Cannabis
Bois 1920 (2019)

For lovers of the note of cannabis in perfumery definitely vintage Hascish Homme Veejaga represents an iconic (old-fashion and vaguely bohemian) take on the infamous raw material but while the latter represents a mossy massive smoky/resinous dark take on cannabis (really darkly bitter, stuffy and finally sharply incensey a la Jacomo de Jacomo) Cannabis by Bois 1920 embodies a greener/grassier experience with its aromatic/citric brighter/airier mediterranean aura and a final sort of neo-classic chypré damp woody accord more in line with scents a la Terre d'Hermes, G.Bellini Wood, several classic hesperidic vetivers or Rouge Bunny Rouge Tundra with a tad of Etro Vetiver, several piney slightly barber-shop vintages a la Salvador Dali Pour Homme/Ralph Lauren Polo and hints of the Max Philip Cannabis-wildly adventurous piney exoticism. There is indeed something wild and woodsy in this fragrance encapsulating the essence of adventures in high mountain-forests. Cannabis was launched in 2019 and the nose behind this fragrance (as for many fragrances of the brand) is Cristian Calabro. I can't say to be familiar with cannabis as I'm not a consumer but I've smelled many times the aroma of freshly harvested calabrian mariuana. There is a sort of vaguely camphoracaous rootiness in it, something really grassy bitter and at same time earthy and aromatic. I see many traits of it in this fragrance (I can't really understand how can be possible for somebody it does not smell about cannabis unless I suppose they have never smelled any kind of it), a fragrance which under my nose smells anyway brighter and more citric/aromatic (despite I get also a sort of ancestral tea tree's effect slighly conjuring a blend of clary sage, rosemary, oakmoss and pine). Bergamot, lime, sage and aromatics-piney notes actually provide this "open air" (absynth's like) sunny fresh vaguely floral (chamomille?) effect as a characteristic trait of this fragrance but the rooty/woody dry down deflects towards something more in line with old-school chypré fragrances (anyway never too massive or overly woody, just finally slighly soapy as for a tad of vetiver/tobacco in the blend). Bois 1920 Cannabis is a naturalistic botanic-inspired outdoor fragrance ideal for an immersion in to a rich of forest wild ambience (ideal for biking or tracking) or for a mountain-day with frosty air and all around the smell of smoke exhaling from the chimneys of the little village's houses.

Wow, I love it! I actually do get the smell of cannabis from this, I get a dirty, skunky, earthy cannabis smell, that mimics the fabulous Mousse Illuminee.

The problem that lies with fragrances, aiming for smell like weed, is that they rely too much on patchouli,and they try to manipulate that ingredient in order to clone the smell of weed. And they get close a lot of times, but they never quite nail it. I think it’s nailed here and specifically a type of strain that I am thinking of is Sour Diesel, which has the same green, dirty, earthy, “motor oily” vibe, but there is a noticeable fruity undertone here, and I can’t quite pinpoint the fruit. Something of a citrus, which makes me think of Lemon Cookies, or maybe Orange Haze hybrid. My days as a pothead are mostly over, but if you’ve smoked, or handled any type of marijuana in flower form, in the past 15 or so years, then you know how greatly the smells can vary. It’s not like the old days where you had to pick seeds and stems out of your “regs”.. if ya know.. ya know. But this is a fragrance review and not a marijuana review, and I am really quite proud of this fragrance and what it has accomplished.

The problem is just like with tobacco is that the smoked form wearing it on your body versus the flower form, do not smell alike. The smoked form usually smells like crap. Like.. do you know anybody who smoked a cigarette outside and has all of the smoke lingering around them, and on their breath, and then walks inside, have they ever smelled good? No, absolutely not! However with marijuana it’s a little bit different because the smoke is thicker. Therefore, it doesn’t really cling to you the same way that tobacco smoke does, and it doesn’t break down the same way that tobacco does, where tobacco might smell, ashy and smoky — smoked weed smells more like just a lighter version of its raw natural form, but with “skunky” effect, that us pot-heads (and former) love lingering in our noses.

