Dsquared²
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The initial spray delivers a sharp, almost piercingly clean citrus accord where lemon's tartness and neroli's bitter-orange brightness bracket jasmine's white floral richness. Within minutes, the jasmine softens and sweetens, losing some of its indolic heft, whilst the neroli begins to show its slightly soapy underside—that clean, petit grain quality that makes everything feel crisp and pressed.
Violet leaf emerges with its characteristic green, watery metallic quality, creating an intriguing tension with the powdery sweetness of violet flower and the almond-marzipan whisper of heliotrope. The musk here acts as a gauzy veil, blurring the edges between notes so nothing feels too distinct or harsh, whilst the floral accord gradually recedes to make way for the woody elements beginning to surface beneath.
Cedarwood and vetiver settle into a quiet, persistent hum on the skin—dry, slightly smoky, with that earthy, almost mineralic quality good vetiver brings. The vegetal amber adds a subtle warmth that feels woody-ambery rather than sweet-ambery, whilst ghost traces of violet powder and musk continue to soften the woods, preventing them from becoming austere or overly masculine.
She Wood is Daphné Bugey's exercise in olfactory contradiction—a fragrance that wears its woody architecture like armour whilst maintaining an almost delicate transparency. The opening announces itself with a crisp lemon-neroli burst that immediately collides with jasmine, creating that peculiar 'clean laundry meeting citrus grove' effect that feels simultaneously fresh and indolic. But it's in the heart where Bugey reveals her hand: violet leaf brings its green, cucumber-like facets to dance with powdery violet flower, whilst heliotrope adds an almond-tinged sweetness that never quite tips into gourmand territory. The musk threading through the composition keeps everything lifted and skin-close, preventing the florals from becoming too pretty or conventional.
What's remarkable is how the woody base—that cedarwood-vetiver-vegetal amber trio—manages to feel robust without being heavy, creating a scaffold that supports rather than dominates. The vetiver here reads more earthy and root-like than grassy, grounding the composition whilst the vegetal amber (that pleasantly ambiguous modern accord) adds a woody warmth that feels like sun-heated driftwood rather than polished furniture. This is for someone who wants presence without projection, who appreciates a scent that hovers in that liminal space between masculine and feminine. It's the fragrance equivalent of wearing an oversized linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up—casual sophistication with an edge of studied nonchalance. She Wood works best in transitional weather when you need something with substance that won't suffocate.
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3.5/5 (87)