By Redolia Editors · Published September 29, 2026
Bois Impérial and Bois Impérial Extrait are the same Quentin Bisch composition for Essential Parfums at two strengths, and unusually the house prints the number on the glass: the eau de parfum label reads 16%, the extrait reads 32%. The eau de parfum is $130 for 100 ml; the extrait is $145 for 30 ml. Which you should buy comes down to texture and season, not loudness.
What Bois Impérial smells like
Essential Parfums released Bois Impérial in 2020 and it has been the house's best seller since. The brief is luminous woods. The house's own description starts with freshly crushed Thai basil leaves meeting the peppery, sparkling facets of grapefruit and Nepalese Timut pepper absolute — a bright combination set against what it calls the fragrance's bold woody signature.
Underneath, green Haitian vetiver oil echoes Georgywood, an exclusive molecule with strong cedar tones, and the floral lift comes from Petalia. What actually signs the fragrance is Akigalawood — an ingredient the house describes as upcycled from patchouli through a biotechnological process, with a woody-spicy character. In plain terms it smells like polished cedar with pepper and clean musk running through it, and it is the reason this fragrance reads expensive at $130.
What changes in the Extrait
Essential Parfums launched the extrait in 2024 and is direct about the brief: "Explore the nocturnal side of Bois Impérial. Worked as a quintessence of the original fragrance, Bois Impérial Extrait takes you to the fragrance's nocturnal side. Darker, richer, stronger, it reveals itself with a new sensuality and a rare intensity, with double the concentration of the Eau de Parfum."
That is the important distinction. The extrait is not a reformulation with a new note pyramid bolted on — it is the same composition read at twice the strength, which is why the house publishes one ingredient story for both. What you notice on skin is weight. The basil-and-pepper opening is shorter and less sparkling, the woods arrive sooner, and the whole thing sits closer to you.
The mistake people make is assuming double concentration means double projection. It does not. Reviewers who have worn both consistently describe the extrait as denser, more compact and more enveloping rather than louder — the texture changes before the reach does. If you want Bois Impérial to fill a room, two sprays of the eau de parfum will get you closer than one spray of the extrait.
Bois Impérial vs Bois Impérial Extrait: the comparison
| Eau de Parfum | Extrait de Parfum | |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration (printed on bottle) | 16% | 32% |
| Launched | 2020 | 2024 |
| Size and price | 100 ml, $130 | 30 ml, $145 |
| Price per ml | $1.30 | $4.83 |
| Character | Bright, green, polished woods | Darker, denser, more resinous |
| Best season | Year-round, good in heat | Autumn and winter |
| Best for | Office, daytime, everyday | Evenings, cold weather, short range |
The price-per-millilitre line is the one worth sitting with. You pay roughly three and a half times more per spray for the extrait, for double the concentration. That maths only works if density is specifically what you are after.
How Bois Impérial compares to the woods you already know
Against Le Labo Santal 33, Bois Impérial is the brighter and cleaner of the two. Santal 33 is dry, smoky and leathery, with a cade-and-iris edge that a lot of people read as sour on first wear; Bois Impérial has no smoke in it at all and opens green and peppery instead. Bois Impérial is also the easier one to wear in an office, and it costs meaningfully less per millilitre.
Against Tom Ford Oud Wood, the difference is the material at the centre. Oud Wood is built on agarwood softened with vanilla and tonka, so it reads warm and slightly sweet; Bois Impérial has no oud and no sweetness, and gets its depth from Akigalawood and vetiver instead. If Oud Wood has ever felt cloying to you by hour four, Bois Impérial is the dry alternative.
And against BDK Parfums Gris Charnel, which we sell in the same two-concentration format: Gris Charnel is warmer and more intimate, built on black tea, fig and cardamom over iris and sandalwood, where Bois Impérial is cooler and more architectural. Gris Charnel is $290 for 100 ml against $130, so they are not competing on price either. If you want the same EDP-versus-extrait question answered for that fragrance, we wrote it up in Gris Charnel vs Gris Charnel Extrait, and the Gris Charnel Extrait is in stock too.
