WO/03 Café Et Cèdre

The Dusty Side of the Cedar Here we go with the third piece of the WOOD series. WO/03 Café Et Cèdre fools you with its name. There is a pinch of coffee, but it is not a coffee-centred perfume. A blast of powderiness, the orris root is everywhere, and the first sigh is reminiscent of makeup powder and lipstick. In a few seconds, the dusty faces move on one side, leaving space for a smoky, creamy, and balmy Palo Santo that rises forcefully from the base notes. Amid all this clamour, I struggle to recognise the citrus notes of bergamot, perhaps too ghostly and delicate for this vigorous concoction. It is more of a candied bergamot than a citrus one. Slowly the spicy edges of pepper take shape, present but not the protagonist as in WO/02 Wood Street. Here it intertwines with the toasted notes of the coffee beans, and the resulting aroma is that of peppercorns and freshly ground coffee beans mixed together. It is not an espresso to drink, not a creamy coffee, but rather spiced coffee powder. I understand those who say they don’t perceive the coffee note at all, because it is not the clear and robust one that we find, for example, in Intense Cafe, Uomo Signature, or BlackSoul Imperial EAU DE TOILETTE. Nothing so gourmand, and it is perhaps for this reason that I like it a lot, a blend of freshly roasted ground, and spicy, dry, black, dry, and bitter coffee. As the opening notes subside and take a place in the back row, the powdery signature of the iris continues in the forefront, flanked by a smoky and resinous halo that accompanies the incense, devoid of waxy or clerical undertones, and by the delicate and velvety herbaceous notes of sage. The heart beats with greenish, dusty, and smoky rhythms. On paper, the dusty and earthy notes of iris prevail, while on warm skin the notes appear more herbaceous, musky, incensed, and the sage keeps it slightly aromatic. There are many ingredients that in one way or another add a smoky aspect to the composition. Black pepper, coffee beans, incense grains, and Palo Santo chips all have a smoky side. If we then add a generous dose of amber wood to the base, the game is done. On the finish, the perfume takes on musky, warm, semi-vanilla aspects, without ever going beyond the limit and flowing into the gourmand area. The warm, creamy, and musky cashmeran comes through, while the tonka is very subdued. If they did not list it in the olfactory pyramid, I would have a hard time distinguishing it. The trail it leaves is the dry and slightly resinous one of blonde woods, like the smell of pencil shavings, here replaced by the bark of Palo Santo, more balsamic than cedar, a whisper of coffee, and a smidgen of frankincense. All the sweetness I might get is not sickly, but a nice dose of it, courtesy of amberwood and tonka blend. What started as a powdery bomb is now a more soothing, musky sensation and embrace. Having reached the finale, I must admit that this fragrance is reminiscent of more than one perfume, but it is not the dupe of any of them. It has hints of makeup, but it’s not as brash as Dior Homme Original (2011) EAU DE TOILETTE. It has gourmand-toasted hints, but it is not a copy of Valentino Uomo (2014) EAU DE TOILETTE. It’s a genre that I like, because it remains dry and dry, even in contact with the cold and biting air of winter. I find it rather virile and masculine, but it is very wearable by the female gender who loves these chords, indeed, by any gender. Autumn and winter are the ideal seasons to make this perfume shine, which perhaps is pleasant even on early spring evenings. Even though it is suitable for evening and night events, I like to wear it during the day, feeling it on sweaters and scarves. Both projection and longevity are around average, it can be felt and lasts for many hours even after becoming a skin perfume. If I had to put the three examples of the Woods series on the podium, I would be undecided on first place since both WO/03 Café Et Cèdre and WO/02 Wood Street perfectly represent my character and meet my tastes. On the other hand, I don’t mind WO/01 Somewoody, but I wouldn’t put it in the first place as a winner, very different from the other two. Overall, however, the Woods series is a success, in my humble opinion. I'm formulating my opinion on a bottle I've owned since November 2023.

