Eau de Woodshop

Informal surveys are starting to show that wood aromas are considered the manliest of smells, including oak and sandalwood. That's right. Eau de wood ranks right up there with gasoline, bonfire smoke, and grilling meat - as favorites among men, and the parfumeries that cater to them.

click image to zoom At the men's grooming advice website Art of Manliness, commenters listed a number of wood species among their favorite smells, including cedar and pine:

"I have lately been impressed with "Oak" from Bath and Body as an everyday work cologne," says Morgan in a posting at the site.

"To me, anything that smells woodsy/musky, examples, pine, sandalwood, cedar, etc.," says Rockoz in a comment posted there.

"Sawdust," suggests Zacharay DuFour at a forum on the subject. "It reminds me of my grandfather and my dad, who were carpenters.

One actual carpenter has been hired to promote a cologne is HGTV's Carl Oosterhouse, who had a side gig posing with bottles of Nautica cologne.

As if one cue, Demeter has introduced the ultimate men's cologne: Sawdust.

"Have you ever been to a working lumber yard?," gushes the marketing copy. "Demeter's Sawdust is that scent of wonderful woods being cut. It's terrific and quite surprisingly wearable."

Also available is Sandalwood cologne, familiar enough in fragrance circles, but Demeter offers some background on the species as well:

"One of the oldest incense materials, Sandalwood has been used for over four millennia. . .Today, the Mysore forests are virtually depleted and the remaining trees too immature to produce quality Sandalwood or Sandalwood oil. As the tree grows, the essential oil develops in the roots and heartwood, which requires 15 to 20 years. The core of dark heartwood gradually develops, which is covered by outer sapwood. The sandalwood tree is never felled, but uprooted in the rainy season, when the roots are richer in the precious essential oil.

"It is our belief that the highest quality Sandalwood is coming out of Tamil Nadu where more mature trees can be found, and that is what we use for Demeter's Sandalwood cologne."

If you want to smell like sawdust at parties and or a night on the town, you can order yourself a bottle of Sawdust from Demeter . . .or just don't take a shower after work:)