So which should you buy?
Buy the eau de parfum first, in almost every case. It is $130 for 100 ml, it works in heat and in an office, and it is the version the fragrance was designed as. Three-quarters of the people who ask us this question want a woody signature they can wear daily, and that is exactly what this bottle is.
Buy the extrait if you already own and finish bottles of the eau de parfum, and specifically if you wear it between October and February. At 30 ml it is a supplement to a wardrobe rather than an entry to one. Buy both only if you like having a day version and a night version of the same signature — which is a real thing people do with this fragrance, and the reason the extrait exists at all.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Bois Impérial and Bois Impérial Extrait?
Concentration, and Essential Parfums prints it on the bottle: the eau de parfum reads 16% and the extrait reads 32%, exactly double. The house calls the extrait 'a quintessence of the original fragrance' that takes it to its nocturnal side - darker, richer, stronger - rather than a reformulation. Same perfumer, Quentin Bisch, same woody spine.
Is Bois Impérial Extrait worth it?
It depends on what you want more of. At $145 for 30 ml the extrait costs $4.83 per millilitre against $1.30 for the 100 ml eau de parfum, so you are paying roughly three and a half times as much per spray for double the concentration. Worth it if you wear Bois Impérial in cold weather and want density; not worth it if you mostly reach for it in the office.
Does Bois Impérial Extrait project more than the eau de parfum?
Not necessarily, and this is the part people get wrong. Higher concentration changes texture before it changes reach - reviewers consistently describe the extrait as denser, more compact and more enveloping rather than louder. If raw projection is what you are buying, two sprays of the eau de parfum will often do the same job for less money.
What does Bois Impérial smell like?
Woody, peppery and luminous. Essential Parfums builds it on freshly crushed Thai basil, grapefruit and Nepalese Timut pepper absolute over Haitian vetiver and Georgywood, a cedar-toned molecule, with Akigalawood signing the base - a woody-spicy ingredient the house describes as upcycled from patchouli through a biotechnological process. It reads clean and polished rather than dark.
Bois Impérial vs Le Labo Santal 33: which is better?
They solve different problems. Santal 33 is dry, smoky and leathery with a cade and iris edge that some people read as sour; Bois Impérial is brighter, greener and more polished, with basil and pepper on top and no smoke at all. Bois Impérial is the easier one to wear to work, and at $130 for 100 ml it is considerably cheaper per millilitre.
Is Bois Impérial unisex?
Yes, and Essential Parfums sells its whole line without gender. Nothing in the composition is coded - there is no floral heart and no vanilla base, just basil, pepper, vetiver and woods - which is why it turns up on so many shared-bottle lists. Both the eau de parfum and the extrait are sold the same way.
Which lasts longer, Bois Impérial or the Extrait?
The extrait, and by a clear margin, because that is what doubling the concentration buys. The eau de parfum is a comfortable working-day fragrance; the extrait holds through an evening and leaves more on a scarf the next morning. Cold weather suits the extrait considerably better than heat does.
Should I buy Bois Impérial or Gris Charnel?
Bois Impérial if you want clean polished woods you can wear anywhere, Gris Charnel if you want something warmer and more intimate - BDK Parfums builds that one on black tea, fig and cardamom over iris and sandalwood. Bois Impérial is $130 for 100 ml and Gris Charnel $290 for 100 ml, so they are not really competing on price. Both are also sold as extraits if you end up wanting the denser version.
Both are in stock and ship from New Jersey, and the rest of the house sits on our Essential Parfums collection — nine fragrances, every one with the perfumer's name on the bottle. If you want to settle this on skin rather than on paper, both bottles are open on the counter at our Somerville, New Jersey boutique. Questions: info@redolia.com.
Updated September 2026.