Ivanchik21 – 2022-06-20:

4 out of 5

A year or so ago I was oh-so-generously and thoughtfully gifted Persian Wood from a fellow fragrantican. Wow. Thank you, kind friend, I’d been longing to try her!
As for the scent: I don’t wish to glamorize this girl. She’s old fashioned, strong, and somewhat barber-shop-ish! My bottle may have aged…. What do I smell?
BITTER WOODS!
Yes, there are underlying flowers barely visible alongside generous talcum powder and a good deal of ‘brown’ musk (does musk have a color?!). But most of all I smell the wood, which is rather masculine in aura.
Personally, I find Avon Occur far more appealing, with it’s massive civet and more overtly spicy-floral melange. But if you enjoy old fashioned woods without additional sweetness, Persian Wood is a great trip into the past! I’ve found her most useful for layering with today’s brighter, sweeter aromas. No offense intended, but by herself she smells not unlike some of those Avon aftershaves for men – that same wood/musk/powder accord your Grandpa might have worn.
To sum up – today such a bitter wood is never released mainstream. But if so, I feel certain it would be labeled ‘pour homme’. As a niche, it’s Unisex!
UPDATE – I had a blast wearing Persian Wood again recently, and while I still agree with my previous review in most respects, there are a couple things to clarify. The top notes on my cologne are definitely ‘off’. That might easily account for the bitterness. But the heart is lovely, and warmer than I’d remembered! Amber colored SPICY wood, soft and addictive. This has more resemblance to Occur that I’d thought – though not as powerhouse or animal attitude. So if you liked Occur but found it a bit ‘much-ish’, do give Persian Wood a try!

Gasan85 – 2022-06-20:

4 out of 5

Persian Wood (1956) By Avon
Through sellers on ebay, I was able to purchase the perfume oil, cologne spray and dusting powder, so as one would say, I am all over this fragrance, or rather, this fragrance is all over me. Persian Wood dates from the mid-50’s and it’s one of the most glamorous vintage Orientals from Avon. There is nothing about this fragrance that could come back today with sweet gourmand fruity berry fluff for younger perfumistas. This scent is not fresh and it’s dry, green, oily, woodsy, musky, oily, with a touch of incense. True to it’s moniker it feels and smells like a Persian perfume oil from the Middle East, with wood, though it’s not an oud. The scent is straight out of the 1950’s which I am old enough to remember with great recollection. This perfume was more the style of Avon fragrances from this era. I was also reminded of a later fragrance by Avon, from about 1962, called Occur! This is more of a traditional and simple formula Oriental whereas Occur had a lot going on.
The opening is aldehydes with a floral note, a white sweet little jasmine, but it lacks citrus and fruit notes so it starts off very aldehydic. Strong, fresh, and zesty but more like another reviewer aptly observed, the kind of fresh energizing burst of spraying your hair with hair spray. I would not call this a beauty salon scent as it lacks powdery notes and that rose, violet or iris-based lipstick and makeup vibe. Instead it envelops you in a dark, romantic Arabian night. There are green notes that emerge and I detected patchouli, herbal and verdant, with a spiciness that evokes something out of the kitchen like sage, some grass which I suppose is vetiver and plenty of oak moss. The moss scent is pretty big but it’s not entirely green as it embraces precious woods like sandalwood, a gorgeous sandalwood.
There are notes of spices and even civet’s musk, but thankfully not too dirty, but enough to make it unisex, actually. Unisex for today’s perfume wearers. So men folk, this is something you might want to try. A passionate marriage of Oriental floral, woods and musk. I love the oil which is stronger and lasts longer than the cologne, and the dusting powder completes the beauty effect on my skin. Very formal. Something to wear with glamorous evening wear, jewels, and or faux furs. In the 50’s this would have been worn with actual fur and would have been a warm musk for winter weather.
Persian Wood is a bit too masculine for women to wear by 2017 standards but not by those of 1956 when women wore more grandiose and leathery, woodsy smoky animalic fragrances. I think this is very exotic and ethnic think of a Hindu Bollywood actress or temple priestess in jewels and silky saris and robes. This is something for Sabu the 1940’s “star of India” or for Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, beautiful tan skin ladies in fine clothes and with hair piled up in an elegant updo. Hard to pull of today but it’s a theatrical type perfume that would suit a movie actress who wants to get into character of someone like oh say Cleopatra or Indira Gandhi. This is just so gorgeous, mysterious and seductive. My kind of vintage perfume. I can’t tell you how much I am loving it. I am grateful for the existence of Fragrantica & ebay and wonderful perfumistas who have taken the time to analyze and review this scent to entice us into buying it because it’s worth every penny. Smelling this good and feeling this good.

