* Velvet Wood starts off with a punch of cedar wood and a little sweat (maybe cumin) mixed with sweet resins.
* The Velvet line is a new set of high-end, niche-quality fragrances from Dolce & Gabbana available only at certain stores. These are not to be confused with the more mainstream D&G line.
* The scent turns left and goes crazy animalic and musk on me. It’s dirty, filthy, and sexy- but stops short at full-on raunch. The first time I wore it I was thinking, this can’t be right, but after going through three samples I realized this was where it went.
* Also in the Velvet line are Patchouli, Vetiver, Love, Sublime, and Desire. Wood and the first two are marketed as masculine and the latter three are deemed feminine. With that said, I can only imagine how sexy Wood would smell on a woman.
* The animal calms down and the base notes are a sweet leather with a subtle vanilla.
Summary: Velvet Wood is a wild ride of extremes. If you’ve never experience the top-middle-base notes development of a scent, this is a good one to start with – because the stages are SO distinct. It’s almost like three fragrances in one. The last scent that threw me for such an unexpected animalic curve ball was Chantecaille Kalimantan, which looks so delightfully demure but turns into such a filthy beast on the skin. Definitely for the nighttime, Velvet Wood will attract attention from people in proximity.
Dolce and Gabbana Velvet Wood is available through select Saks Fifth Avenue stores. If you are in the South Florida area, I recommend checking out the Dolce and Gabbana counter at the Bar Harbour Saks and asking for Maygan.