Perfume Review: Bogner Wood Woman

I have heard marvelous things about Bogner Wood Woman. It was said to be somewhat similar to the two of my favorite scents, Donna Karan Wenge and Matthew Williamson Incense. It is also unavailable in the States, thus inevitably making it seem all the more appealing. Bogner is a German fashion house established in 1932 and known for its sportswear. Bogner Wood Woman, released in 2003 along with Bogner Wood Man, is one of their recent scent launches. It was created by perfumer Evelyne Boulanger and is described as “a balanced harmony between the strength of dry and vibrant woods and the tender sweetness of vanilla, musk and sandal notes”. The notes of Bogner Wood Woman sound extremely appealing: almond, cinnamon bark, pistachio wood; jasmine, iris, lily of the valley, “milky notes”; vanilla, rosewood, sandalwood, cedar, white musk, almond bark. It is with much regret that I report, the reality of Bogner Wood Woman on my skin is rather less spectacular. Granted, I am a bois junkie and love my woody scents to be rich and robust, so keep that in mind when reading my complaints of the lack of tenacity and intensity of Bogner Wood Woman. Still…because of all the vanilla, the almond, the jasmine and the iris, the woody notes do not seem to occupy as prominent a position as the name would make us believe. The cedar, the rosewood and the sandalwood are too toned done, too understated. Strong and vibrant woods these are not. There is a vaguest of hints here indeed of the spicy wood scent like Wenge or Williamson’s Incense, buried under the milky-creamy-almondy vanilla accord. It is a hint of what Bogner Wood Woman could have been like if the creators chosen not to dilute the woody notes as much as they did. As it is, Bogner Wood is very wearable, very pleasant and very unremarkable. It is often available on eBay from European sellers, for about $30.00-40.00. *The image is from Bognerwood.com.