She Wood (2008)
by Dsquared2

Green, woody, and sappy… Quite a natural opening that is not at all feminine. It is more like the cut stems of fresh greens: It’s clean and refreshing, but certainly not light. Too much violet for me in the middle notes, but these violet notes don’t disgust me as violet notes usually do, so that’s sort of a plus for me. Of course, when there are violets present, I can’t smell the other notes – in this case heliotrope and musk – in the heart. Nice base: coniferous and woody with a touch of sweet amber, but the over-lasting of the violet note reduces the experience.

I’m not too sure that this is a very original fragrance. It seems to me that I have experienced somewhat the same scent in several unisex fragrances – it just doesn’t seem very original to me. I think it’s an acceptable quality fragrance, well made with good ingredients. I love the sappy ambiance of the opening… the rest of She Wood is not very interesting to me, but I think those who like violet notes could possibly enjoy this one.

DSquared^2 She Wood

Notes: lemon, jasmine, neroli, violet, heliotrope and musk, cedar, vetiver and vegetable amber (from www.nstperfume.com)

She Wood has to be one of the least pleasant fruity-floral-woody-oriental fragrances I have ever experienced. It has wet, aquatic notes up front that are like a combination of watermelon juice and ozone, made sour by something that reminds me of Jolly Rancher Green Apple candy. Next is a headache-inducing accord of dryer-sheet white florals blended with bitter wood notes and some spicy clove. Overall, She Wood is an absolutely nauseating fragrance that is full of jarring juxtapositions that all work against each other. This is a scrubber.

A total surprise. As usual when I purchase a scent, I received some "samples". Ds2's She Wood was among the goodies. What I expected was the lastest explosion of oceanic-ozone-doused-in-grapefruit; what I got through my olfactory sense was something quite different.

Permit me to admit that I'm pretty old fashioned when it comes to my scent preferences: stuff like Arpege, Jicky and Eau Sauvage suit me. So when this baby boomer discovers a scent marketed by a house calling itself Dsquared2, it would be easy for me to dismiss. And when I whiffed She Wood, I expected to turn up my nose and toss this little vial, vial into my bathroom trash bin, Instead, I kept sniffing and sniffing. Long story short, it smells glorious on my skin; it's a modern scent without screaming "enter my fruit bowl". There is wood in there, but it's a gentle wood surrrounded by citrus and flowers and musk. The packaging that enclosed the vial (of a softy-pink juice) reads: Notes of lemon, jasmine petals, neroli bigarade, violet blossom and leaves, musk, vetiver, cedar wood and vegeal amber.

I've tried this pretty pink juice on several occassions over the past month and the joy of it's fragrance hasn't faded. It's "robust and flavorful" without being pretentious or demanding; it's a beautiful wallflower that whispers " please enter my space". I think I'll buy some of the real stuff once my samples are depleted. She Wood is a very pleasant modern surprise for an old fogey.

I love this fragrance and the nice lady at Nordstrom who gave me two samples of it because she had no bottles to sell me.

The first time I wore it, I did indeed get some woods and mosses from it, but its drydown was all violets. Subsequent wearings have yielded entirely violets and dirt. I love it! It makes me feel like a woodland fairy. I sniff my wrist all day when I wear this. I will definitely be buying a bottle when Nordy's gets a shipment.

Meh. With a name like that, I was hoping it might smell like... wood. It smells to me like lemon soda and amber, kind of in a fizzy way. The drydown is light and sweet. Boring, inoffensive and wood-free. I might have liked it better if it been named more accurately, Ambre Petillante perhaps (Fizzy Amber). For a feminine wood, I like Sensuous for a light rendition, or Feminite du Bois if you want real cedar and true gorgeousness.

I like She Wood, but where's the wood?? I guess I shouldn't complain, as so many feminine fragrances recently practically hit you over the head with too much artificial sandalwood or cedar (Jasmin Noir, Armani Code). From the name, I just expected a woodier scent.