WO/02 Wood Street

Wood Street is spicy-woody to my nose and is the most boisterous of the three in the Wood series. While "WO/01 Somewoody | Zara" is intensely musky and floral on a salty amber base, "WO/03 Café Et Cèdre | Zara" revolves around freshly roasted coffee with fresh wood chips on a powdery base. Three disparate and, at the same time, unique ways of interpreting the woody accord. As for WO/02 Wood Street, the freshly ground black pepper and cedar chips are explosive and nose-tingling, with a dry-down that’s more earthy than leathery or gourmand. I thought no fragrance, apart from "Blackpepper | Comme des Garçons" or "Bang | Marc Jacobs", could shock me so much with the overlying omnipresence of lively, acrid and pungent black pepper, here combined with a hint of tar, or resin if you prefer. And the presence of just slivers of unburned incense, which I don’t find too clerical or ecclesiastical, doesn’t do much to make it tamer, as Wood Street continues to roar. The opening has an aroma similar to that given off by a wooden mortar when a mixture of black peppercorns and frankincense resin grains is crushed. A spicy, burnt, slightly metallic aroma. It’s sublime, something that maybe not everyone will like, very questionable and polarizing, it’s likely to be a hate-it or love-it scent. A dynamic opening on an infusion of cold spices and a mix of incense and pepper. It’s dark but beautiful. The opening is very reminiscent of Blackpepper before being dominated by ethereal incense. Even when the tar sweetens, the pepper continues to burn. The more it warms on the skin, the more the aromatic rum blooms and the alcohol blends with a dark, dense background of guaiac and cedar chips. Guaiac wood probably makes black pepper smokier. The fragrance is close to the skin, but the woodiness is vivid, and real, with a burnt rubber and bitter undertones. There are many things in Wood Street: the sweet smell of smoke, the syrupy aroma of maple, a gum that resembles black liquorice, not at all sticky or musky, but overall the scent smells like charred wood and pepper. The transition from the initial phase to the intermediate phase occurs seamlessly. The spiciness calms down gently while the woodiness continues to grow, achieving a perfect balance between the two. Plus, the colder the climate, the more smoky and woody it exudes. I find it sensual and truly enigmatic. If you’re not a fan of birch tar and liquorice undertones, it might be a little off-putting. It has just a touch of sweetness, like burnt sugar, but make no mistake, it’s not gourmand. If the recent Vanilla collection is familiar to you, forget it. Here the vanilla has a completely different vibe and warms everything up. The bottom has a tender skin wrapped in mosses and earths. I was ready for anything but I didn’t expect this soft touch of suede. The sweetness of the liquorice attenuates the smoky and tarry notes, which are not enough to tame the scent, but enough to dissipate some of the smoke. Suddenly, a warm, sweet aroma rises from my skin, and I imagine it’s from the coumarins. The vetiver roots are noticeable long into the finish until the spicy vanilla becomes more evident, but the play is between vetiver and vanilla on a bed of birch tar. Wood Street is an extraordinary smoky scent that highlights this particular accord with the blend of incense, spicy black pepper and balsamic notes of frankincense and smoked guaiac to create a smoky accord so well executed that it is almost hypnotic to those who smell it. Its composition of spices, resins and woods makes it perfect for the colder seasons, certainly autumn but also the opposite winter. Performance is moderate for me, with below-average projection and longevity. It’s a pretty skin-friendly scent and needs to be applied heavily to be properly appreciated. I found WO/01 to be the best performing, with its amber and salty muskiness. But this doesn’t change my opinion, which remains firm on an intriguing and sensual perfume. Safe for office, it might suit better the evening and night out. I'm basing my sensations on a bottle I've owned since November 2023 (BC 32630).

Phenomenal niche quality pepper and incense. This is one of the few frags that has unlocked a scent memory of something at my grandparents house when I was a kid. I have no idea what it was, but I remember smelling it there. They were Catholic and it's possible it was some kind of incense they had burned. This starts out with a huge hit of black pepper which starts to give way to a beautiful realistic incense accord over vanilla and leather. It's so good, I bought a backup bottle immediately after I got this one. It was discontinued in 2023 and I doubt Zara will bring it back. Absolutely gorgeous scent. Dark, mysterious, super smooth and well balanced. I rarely reach for it, but it's an absolute treat every time I do. Performance is solid for a Zara offering and I typically spray on clothing which gives me about 8 hours. I also go noseblind to this one after a while, I can always smell it on my shirts days later. Projection is average which is just fine by me. Definitely a unique creation, but not everyone's cup of tea. Definitely best suited to nights in cold weather and date nights, cooler nights in the warmer months if you're daring. I think this one leans masculine but a woman could absolutely rock this if they are bold. Definitely a more mature scent, in my opinion. I haven't gotten into my second bottle yet and I sometimes struggle to find good occasions to wear it. This would honestly make a great funeral scent, also good for cuddling up near a fire. I haven't smelled many Zara fragrances that have really impressed me, but this is absolutely one of them. 90/100

Oh man this is fantastic! I have heard this fragrance is inspired by Comme de Garçons Black Pepper (and to a lesser extent, Black), I haven't tried them yet, but they are both on my "test soon" list. This fragrance has a lot of notes that I enjoy. I received my bottle last night and it is INCREDIBLE! It opens with a strong black pepper note, sumptuous frankincense incense and a dark rich boozy accord come to the forefront as the opening settles down (fairly reminiscent of Dolce and Gabbana's bold Velvet Incenso before transitioning to a rich, sweet woody vanillic base with some leather undertones. There are definitely some similarities to Maison Margiela's By the Fireplace in the late stages. This is a perfect fragrance for cold nights and close company it's very dense fragrance and quality is absolutely stellar. This is my first Zara fragrance and I am very impressed! Longevity is phenomenal: I put one generous spray on the back of my hand an hour before bed last night and I could still smell it clearly when I woke up this morning 8 hours later. It reminds me of the aforementioned Velvet Incenso more than any of the fragrances in the "reminds me of" section, and MM BTF to a lesser extent. I'm in love with this stuff. I ordered another one from the same line that is purported inspired by Xerjoff Alexandria II and I have very high hopes for it. I could see this being a somewhat challenging wear for some, but to me it's a solid 9.5/10

Love after (not first) 10 minutes' sniff. Because it does open with a blackpepper bomb and you feel like you are cooking some meat and about to add some spices into it. After it settles down a bit, unburnt incense and dry cedar comes up. I'm getting some hints of rum because there is some booziness around it. No detection of vanilla or leather. Longevity is above average, 6 hours on skin. Maybe more on clothes. Projection is good at first 1 hour, then it sit close to skin. Sillage is better than projection tho. Since it has sharp spices and smokiness, people can notice you easily. The scent actually differs from other perfumes in this serie and generally in Zara when one scent is not a dupe of worldwide known scent, it has lower points in fragrantica community. And people have always bias about frankincense dominant scents. Therefore it motivates me to buy it and make sure actually it is the best among others. Because in the end, people love crowd pleasant perfumes overall.

Having used CdG "Black" (not Blackpepper, though this also have flashes of CdG Blackpepper), I can definitely say this is very close especially at the top and mid. The black pepper note probably made smoky by guaiacwood, fenugreek or maple lactone (roasty, coffeelike, smoky) and birch tar (though not listed), freshened with frankincense. What I find different, though subtle, is the use of woody ambers. Here that ambery note is missing or not used much compared to CdG Black. I think it was Ambrocenide (for reference; Sauvage Elixir drydown woody note) or some sort. I immediately got a bottle and will update my review after some use. To me this seems to be the absolute winner of the collection.