With an enduring success in the late 40's and 50's, Woodhue from Fabergé is an exquisite oriental perfume that embodied the desire for sensual aldehydic lightness characterizing the perfumes of the decade that had gloriously started with the opulent Tabu (Dana).
The perfume translates a very classic idea of sweet balsamic woody (vetiver-sandalwood) found previously Habanita (Chanel) and Bois des Iles but the source of inspiration for this new oriental woody softness comes directly from a Houbigant masterpiece, quite famous in the early 30's. There are 2 oriental perfumes from the same period built around a similar idea - Réplique (Raphael) and Promesa (Myrurgia).
Woodhue transports us in a magical forest creating the illusion of aromatic freshness often found between the fields (with their aromatic hay coumarine, lavender and clary sage note) and the forest (the freshness of rosewood and bergamot). This type of note, the fresh spiciness somewhere between a fougère and a classic light oriental (sweet ambery) is the theme of the overture.
The heart of the perfume is built around a floral spicy note that sits between the jasmine-ylang-fresh rose facet of Chanel No5 and the soft sweet spicy carnation of l'Air du Temps. It is actually built on orris and clove, while the classic floral ingredients are here to modify and smooth the powdery light spiciness of this beautiful creation. After the very delicate green violet note found on top we discover the orris, a skilful blend of methyl ionone, ionones and natural orris concrete, in an astonishing yet classical accord with the carnation and a sharp lily of the valley.
But the mysterious forest hides delicious secrets and the woody spiciness is preciously wrapped in sweet balsamic notes of benzoin, vanilla, opopanax and myrrh but also in an amber accord. The drydown is balsamic sweet, ambery, powdery with an exquisite muskiness given by a combination of nitromusks and just a hint of honeyed civet. The woody notes are an exquisite blend of sandalwood, cedar and vetiver and the contrast between their pungent power (rough wood), the overall balmy sweetness and the strict sharpness of clove is exquisite.
Compared to its original inspiration, Woodhue brought something new in the magic forest - a an important flower bouquet dominated by carnation and lily of the valley (without the complexity of Fleurs de Rocaille) where the salycilates and hydroxycitronellal play an important role. Somehow it opens the way to l'Air du Temps and it brings a lot of air in the woody-oriental accord.
Some might notice a clear hairspray note and this aspect is of a major importance in the history of Woodhue. Millions of women were wearing a version of Woodhue for many decades and they were not aware about that. The perfume was discontinued but its scent lasted in the collective memory.
The Fabergé company was founded in 1937 by Samuel Rubin and named by his friend, the American oil billionaire Armand Hammer, a collector of Fabergé jewelry. In 1964, when its perfumes were no more the luxury items of the late 30's, Samuel Rubin sold Fabergé to the cosmetics company Rayette owned by the marketing genius George Barrie, the man that would later made Brut the worldwide masculine success.
By 1964, hairspray had become the top-selling beauty product in the United States, outselling even lipstick. It is precisely at that period that Aqua Net launched by Rayette, the famous hair spray of the 60's, made its glorious appearance on the market and it was scented with a version of Woodhue, a successful perfume of the recently acquired Fabergé company.
Though hairspray aerosol had been invented in the late 40's, there was a lot of work to improve the formula. Scenting the aerosol was something completely new for the perfumers in the late 50's / early 60's because it brought a totally different new type of formulation. The perfume performed very different in the early aerosols and not all ingredients were technically suited. But Woodhue, with its floral bouquet reminiscent of Chanel No 5 over the light sweet oriental base, worked perfectly and became a standard for the perfumes used in hairsprays since the mid 60's. During the same period in Paris, L'Oréal was launching Elnett, with a similar type of scent but closer to l'Air du Temps, but it is unclear to me when this hairspray became scented and who is the French perfumer.
From the scented woods and their delicate sweet spiciness translated in a pure perfume, Woodhue (Fabergé) would survive in the scented hair of millions of women. Though the original Woodhue is not directly linked to l'Air du Temps, its evolution into a formula for a hairspray has undeniably influenced the tastes of women in the next decade and made l'Air du Temps one of the best sellers. The women were familiar with that scent, they were using it every day and both Fidji, l'Air du temps (and later Opium) were perfectly matching the scent of their hair unlike other perfumes that were discordant. This process of unconsciously match between the scent of the perfume and the body products is sometime the key behind the success of several modern bestsellers since the 50's.
While the first version of Woodhue was more oriental sweet ambery in its pure perfume version, in the late 60's the perfume the floral facet was more important, mostly in the EDC versions.
While the first version of Woodhue was more oriental sweet ambery in its pure perfume version, in the late 60's the perfume the floral facet was more important, mostly in the EDC versions.
I wish to thank Barbara for the Fabergé samples she sent me and read also her review on YesterdaysPerfume.
Rayette AquaNet Ad from 1964.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
