parfums*PARFUMS Guerrilla 1 (2006)
by Comme des Garçons

As Guerrilla 1 touched my skin I immediately wondered WTF was going on. A bizarre effect that smells something like a plastic bag containing overripe fruits, some flowers and the typical synthetic/resinous vibe of many of the CDG's creations. It sounds horrifying but the overall effect is at the same time odd, intriguing and compelling. The drydown occours quite soon and reveals a more "conventional fragrance" (probably not the most appropriate definition talking about Guerrilla1) that stays close to the skin with a great blend of vetiver, musk and spicy hints. In this phase Guerrilla 1 smells something like a dirty musk for lubricated and polished androids. Unique and hyper-modern.


A few considerations...

1) If you're looking for something unique, bizarre and challenging keep in mind that Comme Des Garcons is one of the very few outfits that is still able to create compositions that are at the same time weird, interesting and wearable mantaining a perfect balance between these characteristics.

2) Don't test Guerrilla 1 on paper as it's completely another scent, and a very disgusting one!

Love it!

11th August, 2011. (Last Edited: 12nd August, 2011.)

A spicy-floral-fruity fleshy concoction not unlike Tom Ford's Black Orchid but plasticized, like the interior decoration of a fine boutique: plastic, rubber and aluminium. This synthetic finish makes it more hip and less sexy, as is in fact the case with all CdG fragrances. Yet no one can civilize champaca at 100%. Me, I'm a sucker for the raw seductiveness of this flower. As close to animalic as any CdG fragrance can ever get.

6th August, 2011.

Beware! Guerilla 1 is utterly disgusting on paper. I smelled the rotting contents of a trash can: putrifying fruit, hairspray, cat poop, watermelon rinds, and old cheese over a powdery base...

It's better on the skin. Guerilla 1 smells disturbingly chemical when it goes on. The harsh synthetic fruit and burning plastic top notes are no doubt meant as a guerilla tactic or a shock effect, but could too easily be taken as ineptitude. I get no saffron or clove at this point - only a queasy overripe fruit note that I imagine is supposed to be pear.

The composition softens and becomes more conventional as it ages. The synthetic vinyl and the fruit remain up front, but they're joined by some resinous wood and powdery musk that help integrate the arrangement. By this time there are also hints of pepper and saffron that lend the heart some depth and complexity.

The drydown is extremely rapid, so that after an hour Guerilla 1 becomes a skin scent, albeit a fairly compelling one. The burning vinyl and dry spices hold on over woods, vetiver, and a distinctly dirty musk, leaving my skin smelling as if I'd just been working hard outdoors in an urban environment, with a faint odor of burning garbage clinging to me. It's an interesting gesture, but not a particularly gratifying fragrance, and wearing it a few times for review has sated my curiosity. Needless to say, this absolutely must be tested on the skin before purchase.

5th January, 2010.

If you've ever been in a greenhouse in spring where the flowers, herbs, plants and various grasses are in full bloom, then you've smelled the essence of Guerrilla 1. Heartfully floral but it's the aroma of flowers and their leaves indicating they are ready for pollenization. I worry a bee might try to pollenate me if I wore this!

30th May, 2009.

I wasn’t at all eager to experience the pear, saffron, and cloves accord of the opening because they are three of my least favorite notes. But I didn’t have to worry about my reactions to those notes: I can’t identify any of them in any of the accords. The opening accord is interesting – interesting and disgusting. To me it smells like a butcher’s shop – that raw meat and disinfecting cleaner combining to form an aroma that, while it is expected in a butcher shop, is disgusting on the skin. The movement goes to a strongly synthetic plastic / raw meat accord coupled with an unappealingly sort of burning note. That raw meat / champaca / synthetic / disinfectant smell is actually stomach turning. I can’t speak of the drydown because I just did not like what was happening in Guerrilla 1: I washed it off; I didn’t want to be there for the end – I know what happens to raw meat that’s been around awhile... (Edit of 09 March 2008 review.)

9th March, 2008. (Last Edited: 30th November, 2009.)

A simple fragrance that holds well on my skin. It does have the metallic coolness of a butchery which was the aim of this scent. The creamy fresh floral of champaca is strong thoughout. It's a nice accessory for a black outfit.

20th December, 2007.