i just ordered this after zara rereleased it for the summer. im not sure if this is a new formulation from the original since i never had it. but i. love. this. this is strangely reminiscent of white rice by d'annam. it has that same airy, creamy orris quality. this is just a slightly darker, woodsier white rice to me. i sold my bottle of white rice...but this...this shall never leave me. on first spray, i get hit with the bergamot and coffee. fresh but dark splash. in the dry down i smell almost no coffee at all, but i'm not mad at it. the dry down is this lovely, creamy orris with a light, complex spice (i think its the frankinscense.) that almost incense warmth comes through--this is what i LOVE in a palo santo note. my favorite part of heal the way by snif is when ive been wearing it for 6+ hours and i can only smell the palo santo with less of the sugar. THIS is that. its incensy but smooth, dark but airy-enough for summer. this is a perfect year-round frag. so so beautiful. its sophisticated but still wearable. its potent, i sprayed just a little and its a strong scent.this is like...a boyfriend's sweater. my sapphic, unisex/masc girlies...this! this! my queer boys who want to smell like they work in a coffee/book shop...this. ugh. its sexy but comforting. its everythingggg. wow. zara. OUTDID themselves. my only note is that there is a bit of a black pepper cloud that stays the first hour you wear it if you overspray. lightly with this one. oversprayed the first time i tried it and sneezed from the black pepper. lol. im going to a debate tournament where i'll be wearing a black satin button down, a suit jacket and pants, and a pearl necklace & earrings. THIS perfume is THAT vibe.

Cucumber/violet leaf, Cashmeran, Iso E Super and cedarwood bomb formula with powdery ionone notes (violet, iris) a la Santal 33 for a moment but twisted with a smoky fenugreek/maple note, I assume this is what listed notes suggest as coffee due to the roast smell. It’s a rendition between classic Dior Homme, Prada L'Homme and Santal 33 to my nose. One of the better releases from Zara if you are into dusty woods and violets. Nothing new though I appreciate Zara bringing out very affordable scents like this for those who want to try out different profiles if they haven't before without breaking the bank. Update: Drydown on my skin, around 4 hours, is almost exactly how the older Zara 4MBROXIDE smells like, cedar sawdust and iris textured with woody ambers (and I can only assume with Ambroxan too, to mellow the woody ambers down). Escentric 02 vibes...

No coffee detected. Two dominant notes on my skin are Amberwood and Orris/Iris. Then Palo santo and cashmeran. "Amberwood" is that of Baccarat rouge variant; it's got that fuzzy sweetness I detect from BR540. Iris reminds me of Dior Homme (the silver stem) or CH Pasion for men in its airiness. Somehow DHI has denser iris notes than DH at least on my skin. Palo Santo provides "top" or the "roof" of the fragrance, and cashmeran is "sprinkled" enough to give some textures to the fragrance. That being said, I personally haven't smelled an exact match or at least Jusebox for that matter to warrant whether this is a dupe. I feel that this is original in my book. Absolute love. May probably grab another bottle.

At first I didn’t like it at all, all I could smell was cedar and pencil shavings, the smell didn’t change much on my skin but boy was I wrong, the more I smelled it on my hand the more I liked it. It’s very masculine and to me can be worn in fall and spring easily, the staying power was INSANE, sprayed it at 7 pm in Zara and I can still very faintly smell it on my hand today at 2 PM, I might be tripping tho, this scent pierced my skull. I like it a lot, it’s cedar wood with some undertones of orris, I don’t think it might please others much tho, it is very sharp. Super solid release from Zara, I have Somewoody too and it is very appealing to others, lasts around 6 hours tho.

in love with this one, its rare and because its discontinued its becoming more quicker than ever in a precious jewel , better get one before it doesn't exist anymore! I wish someone replicate it or zara to launch it again, Im sure that if you walking and suddenly perceive this smell you'll take a look and imagine the most handsome clean gentleman its there.

this shit smells like zara, literally this is the most recognizable perfume and every mall that has zara in it smells like this idk how. when you first spray it the trio of wood, sour citrus and blackpepper creates an interesting smell, a unique one and it might not please casual smellers but definitely worth trying 64/100

Un perfume muy conveniente. Elegante y vibrante. Tiene un espíritu juvenil pero a su vez también podría ser un gran clásico. Quizás me equivoque pero tiene algo de Kenzo homme intense. Lo recomiendo totalmente . Rinde más en épocas más frías. En verano lo he usado en la noche , pero de día se va rápidamente.

