Some of you may remember the hoops Kevin had to jump through in order to get his hands on Dsquared2′s debut scent, He Wood, last year. Thanks to the glory that is Nordstrom, my story is happier, but less entertaining: I just walked in, picked up the tester, and asked them to make me a sample. Done.
I’ve never been able to make up my mind about He Wood. I like it well enough and find it pleasant to wear, but I’m not wildly enthusiastic: the dry down is maybe a bit more clean and a bit less wood than I’d prefer. Regardless, it’s certainly not the über-masculine concoction you might expect from the name and the packaging; in fact, He Wood apparently has plenty of female fans already, and Dean and Dan Caten, the founders of the DSquared2 label, took pains to point out that they weren’t after something über-feminine with She Wood:
…they wanted to create a modern woman’s scent for the “cool girls who wear men’s scents.”
“We started from a men’s fragrance and made it feminine. We didn’t start off by saying let’s do woman’s fragrance,” said Dean Caten.
“It’s not that girly that we can’t wear it, I like doing fragrances that are a bit more unisex. Both of our scents are complementary and timeless,” Dan Caten added. (via wwd, 5/16/2008)
Like He Wood, She Wood was developed by perfumer Daphne Bugey, and the woody floral centers on three themes: light (lemon, jasmine, neroli), sap (violet, heliotrope and musk) and wood (cedar, vetiver and vegetable amber). I’d agree it isn’t so girly a man couldn’t wear it, but it’s clear they wanted at least a touch of girly in the top notes to attract those women giving it a quick shot on paper at the fragrance counter; the opening ventures briefly into mainstream pink ‘n fruity territory. When it settles down, the heart is a mild, rather bland floral, with the violet and pale woody-earthy notes of He Wood wrapped here in a soft vanillic gauze.
Like He Wood, She Wood is quiet — almost a skin scent. Unlike He Wood, which like it or hate it, at least had the virtue of not smelling like every other men’s fragrance on the market, She Wood isn’t interesting or unusual enough to stand out from the (massive) competition. I had no trouble at all making up my mind: it’s fine and very wearable, but I don’t need any. It’s worth a try (almost everything is worth a try), but if you’re a cool girl who wears men’s scents, you might be better off with He Wood.
Dsquared2 She Wood is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum and in matching body products.
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Hold on! Are He and She in stock at Nordy's now? I'm itching to get my hands on some He Wood after losing out in an online auction last month — I really like it (and probably like it even more since it's so danged hard to get!). The 30ml bottle is a huge plus.
She certainly doesn't sound so thrilling.
He doesn't seem to be there other than the aftershave — but Sephora has the 30 ml for $40.
I was wildly enthusiastic about this when I first sniffed it – about to impulse buy a FB even, but settled for a second carded sample in another branch of Harvey Nicks. Now that the honeymoon period is over, I do agree that it isn't that distinctive, though I think it is nicer than Sensuous, which is marred for me by its sweetness. This one also has the coolness of Sensuous or Narciso Rodriguez, but there is a clean citrus twist to it that sets it apart from either of the others. Lovethescents remarked that it reminded her of hand lotion, and she is absolutely spot on – there is indeed a hand lotiony quality to it. I will now dampen my ardent rating to 3.5 out of 5, where 5 is a state of frantic lemming. Above all, I think I like it as I had a lovely time out wearing it in London the night I got the sample…Also, the wood veneer top is very cool and reminiscent of the Canadian forests where these perfumers reputedly hang out.
Just noticed that on Sephora also — see how little 'fanfare' these things get when they finally become available? LOL. At least it's good to know that it's around whenever I finally decide I *really* want it.
“If you're a cool girl who wears men's scents”, by all means, ditch the boring fruity florals and continue to wear Encre Noire! It's a lovely frag for these cool fall weathers, if I do say so myself.
