ESSENTIAL PARFUMS · EAU DE PARFUM · 2020

BOIS IMPÉRIAL

Name: Essential Parfums Bois Impérial Eau de Parfum
Brand: Essential Parfums
Price: 94.00 EUR
Rating: 8 (2 reviews)

Crushed Thai basil and grapefruit-tinged Timut pepper strike against Akigalawood — a wood upcycled from patchouli — over Haitian vetiver and a long, ambery Ambrofix trail.

Olfactive family: Woody · Aromatic
Perfumer: Quentin Bisch
For: Unisex

OFFICIAL BOUTIQUE€94 · 100 mlOfficial EU price

Official boutique

Official EU price checked 22 August 2026 for the 100 ml refillable Eau de Parfum spray; a 150 ml refill is €80 and a 30 ml Perfume Extract €98. Price and availability may change; verify at the boutique before purchase.

Updated: 23 August 2026

Begin the portrait

HouseEssential Parfums

FamilyWoody · Aromatic

Year2020

Community scent score8.0/10

Your scent rating Choose your impression 2 community ratings

01Portrait

SECTION 01 · PORTRAIT

A wood upcycled from patchouli, and the fragrance built to prove it.

Bois Impérial is Essential Parfums' manifesto fragrance, and Quentin Bisch built it around one material: Akigalawood, a woody note produced by biotechnology from patchouli rather than harvested from a tree. The house doesn't publish a note pyramid — it describes a single continuous composition where crushed Thai basil and grapefruit-tinged Timut pepper contrast against that wood, with vetiver and Ambrofix carrying the trail.

“I created this fragrance around a precious and extraordinary wood: Akigalawood.”
— Quentin Bisch · Essential Parfums · verified quotation

Scent accords

01Woody

86%Dominant

86%
02Aromatic

58%Strong

58%
03Peppery

48%Moderate

48%
04Earthy

42%Moderate

42%
05Amber

36%Supporting

36%
06Floral

20%Subtle

20%

Accord intensity reflects an editorial estimate based on note structure and wear profile.

BEFORE YOU SAMPLE

It may not suit you if…

It's frequently compared to Dior's Bois d'Argent, and if you already know that fragrance well, Bois Impérial can read as derivative rather than original.
The Ambrofix-driven trail is powerful and persistent, sharp before it settles into something smoother.
The brand does not publish a top-heart-base pyramid, so if you want a clearly staged development this isn't presented that way.

Performance and perception vary by skin, climate, application and formulation. Sample before buying whenever possible.

02The olfactive journey

NO OFFICIAL STAGING — ONE CONTINUOUS COMPOSITION

Essential Parfums presents this as a single woody accord, not a pyramid — so here's what actually stands out.

ALL AT ONCE

Green, peppery and woody, arriving together.

The house describes Bois Impérial as a contrast rather than a sequence: freshly crushed Thai basil meets the sparkling peppery and grapefruit facets of Nepalese Timut pepper absolute, set directly against the bold woody signature. Haitian vetiver adds green earthiness, Georgywood contributes cedar tones, and Petalia lifts the woods with a freesia-like floralcy. Akigalawood — upcycled from patchouli through biotechnology — is what the brand says truly signs the fragrance, with Indonesian patchouli and Ambrofix deepening the base.

GREENPEPPERYWOODY

EXPLORE THESE NOTES

Akigalawood Thai Basil Vetiver Patchouli Timut Pepper

03On skin

FROM FIRST SPRAY TO LATE DRYDOWN

The life of the scent.

OPENSBASIL AND TIMUT PEPPERThai Basil · Timut Pepper

Green and peppery with grapefruit brightness — sharper than the name suggests.

EARLYTHE WOOD ARRIVESAkigalawood · Georgywood · Petalia

The woody signature settles in, lifted rather than weighed down.

LATEVETIVER AND AMBERHaitian Vetiver · Patchouli · Ambrofix

Earthy vetiver and patchouli under a long ambery trail.

8:00+THE TRAILAmbrofix

Wearers consistently describe it as unusually diffusive for the price — the brand calls the lasting power extraordinary.

04The perfumer

Quentin Bisch, perfumer at Givaudan — **Quentin Bisch**Perfumer · Givaudan

QUENTIN BISCH STARTED FROM THE MATERIAL, NOT THE IDEA

The perfumer behind the portrait

Quentin Bisch has said he built Bois Impérial around Akigalawood specifically — a wood produced from patchouli by biotechnology — then dressed it in fresh spices to create what he calls a great woody note made of contrasts. It became Essential Parfums' manifesto fragrance and, five years on, the house's best-known release.

“I created this fragrance around a precious and extraordinary wood: Akigalawood. Adorned with fresh spices, it is a great woody note made of contrasts, between patchouli and Thai Basil.”
— Quentin Bisch · official Essential Parfums perfumer page · verified quotation

PERFUMER: Quentin Bisch
HOUSE: Essential Parfums
LAUNCHED: 2020
OFFICIAL NOTES: Thai Basil · Timut Pepper · Haitian Vetiver · Georgywood · Petalia · Akigalawood · Patchouli · Ambrofix

View the Quentin Bisch profile and all connected Parffolio fragrances →

05Community

STRUCTURED EXPERIENCE, LESS NOISE

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THE RIGHT MOMENT

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FINAL IMPRESSION

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07Scent conversations

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BOIS IMPÉRIAL

Essential Parfums Bois Impérial at a glance

A wood upcycled from patchouli, and the fragrance built to prove it.

It may not suit you if…

Green, peppery and woody, arriving together.

The perfumer behind the portrait

When does it come alive?

Which words fit your wear?

Gris Charnel

Tilia

Bois d'Ébène

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