Reviews of Comme des Garçons White (1995)
by Comme des Garçons

Peppery, minty, airy, spicy, rosy. Mostly cinnamon and florals with a cool sandalwood and vetiver drydown. Excellent.

A saleswoman handed me a bottle of White when I told her I was looking for something reminiscent of clove cigarettes. After sampling it, this struck me as a fairly close approximation. The clove is definitely present, along with some scents I associate with India, (sandalwood and cumin perhaps?) However, the smoky, boozy aspect of a clove cig is not present in White. Also, the sweetness factor was totally different. A clove cigarette has a subtle sweetness, the kind you might find in a fruit curry. White is sweet in a more synthetic, soda-pop way, which seems exactly how CdG might be inclined to interpret a pomegranate.

I can’t fault this fragrance for not being a fancy cigarette (as that is not at all its intention,) and I respect CdG’s attempt to create an oriental that is light, modern, and cool. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that this fragrance smells just a bit cheap.

Another one I hadn’t been aware of all these years. Somehow I had missed it until a couple of weeks ago I saw it in a small shop and thought that I should check it out. I’m happy I did. CDG’s White opens with a fascinating spice accord that strongly carries the aromatics of the spices with it. I love that medicinal / aromatic element in fragrances: That particular characteristic in White is as good as any I’ve smelled, especially because it takes the pomegranate note with it, and the result is a gentle and near exotic fruit / spicy accord intensified by aromatics. Once the medicinal aspects of the opening settle down some, we have a relatively discreet floral, fruity, spicy accord for the heart notes – so refined, so nicely balanced, with just the right touch of the exotic; and it has quite good longevity – as a skin scent with the accord, yes, “wafting” up occasionally. I don’t get a separate base – what I get is a continuation of the heart accord except that the clove note becomes more prominent and the amber grows a bit stronger as the time passes. CDGs White is a truly accomplished fragrance.

Fantastic juice with a lovely dry down. Powerful and icy from beginning to end with a touch of incense thrown in with the rose. Have re-visited twice, but looking for 888 next time.

Kaern

I like this one's spicy floral zing, but I don't find it to be a distinctively winter scent. It's cool spiciness works as well or better in summer. The lack of warmth in the spice also makes it wear a little lighter than the typical winter spice perfume. The clove note gives a carnation tone to the florals, but this still doesn't overturn the cool ambiance of this fragrance. I don't smell a pomegranate note, per se, so assume it's more of a modifier, to give a pale fruity tone to the spice. I find it quite wearable, lacking a strong sillage, possessing instead more of a wafting quality. This one expands and lives with me more than the original, which merely ran rough-shod over me.

I really wish I detected the pomegranate. All I smell is cinnamon and sandalwood. Very much a winter smell, and quite masculine. Smells nice, but not for me. Far more organic than CdG's 53 and 2.

White is interesting and original and well made, but I don't think it's suitable for men. Because of the heavy use of rose and spices, it smells almost exactly like rose-based potpourri. The cinnamon is also a bit much at first, although it blends with the other notes eventually.

I'm amazed that you don't hear raves about this scent more often since it's amazing, unlike anything else. It has all the things I usually detest - minty freshness, a combination of cool and warm notes, florals and pomegranate - and yet I adore it.
It's like warm wintery spices (cinnamon?) and woods (cedar)under a blanket of pure snow. The white coolness of the scent is really amazing. I usually cringe at attempts at capturing that, since it ends up in synthetic, sharp department store men's cologney ozones, aquatics and mints. Not this one. It's a soft, lovely coolness.
Perhaps it's mainly the lily of the valley? I just love the scent of the fresh flowers even though I'm not a fan of florals in perfume, so I might be a bit biased towards it. I also get hints of spicy rose and for once I don't mind. Perhaps it's because it's a white rose?
I wouldn't call it an "ice queen" scent though. It's so warm and soft and cosy, and not very aggressive. Perhaps a scent for someone so flawlessly elegant and beautiful you don't dare approaching her, even though she herself is very comfortable and polite and sends out no icequeen vibes?

Here's a very exotic fragrance. The specific spices, pomegranate, and the rose all whisper Middle East or Arabian nights to me. I also think it's a bit too feminine because of the dominant rose. I enjoyed it while I had it but I don't think I'd buy it again. The white flower effect is also a little too dry and invasive to my sinuses. For some strange reason, I find the scent similar to L'Artisan's Passage D'Enfer.

very flowery -- not a unisex scent. the cinnamon note stands out at first, but on drydown the rose is dominant. very nice, though.

White is a "white" interpretation of the original Comme des Garçons, simultaneously spicy and "icy", like a cool breeze with a burn. An Ice Queen scent.