Persian Wood

And what will today's vintage Avon be?...Persian Wood! All right, another one that was absolutely forbidden growing up, let's go! Vintage bottle from circa 1983. First drops applied to neck, wrists and pits. Right off the bat I got a warm aldehyde opening and a WOW sandalwood! After about 20 minutes into the drydown I picked up a definite spice mix and patchouli and...maybe a bit of oud? That would make sense, given the name of the perfume. It could be a slight civet though. Just a gentle, warming, slight stank that adds to it. I know that sounds weird, but it's true. Hour 2 and I'm getting definite vintage Youth-Dew vibes! I quickly double check the dates both scents came out and yeah, I have no doubt this is Avon's sister scent. Not a dupe, but definitely "inspired by". Hour 4: And she's gone. As usual, this is normal for vintage Avon colognes. I hold out to hour 6 for reapplication. Noon reapplication: The lovely woods and spice scent are stronger this time. I found myself really enjoying this one, giving my shoulders gentle sniffs periodically. Hubby stops at home for lunchtime and gave his thumbs up to this one too. I only have a tiny half ounce bottle, so I skip a bedtime application, and spritz on a little Cinnabar instead. They go very well together. I know it's still summertime and 109° outside here, but that's never stopped me before.😍 So, she's a warm, woody amber scent, overall a great wintertime into Spring fragrance, she's a bit dated, and she definitely has the vintage "Avonade" that now reads as "Grandma's baby powder" but she's a very soothing smell to me. This one was discontinued in the 90's along with most of Avon's classic scents from the 50's and 60's, but you can still run into it out in the wild. If the price is pretty good, say under $20, you should go for it. You're not going to find a vintage bottle of Youth-Dew floating around for that (at least I never have!). This one's a definite keeper for me, and I will be on the lookout for more bottles out there too. 🥰💘

I am reviewing the fragrances from an Avon demonstration set from 1968 that mysteriously hasn't gone off. Persian Wood was a big surprise. It has made me really reconsider early Avon fragrances. It opens with a fantastic animalic, resinous, leathery orange flower with a huge woody aromatic lift that reminds me of the opening of Bal a Versailles parfum. It veers off into a civet, incense, and sandalwood oriental in the mid notes with a minimal floral presence. In the end, it is a sweet and pretty sandalwood with a wisp of smoke and very subtle leathery nuances. This fragrance remarkably doesn't suffer from the usual problems that Avon fragrances have, which is either being too unbalanced or too simple. This is simply good!

WOW! I wore this in high school and thought and felt sooo sophisticated. As I expected, Avon identifies such few notes I'm left wanting more info. For example, what comprises a bouquet of exotic flowers from a Persian garden? Perfume is my ticket to travel to those exotic Oriental markets, tropical paradises, cool green forests, water lily covered ponds, romantic eateries in expensive restaurants, VENICE... I'll never visit except in novels or travel programs on TV. I'm a dreamer and fragrance and Fragrantica sreviews are my passport. I hang on to every note and review. Sigh...

This is an absolute favorite of mine, aside from Chantilly by Houbigant. I don't think I'd ever heard of "Persian Wood" before. I got this not even a week ago now from Goodwill and been so excited about it! It reminds me of Cotillion also from Avon, which I had also bought at a Goodwill sometime in 2018. I noticed Cotillion has a more flowery scent compared to Persian Wood. I had never thought of Cotillion as flowery before. They smell alot alike to me though. I would say the fragrance notes are accurate, but otherwise scents like this are hard to describe for me.

I have a tiny little bit left in my bottle but it is in a clear bottle so the smell has faded somewhat. I have had my bottle since the '70's so no doubt it has faded some. I use to love this perfume so much! It is still one of my very fave of the older Avon scents and I wish they would bring it back with it's 1st. formula. There are so many older scents I wish Avon would replay but.... for some reason Avon is keeping their best scents in retirement! If you can find a bottle of Persian Wood that is still fresh, try it for yourself. You will be happy you did.