Ex Nihilo
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Cardamom blooms with aggressive warmth whilst pink pepper delivers a sharp, almost aggressive bite—the spice accord immediately registers at 88%. This opening feels slightly jarring, unapologetically peppery, demanding you acknowledge its presence before anything else unfolds.
As the initial spice mellows into a low hum, white cedar emerges with a cool, slightly smoky character. Cyclamen appears green and faintly powdery, whilst heliotrope adds a whisper of almond-tinged florality that prevents the composition from becoming entirely woody. The fragrance settles into an elegant restraint here, sophisticated and contemplative.
Cypriol becomes increasingly prominent, adding a slightly smoky, almost incense-like quality. Sandalwood and patchouli deepen the woody base into something dense and resinous, whilst musk provides a barely-perceptible warmth that keeps the fragrance clinging to the skin without projection. What remains is intensely private—a woodsmoke accord that feels almost meditative.
Bois d'Hiver arrives as a deliberate contradiction—a winter fragrance that refuses to whisper. Michel Girard has constructed something architecturally austere: the cardamom and pink pepper opening immediately establish a spiced intensity that feels almost confrontational, like biting into black cardamom before the warmth settles. This isn't a fragrance cosying up to you; it's a fragrance that demands attention.
The white cedar forms the spine here, cool and slightly resinous, whilst cyclamen introduces an unexpected floral restraint—not sweet, but green-tinged and slightly astringent, as though you're smelling a flower pressed between aged pages. The heliotrope adds powder without softening the composition's fundamental severity. There's a deliberate tension between the fragrance's spicy, peppery opening and its woody, almost austere middle ground.
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3.2/5 (107)