g-s-s2 – 2022-06-20:

3 out of 5

Fragrance Review For Persian Wood
Avon
Notes
Exotic Floral Notes
Spices
Oriental Notes
Woodsy Notes
Uskadara is a little town in Turkey and in the very old days many women had male secretaries
O well that’s Turkey!
There’s a saying that goes a fat man usually has a belly like a percolated coffee pot
She looks at him longingly through her veil and feeds him candy
Oh those Turks!
Eartha Kitt
Persian Wood (1956) is a charmingly retro Avon fragrance from the days when the Avon lady would knock at your door and sell you fragrance and cosmetics. My mother recalls this fragrance and asked me if I could go on a hunt for a vintage bottle. Where else can you find it but eBay. There are various editions of this fragrance. There’s the perfume oil, the cologne spray, the splash perfume and the dusting powder. For my mother’s birthday I ordered all of them. The cologne spray bottle is in red and I bought one for myself. I have a fondness for all things vintage from the 50’s and 60’s and it is very inspiring for me to wear old perfumes like this one even in our present 2017. This is wonderful. It’s exotic and powerfully fragrant. You have to brace yourself but don’t overdo it or you release the 50’s version of a perfume A bomb. This is quite the attention grabber. It’s bottled Hindi jasmine, nondescript floral notes of carnation, rose, moss, oak moss, amber, and woodsy notes of sandalwood cedar vetiver and patchouli. It’s a combination floral Oriental and chypre. Stunning from start to finish.
The first time you take a whiff it might be startling. Aldehydes knock your nose with a distinctly old time beauty salon scent. It smells like when you have just left the hair salon. But because it’s not as sweet as let’s say L’Interdit by Givenchy it’s not a terribly feminine scent. It’s definitely unisex with a bitter green and later dry woodsy effect. The aldehydes are the only “femme” thing about it but it plunges into a brief floral bouquet with prominent carnation, rose, and jasmine. For me the jasmine was noticeable and it’s layered with greenery courtesy of vetiver and patchouli leaves. Some animalic notes as well. Musk. Civet. But not in a heavy dose. Everything in it is well balanced. But it does project and has shocking sillage. However it doesn’t last too long.
This is a floral and a green floral at that but not what one would call big floral. It turns into an Oriental woodsy scent. The sandalwood is very nice. No wonder they call it Persian wood. I thought it would have been agar wood or oud but it’s definitely a more G rated safer and Westernized perfumery note of cedar and sandalwood. These precious woods are accompanied by moss and amber. They are rather strong and bitter, quite masculine and it is more of an evening cologne. Smells like a man or woman that has dressed like a million bucks to go out to dinner or to a formal gala in evening wear and their hair smells great with a hair spray and this exotic perfume. For a woman in the 50’s this would have transported her far from the mundane life of the suburbs and PTA meetings, Church, and grocery stores and into a realm of romance and glamour. I keep visualizing beautiful men and women in an Arabic setting, men with eye patches, turbans, veiled women in gossamer I dream of Jeannie pants. They are lounging and smoking hookahs. Smells like a Persian harem or at least a Persian themed restaurant in Las Vegas in a hotel like the Dunes and the Sands. But it’s quite linear and never gets too deep or complex. The same notes play their musical melody from start to finish without changing itself too much. It’s classy and mature, sophisticated and beautiful.
Persian Wood has all the allure of a vintage treasure and it’s been discontinued (duh) but can be found on eBay and rummage sales. The cologne spray, and perfume oil (very concentrated) is from the 60’s and can be used as a kind of bath ritual. I pour the oil into my bath water and bathe in it. The cologne spray is very light and subtle and doesn’t last as long as the fierce perfume splash bottle. This was interesting also in that it was an Avon that was not as “cheap” as some perfumes that it would sell in the 80’s 90’s. This is definitely a perfume that takes itself seriously. It’s warm and golden with amber, green with moss, floral and spicy. This is just such a winner for me. It’s suited to winter and autumn when the weather is colder as it envelopes you in it’s chypre greenery and Oriental majesty. I thought this fragrance would have been something perfect for Eartha Kitt or Rita Moreno. This smells like it would have been amazing on more exotic looking ethnic women than the average suburban Caucasian housewife. It is the scent of an exotic belly dancer in Turkey and she lures you with her fragrance, this one. So sexy.

Antokha – 2022-06-20:

4 out of 5

Testing today a vintage Cologne. Nice nice nice. Very different. Truly a unisex scent, fine on a man or woman. Spices, carnation, amber, cedarwood, sandalwood, not sure, sweetish, muted florals through spices.
Unique. glad I got this one in a lot. Rose is in there too. Frankincense also maybe?

