- Splendid Wood (Le Vestiaire des Parfums) Yves Saint Laurent
- Gypsy Water by Byredo
- Eau des Merveilles Bleue, Hermès for Women
- Tam Dao by Diptyque
- Nomade Chloe for Women
- Aesop Tacit
- Cuir Intense Guerlain
- Oud Wood Tom Ford
Crisp, resinous, earthy, warm, sometimes dry, and sometimes damp ーthese are the distinct characteristics of woody fragrances.
Woody Notes
Woody notes are influenced by nature and give depth and sophistication to any scent. Considered as the cornerstone of perfumes, woody notes have been a mainstay in many perfume compositions. Because of this, several olfactory subfamilies that have an affinity with woody notes were formed such as aromatic woody, woody aquatic, woody chypre, woody floral musk, and woody-spicy.
Materials coming from trees, resin, moss, bark, roots, pine cones, and bushes make up woody notes. Some grasses and leaves like patchouli and vetiver also carry similar attributes with wood materials.
Because woody notes have a sturdy, aromatic weight, their main purpose in perfumery was initially as a fixative. But they are now considered the main element in many fragrances because of their rich and sensual quality.
Woody fragrances usually include notes like sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, and vetiver. These notes have differing but equally woody scents. Sandalwood is velvety and sultry, cedarwood is dry and crisp, patchouli is earthy and sweet, and vetiver is smoky and leathery.
More and more of our favorite fragrances include woody notes in their composition as lush heart notes and robust base notes. Take a look at our picks for the best woodsy fragrances.
Best Unisex Woody Perfume
Woody notes used to be considered masculine and was rarely present in fragrances for women. But perfumers have eventually found that introducing fruity notes, florals, herbs, and spices to woody bases made beautiful perfumes that were more appealing to both sexes. Unisex and women’s fragrances now employ woody notes to make warm and sensual scents.
Splendid Wood (Le Vestiaire des Parfums) Yves Saint Laurent
Our top pick for a unisex woody perfume is Splendid Wood (Le Vestiaire des Parfums) from the house of Yves Saint Laurent. Launched in 2014, the noses behind the sultry perfume are Marie Salamagne and Amandine Clerc-Marie. The perfume is inspired by African culture which has been a great influence in the fashion houses’ many creations of wooden accessories and exotic dresses.
Splendid Wood has top notes of cardamom and incense, a floral heart of Sambac jasmine and rosebuds, and a woody base of cedar, cypriol oil, and oud. This is a woody-spicy fragrance that is led by the slight sweetness and spiciness of cardamom and sustained by the crisp freshness of cedar.
Performance and Occasions
It’s warm and calming. Splendid Wood is a perfect fall fragrance that can be worn day or night. Wear this at an important meeting or a first date for a boost of charisma and confidence.
The longevity is impressive and the sillage is enormous. You’ll be turning heads all day with this one.
Best Woody Aromatic
Aromatic notes of sage, lavender, rosemary, ivy, papyrus, and other spicy grasses are combined with woody notes to get a fresh, woody aromatic scent. The combination of aromatic and woody notes is mostly used for masculine and unisex woodsy fragrances.
Gypsy Water Byredo
The top woody aromatic fragrance on our list is Byredo’s Gypsy Water. “An ode to the beautiful Romani culture, its unique customs, intimate beliefs, and distinguished way of living”. This is what influenced the creation of Gypsy Water which was released in 2008. It takes cues from the magical and colorful lifestyle of nomadism.
With top notes of bergamot, lemon, pepper, and juniper; middle notes of incense, pine needles, and orris root; base notes of amber, vanilla, and sandalwood. This is reminiscent of the intensity of gypsy nights in the middle of the forest with the sharp citrus, warm amber, grassy pine needles, and rich sandalwood. The creamy vanilla also makes it sweet and lavish softening the complex blend of notes.
Performance and Occasions
Gypsy Water is made for nighttime. The smokiness from the incense, the spices, and the damp woody notes make it more of a warm-weather evening scent. This would be a nice date night scent because of that.
The sillage is on the softer side. It slowly develops and makes time for each of the notes and it stays close to the skin. You can get whiffs of this over a long duration but it remains to be a quiet scent throughout its wear.
Best Woody Aquatic
Woody notes at the heart merging with fresh aromatics and aquatic notes. These scents are typically inspired by the sea and marine life. It has been dominated by masculine fragrances before but has now become a popular motif in women’s scents as well.
Eau des Merveilles Bleue, Hermès for Women
The best woody aquatic scent comes from the House of Hermes. Eau des Merveilles Bleue is a fragrance for women created by Christine Nagel. It is a dreamy scent taking on the challenge of creating a feminine scent without a touch of floral.
You are immediately greeted by the salty seawater notes and then the woody notes make their presence known. The sweet, musky, and earthy patchouli brings in the dewiness of marine life into the scene. There is an airy and cooling hint in this as well. It will make you feel like you are on a nautical journey with the wind blowing softly in the air. This counts as a classic blue juice for women.
Performance and Occasions
This has summer written all over, no doubt about it. You just want to get on a boat and feel the summer breeze right after spraying this on.
The brightness of this extends to a medium sillage. It’s there but it won’t shock everyone around you and the trail is not so strong.
For a fresh fragrance, it has pretty decent longevity at four to five hours on the skin.
Best Woody Floral Musk
The masculinity of woody notes is balanced by an introduction of feminine florals like violets, freesia, roses, and more. A musky base blends everything together into beautiful harmony. Woody floral musks are romantic, earthy, and romantic. They also made way for the creation of many woody fragrances that suit both men and women.
