The weather here continues to be wretched. If this keeps up, tomorrow I’ll be wearing Carthusia Mediterraneo and having an out-of-body experience on a Greek island, but for now, I’m reaching for warm spices & woods again. Today’s scent: Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum, the avant garde fashion line’s first fragrance, launched in 1994 with the tag line “works like a medicine and behaves like a drug”. The notes include cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, black pepper, clove, nutmeg, honey, floral notes, amber, labdanum, cedar and sandalwood.
Perfumer Mark Buxton, who developed the scent, noted that the creative freedom accorded him by the Comme des Garçons label was unusual, to say the least:
I mean, I try to keep in mind that somebody has got to wear it, somehow. Otherwise we could bring out a perfume that smells of a horse’s stable. That’s the only difficulty with having complete liberty. How far can I go? (quoted in The Independent, 9/20/2003)
As things turned out, Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum does not venture so far into unwearable territory as later releases like Garage, Tar and Dry Clean, but still, it is an unusual fragrance, and one that every fan of niche perfumery should try. Like yesterday’s Donna Karan Black Cashmere, it has a rough opening, although this one might go beyond rough and spill over into strange. It is spicy (cinnamon! clove!) and warm, yes, but also slightly bitter and heavily medicinal — it smells like an old-fashioned balm or liniment, the sort of thing you might rub on your chest to ward off illness, perhaps.
The medicinal undertones give way gradually, leaving, as in Black Cashmere, spiced sandalwood incense. I don’t think anyone could accuse Black Cashmere of bowing to commercial conventions, but what Comme des Garçons does with spiced sandalwood incense is even less likely to find a mass audience. It is deep and rich, but also smoky (there are hints of smoldering pencil-shavings) and very nearly bone-dry (there is a drop of honey, no more). There is the tiniest whisper of florals (maybe rose?), and traces of something bitter and green linger on from the top notes.
It smells good, but there is something kind of uncompromising about it, and it probably isn’t everyone’s idea of what a personal fragrance should smell like. It is not quite so dark as Black Cashmere (in tone it is closer to Donna Karan Chaos), and “mysterious” and “sexy” might not be apt either. Do comment if you’ve tried it, I’d love to hear some other opinions.
For buying information, see the listing for Comme des Garçons under Perfume Houses.
Tomorrow, oops! running late, make that Sunday or Monday: Comme des Garçons White
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Oh, CdG, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…honestly, I would seriously consider sending Mark Buxton roses (black roses?) for Vday.
Great review! The edp is one of my faves from the line. On me it's spicy heaven w/ a nice, dark twist. Happy sigh. Look forward to your review of White, another HG of mine. And, I have to admit, I actually do find a couple of the Synthetics to be quite wearable (Tar and Skai). Any idea who the perfumer was for that series?
Completely agree on CdG, and on Mark Buxton, who also did the fabulous CdG 2 and my personal favorite, CdG Incense Ouarzazate. No idea who did the synthetics, but I'd love to know!
I really enjoyed this but gave my bottle away for some reason. I think perhaps I found it too dry – I have a tendency to absorb sugary/sweet notes in a scent (though haven't tested this on any fruity-florals… need to steel myself for that!) and therefore dry scents become really really dry… this ended up the way of Gucci pour Homme with me – not the same smell, but the same general direction – it left me parched in a desert wilderness somewhere, only a cactus for company.
I like it very much but cannot wear it. To me, it smells *exactly* like the traditional British Christmas pudding, which is not such a good thing around these parts.
I can see finding it too dry. Even one more drop of honey, maybe, would make this a much easier to wear scent…but I guess easy to wear wasn't entirely what they were after?
How interesting…it is so hard to imagine this as a dessert…although a “not such a good thing” kind of dessert, maybe
I keep getting all these numbered Comme des Garcons mixed up – I can keep track of all the series fragrances, the Odeurs are easy to remember as well, White I remember; it's lovely, but I found it a little too sweet. CdG 1 and 2 are hopeless, though. Aren't there both men's an women's versions of one of them, too? And all the notes sound so good… I really need to remember to try CdG the first, and then remember it – I own and love Chaos, and have been thinking of getting Black Cashmere as a possible replacement, so it should be right up my alley…
Oh, I hate this weather!!! I mean, I understand winter is supposed to arrive, but I don't want all my cold concentrated into the same five weeks! It was close to zero here a couple of nights ago … (snivel)
Why can't I remember what this smelled like? On the one hand, the cedar scares me. On the other hand, Elle (the closest I have to a fragrance twin, I think) is up there raving… I KNOW I smelled it at Barneys. Wonder if, like Lee, I found it too uncompromisingly dry? Hmmmm.
