Vendor: The Saltworks Company
Cherry Oakee
Cherry jam with toasted almonds, leathery warmth
Oak in perfume smells dry, sturdy and woody, like a cut plank or an old barrel. The collection holds 350+ perfumes that list oak or oak wood as a note; prices start around $10 and reach about $675.
Oak is the hardwood used for furniture and for the casks that age wine and whisky, so an oak note can read as plain dry timber or as a hint of a cellar. Perfumers build it from woody materials. It is different from oakmoss, a lichen with a green, mossy scent that has its own page.
Among the perfumes people discuss in the communities Scendira tracks, Thomas de Monaco Raw Gold and Parfum d'Empire Salute each list oak. Both list oak in the base, Raw Gold beside honey, patchouli and cigar and Salute beside musk and oakmoss.
Suits: People who like dry, woody, cellar-like scents. Skip if: a dry, plank-like woodiness feels austere on you.
Oak sits inside the woody perfumes family, and oakmoss perfumes or cedarwood perfumes are close relatives.
Vendor: The Saltworks Company
Cherry jam with toasted almonds, leathery warmth
Vendor: Vince Camuto
bright citrus berries over soft powdery florals
Vendor: Tada Parfumeur
sweet rum, caramel smoke over warm woods
Vendor: Krigler
oak barrel cognac, caramel-apple sweetness, smoky warmth
Vendor: Fueguia 1833
woody sap and oak, sweet red berries
Vendor: The Nose Behind
cool melon and citrus over crisp musk
Vendor: Ralph Lauren
Cold lime and grapefruit soda, faint woodiness
Vendor: Tom Ford
green resinous wood, smoky pepper, plum on the breeze
Vendor: Vilhelm Parfumerie
smoky leather, oak wood, bitter citrus
Vendor: Les Nereides
smoky cedar incense over warm amber resin
Vendor: Alexandria Fragrances
warm cognac, sweet vanilla, spiced caramel
Dry, solid and woody, like timber or a barrel.
No. Oak is the wood of the tree, while oakmoss is a lichen that grows on it with a green, damp smell.
In Thomas de Monaco Raw Gold oak sits in the base with honey, patchouli, cigar and saffron, and in Parfum d'Empire Salute it sits with musk and oakmoss.