3.5/5 is right. It is nice enough for one to enjoy one's sample, end of. As for the Canadian forests: living in Canada and having been in different forests in Quebec, NB, Ontario and BC, I can't say this scent reminds me of any of them…unless of course someone walking in front of me was wearing this whilst in said forest(s).
Vanessa, on that scale, I'd give Sensuous a 4 (I don't have any fanatical feeling about it either way, but did buy a small bottle and have used it since) and She Wood a 2 (even if someone gave me a bottle, it'd probably sit ignored in my cabinet) and He Wood a 3 (would wear it if somebody gave it to me).
Wonder if they sent Daphne Bugey to Canada? I have to say that both He & She are supposed to be “outdoorsy” and neither strikes me that way at all.
Neither reminds me of forests either, or even the outdoors. Too clean to be forests.
So true! I think She Wood in general seems to have incited way less interest than He Wood — saw very few frantic posts asking when it would get here.
I'll vote for that!
I prefer the He Wood over the She Wood- the cedar is too strong to my nose, and the amber too light.
Both are at Nordstrom, and all locations have testers and samples but not every store will be stocking it. It will be a special order. I think the buyers scaled back their expectations.
I once read an article saying that more than half of all men’s colognes are bought by women, which is why the best-selling men’s fragrances are those best liked by women.
Bobby
http://make-homemade-fragrances.blogspot.com
LOL!!
I will re-test my Sensuous, as sweet scents are not really your bag, are they, so maybe this isn't as sweet as I remember. And I do have an out of character soft spot for the new Chloe, so who am I to diss sweet!
Well, there are some sweet (even candy) scents I do like — just not usually my favorite category. But have to say most people seem to find this far sweeter than I do — I think it's me who is out of step!
Thanks.
Because of the economy you mean, or because of this particular scent?
Am currently conducting a wrist-to-wrist sniff-off amongst She Wood, Sensuous, NR For Her and SJP Lovely. Remarkable similarity in overall vibe! I think they are all 3 to 3.5 to be honest, but you are quite right – Sensuous is not as sweet as I thought. I think I now genuinely like it as much as She Wood, and the other two a little less. There is an in-your-face muskiness about them. And I speak as an owner of a FB of Lovely, haha!
You are good! How long have you had them on? Because 2 hours in, I think you're going to rate Sensuous higher than She Wood. On me at least, She Wood kind of fizzles out, Sensuous really doesn't.
Oh cool, I am not the only girl loving Encre Noir for myself?! It is a 4.5 – lemming, yes, beeing able to afford it: not yet. I rock the samples instead. Why oh why did I turn to this hobby? And I am at the beginning *lol*
Luckily I got a bottle very cheap at a discount store. It's a great scent.
I really loved SheWood, but I got very little wood and lots of violet.
It isn't overly woody, that is for sure. Glad you loved it!
I really wanted to love this scent, as the list of components intrigued me. Tried it at Sephora, even asked to bring a sample home, and have applied it 3 times in an attempt to capture its notes. Such a bummer! I wonder if HeWood is more interesting? I say 3 stars- and that's generous.
I think it's more interesting. I'd give this one 2 stars, and the one for men 3 1/2 stars.
I tested She Wood two days ago, and all I got was a sweet sap smell, maybe some exotic flower (jasmine?) in there, but no wood to speak of. I love cedar and seek it out……even D&G Light Blue has more cedar than She Wood.
And no, it really does not smell like a Canadian forest. Now if someone could do a really-Canadian-forest women’s fragrance with pine and cedar, that still smelled feminine, I’d be impressed.
Yep, it’s not a very woody scent.
so i guess the flanker to she wood will be called She Wood Velvet Forest Wood. its notes are to be violet leaf and musk, galbanum, pine needles and green leaves, ambergris, vetiver and patchouli. if this is true im really looking forward to it! sounds way more earthy and exciting to me then the original! and the bottle and packaging arent pink which is another plus for me! cant wait!
I hope it will be earthier! I still haven’t smelled the men’s flanker.