Woody Fragrance

Woods that share only a word

Anyone who has smelled these woods side by side stops using the category as a shortcut. The gap between the softest and the loudest of them is wider than the gap between most fragrance families, and it is the usual reason somebody decides they dislike woody fragrances after meeting just one of them.

• Sandalwood is creamy and soft. Milky, warm and faintly sweet; the most forgiving of them and the gentlest at close range.
• Cedarwood is dry and sharp. Pencil shavings and clean paper, and the wood that cuts through a bright opening most cleanly.
• Vetiver is earthy and green. A root rather than a timber, with damp soil, grapefruit peel and a faint bitterness in it.
• Oud is dense and medicinal. Sweet, resinous, slightly animal and extremely persistent; nothing else in this catalog is as loud.

Reading the label for the wood

Woody blends often carry more than one of these materials, so look for the wood named on the label before anything else. Knowing which wood leads saves working through a shelf by trial.

• Sandalwood. Often paired with spice, smoke or a soft fruit opening.
• Cedarwood. Usually sits under grapefruit or another bright citrus.
• Vetiver. Often set beside marine or citrus notes, which pair it with something bright.
• Oud. Frequently joined by leather, saffron or resin; approach it carefully if you have never worn oud.

How close somebody has to stand

These woods differ as much in reach as in smell, and reach is what people forget to consider. Sandalwood and cedar stay near the skin and are noticed by somebody already in conversation with you. Oud does not stay anywhere; it occupies the room. Vetiver sits between them. Picking a wood is therefore also picking how much space you take up, which matters far more in some places than others.

• Sandalwood and cedar stay close. Each is comfortable in a car, a booth or the office perfume bracket.
• Oud travels. One press is a decision made on behalf of everybody present, which is why it belongs to evening perfume.
• Vetiver is moderate but unmistakable. Low in volume and high in character, which is a rare and useful combination.

A sensible order to try them in

If woods are new to you, the order to meet them in is not the order they appear on a shelf. Start with the forgiving one and finish with the uncompromising one, because being wrong about oud is the costliest mistake in this category.

• Begin with sandalwood. Soft, warm and very hard to dislike, which makes it a fair test of whether woods suit you at all.
• Move to cedar if you want it drier. The step from creamy to crisp is the easiest adjustment in the group.
• Try vetiver if those feel too smooth. It adds bitterness and earth without adding weight.
• Leave oud until last. Treat it as a separate decision rather than the next rung up the same ladder.
• Woods sit naturally under a bright opening. Which combinations exist is mapped on the citrus fragrance page.