Hober – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

3oz red/rubbery bottle
Im not sure how this is supposed to be as a vintage, only I will just describe it as it is, and when I get another sample I can confirm its the actual fragrance or theres been some deterioration. Ive even searched for some comprehensive review, but they seem few and far beween with a vague wood or comment like that.
Opening is an aldehyde hairspray floral, like the hairspray smell in the old aqua net. Very 50-60s salon. Im not sure why women in the 50s-60s would want to deliberately smell like this, but I wasnt there and the times it represented…..(NOTE: Hairspray smell= Turned Aldehydes)
The floral notes are close to a perfume called Kalispera, Its a mix of floral that has a lilly, a jasmine and other hard to make out florals. Id call it a general vintage floral melange at this point in its evolution mixing with the hairspray aldehyde.
Theres a touch of animalic, but it isnt something thats going to bowl anyone over, just enough to warm up the composition. Its very dry, floral and woody. The aldehyde opening lasts for about 45 min on me then changes into something muddled like a mossy floral (rose?) wood. I believe this is where the Chypre comments come about in the other reviews because this does not act as a classic Oriental. Two hours after the first spray a beautiful sandalwood comes out thats smooth, slightly powdery and sweet. Its the best part of this fragrance story.
Ill be revising this when I explore more samples. If you want a trip back into the 1950-60s where weekly salon visits were required, tight sweaters and pearls, red lipstick with your hair done..this is it.

Сергей23 – 2022-06-20:

3 out of 5

I wish Avon would re-release this perfume. It was pure, sweet woods with just a tiny hint of spices and powdery flowers, very exotic and sensual.
I can understand why some reviewers thought there was a male version, as the opening notes are quite “masculine” due to the strong woods.
Both sillage and longevity were on the high end of moderate, even for the EDC, which is what I owned back in the early 1990’s.

dsasha11 – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

If by calling it “Persian Wood” Avon meant to recreate the smell of the flooring from a home for incontinent cats, than they hit the nail on the head with this one! It’s very exotic and evokes the image of a lone male civet scent marking a dead sandalwood tree.
Ironically my bottle of Persian Wood was shaped like a chair with a gold cat on the lid. it was called “sitting pretty”!

Bandelok – 2022-06-20:

3 out of 5

I have the 1.5 oz cologne splash in a clear flask shaped bottle with gold on white scroll-like design print.. I’m thinking it is a men’s version by the opening smell, but i’m not sure if they made a mens.
Opening smells like a man’s cologne but once the alchol wears off it warms up to a nice woody, spicy slightly musk scent that as a woman I dont have any problem wearing.

freinserj – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

I have a tiny little bit left in my bottle but it is in a clear bottle so the smell has faded somewhat. I have had my bottle since the ’70’s so no doubt it has faded some. I use to love this perfume so much! It is still one of my very fave of the older Avon scents and I wish they would bring it back with it’s 1st. formula. There are so many older scents I wish Avon would replay but…. for some reason Avon is keeping their best scents in retirement! If you can find a bottle of Persian Wood that is still fresh, try it for yourself. You will be happy you did.

sssssssss – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

I found this pretty little bottle at a thrift store in a bargain bin. I remembered it from the ’60’s, (as a teenager), that it was one of my favorite Avon’s. The surprise is it’s still potent even as a EDC. I don’t know how long this bottle has been around but it has a soft woody, lightly floral scent that is comforting and spicy without being overpowering. Now if I could just find some of that perfume oil
AND..I just checked out the style of the bottle and it looks like it could be from the ’50’s..I can’t believe it still smells good..makes me wonder how good it used to be..

leontev1979jon – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

I unearthed some half ounce bottles of the 1979 formulation (EdC), but haven’t tried any other. There isn’t much of a wood note to speak of for quite some time. Instead, it’s a bit “skunky” but in a smooth way. It’s rather blended but not “blob”-like. Clearly there are floral notes (including “dirty” jasmine), some kind of spice, and mild musk and amber. It takes a couple hours or more before the wood is clearly present, but at that time it dominates, and also dries the scent out, changing its texture. There may be other woods in here but the sandalwood used seems quite good, quality-wise. This is a bit better in terms of longevity than I would expect from an EdC but definitely not EdP strength. Next time I intend to use more to see if the wood note comes out earlier in the development, so I’ll post back when I do that.