Tam Dao by Diptyque
Tam Dao is our pick for the best woody floral musk. This is a true classic that has been in production since 2003. The concept for this fragrance is Diptyque founder Yves Coueslant’s memories of his childhood, the holy forests of Indochina, and the burning sandalwood in the temples. This recollection is illustrated by the rich and velvety scent of Mysuru sandalwood and the cooling notes of bright cypress and myrtle.
The fragrance is a soothing blend of woody notes and florals starting with top notes of rose, myrtle, and Italian cypress. At the heart, there is that sandalwood accompanied by cedar. And at the base are a blend of spicy notes, amber, white musk, and Brazilian rosewood.
It’s warm, therapeutic, and alluring. There is also a meditative vibe from it so if you are in need of tranquility and some R&R, this can help you get into that mood.
Performance and Occasions
Tam Dao is best worn on a cool day in autumn. It’s more for daytime wear because of the bright, spicy, and fresh notes.
Longevity is fairly decent, around 4 to 5 hours before it fades away completely.
Best Woody Chypre
When you blend the traditional elements of chypre fragrances like bergamot, oakmoss, and labdanum to wonderful woody notes, you get an invigorating, fresh scent that reminds you more of nature. Woody and chypre notes won’t really have a problem blending in together. In fact, they create a perfect union of scents.
Nomade by Chloé for women
A perfume that has taken note of this very well is the Nomade Chloe. This floral woody chypre scent was created by Givaudan perfumer Quentin Bisch and was launched in 2018. Nomade wanted to highlight other powerful scents besides florals. The vision was to make a “dirtier” Chloe perfume. It is meant to evoke the bold and adventurous side of Chloe women. It inspires freedom, surprises, and empowerment.
This is the reinterpretation of a rose as the chypre and woody notes take a step forward in the composition. Mirabelle and citruses orange, lemon, and bergamot make up the top notes. The middle notes consist of rose, peach, jasmine, and freesia. The base is made up of sandalwood, white musk, patchouli, amber wood, and oakmoss.
Performance and Occasions
It is like a busy day in spring in a bottle. Nomade is a daring fragrance that can jumpstart your day but it still feels classy and elegant. It’s also a compliment monster, so prepare to be showered with praises with this on.
This perfume stays on for about 6 to 8 hours with medium sillage. Not too overpowering but enough to get noticed.
Best Woody Spicy
Spices like cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and nutmeg warm up soft and pleasant woods. Woody and spicy scents are lovely for cold winters. But when fruits are introduced into the mix, the sweetness and brightness make for a refreshing scent that goes great with warm weather as well. Compositions of this woody subfamily cater more to men and unisex fragrances than women’s.
Tacit Aesop for Women and Men
Now for our best woody-spicy scent. A collaboration of Aesop with perfumer Celine Barel, Tacit was introduced in 2015. The inspirations for this fragrance is the fresh notes in traditional colognes and the Mediterranean culture, topography, and fragile, perfumed vegetation.
Tacit’s refreshing composition begins with sparkling citrus notes with an emphasis on yuzu. The heart brings in a Mediterranean touch with green basil. The spicy and sturdy base is made up of cloves and vetiver. The formula is simple, warm, and elegant. It is an easy scent to wear and the people around you will also enjoy it.
Performance and Occasions
The freshness of the citruses and the yuzu makes this a good spring and summer fragrance. It’s really versatile and you can wear it whenever and wherever. It’s hard not to like this scent.
Its longevity is outstanding. The top notes won’t carry through but the scent after the dry down goes on and on.
Best Woody Leather
Many woody scents tend to have a leathery tone to them. Leather notes do not come from an essence. however. Quinolines, birch tar, cade oil, labdanum, safraleine, and other ingredients bring about the leathery scent in fragrances.
Cuir Intense Guerlain
Thierry Wasser is the nose behind our best woody and leathery scent. Cuir Intense by Guerlain is a fragrance for men in women launched in 2019. Leather is the actual inspiration for this opulent perfume. Thierry Wasser wanted to pay tribute to the strength, softness, and sensuality of the raw material.
Ylang-ylang and osmanthus are the top notes followed by middle notes of leather and musk. The scent closes off with a base of Virginian cedar, sandalwood, and tobacco. As soon as the skin warms up the scent, the leather note intensifies beautifully and then blends in gracefully with the lovely dry down.
Performance and Occasions
The sillage is enormous and you’ll blow everyone away with this. It’s something you need to be careful with, though. The intensity might be too much to some.
Longevity is expectedly amazing. This will last until the next day!
Best Warm Woody
Another character of woody perfumes that people are drawn to is the warmth woody ingredients bring. Warm notes like patchouli, amber, sandalwood, and oakmoss are responsible for this.
Oud Wood Tom Ford
The pick for best warm woody scent goes to Oud Wood which is part of Tom Ford’s Private Blend collection launched in 2007.
The headliner note in this fragrance is the warm and pleasantly sweet oud. This is accompanied by exotic rosewood, cardamom, sandalwood, vetiver, and sensual tonka bean and amber. This is a staple in most perfume collections for good reason. It is also great for layering to add more volume and warmth to other fragrances.
Performance and Occasions
This is a cold-weather fragrance that can warm up fall and winter evenings. Oud Wood can be your go-to for date nights and formal affairs.
Besides the lavish scent, Oud Wood is also favored because it’s super long-lasting and versatile.
How about you? What’s your best woody scent?