Zara make another mistake,discontinued the best ones and keep the garbages,i dont kniw how they work,but they should listen to fragrantica community,hear from perfume lovers or change the ceo of zara.this one and vibrant leather elixir should stay forever in the market

On clothes stays for weeks and projects so strong, beast mode on clothes;on skin stays 8 to 12 hours and projects for 4 to 5 hours,definetly not for hot weather.there is no coffee,too.much cedar and kinda powdery,u will feel like u re in the forest.

This one is amazing to me. I don't get a lot of coffee. I get a very sweet and alluring wood scent. The wood is definitely not overwhelming to me. Amazing longevity. I could smell it all day, without overspraying. Really pleased with this one.

really surprised and happy with the performances, even tough it was a 10 euro cologne on sale from Zara... Its a realy nice woody, powdery and squeaky clean iris fragrance, dont detect any coffee though really nice one from zara

Zara ohhh zara like always u discontinued the best,this and vibrant leather sandalwiod elixir and tobacco,violet elixir are the best but i dont know who is the genius behind the idea of discontinuation....

Blind bought this at 40% off from Zara. Iris, woody, slightly spicy, fresh and smooth. Unique compared to anything else I have in my collection. One of those that makes you smile....a love from me!

It is the perfume that changed the way I look at Zara perfumes. I don't smell any chemical smell. very high quality materials are used. I don't think they imitate any perfume. love it

ITS BACK YALL!!! Someone please inform us if it’s been reformulated AND if the new cap is magnetic, I really loved the wooden one. I’m still waiting for it to hit Zara South Africa :P

long lasting, projects well and have gotten many compliments on it. very strong at first, after a while it mellows down to a sweet and beautiful scent. a 100% unisex scent imo

Love this!! Beautiful fragrance. This is like magic from Zara. Not sure if it’s a dupe or an original fragrance from them but I’m so happy with this blind buy!!

Smells great, lasts on clothes next day+. Peachy lipstick Iris and dry woods. Gentleman boisee/ Dior homme intense with Tom Ford bitter peach in the dry down

do it all.. again.. smells like freshly printed notes with a sliighttt floral touch..! need this.. forever and always. bring this back zara.

This is good stuff man, hidden gem. Really smooth and doesn’t smell synthetic. Under the radar, keep it that way so this won’t be so common.

Not gonna lie ima cop this thing, it lasts long on me and i really find it unique and obviously good.

I really love this but it doesn't last long on my skin, it lasts for just an hour :'(

This is amazing stuff Last long Well blind

Hopefully I’ll own this again one day :(

Missing the ZARA goat everyday

I can see the slight comparisons to Santal 33 as it has a similar feel to the base however the tart “pickle” note in the Le Labo is replaced here with spice and orris. I have Santal 33 also and to be honest I prefer to wear this, it’s a much smoother wear. It opens with a blast of black pepper, I don’t personally get much coffee at all but as the pepper dies down it’s replaced with a earthly orris. This to me is very different to the iris in something like Dior homme and more similar to MC Iris Malikhan or some of the Celine line. Performance is quite good but it’s not a loud fragrance, all the better for this scent profile. It feels much classier and more expensive than the price you pay. If I blind smelled this and you told me it was a niche house at £150+ a bottle I would believe it. Haven’t smelled many from Zara but I’ll be checking more out based from this one.

This is absolutely beautiful! I owned it for about a week now, and i can say that it's becoming one of my easy reaches!! Super creamy iris, slightly powdery, the cashmeran comes across as clean and musky, i definitely get nice dose of black pepper, and the dry down is beautiful with that soft tonka and amberwood. I get the dior Homme intense reference but i don't think they are similar, but if dior were to release a new flanker with a coffee note, this juice fits the quality of the dior homme line "theoretically". But its still a zara fragrance, so it performs like one, or perhaps slightly better. The lady behind the counter at the gas station asked me for the name twice, and i kept forgetting what it was every time 😂

I don’t know where the comparison with Santal 33 is coming from. This perfume smells to me so much more spicy, creamy, even waxy at some point?! It smells like Le Couvent Aqua Solis on steroids in the drydown. On the other hand, I really don’t know what I am talking about when it comes to frangrances. I smell what I smell and this is delicious. 100% unisex. As a female, I totally wear this on date nights!

