Reviews of Abercrombie & Fitch Woods by Abercrombie & Fitch

Woods is a clean, bar soap, 80s style scent, not that far from Drakaar Noir. In fact, if this was a modern flanker from Guy Laroche, I wouldn't be surprised. The quality is very good and despite feeling like a mature scent, this can be pulled of by a younger guy. Maybe not for casual days, but not super formal either. Might be really good for work or church.

Projection is good during the first 1-2 hours and then longevity hangs in the skin for about 8 hours.

Where are the woods????????

A strong lavender opening that smells more like one of the thousands lavender based aftershaves in the market that eventually settles in a white musk drydown with an hint of vetiver.
From the name I was expecting sandalwood, cedar and maybe fir or even pine, but I get this wimpy vetiver as the "woods" I was looking for.
It is not a bad fragrance, on the contrary, it is well constructed but it was a disappointment for me looking for a more "woody" scent.

New formulation - Eau de Cologne

Longevity: ~5 hours - great for after work, after a shower.
Projection: 6-10 inches.
Sillage: Average to below average.
Usable temps: 30-60 degrees F.
Age range: 22+, an older gentleman could pull this off easily.

What this scent lacks in power, it makes up for with quality of smell.
I would call this a safe scent, very masculine, women love it when they're close enough to smell it. It easily could be mistaken for aftershave.

It starts with a "punch you in the nose" dose of lavender, a very fresh type of lavender that gets you ready after a fresh shave.

Dries down after 1 hour to a smoother musk with the lavender and the vetiver joining in lightly.

Perfect for an afternoon scent, office scent, I would do it as a date scent.
Leather jacket, jeans, stubble would fit perfectly with this.
Its excellence comes from its simplicity, a rough textured smooth sailing scent, almost linear.

Very often my SOTD when nothing else jumps out at me.
Not worn much by others anymore, this was a bigger hit in the late 90s early 2000s.
I've been wearing it for a few years, and I have yet to come across someone else wearing it.

Product tip: The male model mid-section sticker is easily removable. Dont let that stop you from buying it. The clear glass bottle is thick and well designed. Sprayer, average quality.

From a pre-2005 bottle (original formulation):
A mildly boozy green opening note soon blends is with vetiver and a delightful pine impression; the latter giving this scent its name. Vetiver adds a citrus-like freshness that remains present in the background. A hint of light whilt musk is added in the base. Decent silage and projection, with over five hours of longevity; the last couple of hours close to my skin. A great classic, traditional spring for spring and warmer autumn days. 4.5/5

Pretty decent, not for young malesI've been looking forward to trying Woods for a long time, especially after Abercrombie decided to discontinue it for a second time. I received it in the mail today, and eagerly tried it on. Woods isn't bad- it starts off with lavender and salty sea air notes, moves on to floral/tobacco with a pinch of pepper, the tobacco and pepper become more dominant as the floral notes fade, and finishes with pepper.The tobacco is light, and the pepper combination makes it smell a bit burnt. The pepper itself is nice and natural, much more pleasant than those in scents like The Beat.All these scents interact to create something very soapy- one moderately expensive hotel soap (lavender) and the other shaving soap (tobacco/pepper).Not bad stuff at all. I can see why it was discontinued (twice), as it doesn't fit in with the Abercrombie demo graph, but I certainly think it'd receive more recognition under a different brand. ***This is the 2011 version that I reviewedPros: Nice soap scent, matureCons: Not overly strong, most people won't like it"

One of the finest colognes, period. I first owned Woods when I was in college. What a superb smell. Couldn't get enough. Then AandF discontinued it, and only within the past 2 years has this wonderous scent re-emmerged on the mass market. I am soooooooo stoked about that!!!!! The original and the new batch are basically the same. Can't tell a difference. This, in my opinion, is the quintessential cologne for a man. It is truly perfect. One can wear this year round, for any event, regardless of age. Yes, the store that makes it caters to the young teen/early 20's crowd, but this cologne is for any gentleman. This fine scent treats you to warm woods, refreshing and elegant. Other quality ingredients (nice musk and sandalwood) round out this cologne to keep its lasting power and overall manly demeanor for hours. On me this lasts 8+ hours, and doesn't stay close to the skin after drydown. Lots of compliments (if that matters to you), and from first spray to 8 hours later, I find it keeps its form and doesn't change too much. This is not a complicated cologne, with lots of varying smells and altering stages. It's just a classy, medium-sillage wood-based cologne that truly should be tried by every guy. It isn't brash, and it's not like an 80's powerhouse. With that said, it's also not like an aqua/light scent or something super musky. Just a clean, smooth nectar that exudes an appreciation for how one smells. Don't worry about the douchie image of these mall stores. The cologne itself is leaps above! My only neutral comment is the price. No, it's not as expensive as Chanel, but I think it could be slightly cheaper considering who is making it. Oh well, it's worth the money! So, give her a whirl, you won't be disappointed. Cheers.Pros: Warm, smooth, attractiveCons: A bit pricey for a mall cologne"

