Woodcut

Woodcut: for when you absolutely, positively have to smell like a caramelized plank. And because I often do, this is meant as high praise. Extremely extrovert, big chunky pine essence almost harsh at first; then an interlude of muscular grapple with the big-beast caramel note making itself strongly felt, then gently mellowing down to somewhere perfect in between. Literal for sure: if you've ever got a piece of lumber awkwardly jammed in a mechanical saw so it began to scorch just a bit, as the wood's own resins bubble to the surface and begin to singe in the friction, that's absolutely the smell of Woodcut. Minimalist, too - there is no real sense of 'layers' or top-bottom-base here, or any startling progression over time. It could almost be a CDG modern-lab-built project, the mix is so stark and (in a way) so 'obvious'. But it's also a barnstormer - or a wood-workshop-stormer, really - because like so many Ellen Covey scents, it's deeply rooted in organic nature and it has the confidence to just do its solid, well-engineered, beautifully-worked THING, and be itself, when that is so self-evidently enough. It's so simple that it's almost cheeky: the direct, centred, perfectly-poised product of a secure artist with justified confidence in their own skill. They call it DASH, kids! Gender is irrelevant - the only question here is if/ how much you pine for pine's aroma, and whether it hits your own personal sweet spot on the woody-to-gourmand spectrum. (This can vary - on my skin it does have days when it's more pine-heavy, others where it comes over with bigger caramel.) Longevity varies from all-day to near-eternal depending on temperature, humidity, and whether it's on skin or fabric. But basically, whichever way it heads, it's always delicious, honest and impressive. Woodcut is simply wonderful work.

Eau de Woodshop! What wood would a woodchuck wear if a woodchuck could wear wood? Why, Woodcut, of course! This has got to be the most photo-realistic, evocative, experiential fragrance I've ever tried. It literally smells like a space where fresh lumber has just been cut using a semi-dull blade. Flakes of fresh cedar/fir sawdust settling on the floor, bright and sappy, damp edges, gossamer wisps of smoke issuing forth a sweet, caramel-laced air in the middle distance. Nirvana for the diy-er. Spectacular. I love this. But for the life of me, I just don't know that in its pure state, whether it's enough to want to wear it on its own, or to justify a FB buy at its going rate. I feel it could make for the heart of what might be one of the finest wood-based perfumes ever made. Wrap this in vanilla and incense resins and you might just have perfection. Update 12/18/20: Broke down an bought a FB after living with the sample for a while. Again, this is just the most realistic wood scent I've ever come across. That alone is quite a thing. But because it's such a pure wood essence, it can really compliment many different scent profiles. It's dynamite with the likes of western ouds like Oud Noir, vanilla heavy masculines like MBZ Club Black, or spicy and/or smoky scents like Visit -- all off which I've tried to really nice effect. For anyone who appreciates the ambient smell of a busy lumber mill, this stuff could well be your perfect wing man. If I may offer one criticism of this fine scent it's the sprayer. It's either a full on blast or a squirt, nothing in between. I'd prefer something with a bit more control when delivering a fragrance with as much punch as this. Easy enough to transfer to a decant sprayer, but at this price, I think a better sprayer should be expected.

Oh my goodness what a wonderful and unique scent . I received a generous 10 mil decant of this when I purchased a full bottle of another scent. I absolutely love Woodcut, but I fear it may lean too masculine. Ah the heck with it, I love it and I don’t care what anyone thinks. I wear perfume for me, not to impress other ppl who most likely have never experienced such beautiful and unique scents. You’d be surprised to hear how many ppl think perfume is the cheap crap u buy at Walmart for $10. I am so glad to have found other frag heads like myself that can appreciate a complex, unique and beautiful perfume. Even the scents that I don’t feel are for me, I can still appreciate the complexities and uniqueness of the scent. I don’t tend to like any Oudh, cannabis, leather notes or tobacco in my perfume, but IF it’s blended very well and it smells wonderful, I would welcome any of those notes(just not all in one perfume) lol. This one I will buy a FB of and spray hubby with it just so I can smell it on him. I bet this Woodcut scent on a man smells incredible. It smells incredible on me and while the initial intensity does calm down, it does last a long time and stays just as beautiful throughout the day. It’s a must have for any collector of unique and beautiful perfumes I will definitely be testing out many more scents from this house. I must get my nose on their other scents.

