Bois d'Hadrien
Goutal (2018)

Bois d'Hadrien is a flanker to Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien, and in creating a woodier, denser experience than its predecessor, there was seemingly a glance at Creed's Royal Oud for inspiration. At the very least, Bois d'Hadrien takes a parallel path to a very similar destination.

Bois d'Hadrien has a more citrus-forward opening than Royal Oud, with an herbal and lemon top that connects it to Eau d'Hadrien. But the spicy, warm, elegant woods are where the Royal Oud resemblance creeps in, and it's a fairly close one, with the Creed tilting towards spicy warmth and the Goutal tilting towards green-aromatic zestiness.

Because of its opening (the lemon citrus is of the classic "lemon cleaner" style), Goutal Bois d'Hadrien has a bit more retro flair, and its aromatic approach makes it a touch more casual than its Creed equivalent, which makes it a good option for those who find Royal Oud lovely but a bit stuffy. I wouldn't wear Royal Oud on a hot day, but I'd happily reach for this.

All in all, Bois d'Hadrien is an elegant, lovely scent, and seems to be more than a bit underrated (as Goutal is on the whole). Thumbs-up.

Fruity, lemony, with the slightly anisic shading (basil?) also found in Eau Hadrien.

The perfume somewhat recalls YSL's Champagne, later renamed Yvresse after the champagne firms threw a wobbly. But more particularly it reminds me of a mens fragrance of the 1960's and 70's called West. Remember that one, by Faberge? All done up in cowboy packaging, a great fragrance, but it bit the dust, unlike its partner Brut which is still going.

Ivy is given as the heart note, however there is no natural extract of ivy that I know of, and the fragrance is not green in any sense, so this is doubtless just a flight of fancy. I wonder what the real heart notes are, the perfumers who worked on it will know, but they are not saying.

Drydown results in a spicy and balsamic vanilla / benzoin odour, plus a touch of evernia type moss (oakmoss substitute).

An very appealing fragrance overall, especially the main body notes.

Contrary to Eau d'Hadrien, I can barely smell any lime or lemon in Bois d'Hadrien, only a vague suggestion of a fresh fruity opening. And in a sense true to its name, Bois d'Hadrien indeed feels quite woody. However, these woody notes don't really have any charming characteristics of specific wood, either, but more like an abstract fruity woody note with certain similarities to Cashmeran. And it even turns a bit aridly smoky in the dry down, somewhat similar to the unpleasant effect of certain woody amber aromachemicals quite common these days.

Probably thanks to these potent molecules, the projection of Bois d'Hadrien is rather heavy, and it can cling on skin for at least 10 hours. But in return, I find Bois d'Hadrien lacks urgently the subtle, poetic beauty of previous creations from the house of Goutal. As a result, I would not particularly recommend this fragrance, especially if you happen to be fan of Goutal's offerings before 2012 which feel completely different in style with Bois d'Hadrien.

As a side note, the spray mechanism of the new packaging is much better than the older Goutal sprayer! It gives out a very uniform spray and is much easier to press.