Woodhue for Men (1938)
by Fabergé

I acquired a vintage bottle of this and had no idea what to expect. Fortunately, the top notes seem to still be as strong as ever, since I can't imagine them being any stronger! There may be a wood note up top, but since I try to avoid top notes I don't want to make any definitive claims about that aspect of it. The drydown has moderate projection/"sillage" with good longevity. Imagine Dior Homme's drydown, but with no tobacco note. That would be similar to Woodhue for Men. The lavender is DH is stronger (if there is any lavender in WfM), but the "vibe" is very similar. In other words, it comes across more as a a somewhat sweet, leathery, powdery fragrance. Instead of cacao, WfM has more of a minty quality. There's probably a wood note in the drydown, but it's way in the background, so I'd advise against blind buying this if you're looking for a strong wood fragrance.

9th August, 2011.

This is a review for the Woodhue I bought at the Vermont Country Store in Weston, Vermont. Packaged and marketed as far as I can tell as the original. I sure hope it is not. I was entranced by the packaging, retro vibe, and potential when you take a whiff of this in the bottle. I like unusual scents from the past. Upon application you get an embarassingly feminine floral baby powder scent, that doesn't seem to develop. I'm glad no one was around when I tried this on, I smell like a dainty old lady. Maybe overtly flowery, powdery scents for men were O.K when this was originally released? Somehow I doubt it. This is the first time I've considered returning a fragrance. Save yourself the money. If you are simply dieing of curiosity, go rub yourself down with baby powder, a spritz of your Grandma's White Shoulders and tah dah! you're wearing Woodhue.

27th June, 2011.

I bought a bottle of the new version, and it reminds me a lot of the vintage ladies version circa 1966. My mom wore it a lot. I like it. It's pretty short-lived. Maybe not quite as rich and long-lasting as the vintage ladies scent.

I read somewhere that vintage Woodhue For Men is exactly the same thing as the ladies version, just repackaged so guys wouldn't be embarrased about buying or wearing it. I don't know if that's true, but it's a good story.

The bottle looks a lot like the vintage bottle I remember.

Does it smell like the original Men's version? Dunno. Never smelled it.

Overall, I paid $20 for a bottle of it. Not bad for a little nostalgia trip. And the smell is really pretty good. I'll probably wear it a few more times before I make up my mind about whether it's actually good stuff. In any case, you could spend far more and do far worse.

Update Aug 11: ditched it. I got tired of the generally weak, synthetic vibe. A kind basenoter sent me a sample of the rich original -- it is divine by comparison. It would be great to have a decent reproduction of this back in circulation.

18th September, 2010. (Last Edited: 26th August, 2011.)

A word of warning for mad-eyed vintage fragrance hounds. I bought this on eBay, after some effort and at a price. Completely original, part of a beautifully packaged gift set (that also included Aphrodisia and Act IV), dating back to early seventies by the looks of it. I can't give this one a definitive thumbs-down because of old age (of the fragrance), but the Woodhue I had (and the other two) exuded that musty-dusty, old-lady-boudoir smell typical of many vintage mid-market fragrances, kind of the same note that you can faintly discern (albeit in a much more refined form) in Derby or Ho Hang.

7th September, 2006.

This is without a doubt...The king of the woody fragrances. It was an instant classic in it's day. And you can find it on ebay, once in a while. But it's very expensive and rare. That said...It's simply the best woody fragrance ever made...Hence the name...Woodhue.

26th September, 2005.

It's been probably 20 years since I have smelled this one, but I remember liking it; would love to smell it again.

29th August, 2005.