The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Vert des Bois had a problem: it was too good, and then it was gone. Tom Ford's Private Blend original built a following the hard way, through poplar bud sharpness, olive tree creaminess, and that anise-plum sweetness that made it impossible to forget. The Dua Brand launched Green Bois in 2021 as a reconstruction of that discontinued classic, an extrait de parfum in a 30ml flacon that takes the original's profile and renders it accessible again. It wasn't designed to be Vert des Bois. It was designed to bring it back within reach. The woody sweetness, the green snap, the anise that threads through everything like a vein: that's the target, and the brand doesn't pretend otherwise.
Poplar buds are the unusual choice here. They give a balsamic-resinous sharpness that feels both fresh and grounded, the kind of green that doesn't smell like a leaf so much as like sap still clinging to bark. Pair that with olive tree, and the composition pulls in a direction most fragrances avoid: creamy and sharp simultaneously, vegetal and woody in the same breath. The olive note reads almost like a nut milk, soft and lactic, and when it meets the poplar's bite the two create a tension that keeps the opening from collapsing into anything too smooth. The anise does the connective work.
The evolution
The first ten minutes belong to poplar buds and anise, sharp and almost mentholated before the fruit arrives. Plum blooms within the first half hour, sweetening the anise without dulling it, and the olive tree begins its slow work underneath, bringing a creamy almost-buttery quality to what would otherwise stay angular. By the second hour, jasmine has surfaced and receded, leaving a trace of white floral that softens the composition's edges without ever making it pretty. Patchouli anchors the base, dry and earthy rather than dirty, giving the wood somewhere to root. The tonka arrives last and stays longest, adding a low warmth that smooths the drydown over hours rather than days. What remains after six is tonka, anise residue, and a ghost of plum: close to skin, intimate, and recognizably the same fragrance that opened with such force.
Cultural impact
Green Bois exists in the space between tribute and substitute. The composition takes the Vert des Bois profile and reworks it, keeping the unusual green-cream-anise architecture intact while adjusting the formula for an extrait de parfum format. The anise-forward character keeps it from being a safe blind buy, but for wearers who connect with licorice-toned woods, it's a composition that rewards repeat wear across seasons. In warm weather, the poplar and green notes come forward with a sharp freshness that cuts through humidity.