Abercrombie Woods... The "Original" is a classic...

What is the old saying, "if it isn't broke, don't fix it"...!!! I see that Abercrombie has relaunched the Woods fragrance. I have the original fragrance and I am almost embarrassed to say, I have had this bottle nearly 15 years. Don't laugh - with a sizable collection, I don't use it as much, but I can't part with it. The reason is simple - it is still unique among fragrances and still get's compliments... For those of you who love those musky, spicy, and outdoors ('woodsy') notes, this cologne is for you. Even if you cannot find the original, from what I read about the new relaunch, it is still the same fragrance with minimal difference from some time ago.


The bottle design is simple yet classic and Abercrombie does a great job with packaging (and marketing). Probably catering to a younger crowd, I have no problem wearing it (or buying a new bottle). It is excellent for fall/winter and will work for any occasion.



Like I said, Woods is ripe for compliments. I may wear this cologne twice a year now, but I still receive compliments. This was the first time Sweetie has experienced Woods and while not initially impressed, she grew more fond of it as the day progressed. On a sidebar - she kept her nose close to my neck most of the night..!! :) (don't mention that I wrote that should you know or meet her..) The Wow Factor is there - It has potential..!! I can't speak of the longevity for the relaunch, but the original Woods lasts for hours and scores well above average.


My only complaint about Woods is the price or value. I am very critical in Department Store signature fragrances - they can be over priced with below average longevity, especially if purchased in the store. In prior reviews, I have been critical of the value of Hollister fragrances. If you can find Woods on sale, or through other means, for around $25.00 - I definitely recommend picking it up.


Final scoring for Woods 4.2 stars out of 5. Woods is a great musky/'woodsy' fragrance - If the price/value were better, perhaps my scoring would be higher. Play like a champion today...

Definitely evokes thoughts of Drakkar Noir. Perhaps slightly less offensive with much less projection and longevity less than 6 hours. Very much a cheap mass market attempt at "one scent to suit all". Unsophisticated and boring. Might well suit a teenager just starting out.

I do like the smell of A&F Woods, although it's not my favorite. I have the old version that I've had since 1998. After getting this at age 18 my girlfriend at the time absolutely loved it. I guess it's pretty good, she is now my wife of 8 years. I didn't wear woods for years until recently I wore it a few times and she still says it's her favorite of all the frags I have.

The rereleased version of this differs from the original. The new one has a much more prominent blast of lavender than the original, and lacks the pineyness. Other than that, it's pretty close. The old one, if you can find it, is really nice and well done. Great fall scent, reminds me of walking through leaves on the ground. Very spicy, with some woods and pine that add up to a very masculine scent. If only A&F weren't cheap bastards and made this at least an EdT.

Drakkar Noir......heh, sorta.

Abercrombie & Fitch Woods is less about woods and more about lavender. A clean, rugged lavender note gives it a bit of a "soapy" smell. A real "meat and potatoes man" fragrance, this has the most balls out of all the Abercrombie fragrances. The lavender note is soon joined by a detectable but not intrusive note of cumin; my least favorite fragrance note. The cumin disappears, the lavender stays, and some ACTUAL woods and spices join in for the base.

My brother has worn Woods since it came out in the late 90's, I remember it being discontinued, and now it's back. For the price, it projects well, but the longevity is just average. Why is Woods only an Eau de Cologne?

Maybe Abercrombie & Fitch could make an Eau de Parfum concentration of their best men's fragrance?

To put it bluntly? It smells just like the reformulated (read: less offensive) version of Drakkar Noir, but with a thin veil of soap concealing its inner dirtiness.

