Why This Cult-Favorite French Fragrance Smells Different on Everyone
Like the Breton-striped T-shirt multiple goop staffers own, No.04 Bois de Balincourt has become part of the unofficial uniform around the office—a fact made clear in a meeting a few months back when at least five of us shared that it has been our signature scent for years (even though it smells slightly different on everyone).
It’s not just because it’s French—though it is, in fact, created by one of our favorite French fragrance houses, Maison Louis Marie. It’s that the scent itself—a mix of warm sandalwood and cedar with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vetiver—is sexy yet comforting, without feeling overtly masculine or feminine.
Its unisex appeal is part of how it ended up at goop in the first place. “I was shopping for a man friend (now my husband) when I discovered Maison Louis Marie No.04 at the Steven Alan store in New York (RIP),” says Sushii Liu, senior beauty and wellness buyer. “At that time, everyone was wearing or talking about wearing Le Labo Santal 33—and we were looking for something different, but that would share a similar warm, woody, spicy DNA.”
But long before we discovered the magic of No.04 Bois de Balincourt, it began as a memory for its founder, Marie Du Petit Thouars. “It’s one of the most personal fragrances I have ever created, named after my family home, where I spent much of my childhood surrounded by forests, old trees, and nature,” she says. “Fragrance has a remarkable ability to transport us, and every time I wear No.04, it brings me back to those memories in a way that still feels incredibly emotional.”
No.04 Bois de Balincourt, 3 Ways
Scientists have a name for this: "olfactory evoked nostalgia.” According to Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago who has studied the phenomenon, the exact smells that conjure up those memories tend to vary by region—on the East Coast, it's the smell of flowers; in the South, fresh-cut grass; in the Midwest, farm animals. It's a reminder that what a scent evokes is built entirely from personal history.
While Du Petit Thouars still wears No.04 regularly, “today, it feels less like my own personal scent and more like something I share with a community,” she says. “It has become part of so many people's lives and memories, and that has been incredibly meaningful to witness.”
Having the same signature scent as so many other people might seem, well, beside the point—but once it touches your skin, your unique skin chemistry means one fragrance is never quite the same twice, says Zerlina Dubois, master perfumer at Osmo, an AI-powered scent design platform.
“The natural community of microorganisms that lives on your skin can subtly influence how fragrance ingredients transform and evaporate, shifting the balance between the top, middle, and base notes. —Zerlina Dubois, master perfumer”
No.04 opens with top notes of sandalwood and cedarwood, moves into a heart of vetiver, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and settles into a base of amber wood. But which of those notes you notice—and when—depends largely on your skin.
Skin type is one factor. On oilier skin, fragrance molecules evaporate slowly, allowing the scent to last longer. “The richer base notes often become more prominent, so the fragrance may smell woodier, creamier, sweeter, or muskier,” Dubois says. If you have drier skin, on the other hand, fragrance molecules evaporate more quickly, so you’ll typically notice the top notes first, before the heart, and eventually the woody, ambery base notes emerge.
Your skin microbiome is another. “The natural community of microorganisms that lives on your skin can subtly influence how fragrance ingredients transform and evaporate, shifting the balance between the top, middle, and base notes,” Dubois says. “On some people, this can make a fragrance smell sweeter, warmer, or muskier than it does on someone else.”
“No.04 may reveal more sandalwood on one person, while someone else experiences more of the warm spice or earthy woods. —Marie Du Petit Thouars, founder of Maison Louis Marie”
So, if you’ve noticed that Bois de Balincourt smells a little different on you than your friend, it’s not in your head: “No.04 may reveal more sandalwood on one person, while someone else experiences more of the warm spice or earthy woods,” Du Petit Thouars says.
Even your day-to-day lifestyle can subtly shift how a fragrance smells on you. Exercise can warm up the fragrance, helping it “smell stronger and more powerful,” Dubois says. Your diet plays a role too, since the foods we eat—and even the balance of proteins and carbohydrates—can subtly affect our natural body scent, Dubois explains. “When that natural scent combines with a fragrance, it creates a truly personal olfactive signature.”