I'm thrilled to have finally gotten my nose on this one! I've been interested in caramel scents that aren't quite gourmand, and this certainly qualifies. At first spray, it transports me somewhere between a freshly cut pile of firewood in the fall, to a Christmas Tree stand in the winter! Initially, the caramel is a wash if at all. But oh the woods! So often "woods" translates to my nose as sawdust, and that's all, but this one really gets me. It smells like fresh-fallen leaves, sap, needles, and sawdust all at the same time. It's warm and cozy, and other than it screaming fall and winter, I feel that the notes are dry enough that it would be absolutely appropriate to wear in warmer weather (good for those of us living in tropical locations and craving cold-weather scents). The caramel comes out gently, gradually, and a bit shy. It never overpowers, and you have to be patient to get it, at least to my nose. This is also not one of the heaviest of the OO scents. I've now tested the majority of their scents, and none are understated. But this one is the closest to a universally friendly scent that they have. I'll test it a few more times to determine if I shall spring for a bottle, but at this time, it feels like a great candidate, and so unlike other scents I have!

Opening with strong cedar and pine needles, it then shifts to fresh cut pine and cedar sawdust (I confess I'm not sure what oak smells like). There is a warmth to it, like they've been sitting in the sun, and this stage feels like it could be one of those sparse minimalistic Japanese wood incenses. Slowly, the burnt sugar heart warms and sweetens the scent. It's a fairly simple and linear scent but very evocative. I'm an artist who works with many different mediums and this reminds me of long hours in the wood shop with sawdust swirling like dust motes in the patches of sun from the windows. Most of my perfumes smell better on me when I'm not fresh from the shower - I usually give it about 3 hours after I'm out of the shower before I test new perfumes because then it reacts with my skin chemistry and not just the fresh washed skin. On my skin this scent can have a sort of peanut butter note that I dislike. This peanut note doesn't show up on freshly showered skin or on clothing, so I wear it that way instead. I love the woody starkness of Tam Dao, but it's more on the sharp/tangy woody side, and Woodcut is more soft/warm. Good projection, medium/low longevity. Love.

I am so annoyed with this brand. I LOVE this scent. Which is why I have been saving it the past few years. I only wear it when I really feel inspired too, and often layer it with Sycamore from CHANEL. Even on its own this smells truly amazing. I keep it in the original box. So today I pull it out of the box to find more then half of it has evaporated!! How is that possible! I immediately checked my samples and discovered all of them had dried up. Some of them I hadn't even opened or tried yet. I like to take my time. They were only a few years old. I have much older bottles of perfume that have lasted decades. I keep my perfumes in a cool dark bedroom closet. I am really frustrated about this. This is always the problem I have with niche brands. The production quality just isn't there. I can appreciate the small batch artisan value of this brand though. And compared to most other niche brands, this bottle arrived quite professionally. I will really think twice before buying again. This is why I stopped buying from small perfume companies. I prefer better quality preservatives I guess?? (And air tight bottles where the juice doesnt evaporate).

This takes me back to my father’s woodworking shop and one of my favorite memories, when he made me a cedar box. I loved the sweet smell of the freshly cut wood, that little box became the receptacle for my first collection. “Flower Power” and “Peace” stickers, and those Wacky Pack parody stickers that I thought girls weren’t suppose to collect. So it’s no surprise that I love woodcut. One spray was plenty, lasting and projecting for hours. My advice to anyone who is getting nasal fatigue: go easy on the trigger and don’t spray on your neck or near your face. This is a good one for the back of the knee or wrist so you can catch a whiff as you move about. I first wore the sample splash from a discovery box, then bought a FB the same week. Today Woodcut is making me realize that what I really miss is that idealized version of my Dad, the kind of man seen through a little girl’s eyes.

