Dry Wood

10/10 masculine full stop Not for the winner and most of the participants of Eurovision. Not for gendergueer full stop

Wow, a tale of two sides.... Jekyll and Hyde. I was at the Neimans fragrance counter and decided to sniff this out. I instantly fell head over heels for the opening of this one. The way the lemon combines with the bay leaf is so unique. I carried the tester strip along with two other colognes I was sampling and asked three women which of the fragrances of the day they preferred. All of them chose the Dry Wood! I am thinking that I have found a winner. Cha-Ching purchase was made. I was so happy with my newest addition to the collection. Then I got home.... Dry down on this monster is a totally different animal. The pepper and herbs start stabbing you with their pungency, and the lemon that smoothed it all out is now gone. This is BEAST MODE! I took the fragrance back, as I couldn't justify the $200 for a fragrance that only captivates for a short span and then repels. Needless to say, a week later I put on my polo shirt that I was wearing and not even my cleaning lady's over-use of tide could power this stuff out of my clothes. It is that strong. So, I added some Jo Malone Grapefruit and and it smelled good enough together for me to go to work. This fragrance is a beast and if you can tame it, the women do seem to like it! Update! Second time through the wash and the polo shirt still smells of dry wood. I have NEVER seen anything like that. What a beast. I capped it with Terre D'Hermes today and it worked splendidly. What a beast. Almost makes me want to go re-purchase this monster! My Score: 6.5

After its rather bright Citron flash, Ramon Monegal's 'Dry Wood' settles into a lovely warm scent of Cedar and Bay, with whispers of Pepper and Amber on my skin. It brings sunshine to a warm, wet winter's day on the West Coast of Canada and reminds me of walking through Western Red Cedar woods on a sunny afternoon where the rotting Cedar duff feels like a deep scented carpet under foot. There is a mossiness and a dry sweetness that reminds me of the scent of the Sword Ferns that grow in the shade of the Cedars. I even get a sense of salt on skin, the result of a long walk in the woods. I think that I will tend to wear this perfume in the daytime as it might be too 'rustic' for a 'night out on the town'. I think that this perfume will respond differently on various skins and that you should certainly try it before you buy it. Many perfumes turn sickly sweet on me and send me running for soap and water - or even alcohol - to make them go away. Most of Ramon Monegal's scents that I have tried settle beautifully on me but I tend to love the unisex perfumes of the world far better than perfumes designed specifically for women or for men.

DRY WOOD from Ramon Monegal’s Classics Collection is certainly a gentleman’s fragrance. It reminds me of a modernised and a less nuclear bomb version of Kouros. A successful man would wear this, with a crisp cotton shirt, a quality timepiece and a mind focused on innovative business ideas. It’s slightly medicinal, but I find that clean and clinical smell comforting. I try not to reinforce gender stereotypes, but if one were to stereotypically label what could be considered a “real man’s” scent (whatever justifies a “real man” in the rainbow of gender variation) then it would be this. Monegal’s concept for ‘Dry Wood’ was to use wood to convey confidence and balance. He explains, “I believe that wood naturally conveys strength, protection, flexibility and prestige. I combined accords of dry woods with fine spices to recreate the scent of the new millennium.” The longevity is impressive. “Strength, balance and control. Determined and expansive attitude.” It’s what your non-paternal “daddy” (lover) should smell like. TOP Cedrat, Grapefruit, Cinnamon HEART Jasmine, Patchouly, Amberwood BASE Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Tonka, Musk

It's in the name! wood, beautiful, resinous wood, that opens in an almost oily way on the skin, then develops some green leaf notes and it has that characteristic Monegal elegance. It smells like my granny's house used to smell, back in Spain, with all the turn of the century Mahogany furniture. It's a quality of RM fragrances, they really take you somewhere. This is a masculine scent to me, and I think it would layer well with other fragrances, it could be use to anchor a floral smell, I imagine it would combine well with RM's "kiss my name".