Mahogany Teakwood
Bath & Body Works (2015)

Mahogany Teakwood by Bath and Body Works (2015) began life as a simple body spray and then spread out into an assortment of shower and body care products like most things from the brand Bath & Body Works, until finally getting a proper eau de toilette release several years later. This is darker, and more barbershop than the related Teakwood by Bath & Body Works (2017) but is not a replacement for Mahogany Woods by Bath & Body Works (2014) from the year before, so take heed. This is the closest thing to a modern re-telling of the 1980's and 1990's fresh fougère, having some of the sheer musks and overall abstraction of things made within the 21st century, while retaining classic olfactive lines from the previous century. This is of course a surprise turn from a brand I have not found much favor with over the years, and a rare turn of excellence at a good price.

The opening has a sort of "frosted" lavender note, mixed with geranium to establish the sense of classic fresh fougère style, with "mahogany" coming in the form of a judiciously-applied amount of cashmeran and woody-ambers, typical deal-breakers in the dosage most designers tend to use them. Funny, that a discount mall fragrance brand actually knows how to blend these high-powered materials into their cheapie fragrance lines better than houses which sell their scents for triple the amount, and develop them with what I assume is a higher budget; I suppose not in this case. The rest of Mahogany Woods is vetiver, cedar, verimoss standing in for the real deal oakmoss, white musks, and generally a clean groomed soapiness that runs throughout rather pleasantly. Performance is middle of the road as expected, but you can always layer on the other products.

Personally, I haven't liked a Bath & Body Works scent this much since I last owned a bottle of "Canyon Cologne" from them way back, when everything for men used to come in frosted blue glass bottles. I'm not saying go nuts and run immediately out for a bottle of this, as Mahogany Teakwood is a nice a life-changing, revelatory, must-have sort of fragrance that will make the usual perfumista spoiled for choice pine and hem for an opportunity to spray themselves orgasmically in front of a YouTube camera, or anything quite that dramatic besides. However, if it's convenient and you want a good fresh grooming scent the likes of which used to be common in drug stores or places like Sears 30 or so years ago (with a slight modern update), you can't go wrong. There's a nice candle version of this too called Mahogany Teakwood Intense that's worth checking out, too, Thumbs up

Oh, my Lucky Strike
Toasted woods though you may be
Bring your oakmoss, too

Lavender that's you
Terre de Ger, to impress me
Be my lucky star

Smilled across the bar
Dirty promised purity
Bath & Body Works

Even for us jerks
Lest our mores make less of thee
Woody amber strong

Laughing at how long
Oh my dear Mahogany
You can Teak your time

I will make it rhyme
But reason, OH my love, was
Never meant to be.