The Heritage
The Story of Fragrance Du Bois
Fragrance Du Bois is a Paris‑based perfume house that builds its catalogue around sustainably sourced oud. Since its launch, the brand has paired the deep, resinous character of the wood with bright accords such as rose, orange and violet, offering both classic extracts and modern hair‑mist formats. Its collections aim to make the rare ingredient approachable without sacrificing the depth that collectors expect.
Heritage
Fragrance Du Bois emerged in 2013 when Jonnie Swarbrick gathered a small team of perfumers and botanists who shared a concern for the rapid depletion of wild oud trees. The founders travelled to Indonesia and Malaysia, meeting harvesters who still used age‑old techniques to extract oil from mature Aquilaria trees. By 2015 the house had secured a partnership with a cooperative that practices re‑planting and selective tapping, a model that later appeared in industry case studies on sustainable fragrance sourcing. In October 2016 the brand opened its first Asian retail presence at Parfumerie Trésor in Hong Kong, a boutique known for curating niche scents. The following years saw a rapid expansion of the oud line: 2017 introduced Oud Intense, a pure expression of the wood; 2013‑2020 the house released a series of “Intense Hair Mist” fragrances – Oud Rose, Oud Orange, Oud Jaune and Borneo Oud – each designed for a lighter application while preserving the depth of the base oil. 2024 brought Lucius, a composition that blends oud with citrus and marine notes, and 2026 added Cayman Bleu, a fresh, aquatic take on the traditional oud structure. Throughout its growth, the house has kept its production in small batches, using French blending facilities that allow precise control over ingredient ratios. The brand’s story has been covered by The Perfume Society, which highlighted its role as a protector of oud habitats, and by independent trade publications that note its early adoption of sustainable sourcing practices within the niche perfume sector.
Craftsmanship
Sourcing begins with a network of certified growers in Southeast Asia, primarily in Indonesia’s Kalimantan region and in Malaysia’s Sarawak state. The growers follow a protocol that limits the age of trees harvested for oil, typically selecting only trees older than ten years that have naturally produced resin after fungal infection. After extraction, the raw oil is shipped to a French laboratory where it undergoes a cold‑filtration process to remove impurities while preserving volatile aromatics. The house works with a small group of master blenders in Grasse, who combine the oud with supporting notes measured in gram‑scale batches. Ingredients such as Bulgarian rose, Sicilian orange blossom and Madagascan vanilla are sourced from suppliers that hold ISO‑9001 certification for quality control. The final perfume is aged for three to six months in temperature‑controlled vaults, allowing the complex molecules to integrate. Bottling takes place in a Parisian facility that uses hand‑blown glass, with each bottle inspected for uniformity before being sealed with a screw‑cap that includes a tamper‑evident liner. Quality checks include gas‑chromatography analysis to verify the concentration of key oud markers, ensuring that each release meets the house’s strict aromatic profile.
Design Language
Visually, Fragrance Du Bois leans toward a restrained elegance that mirrors the depth of its scents. Bottles are typically dark amber or deep mahogany glass, allowing the colour of the oil to show through, and are finished with brushed gold or matte black caps. The label design uses a minimalist serif typeface, with the fragrance name embossed in relief. Packaging for the hair‑mist line adopts a slimmer, spray‑ready silhouette, yet retains the same colour palette and subtle metallic accents. Marketing imagery often features natural textures – bark, stone and water – photographed in soft, natural light, reinforcing the brand’s connection to the environment. Retail displays in boutiques are arranged on reclaimed wood plinths, with scent strips presented in simple white trays, inviting the visitor to focus on the olfactory experience rather than visual clutter.
Philosophy
The house frames its creative vision around two ideas: respect for the source material and openness to new formats. In a 2021 interview, Brand Director Nicola Parker explained that the initial inspiration came from a desire to secure a reliable supply of ethical oud oil, a commodity that was then subject to over‑harvesting. The brand therefore invests in traceable supply chains, insisting that every drop of oil can be linked back to a specific plantation and harvest season. At the same time, Fragrance Du Bois seeks to democratise the experience of oud, offering hair‑mist versions that deliver the scent in a lighter, more everyday medium. The company’s values emphasize transparency, environmental stewardship and a reverence for traditional French perfumery techniques. Each launch is preceded by a brief research phase in which the team studies the botanical profile of the chosen oud, then translates that character into a narrative that may reference a place, a memory or a colour. This disciplined approach keeps the brand’s output focused and avoids the vague promises of “redefining” fragrance that appear in many marketing decks.
Key Milestones
2013
Fragrance Du Bois founded by Jonnie Swarbrick and a creative team focused on sustainable oud.
2015
Secured partnership with an Indonesian cooperative that practices re‑planting and selective tapping of Aquilaria trees.
2016
Debuted in East Asia at Parfumerie Trésor in Hong Kong, expanding the brand’s international presence.
2017
Released Oud Intense, the first pure oud extract in the house’s core line.
2020
Launched a series of Intense Hair Mist fragrances – Oud Rose, Oud Orange, Oud Jaune and Borneo Oud – broadening the format of oud usage.
2024
Introduced Lucius, a citrus‑marine oud composition that received coverage in niche fragrance blogs.
At a Glance
Brand profile snapshot
Origin
France
Founded
2013
Heritage
13
Years active
Collection
4
Fragrances released
Avg Rating
4.1
Community sentiment
Release Rhythm