Comme des Garçons 2 (1999)
by Comme des Garçons

At the first try, it was too strange for me. But now, I get addicted to 2. To me, 2 is too stronge for women, but so stronge for men.

Ink? yes, exotic aldehydes? YES! fruits, berries, flower built around aldehydes all this tempered with some kind of cool liquid, which give it that tranparency and clean feel inspite of the assault of dense notes. quite potent and would last ages.. is very classy, definitely a club wear. would definitely smell a lot better on ladies...would make me drool for sure....if black xs is cranberry juice...then CDG 2 is some kind of elixir made of exotic fruits and flowers tempered with the coolest aldehydes and ink available with the touch of incense....a wet scent with mega potency. two light sprays under shirt would take one thru whole day..definitely not a office/daily wear for me...i would prefer to wear it to a rave....unisex...yeh..not my cuppa tea but hey, you wudnt have sniffed anythin like it before. a must have for anyone who appreciates the art of frags.

Ink really does have a smell. Just color a big circle with a simple Bic pen and smell the paper -- it’s there as plain as day, oddly sweet. That’s not Sumi ink, but it does prove that the idea of creating a fragrance based on a scent such as ink is not completely absurd nor impossible. I asked my Japanese friend who is very familiar with Sumi ink to take a whiff of 2 and she said that the idea of it was presented very clearly to her.

What fascinates me about CdG 2 is that it hints at ink in the way that something more obvious such as Donna Karan’s Be Delicious hints at apple. It’s not at downright imitation of the scent but through a creative use of ingredients, the picture is painted. It’s actually gourmandly delicious smelling in its sweet spicey citrus floral amberyness, with patchouli to add a touch of earth. The woods add moments of resinous texture, and it even passes through a point on my skin of smelling lusciously "perfumey." It’s so unique and so fascinating because it seems to fit whichever abstract fragrance box you want to place it in. But to get “unique” you really have to keep telling yourself that it is, and really get in there from the beginning and start sniffing before the air carries away the weirdness, because it’s not as odd as I thought it would be. It’s completely wearable (much moreso than 3 or the odeurs in my opinion). The reason I was taken aback by 2 is because I was under the impression it was unisex and this smells decidedly feminine to me if you'd allow me to characterize a fragrance as such. At any rate, that wouldn’t stop me from wearing it and feeling extra cool knowing I’ve got the fragrance modern artwork Comme des Garcons 2 on, and forcing everyone to smell my sumi ink uniqueness.

I don't like it during the first hour or so after spraying it on; to me it smells like a characterless men's after cologne, powdery and too sweet. But after a while it develops and becomes warmer and drier. After a few hours it has a sexy scent of leather, spice and ink. It's ok.

I do find it a bit too strong for me, too much coriander, smells more like a herbal store and starts smelling sour after a while.

Rather overpowering for a woman although I do think its more feminine than masculine-was surpised when I learnt it was masculine. A very synthethised pungent smell. A confident woman with a strong personality will get away with it-if you like things like Nu and Opium and Prada (the first one) you'll like this. Does not wear off gracefully or for a very long time so a single spritz will do