Makvell – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

Persian Wood has been discontinued for ages but Avon did a reissue of this as a limited edition cologne in the 90’s. That is the bottle I have, as well as a tiny bottle of pure perfume oil which I think is from the 1960’s. The 90’s cologne opens up just gorgeous – woods, spices, flowers – all balanced beautifully. The perfume oil opens up stronger, sharper and even woodier. As each develops, they become more and more alike, eventually smelling nearly identical. The oil may be a tad sweeter. The drydown smells like a wooden box that’s been filled with spices and opened after the various notes have merged. The listing of notes here is a bit vague. I sense something animalic and almost feral, but it disappears when I smell up close. True to its name, Persian Wood is all about the wood. It’s a sweet wood. Not a masculine wood, not even unisex. To me this is a purely feminine scent.
I think the animalic note I smell is not animalic at all. It’s not civet. I think it might be an indolic flower, perhaps narcissus.

kaligula221 – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

I have just scored a vintage bottle of Persian Wood off Ebay. It arrived today. It is so wondeful. It starts off warm and spicy. It reminds me of Cinnabar, Red Garter or Opium in that respect. But, then it drys down to a very soft, powdery, mellow scent. I love it! I have been collecting vintage perfumes lately. A lot of them have lost their initial appeal and are left with a stale or medicinal smell. This one is different. It’s like a fine, bottle of wine. It get’s better with age.

arinavirte – 2022-06-20:

4 out of 5

Bought this fragrance for my mother this 2012 christmas. My father passed away last january, this was the first perfume bottle my dad bought my mom which was in 1960. But through the years sometime it broke in her restroom after it fell off the shelf or whatever reason ..so as in memory of my father i started to look for this perfume everywhere to give surprise her with it on christmas…so then after about 2 weeks my fiancee stumbled across it on ebay. I Ended up paying 52.00 for it in an auction… I remember i put a max bid of 100.00…lol…i wanted to make sure i won it.. And it was in great shape practically new.. Included was its original box which was intact and still held the bottle inside great..although a bit worn but the flaws on it were minor..as for the bottle it still had the original avon serial sticker on the bottom of it..and it was nearly full.

FEAR – 2022-06-20:

3 out of 5

Avon would get more respect if their perfumes were more consistent and as good as this one. A perfume lover I trust highly recommended this over a much snobbier and more expensive buy and was she right! I don’t find a lot of spice in this but I find beautiful wood and a highly refined leather. There’s a nice floral (seems to be a rather old fashioned rose) lurking in the background too. The wood has a cedar tang but I’m going to guess it’s actually rosewood. In any case very grown up and well balanced. Subtle too–ideal for work or a close setting. Highly recommended.
Sillage–soft at arm’s length
Persistence–okay
Fabulosity–a mai tai at sunset
Value to price ratio: excellent
7/10

taz865bedyWelty – 2022-06-20:

5 out of 5

I am reviewing the fragrances from an Avon demonstration set from 1968 that mysteriously hasn’t gone off.
Persian Wood was a big surprise. It has made me really reconsider early Avon fragrances. It opens with a fantastic animalic, resinous, leathery orange flower with a huge woody aromatic lift that reminds me of the opening of Bal a Versailles parfum. It veers off into a civet, incense, and sandalwood oriental in the mid notes with a minimal floral presence. In the end, it is a sweet and pretty sandalwood with a wisp of smoke and very subtle leathery nuances.
This fragrance remarkably doesn’t suffer from the usual problems that Avon fragrances have, which is either being too unbalanced or too simple. This is simply good!

Ftvr – 2022-06-20:

3 out of 5

WOW! I wore this in high school and thought and felt sooo sophisticated. As I expected, Avon identifies such few notes I’m left wanting more info. For example, what comprises a bouquet of exotic flowers from a Persian garden? Perfume is my ticket to travel to those exotic Oriental markets, tropical paradises, cool green forests, water lily covered ponds, romantic eateries in expensive restaurants, VENICE… I’ll never visit except in novels or travel programs on TV. I’m a dreamer and fragrance and Fragrantica sreviews are my passport. I hang on to every note and review. Sigh…

Rumeesr – 2022-06-20:

3 out of 5

This was my Mother’s scent when I was a little girl. It was so wonderful, from back in the days when Avon actually had quality perfumes that lasted. They should still be selling this.
Once when a lot of the family went out of town for a graduation, one of the Cajun in-law men told my mother a perfume like that would make a man want to climb the bedpost at night!

maxitronus – 2022-06-20:

4 out of 5

Wow! What a blast from the past! This was my grandmothers favorite in the 1950s. This recalls fashionable mothers at PTA meetings. Suburbia wouldnt be the same with “Avon Calling”. Ding-dong. I didnt get a chance to sample it until last year.
I mostly picked up a dry dusty rose embedded in spices and woods-perhaps cedar and sandalwood. The wood shall remain a mystery. Its a well crafted composition that can be a bit harsh upon opening. Its austere heart seems linear. It is no frills elegance that is surprisingly contemporary by todays standards.
Everything old is new again…Its tricky to find a bottle on the internet, yet worth the hunt.