# Byredo — Super Cedar

> Super Cedar, released March 2016, is Byredo's minimalist cedar study and one of the most quietly divisive things the brand has made. Composed by Jérôme Epinette — Robertet's longtime Byredo perfumer, 

## Essence
Super Cedar, released March 2016, is Byredo's minimalist cedar study and one of the most quietly divisive things the brand has made. Composed by Jérôme Epinette — Robertet's longtime Byredo perfumer, the nose behind Bal d'Afrique, Gypsy Water, Mojave Ghost and Pulp — it was conceived with founder Ben Gorham as an exercise in a single material: Virginian cedarwood, presented (in Byredo's framing) for its "verticality" and pencil-shaving nostalgia, with rose as a top whisper and vetiver-musk as a base. The official notes are spare to the point of being a manifesto: rose, Virginia cedar, Haitian vetiver, musk.
The reality, and the reason Super Cedar is argued about, is that for a large share of wearers it does not smell primarily of cedar at all — it smells of Iso E Super, the ubiquitous woody-ambery aromachemical, to the point where critics file it alongside Escentric Molecules' Molecule 01 as a near-soliflore of a single synthetic. Whether you read it as an elegant, wearable modern wood or as an overpriced aromachemical trick is the central debate, and both camps are vocal.
## Scent Profile
The opening is the best part by near-unanimous agreement: a bright, dry, realistic cedar — diluted, alcohol-tinged Virginia cedar that reads as fresh-cut wood and sap rather than the cliché of pencil shavings (though some do get the pencil association). A faint dewy rose flickers at the edges, more a clean lift than a recognizable floral, and many wearers don't detect it as rose at all. There's a green, almost vetiver-forward undertone that gives the top a leafy freshness. Wallpaper* noted the curious effect that it can smell less of cedar on initial spray and more after half an hour, when an early surgical-spirit-and-baking-biscuit impression gives way to a steadier attenuated cedar.
Then the development largely stops. Super Cedar is intentionally linear; within roughly thirty minutes to an hour the realistic cedar thins out and an Iso E Super-style woody-amber haze takes over, joined by soft white musk and a dry, sawdusty vetiver. To its detractors this is where it collapses into "a musky toothpick" — Now Smell This's Kevin wore it full-body for a day and described it as "almost-pure Iso E Super" after the initial cedar flare, comparing the late drydown to Lalique Encre Noire's Iso E-vetiver accord. To its fans it's a smooth, transparent, "quiet luxury" skin-wood with an iridescent quality worth seeking out close to the skin.
## Performance
Polarizing and, for many, the fragrance's biggest weakness. A substantial contingent reports it nearly vanishing — "30 minutes after application the strong, tall cedar trunk turns into a musky toothpick," "no projection and sillage at all," skin-scent within the hour. Others, particularly those who happen to project Iso E Super well, find it tenacious and room-filling (Iso E Super is famously persistent and diffusive in the air even when the wearer goes anosmic to it). wearer reports's aggregate scores put longevity and sillage in the middling range. The honest summary: opening hour is good and reasonably present; thereafter it becomes intimate to faint, and your mileage depends heavily on your own sensitivity to Iso E Super. A few wearers report it performing better in heat than expected, and several note it's an excellent close-quarters "cuddle" scent precisely because it stays near the skin.
## Wearing Context
This is the archetypal office and quiet-luxury fragrance: clean, woody, unisex, inoffensive, easy. It's recommended repeatedly as one of the better office-safe woods because it neither sweetens nor shouts. Autumn and spring suit its dry-wood character best, though it's versatile enough for daily year-round wear and, per several accounts, holds up in warm weather. It leans very slightly masculine in tone but is genuinely unisex — wives and partners are repeatedly cited as enjoying it on a male wearer, and it's marketed to women curious about a "typified masculine" cedar note. It is not a seduction scent or a statement; it's a competent, minimalist signature for someone who values restraint, and a poor choice for anyone who wants projection, complexity, or development.