The the thing about this fragrance that has left me, dumbfounded is that it smells like both types of marijuana, both non-smoked and smoked form. Now I will say that when I go in close for a sniff, it does seem to smell mostly citrusy, although a very good citrus and a very appealing citrus.. but as it projects off the skin and becomes aromatic, it really does smell like I just got high, and that the smell is lingering in my nose, and that is really quite amazing that they are able to replicate this.

I’ve only worn it a couple times now from a sample, but my bottle just came today, and I’m gonna get some real world testing out of it. I may or may not update this review, depending on if my perception changes. Essentially, the goal is for somebody to ask if I just smoked weed.. that is how you know that this one is good.

I will say that this is not a safe blind buy, and this is not going to appeal to a lot of people. The longevity and performance is excellent, and it damn near smells like weed from beginning to end, but I do think there is going to be a fair group of people that are going to be repulsed by this one, because it actually does what the name says, and it smells like weed.. and weed is a very acquired smell.

Nothing special. Mixes your typical geranium-lavender Wilkison's shaving soap with some greens.

Which greens? Petitgrain, mint and that's about it. Everything just sort of rides on the geranium.

Doesn't smell like cannabis at all so why would you name it like it that?

What is it good for? Maybe for the 1 in 1 million customer that would like his Wilkinson's/classic barber shop fragrance to be a bit more green.

Cannabis by Bois 1920 (2019) doesn't really smell like pot to me, but neither do many of the fragrances seeking to channel the vibe of marijuana, possibly because I lived around so many who grew or smoked it most of my life coming up on the streets of Baltimore. Despite that, the smell is pretty good if green grassy chypre accords are your thing, or old-fashioned interpretations of vetiver a la Guerlain. Bois 1920 is supposedly a revived perfume company from 1920 that only survived 5 years in its original incarnation, but has since expanded into a mid-tier niche outfit (inbetween $100-$200 at least), long past the point of claiming to recreate anything from its alleged history. So many houses in this market segment take this play straight from the Creed handbook of "how to niche" that I am no longer riled up by it, I just gloss over the backstory and go right to the perfume. At the heart of it, this is a "nu-chypre" devoid of oakmoss, but containing everything else that would earn it an academic gold star for an aromatic citrus chypre, so if you approach it that way, Cannabis is easier to process.

Speaking of the perfume, Cannabis is composed by Christian Calabro, who has mostly worked with niche houses like Bois 1920 and House of Oud, so there is a certain expected element of "olfactive exclusivity" which typically translates to rehashing styles of 40-50 years ago and passing it as more luxurious than the abstraction that stands in for mainstream designer perfumes. In this case, we get dry bergamot right in the top, galbanum, the "cannabis" note (which smells like a garrigue blend of Italian herbs to me), then a heart of clary sage. Lots and lots of clary sage comprise this heart, with zero lavender or geranium to uplift and sweeten it, so you're reminded of a Wiccan shop with baskets of smudge hanging for sale (don't ask where I've been). After that, it's vetiver, cashmeran, labdanum, and dry patchouli boom pow! Wear time is going to be about 7 hours ish and sillage isn't huge, as neither is projection. This feels very spring and maybe summer oriented to my nose, but fall isn't out of the question, and no... this is not work safe. Where I'd use Cannabis? A day spent outside where the extreme green elements feel most appropriate is a likely place.

The big thing about Cannabis is green notes and dry citrus over a dialed-in mossless chypre base that might do well enough for modern noses but without said oakmoss instantly strikes out with artisanal snobs or vintage boomerites caught in an olfactive timewarp. Someone I enjoy talking to mentioned a "futuristic hive nose beyond the reach of IFRA" that is likely more open to abstract interpretation bearing little resemblance to that source inspiration (like Le Labo products not smelling like how they're labelled and so on), and that makes sense to me as the target when smelling Cannabis by Bois 1920. If you like "garrigue" style green fragrances, this is one to look into, but if you're wanting an authentic interpretation of cannabis bud you can wear on skin, this one is not going to get it done. Bois 1920 is a bit tough to sample, but you can order decants from splitters online in the worst case, as the shock value of something like a perfume based around pot makes good profit fodder for decant sellers, since folks might pay for the experience but not want to own a full bottle. Thumbs up.