Woody fragrances are some of the most renowned and admired fragrances within the world of perfumery and it is certainly for good reason. Adored by both men and women, the woody fragrance family is extremely versatile, palatable and extensive. With a wide range of sub-families within the woody category to choose from, there is undoubtedly something to be found for everyone. However, being so spoilt for choice can make this family complex to navigate when it comes to choosing which scent is for you: Get it right, and you’ll find your signature scent for life.

Fragrances that sit in the woody family are ones where the formulas are dominated by "woody" ingredients. Woody ingredients tend to come most commonly from trees – often the bark, leaves and roots as well as mosses that lie beneath and resins that the trees produce. Distinctly known as being more masculine in nature and for their ability to provoke nostalgia of outdoor aromas, woody fragrances also tend to be extremely long-lasting due to their formulas being heavily made up of rich materials that sit in the base notes.

Perfumer, Olivier Creed, together with his son, Erwin Creed, still travel the world to source, research, inspect and commission the finest natural materials available for their perfume creations. Within their woody signatures, you’ll often find vetiver, sandalwood, cedar, birch and oakmoss nestled into their formulas. These ingredients have stood the test of time and helped perfect some of The House of Creed’s most iconic scents, including the Aventus Collection , Green Irish Tweed, Viking  and Royal Princess Oud .

Woody fragrances can take on many different characters depending on the other ingredients that surround the woods and the story that the perfumer sets out to tell. It is important to understand the complexity of the woody fragrance family in order to understand which one is best suited to your style. Fragrance families are designed to help make your scent search more approachable. When a perfumer creates a new fragrance, they do not necessarily think about which family they’d like their fragrance to fit into, which can mean that a fragrance can sit across multiple fragrance families. Often, you get very different styles of woody fragrances, as a perfumer draws on other ingredients to form the complete olfactive experience. We’ve narrowed our woody fragrances down into five main sub-sections to help you choose the right woody scent for you.