D’Asc\u00e8se is Julien Rasquinet (Amouage, Frederic Malle, Histories De Parfums, Zoologist)<\/p>\n
Head notes: tobacco, whiskey
\nHeart notes: labdanum, amber, cinnamon
\nBase notes: incense, cedar, oakmoss<\/p>\n