## Comparisons & DNA
The comparison that dominates every discussion is **Escentric Molecules Molecule 01 / Escentric 01** — the pure Iso E Super fragrances. Multiple reviewers say Super Cedar is functionally in that family ("if I had sprayed this on without seeing the label I would think this is Escentric 02"). Within Byredo, it's positioned as the brand's ingredient-study minimalist, contrasted with the more narrative Gypsy Water and Bal d'Afrique. Other frequent reference points: **Lalique Encre Noire** (the cult cheap-as-chips Iso E-vetiver-cedar, which critics gleefully note can be had for a fraction of Super Cedar's price), **Hermès Bel Ami** as the classic pencil-shaving cedar, **Terre d'Hermès** for the citrus-cedar-Iso E vibe some wearers get, and **Le Labo Gaiac 10** for the same minimalist-wood ethos. wearer reports's "similar" list adds various cedar soliflores. The DNA verdict: Super Cedar is less a cedar perfume than an Iso E Super perfume with a convincing real-cedar overture — which is exactly why it's both beloved and resented.
## Reception
Critically and in the wearers, Super Cedar is respected for wearability and quality but persistently dinged for being derivative, linear, and overpriced for its performance. Now Smell This's Kevin wrote the most-cited critical takedown, calling it "a nasty trick" that "may talk of cedar trees, turpentine and pencil shavings but… serves up what smells like almost-pure Iso E Super," and pointing out that such a perfume "already exists" in Escentric Molecules. Wallpaper* was gentler, framing it as Byredo's signature cool minimalism — "an apparently simple smell that probably took regular Byredo perfumer Jérôme Epinette ages to perfect." wearers sentiment splits cleanly: detractors call it "headache-inducing, heavy synthetic," "Elnett hairspray," "senseless," "double nonsense being neither super nor eau de parfum"; fans counter that it's "solid yet unassuming," "a good companion rather than a hijacker of identity," with one wearer reports reviewer making the case that it "deserves more reviews especially in an instant-gratification sensory-overload society." It remains a strong seller and is frequently out of stock, which itself fuels the "is it worth it" debate.
## Versions & Reformulation
No widely documented reformulation of the juice itself; Super Cedar has remained a stable part of the Byredo core line since 2016 in 50ml and 100ml eau de parfum, and the Iso E Super-forward character has been consistent from launch (a feature of the original formula, not a later cost-cutting substitution). The most relevant corporate change is ownership: Puig acquired a majority stake in Byredo on 31 May 2022 in a deal valued at roughly €1 billion. Per Puig's official corporate statement that day, "Puig…has acquired a majority stake in Byredo, the Swedish luxury brand founded in Stockholm in 2006. Founder Ben Gorham and Manzanita Capital will both remain as shareholders." Puig later moved to full ownership following its 2024 IPO, and Gorham departed as Chief Creative Officer in June 2025 — so current Super Cedar listings are marketed under Puig rather than the independent Byredo of 2016. Buyers occasionally debate whether batches vary, but there is no consensus reformulation story of the kind that haunts vintage Chanels.
## Acquisition Notes
Sample first — this is non-negotiable for a fragrance this polarizing and this performance-variable. The single biggest predictor of whether you'll love or loathe Super Cedar is your own relationship with Iso E Super: if you're among those who go anosmic to it or find it monotonous, you may experience Super Cedar as "barely there" or "boring"; if you love that velvety woody-amber diffusion, you'll find it elegant. Given that Lalique Encre Noire and the Escentric Molecules range deliver closely related effects at much lower prices, the value proposition is genuinely contested, and even admirers concede the price is steep. Buy it if you specifically want the Byredo aesthetic, the realistic cedar opening, and a clean office-wood you don't have to think about. Skip it if you want a complex or long-lasting cedar — established cedar references will serve you better.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- The marketing concept leaned on cedar's "verticality" and its power to "inject energy and lend verticality to a fragrance," a phrasing Wallpaper* gently mocked ("how a vertical fragrance might smell different from a horizontal one").
- A point of perfumery trivia raised in its coverage: "cedar wood" oil here derives not from a true cedar but from the North American juniper Juniperus virginiana, a relative of the European juniper that flavors gin — and cedar oil's pencil-shaving smell doubles as a moth repellent.
- The launch news on wearer reports drew immediate skepticism from commenters who pegged it as "70% Iso E Super and 30% Ambroxan" before it had even shipped — the Iso E debate was baked in from day one.
- Epinette works primarily through Robertet and is one of the most prolific noses in niche perfumery; Super Cedar is often described as his most stripped-down, "ingredient study" composition for the house.