Seeking woody scent

[mamamia]

I am looking to see if anyone can help me find this holy grail. I got a sample of Boyfriend by Kate Walsh. I was not really liking the opening or middle, but the perfume mellowed down into this divine woody scent that I just wanted to wrap myself in. I am thinking there has got to be a great perfume somewhere that will give that same fantastic woody comfort fragrance without the preceding "meh" beginning.

For the record, I hate tuberose and extremely heavy scents as they tend to suffocate me, as does anything that is super sweet. Sugar does not do well on my skin.

Any ideas?

Thank you so much!

[Twolf]

Do you know what type of wood? There are several, most popular being sandalwood and cedarwood.

Guerlain Samsara contains the most sandalwood known (in extrait concentration). Lots of niche offerings are based on both woods (Serge Lutens and Sonoma Scent Studio, are just the first two that spring to mind). We also have plenty of fans of the inexpensive, on the budget excellent Roberto Cavalli fragrances -- Original, Serpentine and Oro. How well are you versed on JCEllena scents with his (sometimes excessive) use of IsoESuper which DOES go mellow and enveloping on some skins and which some people can't stand?

Among the personal favorites -- Yves Rocher Cedre Bleu.

[mamamia]

The wood in Boyfriend is called Vanilla Wood, whatever that is. It smells somewhere between cedar and mahogany to my nose. Just warm, a bit resinous and comforting. I am not really good at discerning the individual woods, which is something I would like to explore, since I had to keep sniffing myself. Every time I smelled my arm, I kept saying "I do not know why this is so attractive to me, it smells like fresh cut wood."

I looked at JCEllena's profile and I have Bvlgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert (1992), the others I do not think I have tried.

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot to ask, is Samsara very heavy? Some of the big orientals just get so overwhelmingly heavy on my skin that I wind up feeling like they are strangling me. However, I also dislike anything that smells too clean. I dislike laundry or shampoo smelling perfumes, which is a shame since I admire them on other people.

[cacio]

I have not smelled the Kate Walsh scent. To me, the ultimate woody comfort is $$$ Chanel Bois des Isles, a smooth, almost creamy sandalwood. This scent was also the inspiration for Chanel Egoiste (the regular Egoiste, not the Platinum Egoiste), which is marketed to men but will work just as well on women. While Bois des Isle can be found only in Chanel boutiques and is very expensive, Egoiste should be available in some dept stores like Bloomingdales or the like (but not Macys) and is not very expensive.

As Twolf was saying, Serge Lutens is famous for its cedary woods. The first one is Feminite des bois (=femininty of the woods), a rich, candied fruit woody scent. But then he has a few more. His woods do add some sweetness, but only a touch of candied fruit, nothing like the syrups prevalent in many modern feminine scents.

Samsara is indeed very heavy. If you like certain scents but are overwhelmed, you can limit the number of sprays and spray in parts of your body far from your face. That is, do not spray your cleavage or neck, but your belly or your legs. Also, you can spray on clothes instead (again, away from your face), since clothes will emanate less perfume than the skin.

cacio

[mamamia]

I will have to try and find samples of the Serge Lutens line. They sound intriguing. I will also snoop through Marshalls tonight and see if I can find the Egoiste innexpensively. They usually have more high end brands this time of year. Sonoma Scent Studios looks interesting too. Hmmm.

Someone in a review said that Boyfriend smells of sandalwood, so I guess I will start there.

And thank you for the tip on application. I generally do spray on my back and lower half, since I have made the mistake of spraying my cleavage with something new and thought I would die from the horror of it all.

[mikeperez23]

I think Eau des Merveilles by Hermes and Boyfriend are very similar, that's one you should try. It is basically an ambergris prominent scent, but you should try it anyway.

[Zibeline]

SL makes lovely woods. I also like some of Ava-Luxe scents, Moksha and Palisander stand out as great wood fragrances. And, I know we can't get it, but I thought Mike Storer's Winter Star was beautiful, with a fresh cut wood vibe. Think I'll wear it tomorrow