Now this is woody. What Woodcut delivers is the enchanted lumberyard, a place where the cedar planks ooze their Butterfinger wood sugars, the knotty pine is nutty pine, the oak is malted-whopper delicious (mmm...oakwood absolute) and the topping of the day is always sawdust. Yet, Woodcut isn't gourmand: a dry, lightly smoky incense cuts through like a swinging censer and wood-camphor makes it clear this isn't wood that one can bite into. Be careful not to get splinters! In the dry down I detect something that reminds me of one of my favorite bases, Robertet Bois de Landes (fractional distillations of pine and cedar), pine resinous and fruity-lichen-y. There's also the suggestion of burnt sugar Maillard reaction toastiness, perhaps the effect of tolu balsam in the base. In summary, Woodcut is thus far the most fanciful woody fragrance I've discovered. 10/10.

absolute work of art. perfect woodiness, even somewhat of a dusty cabin like quality to it. I inhale it deeply and imagine a room at The Great Northern in Twin Peaks. from reading the notes, I was worried it would lean somewhat gourmandish, and less photorealistic. thankfully, my fears were unfounded -- the burnt sugar instead just gives it a lasting warmth and depth, rather than anything overtly sweet. if I hadn't read the notes prior to smelling, I'm not even sure I'd consciously register anything like sugar I have an obsession with dry wood notes, probably owing to some kind of pica, so photorealistic dry woods (actual wood, NOT green needles) are my favorite thing, and something that rarely delivers as much as I want. thankfully miss ellen covey did deliver for me this time!!

Woodcut- The equivalence of bank tellers flirting with you after checking your account. A wood fragrance that speaks all languages. I would love to see what the general consensus are regarding this fragrance. Woodcut is a conversation worth having. Large percentages of what smells like sawdust comes off as authentic as I've ever smelled any wood fragrance. Impressive for its savory power, the pine needle note gives it that perfumey manly touch but the caramel keeps it very much androgynous. Found here is an immediacy quality that makes you wanna spray your skin no matter the season...you have to smell it to understand it. A simple fragrance however, very necessary. Heaven does exist, it's a wood road to get there....

Lets throw more pine cones to the campfire! I found Dr. Ellen Covey’s perfumes by accident and fell in love with all of her creations. She have talent like no other to recreate scents as time capsules that brings you closer to your own past experiences. I just came back from family vacation by the giant redwoods and we stayed in beautiful log cabin. At night we had best time under the stars, by the campfire throwing giant pinecones, making delicious smores and passing jokes and funny stories. Best time ever! Every time I pull out this wonderful scent I want to go back to that family vacation. I like to layer my vanilla scented perfumes with this cloud of freshly cut resinous pine. Name was picked to perfection.

I love this fragrance, this is the other one that’s in my top 2 from Olympic orchid. I’ve never found a caramel scent I like on myself, they’re usually too milky or sweet, but I love this one. It opens with a very strong herbal wood scent, I do wish that would stick around stronger and longer, but I still love it. I feel that it turns to caramel very quick and the caramel mostly takes over. Because this doesn’t have all the added milk, vanilla, etc. notes that many caramel fragrances have I actually love it, and there is still a subtle wood smell to it after it dries down. Almost like fresh wood shavings with a caramel base.

1st phase - sawdust. Real sawdust. Amazing, but you wouldn't want to go out to people on this stage. Let it dry for a few minutes. 2nd phase - caramel and wood. Disturbingly good blend. It suits well my haired, a tad tanned arm - caramel makes it almost edible, while the wood notes keep my lust in check. I have a weird feeling about this, because I had only sample and three tries, from which one smelled just perfect, and two others had a little bit too much wood. Maybe humidity or something? Anyway, this is the only scent that suited what I saw when I looked at myself. Or at least my arm ;)

I enjoy the scent of freshly cut wood, and this perfume provides exactly that, living up to its name with aplomb. Where it gets really special, however, is the slight caramel/vanilla sweetness that appears after a few minutes on the skin. It's autumnal, and cozy, and, although its projection and sillage is above average, it's pleasantly mellow. This one is great for cooler fall and winter days when you just don't feel like bombarding everyone around you with Spicebomb and could easily be a signature scent for someone who likes to work with their hands-- or likes to smell like they do.

