FRAGRANCE | Green Cedar EDT by Bench: An environmentally-conscious offering from the Philippines' premier retail brand

A few weeks ago, I found myself wandering inside Bench Powerplant Mall. And what else would catch my eye but two fragrances by their lonesome twosome, positioned far away from the rest of the brand's scent offerings. They're Basil & Neroli and Green Cedar, both EDTs and part of the Bench Better Made line. The frags are purported to be vegan and cruelty-free. They come in 125ml dark brown glass bottles and brown paper cylindrical boxes. Nice packaging there except for the cheap, plastic cap. No big deal, though, since they're just Php 428 apiece. 

While I wanted to take both, I only went home with Green Cedar because the other frag smelled like coriander on my skin. Anyway, Green Cedar opens with bright, aromatic citruses. Despite lacking any sweetness, they're perfectly rounded, with no annoying sharpness whatsoever. There is, however, an ultra-mild prickly sensation that I suspect is from the littlest pinch of spices, lending some aroma and depth to the citruses.

After a few minutes, the citruses dry up and I start getting a remote resemblance to Dior Fahrenheit, which I also get when I sniff the nozzle directly. That said, I don't know if there are violets and leather involved because the scent instantly reminded me of that Dior classic. The cedar does appear shortly and I can clearly make out its inherently dry, woody nature from the mix. However, it doesn't really announce itself and is more like a steady base grounding the scent while the Fahrenheit-like accord wafts around until it's time is up.

Bench produces some really inexpensive frags with relatively good quality (with Rajo Uno perhaps as my favorite), and it's always a joy whenever I find something that clicks with me. Green Cedar is just like that. It's a nice and pleasant scent that lasts for hours albeit in a weakened state after about two hours. It leans masculine but is an easy wear in any time and weather. All in all, it's a pretty good buy.