When I Wear This Woodsy Fragrance Note, People Stop Me in the Subway

Nothing jolts my memory like getting a whiff of cedar. It's one of those universal smells that instantly pull you in—it evokes cedar closets, No. 2 pencils, cigar boxes, and crackling campfires. It's woody and sharp at first but mellows out the more you smell it.

best-cedar-perfumes-295708-1634762373213-main

(Image credit: @cassandra.cadwell)

Though cedar might not instantly come to mind when you think of notes you want in a fragrance, it smells downright hypnotic on skin, which is something that people who smell really good have known for a long time. (Consider Le Labo's Santal 33, a cult-favorite fragrance with cedar notes used by nearly everyone in New York City.)

Once I started wearing cedar-centric fragrances, I became obsessed. Not only do I love the way they smell, but I've noticed that it's the fragrance note other people are most likely to comment on, and it lasts all day. Read on for the best cedar perfumes—with picks from brands such as Byredo and Maison Margiela—and prepare for everyone to ask you why you smell so good.

1. Byredo Super Cedar Eau de Parfum

2. Diptyque Orphéon Eau de Parfum

3. Ellis Brooklyn Super Amber Eau de Parfum

4. Aerin Cedar Violet Eau de Parfum

5. Jo Malone Tangy Rhubarb Cologne

6. Ellis Brooklyn Iso Gamma Super Eau de Parfum

7. The Nue Co. Forest Lungs

8. Maison Margiela Replica Under the Lemon Trees Eau de Toilette

9. Skylar Vanilla Sky Eau de Parfum

10. Kilian Paris Straight to Heaven, White Cristal

11. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum

12. Sisley Paris Izia Eau de Parfum

13. Byredo Mojave Ghost Eau de Parfum

14. Atelier Cologne Cèdre Atlas Cologne Absolue

15. Le Labo Santal 33 Eau de Parfum

Gift sets featuring cedar perfumes to shop this season:

Associate Beauty Editor

Katie Berohn is the associate beauty editor atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing . Previously, she worked as the beauty assistant for Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, and Prevention magazines, all part of the Hearst Lifestyle Group. She graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a major in journalism and minor in technology, arts, and media, and earned her master's degree at NYU's graduate program for magazine journalism. In addition, Katie has held editorial internships at Denver Life magazine, Yoga Journal, and Cosmopolitan; a digital editorial internship at New York magazine's The Cut; a social good fellowship at Mashable; and a freelance role at HelloGiggles. When she's not obsessing over Wholesale Replica Bag skincare launch or continuing her journey to smell every perfume on the planet, Katie can be found taking a hot yoga class, trying everything on the menu at New York's newest restaurant, or hanging out at a trendy wine bar with her friends.