Buy this if you like the original DN, but think the new version is too light.

One of my favorite colognes. I bought it way back in the 90's and it became my daily sent for years then I put it back on the shelf. I've tended to wear it during the winter months around the holidays. I recently saw that A&F brought it back in a newer bottle. I haven't checked it out in person but I'm happy if they did.

As Odysseusm said, this is not the woodiest log in the pile. In fact, any wood note in Woods has got to be synthetic; my nose doesn't detect any real wood. Although people mention citrus, I don't smell any significant real citrus. It's possible that any citrus smell is totally synthetic too. What my nose smells is a somewhat fresh scent apparently composed almost totally of synthetic components. Woods is also soapy, but the soapiness is not the more common floral-based soap, it too seems synthetic. My verdict on Woods is: Meh This is an OK fragrance, but certainly nothing to rave about. That it seems composed entirely of synthetic aromachemicals is fine with me, but may not be satisfactory to some. Woods is fairly strong, projects well, and is moderately long lasting. Test before buying.

This is, without a doubt, my all time favorite cologne. It's masculine, woodsy (obviously), and for some reason, strikes me as "classy" despite the store that used to sell it.I really wish it hadn't been discontinued.

I don't get why this sells for an arm and a leg on eBay. It is nothing special at all. If oyu are buying for your own use, DON'T waste your money. If you can score one for cheap to sell and make a good profit, sure, go for it.It smells like a super cleaned up Drakkar Noir. It ventures in to the territory of Gucci Nobile, but there is so much more out there that smells alike, that it simply isn't worth the money being asked nowadays. Someone mentioned an alternative, I will offer one as well: Jivago Connect. And it is MUCH better too...stronger and last longer.

After unsuccessfully searching for a bottle of this at a reasonable price, I happened to stumble upon a pretty solid substitute at a friends house. It is called "Ego," and it can be found on www.pureromance.com.I sprayed it and it reminded me of A&F Woods right away. So if any of you do not want to pay the ridiculous prices on Ebay for Woods, I would strongly suggest checking this stuff out.

I think this one is for americans only. Never did well in Europe. This is more a earth and water perfume. People say wood, but the heavy spice kills the wood. It reminds me of desperate oriental perfume with too little spice...

I love this fragrance. It is a grand bouquet of woody and fresh notes. What a shame that it is discontinued. I've got a quarter of a bottle left, and wear it maybe once a year. Gorgeous.

Eh, Abercrombie wasn't doing quite so great back when they designed Woods. I recently obtained a bottle after reading all of the reviews, and seeing how fast it sells on Ebay. Honestly it wasn't impressive, the immediate scent I thought of when I sprayed this was soap. Cheap generic soap. THen it dries down to Amber, and a hint of wood. Then that's about it, just fades out into a generic light airy wood. Little bit of pine added in. I think it would've been better if it actually smelled more like Wood then soap, but that's my opinion. For the cost(say around 90$ if your lucky, 200$ if you purchase from a retailer) it's really not worth it. If you're a savy buyer, go buy a auction bottle, and resale, bout all that this fragrance is good for.

So sad. Bought my son this fragrance at A&F. I liked it immediately, and after "borrowing his," I bought the scent for my use. It is a wonderfully earthy, woodsy frgrance, that is light, but complex. Always brings comments from women, if lightly used. It does have staying power.

I have like 10 bottles of this stuff lying around and I can't wear it anymore. Girls use to go crazy over this stuff and thats the only reason why I wore it I never really liked the smell. Also it doesn't last so one bottle goes Quick. I wore a couple weeks ago and the girls still love this cologne so if you can track down a bottle I'd say pick it up for a girl getter, but it is expensive on ebay.

Revised review.
I have the original 1990's bottle.
Opens with a hefty lavender note and some peppery spice. Somewhat sweet throughout its life. There is an "outdoors" or fresh note, which might suggest pine to some (but not me). Not problematic, but not coniferous in my opinion. Hint of wood as it develops. Dry-down is a somewhat sweet musk.
A basic scent, pleasant enough and somewhat old-school. A tad too sweet for me. Don't over-apply and it is OK.

such a wonderful frag...not sure why A&F would discontinue it. It was a wonderful seller and to replace it with Ezra Fitch which is HORRIBLE. I dont get it. So sad to lose such a great smell