It is very confusing. There is the CdG EdP, then CdG 2 & CdG 2 Man, then CdG 3.
There isn't anything I can think of that really replaces Chaos, but Black Cashmere is as reasonably close as you can get, I guess.
PS Actually, I can think of a couple of perfumes that evoke a horse's stable, so maybe that niche is getting too crowded…
It is misery! I need some sunshine, badly.
You know, I have a feeling this one might have more cedar than you like…
LOL — so true!!
Salvatore Ferragamo smells to me very much like a barn, in the best possible way.
I can't wear the original CdG: it's fascinating to smell, but on my skin it's brutal–harsh, knife-edged, bitter. In fact, the only CdG I've ever been able to wear and enjoy is Carnation from the Red Series, which, on me, is glorious.
It is interesting to me how much my tastes have changed in the past few years, and especially this last year. Maybe “fascinating to smell” has come to outweigh all other considerations? Because I can't really argue with brutal, harsh or bitter…yet it still smells *good*, whatever that means.
Not the Palisander? The Carnation is lovely too, but the Palisander is the one I whipped out the credit card for…
I love the incense series, and even a couple of those weird sweet ones (coffee something?). Robin, I have always lusted after the Leaves… and weren't there Teas, or am I nuts?
I drew the line at the Guerillas. Ugh.
I have a feeling you're right
One of these years, cedar will stop smelling like armpit to me, and think of all the new things I will be able to acquire…
No, tea is part of the leaves collection, which by the way, was supposedly discontinued but which I still see for sale all over the place (?)
Have to agree on the Guerillas, and hated the Sweet series too.
The original Comme des Garçons EdP is amazing! I haven't worn it a whole lot during the past cold winter months unfortunately, but that is probably because of how ill-fitting it is for work (I work up a lot of body heat where I work and would suffocate!), but for my comfy nights and weekends it would be perfect. It is never forgiving though and it always make sure you don't forget what you are wearing. For a nicer sibling, Hôtel Costes EdT will provide much of what CdG Original stands for, but will also withdraw it's powers quite fast and leave you with a very forgiving rosy drydown.
Synthetic series: Tar and Skai are the two I've tried from that series and where both with pride. Easy on the trigger is the key word as these two are LOUD. Have grown a bit tired of Skai actually, but Tar is catching on more and more (and I still believe it is a long lost cousin of Tea).
It sound like the way my taste have changed within the last few months too. I find myself reaching for the vetiver, the smoke, the leather, the animalics, the metallic… I smelled CdG once and it was to medicinal and cologney for me but perhaps I ought to try it on my skin? And you should try Profumum's Fumidus – it is the master of acrid, bitter smoke, not a drop of honey in sight! It sure is… interesting.
I tried Tar & Skai very briefly, and not on skin. Need to revisit that whole series! Perhaps they are more wearable than I remember them.
And agree on Hotel Costes — a great scent although it is a wee bit cleaner than I like. I keep meaning to try the body products and see if I like them better.
You know, I think I have tried the whole Profumum line *except* the Fumidus. Will have to look for it!
It absolutely does, you know.
Okay, this is the first time I've tried a scent on your recommendation. I ordered samples of this and of CdG Carnation Red from luckyscent; they came yesterday.
I adore the CdG! I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist all day. Everyone at work loves it on me, and so does my husband. I'm trying the Carnation today; the floral bit is gone after about an hour, it just smells faintly warm on me now.
(Background: the first perfume I ever wore was Oscar de la Renta. When I could smell it on everyone on the street I switched to Coco by Chanel, but I stopped wearing that about 10 years ago and haven't worn anything since.)
That is an amazing trajectory: Oscar de la Renta, then Coco, then nothing for 10 years, then CdG EdP. I would say you have all the markings of a future perfumista!
I like the toasty cinnamon, but the rest of it conjures up that strangely medicinal and cloyingly cheap disposable diaper smell (unused disposable diapers, that is!). I don't get it. Both 2 and 2 MAN blow this out of the water, i think.
LOL at “cheap disposable diaper smell”