Fragrance family
Woody fragrances
Dry, warm, quiet. Woody fragrances smell of cedar, sandalwood, vetiver or patchouli. They do not push themselves forward, and they still last.
Find out whether wood suits you
18 questions, about five minutes. The result costs 9.99 euros, and you pay only afterwards.
How to spot them
The impression is dry rather than sweet. No sugar, no fruit, little blossom. What remains recalls pencil shavings, a warm sauna, or damp earth after rain.
The four woods
- Cedar – dry, clear, slightly pencil-like
- Sandalwood – creamy, milky, soft
- Vetiver – earthy, smoky, grassy
- Patchouli – dark, damp, almost chocolatey
How it feels
Wood stays close to the skin. It does not call across the room; it is noticed by those who come nearer.
That makes the family easier to wear at work than a sweet or floral one.
The three neighbours wood is confused with
In Michael Edwards’s wheel, four woody families sit side by side. The difference lies in what stands next to the wood.
Mossy woods
Wood plus oakmoss and patchouli. Classic, bitter, close to the chypre structure. Clearly cooler than plain wood.
Dry woods and leather
Wood plus smoke, tar or leather. Harder, read as more masculine, stronger in the evening than during the day.
Woody amber
Wood plus amber and vanilla. Sweeter and warmer. Most modern men’s fragrances sit here, not in plain wood.
Plain wood
Wood without sweetness and without smoke. The most reserved of the four, and the one that smells least of a trend.
When wood works
Wood lasts longer in cool air than in heat. In warmth the dry part fades faster and the sweeter companions remain.
There is no evidence for this: neither retail nor manufacturers state occasion or season. Anyone sorting by them is guessing. That is why neither enters our scoring.
What the concentration changes
Eau de toilette, eau de parfum and extrait differ in the share of fragrance oil, rising in that order. More oil usually means longer wear.
Fixed percentage limits are not laid down in law, and the houses disagree. So ask about the concentration, not about the price.
Where the limit is
Wood reacts strongly to skin chemistry. The same cedar can read as clear on you and as scratchy on someone else. No source records that, and no question derives it.
That is why every recommendation ends the same way here: the test on your skin decides.
Your next step
The test tells you whether wood comes out in front for your answers – and which three fragrances qualify, with the reasoning sentence by sentence.
Find out whether wood suits you
No account, no sign-up. You pay after the questions.