Just saw that Woodcut qualified as a finalist in The Art and Olafaction Artisan Category being judged in four days in Milan. After wearing it all day, I can see why. It is exceptional! The inspiration was freshly cut trees at a construction site and this nails it! Newly cut wood, splinters and sawdust come to mind, picture perfect in a wonderful ultra woody scent. The smell is unmistakable for cut logs. Sillage is great, and it has lasted over 12 hours now. Very resinous, natural and refreshing! What a great outre wood fragrance! Update; WOODCUT WON!!!! Congratulations Ellen Covey!

I picked this up in a swap in 2017 with someone from here. I loved it then, I love it still. Just ordered the big bottle. Since I first got my nose on this I’ve searched through countless scents and combinations of notes. The official listing of notes from their website differs slightly from that above. It is “ Notes: Fractional distillations of pine and cedar, oakwood absolute, tolu balsam, olibanum, caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla” What it all amounts to is pure woody magic. An award winning scent that lasts and has always been dear to me. Try it if you like woods.

This is the most realistic, gorgeous, warm, slightly sweet burning cedar smell. It makes me think of a really dry, aromatic cedar log burning in a campfire or even in a sauna but without any smoke. The caramel in there brings it from a realistic cedar to a better-than-real cedar. The first time I smelled it was on paper and I was like “nice, it smells like cedar” but my mom and I recently tested it again on her skin and we both could NOT stop smelling it. Blown away by how amazing this composition is and how different it smells on skin compared to paper.

@aczwy It's funny you mention peanut butter in association with Woodcut -- and I get it! I've thought the same thing at times. There is most definitely a sort of nuttiness to this one, no doubt owning to a slightly torched caramel/dry wood combo. For me, it seems to vary depending on climate conditions. May I suggest playing around with layering Woodcut with something with an intersecting (wood) note. Right now, I am really enjoying it with Molinard Cher Wood, which is basically dry wood and a less sweet vanilla. They're fantastic together!

I instantly loved Woodcut and have never stopped. It reminds me of my Dad building shelves in the garage. The wood in Woodcut is not a forest tree, but cedar pine 2x4s. It has a slight camphor note just like real cedar. With smoky caramel, evoking the smell of a buzz saw cutting through a thick plank. Very realistic scent of a wood shop, but faceted enough to keep your attention and not come off like a novelty fragrance. Moderate projection and good lasting power. My husband is also a fan and wears it often - lucky me!

This was, at first, my fav of the many fragrances I tried at Tigerlily in SF: the fresh smell of cut wood is realistic and just beautiful. It's not "woody" as in many dry downs, but bright, sweet, and fresh. But then at home, the fragrance reminded me vividly of a table saw--its jagged circular blade, its high whine--which is not good! If you are trying to catch the eye of a handsome carpenter or shop teacher, this might be the ticket. I think it smells really wonderful but I just can't erase the associations.

Most fragrances in the woody category are like well manicured man-made parks. You get trees in a row all tidy under well-trimmed grass. Very clinical and organized but not very exciting. This is not one of those. These woods are the primordial woods from which all others came from. Powerful, dank and a bit scary. This isn't a single, defined wood note, rather it's the resinous combination of all woods. Mysterious, intense and beautiful. Good projection that lasts all day. I heavily recommend it.

I greatly appreciate Dr. Covey’s creations. Woodcut is among her best sellers I believe but all of her offerings are unique and pleasing to me. These fragrances are not perfumes meant for swank soirees or frat party time, but scents that take you to memorable places you might not normally experience. Woodcut takes me to a rustic outdoors or wood shop. Since I ride the Edmonds/Kinston ferry across Puget Sound quite often, I have a particular connection to Covey’s Kingston Ferry marine scent.

Simple design executed with genius. I could not name another scent from this house that is so simple. Nevertheless, this is a real standout. Woodcut brings you right to the moment that wood is chopped; there is a juiciness and reverberation to this scent, a gesture to the violence of dismembering a tree. It's like I can sense the chainsaw in the scene. The sweetness of the caramel conveys the natural perkiness of the smell of cut wood. Truly delightful.

