Cedar in perfumery: the dry, luminous wood
Two trees, one name
The word cedar covers two distinct materials with no botanical connection whatsoever. Atlas cedar, Cedrus atlantica, grows in the Moroccan Middle Atlas: it is a true cedar, whose shavings and branches are distilled to obtain a resinous, faintly smoky, almost camphorous essence. Virginia cedar, Juniperus virginiana, is a North American juniper — the very one pencils used to be made from, which explains the smell everyone recognises. Its essence is drier, more powdery, smoother. A perfumer who writes “cedar” is first of all choosing between these two characters, and it is a choice you can smell.
What does cedar smell like?
Of a sharpened pencil, of wood shavings, of an old wardrobe. It is a dry, clean, luminous wood, the exact opposite of sandalwood, which is creamy and milky. You can detect a lightly powdery facet, a resinous edge and sometimes a smoky side, more marked in Atlas cedar. Its strength is its legibility: few people fail to identify it immediately. It is a stable base note that barely moves over the hours, and it gives a perfume a backbone without ever weighing it down.
Cedar perfumes at Soleil d'Or
Bois Impérial - Extrait de Parfum by Essential Parfums, created by Quentin Bisch, gives the most contemporary reading: a cedar held up by patchouli and an ambery warmth. Aventus by Creed uses it as a frame beneath its smoky fruity accord. At Maison Crivelli, Cuir InfraRouge pairs it with leather, and Enchanted Forest by The Vagabond Prince, composed by Bertrand Duchaufour, plunges it into damp undergrowth. More mineral, Acqua Di Sale by Profumum Roma sets it against a marine accord.
Cedar accords and fragrance families
Cedar is the skeleton of modern woody perfumes. With vetiver and patchouli, it builds dry, earthy accords; with sandalwood and musk, soft and wearable woods. It also serves as a counterpoint: beneath a rose or an iris, it takes away the sugar and imposes a graphic rigour. Paired with bergamot and lavender, it gives us contemporary fougere perfumes, woodier than their ancestors.
Who is it for, and when?
Cedar is unisex, even if it was long filed on the masculine side by commercial convention. It is an everyday note par excellence: legible, discreet, never invasive, it suits the office as well as days spent travelling. It carries every season, with an advantage in autumn and spring, where its dryness is welcome. If you are looking for a first woody scent, it is probably the best way in: immediately identifiable and surprising to no one.
How to choose your cedar perfume
The question to ask is one of character: do you want a dry, clean-cut cedar, or a smoky, resinous one? Smelling both one after the other settles the matter in thirty seconds. The bespoke discovery box brings together five hand-filled 2 mL samples, to be worn for a full day. To get your bearings, compare a cedar worked into a warm woody composition such as Bois Impérial - Extrait de Parfum, with a dark, damp cedar such as Enchanted Forest. In the Lille boutique, the team can also let you smell the raw material, which helps a great deal.
Cedar at Soleil d'Or, a Lille perfumery since 1953
Founded in 1953 by Jeanne Muyllaert on the Grand'Place in Lille, Soleil d'Or is an independent perfumery passed down from one generation to the next. Hubert Maës (third generation) turned it into a reference for niche perfumery; today his daughters Victorine and Apolline Maës (fourth generation) uphold the same standards at 22 rue de la Clef, Lille (59800). Our team will let you smell the cedar perfumes in the catalogue, with expert advice and guided trials, and can point you in the right direction using our guide to fragrance families.
Delivery & free in-store collection in Lille
Within mainland France, Colissimo delivery is free from €49 to a pickup point and from €59 to your door. Within Europe, it is free from €99 to a pickup point and from €149 to your door, depending on the destination; we also ship worldwide. Live in Lille or the surrounding area? Free in-store collection at 22 rue de la Clef is the fastest and most economical option. Full terms on our shipping page.
