parfums*PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Avignon (2002)
by Comme des Garçons

Note: I will not be using 'cathedral', 'church' or 'catholic' in my review.

But I will be using the word 'breast'.

Last week my friend was in town for business and stayed a few days so i could take her to wine country. At the last minute she asked if a friend could join us, since it was his first time in the U.S. No problem, i said.

I asked the friend where was he from. "Avignon", he replied, and this is why I can't use any churchy references for this perfume.

My gregarious guest spent the weekend telling jokes with big hand gestures, heartily slurping his wine in the tasting room, and joyfully asking women if their husbands were married. At the beach he wondered if "women were allowed here to put their breasts out?" (i.e, go topless)

So how to I interpret Avignon, the fragrance, after this? Not without fond memories, i'm afraid. The scent itself is dry, warm and resinous, with a pitch perfect incense note that i just love. Like my friend's visit it doesn't last as long as I'd like, but when it's around it keeps me interested throughout.

I love Avignon, and recommend it as fragrance you could step out in at any time.

Okay, so I am trying to expand my fragrance wardrobe AND think outside of the box a bit. I am intrigued by incense fragrances and I love the smell of incense at funerals and during High Mass at the Roman Catholic Church. Given this and the many positive reviews here on Basenotes, I decided to give CDG "Avignon" a try...along with Etro Messe de Minuit.

Despite my husband asking, "Do you REALLY want to walk around all day smelling like a Catholic Church?"...I LIKE this fragrance a lot...I really do! I am not so sure that smelling like a church is such a bad thing-smile.

Yes, this fragrance totally, 1000% reminds me of the frankincense and myrhh, slightly floral aromas of the incense used during High Holy Mass. There are smoky, musty, musky, dark, mossy, fern-like notes with a wee-bit of vanilla along with the incense throughout the duration of the scent. Something in the mid-notes and dry down make this scent a bit more harmonious with my chemistry than Messed de Minuit. I did sneeze after applying both Messe de Minuit and Avignon...but I think that goes with the territory...pretty strong opening notes!

I like the idea of a fragrance that dares to be so different and unique. I like this scent a lot...not sure if I could love it...not sure I am ready for a full bottle at such $$$$$$! I think I might just buy a bottle and give it more than a sample try! Definitely different...just not sure where & when I would wear it :0)

Avignon is quite a good frankincense scent . It smells like a burning thurible in a mass or ceremony. One of the best frankincense scents available. Highly recommended.

In my opinion, Avignon is THE archetypal frankincense fragrance. While I've smelled creative uses of it in mixed blends, and even more so, smelled dry, brittle, and faint renditions in various forms, in my experience only Avignon has truly captured the magic of the burning resin. Here, there is a deep, glowing richness than encapsulates all things frankincense in liquid frorm. Are there other notes? Some, yes. I distinctly detect chamomile, and perhaps some background of spice, but none of the bright citrus or dry woods frankincense is often paired with. Avignon is almost entirely about frankincense, though and though, totally linear yet complex enough to be satisfying in and of itself.

The silllage and longevity are well above for me.

If you love frankincense, I can't imagine why this wouldn't be for you.

This locus classicus of incense-based perfumery deserves every compliment it's gotten in the earlier reviews. Avignon doesn't bother much with the traditional top notes. Instead, it launches right into deep, smoky, incense that's infused with dried fruit, bitter citrus zest, and spices - perhaps nutmeg, mace, or cinnamon. Over the course of an hour the fruit, citrus, and spices gradually retreat, leaving in their wake a very dry frankincense-rich incense accord. At this stage, Avignon is rarified, transparent, and somehow distant, yet also very profound. The heart has a spiritual quality that vividly evokes the silent, cool interior of an ancient cathedral. Avignon remains in this groove for a long time before it starts to dry down into a faintly vanilla seasoned myrrh and cedar accord.

This scent is potent and long lasting, with plenty of sillage, and mercifully avoids the harsh synthetic tone that marks some of Comme des Garçon's more outré fragrances. It's not my favorite incense scent - that would be Dia for Men or Dzongkha - but it's certainly a great one.

For me, one of the joys--perhaps the only of joy--of a Catholic education was Good Friday with the church's dim lighting and covered statues, the solemnity of the Stations of the Cross, and the mystery that seemed to burn at the heart of things, best rendered by the smokey incense wafting through the church. Somehow, Easter was a gaudy, bright display that just felt all wrong, a betrayal of sorts.

Avignon captures that mystery I felt then better than any other incense I've tried.