Starts with a blast of sweet oak. Then it keeps going on a dry pepper-y/pine-y/smok-y incense. Then it morphs again to show a dry cedar facet, somewhere in between Kerosene Wood Haven and Diptyque Tam Dao. The base is to that sweet resinous/balsamic oak and vanilla, very close to Chene by Serge Lutens. Moderate to good performance on my skin. Not utterly unique, but for sure a great 'best-of woods' fragrance, at a great pricing. A winner in my book!

Very nice woody fragrance and to me it smells a lot like Profumum Roma Arso. I can’t even choose, both are very similar yet different. I have both. But if u can only choose one, Woodcut is the cheaper of the two. Woodcut is a bit woodier smelling while Arso is a softer wood. It’s hard for me to explain fragrances. Bottom line both are beautiful woody frags, very similar but not exactly the same.

I have all the perfumes from the Art and Olfaction Awards and this is one of them -definitely the masterpiece. This scent returns me in my childhood than I worked with wood in my school. This exactly smells of fresh cut wood. I am not sure how sexy is it but it definitely cozy, comfortable and play with my memory. Must have for the niche collectors and people who like unusual scents.

To me this is pure wood, no caramel at all. It’s one-note, but that’s what I bought it for. I like to layer this with BBW Into the Night for a “sweet sawdust” scent, which is currently my quirky signature scent. It’s wood. Do you want to smell like the Home Depot lumber aisle? This is that. It does what it says on the tin (and I like that)

I have been wearing this one again for the first time in a while. Before my purchase a few months ago, I had not tried it for a few years. This is a stunning woody fragrance with a carmel creamy background. Sort of like a different luxurious version of Sycamore by CHANEL, (which I also love). Great job Olympic Orchids! Love it.

This smells precisely like fresh, sappy wood cut on a dull blade (so there's a little bit of sweet burn): one of the most perfect scents, in my opinion. I find many of the other Olympic Orchids fragrances challenging to wear, but this one, even though it's very strong, probably wouldn't bother anyone.

This smells like a lumberjack with a bad werther’s habit. Like walking through a Home Depot while shoveling down some caramel apple crisp. A convincing demonstration that cedar and caramel belong together. I’m impressed by how much the main notes are in harmony yet so clearly separable.

Most of my winter jackets/vests perminetly smell like this for a reason. I even had this on my door jam and every single person who walked through my front door always said, wow it smells good in here what is that, guy or girl, young or old. In my top ten!

This is the smell of cutting down pine trees with a chainsaw; fresh sap, wood, chilly morning forest air and the fumes of a two-stroke engine. If I close my eyes while smelling the bottle I see it very vividly before my mind’s eye. Lovely!

If you like PR Arso then this may be better because of the price / ml. I personally was disappointed because to me this was exactly Arso + dark chocolate. Not much "woodcut" to me. Ib was hoping this would be a better Pineward Gristmill.

Smells like fresh chopped or cut wood from the forest or a lumber yard. Wonderful sawdust smell without needing to sneeze! Evokes wonderful memories of my dad who is a craftsman. This would be a good layering scent.

Ordered it blind and it did not disappoint. Very natural smell of freshly cut wood. Reminded me of Profumum Roma Arso which is quite pricey. Woodcut is affordable fragrance of impressive quality. Love.

One of the best & most unique I've smelled in a while. Wet, sweet, freshly-cut wood; reminds me of framing a house, or the inside of a sauna. Decent longevity with respectable projection.

woodcut is perfect. warm sawdust, like a woodshop or studio. once recommended it to a friend who said he wanted to smell like home depot. truly great, 10/10.

Mission statement that outleafs the mill politic to become a sassy stardust sawdust that towers starlight over other trees.

Fresh sharpened pencil mixed with a wood shop. This could be my favorite comfort scent. 10/10

I really like this one. I love unique perfumes like this. Full bottle worthy.

yum...smells just like butterfinger. and somehow like the number 58. tbh I was hoping to catch a whiff of caramel as I'm not the biggest peanut fan, but it's grown on me regardless: I'm munching on a very golden peanut butter chip cookie, crumbs strewn over the wide world while some equally delicious dry woods gather round me to sing a merry tune. the wood here is a thick, hefty log cut up for firewood into quarters, the edges dry, the sides slightly sanded, leaving a light dusting of sawdust on the surface. A sweet, sandy, nutty halo results around the wearer, bringing feelings of boyish naïveté and easy contentment.