Tested in store, the opening was so harsh and piercing. It is a bit medicinal too. It stayed for about 30 mins on me then slowly transformed into this mellow yet stunning iris, spice, and woody scent. And it performs and lingers quite well too. Although my initial reaction was a bit rough, I can look past it as the dry down was so beautifully done. Also, I agree. There is very little to no coffee here.

If you are expecting a coffee fragance from the name this isnt that, past from that, i didnt like the smell either. Update 12/18: After all the reviews i tested it again and it smelled nothing like first time i tried it, idk what happend. Not my favorite but i like it, still can't find the coffee

This is Le labo santal 33 with lil bit of sweet amber on the dry down. I did not think this one resamble of any Dior and I can tell this one is le labo DNA with added amber notes. Really safe blind buy for me. The scent is really good, well blended scent. Note: There is no coffee scent at all.

This one is a great solid choice for this price. It’s somewhere between Santal 33 and Dior Homme Intense which makes it dry, powdery, woody yet not over sweet, but always remember not to overspray this one or you’ll definitely get a headache from it.

A really nice surprise, for me the opening is very powdery and spicy an on the dry down i just got a beautiful creamy resinous sweetness. Lasts on my skin around 6-7 hours without overspraying (5 sprays) A solid cheapie

It's a dry woody take on dior homme intense. Not leathery, not as creamy-powdery

Smells like one big mess of chemicals and at least 3 different ideas , and they couldn't decide what to go with so they just put everything in . I get sour sweetness from the beginning and then after 40 min. it gets more in Dior Homme territory. The drydown is good but nothing special . Slight Baccarat rouge and Dior Homme vibes in the last notes . Can definitely be more refind and softened out in all of its aroma chemicals if they only hired a real perfumer instead of buying premade formulas and tweaking them slightly to avoid legal trouble . Definitely has potential but so far just a cash grab.

Is pretty much cedarwood with some hints of black pepper and other softer notes in the background. It's quite nice for those who don't want something sweet or soapy. However its not very memorable and lacks longevity.

Absolute no coffee in this fragrance. Woody, faint powdery iris, sweet palo santo with some spiciness in the back - that's what you get from this fragrance. Not bad considering the price.

If you want to smell like a wet dog that rolled in a pile of pine needles, then yeah go for it. Honestly the smell is going to be off putting for the mass, and plain out weird.

Dark, non-bright rooty smell. In my opinion not pleasent at all. I don’t understand how this is rated this high.

Trying to solve the santal33 mistery. I ve an inspired one called santal absolut by Avon, claims to have sandal, violet and cardamom. Well , I do feel it in this Zara one. Sandal is there, maybe Zara used also some violet or cardamom but doesn’t say it. Whatever it is, there is a good bit of it here. With a different twist of course. Reason why I didn’t buy it eventually; despite I like it. But too close really

Why Zara??? It’s too good to be released by Zara. I mean this scent would suit better new Dior Homme. For Zara perfume projection is strong and it is defę stronger than Dior Homme Original. Dry down is more on the woody amber, but it’s ok at least it has some power and I can smell it on myself. I love this kind of woody powdery iris scents.

Smooth, lights woods and a hint of iris. Pleasant but a bit nondescript. To me this is not similar at all anything from the Dior Homme line, there is not nearly enough iris for that. Also not similar to Santal 33, this fragrance doesn't have that dry sandalwood papery accord.

All three lines(leather,wood and tobacco) are underrated in my opinion. They are not hyped like the ones from Zara signed by a famous perfumer (antique brown, spell caramel etc) but they are rarely boring or predictable. This one is also very nice, especially in the drydown

Tested. Among the new leather releases and Santal Treasure, this one is the longest lasting - others gone, but this remains - strong woody drydown. Maybe more resinous. For that reason it's a good choice.

I just tried it. This perfume is the fading soul of Dior Homme 2005. Smells similar but without vitality. I don't know. I will try it again.

@prince64 what are you doing? Writing your life story on a fragrance review do you actually think anyone got the time to read your crap?

There is something here that reminds me strongly to penhaligon's blazing mr sam. Great fragance.

This lasts eternities in clothing. Cheap. Good. Yummy. Unisex.

Didn’t like this, bought online. It smells weird and strong...