ISABEL DERROISNE LE TEMPS DE REINES (LE JOUR)

Isabel Derroisne Les Temps de Reines a.k.a. The Predecessor to SL Féminité du Bois.

Among vintage perfume collectors, there are fragrances we chase not because they’re rare, but because they represent a moment in perfume history – a turning point. Féminité du Bois was exactly that. I had been searching for its little sister for ages: Les Temps Des Reines. Little not by its composition, more so for it being not widely known by the public.

It was created by Christopher Sheldrake right before he left Givaudan to join Serge Lutens. And once you smell it, you immediately understand: this scent carries the DNA of what would later become Féminité du Bois as we all know it, the perfume that forever reshaped the landscape of modern perfumery.

Think back to that era. A woody-fruity fragrance for women? Practically unheard of. When Féminité du Bois debuted, it stunned the perfume world. Its spicy, resinous, cedar-plum structure was revolutionary. Overnight, it opened the floodgates to an entire genre that would become wildly popular among women across the globe. Les Temps de Reines, earlier creation, is unmistakably part of that lineage.

What binds this fragrance to its famous successor? Sandalwood – creamy, warm, and structural. Generous amounts of benzoin – sweet, resinous, incense-like. A spice wardrobe that reads like a Sheldrake calling card:

• cloves
• cinnamon
• ginger
• cardamom

Les Temps de Reines spicy blend radiates warmth and density, wrapping the woods in a kind of autumnal glow. It feels more golden and honeyed in comparison to SL and I love it more for that very reason.

And let’s not forget the dried-fruit nuance (dark, chewy, slightly sticky) which gives the composition its boozy, liqueur-like shimmer. It’s not literal plum, yet it hints at the idea that Sheldrake would later develop into the iconic plum-cedar accord of Féminité du Bois.