Sometimes simple is so much better. Never has this been this truer than this beautiful resinous woody composition from then extremely talented Ellen Covey. There are only 4 ingredients in this perfume: pine, cedar, oak and burnt caramel. They are expertly blended to create a warm, comforting and enveloping scent that seems just perfect to wear while nestled by the fire on a snowy day reading your favorite book. Moderate in sillage, long lasting and projecting radiantly, this is a gem that needs to be discovered. Perfect for both genders and highly recommended for lovers of woody and gourmand perfumes. A masterpiece!

Ellen Covey is like a wizard. How she manages to pack scents from childhood into bottles is magic. Some of her fragrances are terrible and some are great. But each one is inspiring and a trip down memory lane. This is one of her masterpieces. It starts off very chocolatey but then quickly turns to a burnt wood, albeit a clean burnt wood, like a freshly cut piece of recovered barn wood. It finishes out nicely with the burnt smell disappearing and just a pleasant light cedar note. I don't know who would wear this regularly. If you are trying to convince someone you are a carpenter maybe? Lumberjack Cosplay?

Don't know how I have not yet spoken up for my love of this superb fragrance. I mean truly outstanding. The woods are so real, intense and natural, and the caramel is not really foodie but contributes to the naturally sweet scent of sap. There are so few fragrances that I describe as so real it's like 3D, but this is one of them. It brings back a vivid memory of when I was visiting a friend in college, and we were hiking the Columbia River Gorge (Portland area). The scenery was breathtaking. Along the trail some loggers left behind stumps and tree "scraps". Woodcut is truly the perfect name.

I went ahead and tested Woodcut prior to reading any of its notes and I’m shocked there isn’t a chocolate note! Both on paper and on my skin I get creamy milk chocolate followed by fresh cut wood. It’s like walking through a pine lumber yard while sipping on a cup of steaming hot chocolate. On paper it stays quite sweet, on my skin slightly less so with more sawdust. Very interesting and certainly wearable. I disagree with comments saying it isn’t for daily wear or gatherings, as long as a scent isn’t disturbing the peace I think you should wear whatever you like.

A smoky sweet syrup over the top of fresh cut cedar. Fairly linear and quite nice, but not spectacular imho, as it's mainly a straight cedar forward scent that lives up to its name. I personally find heavy cedar fragrances that don't mix in more things like incense or florals less likely to evoke emotion/feeling as they are more literal (a wood shop or the wood section of home depot). That said as far as cedar fragrances go it's one of the best so I will happily buy a small bottle of it once my sample is done.

"Woodcut" does exactly what is says on the tin. A raw chunk of log pile oak, coated in redolent sticky varnish. It's rough, piney, tarry, smokey and ever-so-slightly sweet. A pleasant and natural smell, but perhaps a bit too literal for day wear? I might enjoy this more alone, as a 'before bed' scent. There's a coziness too it that makes me think of stoking embers in a wood stove and curling up under a blanket. It's the first Olympic Orchids fragrance I've tested, but I'm impressed so far.

It is a sort of woodchips forward fragrance, extremely dry. There is a well judged sweetness to it as well. The whole fragrance comes across quite pale to me, like a beige-tan wood. If you like woody fragrances, I can confirm this is a very good contender. It sits in the right spot where it definitely smells natural but also has the sweetness to make it widely appealing. 8.0/10

The smell of a very homey woodworker's shop - I say homey because it is ever accompanied by a nicely blended-in caramel, which acts as the canvas on which the cedar, oak, and pine really shine. Admittedly it becomes much less impressive in the drydown and loses the more realistic, arid woody feel. It eventually becomes headache-inducing to me. 7/10

Dry wood and slightly medicinal pine with a hint of strange resinous sweetness and campfire smoke in the background. I definitely understand the “wood chips” comparison. It’s almosttt as if Encens Suave and Camp Heartache mixed (minus the strawberry). It has a slight masculine tilt in the beginning but settles unisex. Overall suuuper good!