parfums*PARFUMS Series 2 Red: Sequoia (2001)
by Comme des Garçons

The long lost grandson of Santa Maria Novella's Peau D'Espagna.

Wow....what a sharp, fresh blast of pine and cedar! Very foresty...I like to put a little on before bed, and then sleep with a breeze from the window....it's like camping, but without the bugs and dirt and with a comfy bed and indoor plumbing! A win! Great smelling fragrance for people who aren't fans of "perfumey" fragrance, as it's very natural and organic smelling.

Oh wow, completely blown away by this! I really love the smell of cedar and wood, and CdG has two EXCEPTIONALLY strong fragrances in the "pure wood" category - Monocle: Hinoki, and this, Sequoia. Between the two, though, I choose Sequoia. Why?

To begin with, envision a boozed-up red-plaid-clad lumberjack in the Great Redwood Forests of California, standing in front of the oldest and tallest tree he can find. He takes one last swig of his syrupy Rum, buckles down, and whacks the tree over with his axe in one fell swoop. Imagine the smell emanating from the freshly-cut Redwood Giant. THIS is what Sequoia is - the top notes are slightly sweet and alcoholic but you are hit with wood VERY quickly after. The metaphorical boozed-up lumberjack has basically handed you a log from the middle of this giant redwood and you will be carrying this smelly delight around all day.

The very interesting aspect of this fragrance, however, is that it smells different but STILL like Redwoods no matter where you apply it. If you apply it at the top of your wrists it will be like walking through a forest of freshly-cut Redwood. Apply it to your pulse point on your wrists, though, and you will be treated to an olfactory experience that VERY closely resembles a warm, cozy fireplace burning cedar logs. I don't know if they planned this or not, but I love using it to my advantage.

The bottle is incredibly endearing and feels very well-planned even though the design is simplistic.

As for Hinoki, the experience is like getting hit in the head with a giant wood block, but that's NOT a bad thing! The "wood" quotient is a lot higher in it, but I think in the long run that affects wearability (even though the sillage and longevity are staggering). This is where Sequoia shines. Sequoia was very much made to be worn by wood-lovers yet still produces great sillage and longevity.

All in all, this is now one of my signature scents. I've been searching for something like this for so long, and now I've found it.

Now this was a head-scratcher. I sniffed several times, and I smelled the notes in an exact sharp-smooth pattern. Interesting roller-coaster ride, but I don't like it. It just got worse as it dried down through a type of mothball astringency. Oh well. I liked Palisander much better.
Even though my initial reaction was neutral, I probably won't be keeping the sample, even for reference.

Now, I've been looking for a frag with heavy dose of agarwood (aloeswood, jinko, oudh) and this has the most natural elements of most - usually jinko is used in distilled oil-form in perfumery and that actually distorts the actual 'sound' of jinko that's being burned.
Having heavy pepperminty pine/vetiver tones right on top support well the somewhat mossy, soily jinko-notes that ooze up after some 20-30 mins.
So this is my chosen one for everyday use, i want to be identified with this frag!
As said above this scent has little or nothing to do with the beautiful Montale ouds - whole different approach. What comes near is CdG Tea; smoky, resiny forest fire residue.

Oh boy, this is SO CLOSE to being something exceptionally good. So close.
But unfortunetly I end up thinking that this is again just another "very nice" fragrance - and that`s about it.
I love the notes and the concept, but like I said, to my nose it fails for being anything special at the end. I guess I would have liked to see heavier agarwood note in this to give it some edge. More that oomph! overall.
Now this is just a nice, sweet and red smelling blend of woods and rum; a bit too bland and boring for my tastes. It doesn`t that long either.

If this were produced in EdP form with higher agarwood concentration, I would probably be all into it.