Odeur 53 (1998)
by Comme des Garçons

Here's my original review, that I found to be quite pretentious but actually not that bad:

"A comfort scent of sitting in a garden of pixelized leaves and sunshine that's right next to a pool of soapy water that is filled with sentient robotic fish while being blown on the face by gusts of sweet refrigerated air."

WARNING: Initially, it smells like nothing, but try over-spraying or over-applying and you might find yourself running to the sink with a headache to wash it off. Even when applied lightly, the sillage and longevity is surprisingly monstrous for such a clean scent. There is a sharp synthetic note in Odeur 53 that I believe to tell the wearer's brain that "Hey! There's something that smells chemically dangerous around you! Here, have a nice headache. This should make you take care of the smell!" However, after a while, your brain gets used to it -- then you can start spraying that 200ml bottle of yours like there's no tomorrow.

I have sampled both 53 and 71 and I at first have found both to be pretty underwhelming. Initially, I thought that 71 was more interesting/challenging and that 53 was too overly subtle. (note: boring oblivious nothingness) However, a few days ago, I sprayed some GPHII on my body and applied a very little bit of 53 on my hands from my sample vial then went outside. It was very windy that day. I walked around then suddenly I wondered what smelled so nice. I knew that it wasn't the GPHII. Then I realized it was the 53! The combination of the evening breeze with Odeur 53 was in my opinion, strangely amazing.

I was also surprised at the sillage that was given off. When sniffed up close, it's nothing much to get excited about -- pleasant, but nothing too exciting. Kinda like "my skin but better." When I smell 53, I think of "refrigerated chlorophyll, cellulose, and air." For me, it's a very "green" and transparent frag. A good frag for a windy day. Overall, it's pretty unique and easy to wear.

Here's my review today:

Soapy woods with a plastic tinge. Wears lightly. Pass!

Odeur 53 smells kind of like the smell of a thunderstorm X 10 with some burnt rubber (like over-worked car brakes) and a clean laundry smell. Those are only some of the many notes, but those notes stuck out the most for me, and that’s the best way I can describe it in a nutshell. It’s also surprisingly light and fresh, yet it does come off as very synthetic (after all it’s part of CdG’s synthetic series!).

Strangely enough, when I first tried Odeur 53, I thought I smelled light bulb dust – I was surprised because that’s listed in Odeur 71’s notes, not Odeur 53. Then I got the burnt rubber and nail polish, etc, etc. It’s a lot easier to pick up on some of the other notes in this when you look at the scent pyramid. I think a lot of the notes are subjective - for example, if you want to smell plastic, it's there. If you want to smell honeysuckle, it's there too...

Other than how it smells, well… it’s not amazing but it is quirky and wearable. Like others have mentioned, it has lots of sillage, and it seems to last a good while too. Fortunately it doesn’t get too annoying, and it makes you feel like you’re pulling off some crazy fashion statement in the fragrance world.

Overall, just like Muscs Koublai Khan, Odeur 53 goes into my books as a more of a work of art than a scent I’d like to wear, thus the neutral rating.

nota bene: SirSlarty is right, you really can't smell this for the first 10 minutes or so; then it just wafts up out of nowhere.

7/10

Edit: Yet another fragrance I've changed my mind on months later. Odeur 53 is actually very wearable - it reminds me of just-washed clothes hanging outside before it rains. A nice, fresh scent while still being unique and eccentric.

New rating: 8/10 and a thumbs up instead of a neutral.

After the initial mélange of various ozonic/electrical scents, all that I can smell is nail polish, and it lasts forever. Do you want to smell like a TV screen smeared with nail polish...for a looong time? I don't. Frankly, this seems like the fragrance equivalent of living near high-tension power lines. Does that mean that Odeur 53 is carcinogenic? Well, maybe...?

Alright, I'm being facetious (I guess), but I really cannot fathom why anyone would want to subject themselves to this. Similarly, I cannot imagine that anyone would want to smell someone who emits this "odeur."

Oh, but it's an "anti-perfume." It's "art." Sheesh. What's next? A frag that smells like a Ziploc bag filled with the world's tiniest sea shells (not real ones, but space-age synthetic ones!) placed on the surface of the Moon? Fragrance notes like "Exploding Star," "Spent Fuel Rod," or "Frozen Glue"?

I am inclined to agree that this is avante garde, but that would be too complimentary. I would rather just say that it's pretentious and eerily misanthropic - and leave it at that.

i get that after a violent thunderstormlike feel. i like it and it has like a more of a natural smell than a perfumey presence

If ever there was a "clean" scent executed as performance art, this would be IT. A strange/atmospheric/fresh/green anti-perfume like no other. This is Comme des Garcons' pioneering calling card. Don't be deceived by the sillage. It can be quite strong, at least on me, mostly because at first it smells like nothing at all. This is a beautiful/artificial/futuristic/green/fresh scent that is not, mind you, for everyone. Still, this is worth a try simply because it's like no other.

Modern, avantgarde and discrete.

This is, for me, a bi-polar scent. There are the flowery notes underneath the dominant smell of photocopier and static electricity from tv-monitors. Somehow these notes do not fit, but then again, that is exactly the point. Provocative in a discrete and quite pleasing way. I love it!