Monocle Scent One: Hinoki (2008)
by Comme des Garçons For Monocle

Given the complexity and specificity of Hinoki's origin story -- sitting in an outdoor cypress soaking tub on a chilly morning -- it was really a surprise to find that the fragrance bore any relation to it. But in fact it's all there, at least at the start: nearby pine and eucalyptus, camphoraceous freshness from the hot mineral water, an almost milky note from the rising steam, and the warm wet cypress itself. It's all quite magical, for a while. In the dry down the steam has cleared and the mineral water has drained, and it's wet cedar -- a cypress grove after the rain. Still quite nice, just less magical. For me there's a strong sense of nostalgia with this one. I see one review mentions a childhood visit to a wooden fishing shack; for me it's the cedar paneling of my grandmother's house that had absorbed and released the moisture of many seasons. If you can relate to the somewhat introspective, meditative qualities of CdG's incense-driven fragrances, I think this is like that, but in a more hydrated format.

17th January, 2012.

This fragrance makes a statement. Unfortunately that statement may be that your pet hamster has just died. It's great fun to put a drop of two of Hinoki on the wrist of an acquanintance and then stand back and watch the reaction. Said responses have been decidedly negative from both casual and more seasoned fragrance wearers. There's the proverbial "hamster cage" remark of course and the proverbial "fresh bandaids" remark and my favorite the proverbial interventionist "get that stuff away from me" on just the tiniest first whiff. On the other hand I like the way it smells. The opening explodes with tree resin. Think of the most fascinating smelling solvent your father kept in a tin pour can on the garage floor. I would unscrew the metal cap again and again to smell this. Very addictive. Throw in the great healthy smell of fresh cut wood planks straight from the table saw and you can understand the attraction to this scent. But the wearing of this on your person as a perfume seems somewhat more problematic. Envelope pusher that it may be Hinoki seems to be a serious creation meant to be seriously worn. This in contrast to perfumes that seem to be created with an extreme profile just to garner attention, Profumum Fumidus coming to mind as an example. Like a clothing designer who has his runway model wear a 5 foot wide sombrero to complement his beachwear collection, it really isn't meant to worn. I like to smell Hinoki in moderation. But do "I" want to smell like this? Good question.

31st December, 2011.

Picture this:
- You walk into a temple in the far east...
- A timber frame architecture stood tall...
- In the centre of the hall stood a wooden religious figure carved out of a single wooden block...
- Sweet incenses are burning away in a far distance...
- A rather peaceful and serene zen sensation.

Hinoki is a rather sweet woody scent. Its transparent as the scent does not morph from top to mid to bottom, but it is extremely addictive. With each sniff it takes you into this amazing journey of sweetness and serenity leaving you wanting more.

15th December, 2011. (Last Edited: 29th December, 2011.)

Intrigued by the great hype about the Hinoki One Scent's launch, i broke in a well supplied niche shop placed in the town center of Rome in order to test this fragrance. Hinoki is an evocative and very aromatic juice from the deep forest, very heavy in conifers (i perceive mostly cedarwood) and furthermore featured by  frankincense and camphor. As well as some reviewers write, the wearer is teleported in a dark japanese forest early in a winter and misty wet morning. The smell is tremendously sylvan, translucent, aromatic, lemony and mossy with a sort of mentholated incensed soaring aroma. At first spray you can immediately and for few minutes inhale the fresh, sharp, tart-lemony smell of hinoki tree and cedarwood on the side of cypress and pine. The woody and lemony smell is icy and sour. The addition of turpentine introduces a spark of tarry effect that is, if possible, able to enhance the difficulty of anybody to approach to the algid welcome introduced by the juice. This woody and tarry accord is dramatically tart and balsamic for a while, just the time to make the chord of frankincense , camphor and moss to embrace the elements in a barely more massive and dense woodsy link. The usage of lavender, in combination with aromatic thyme, has a balancing role among the elements in order to combine, in a more linear woody-balsamic dimension, the first tart accord with the second camphoraceous one. The outcome is a coniferous smell, balsamic and camphoraceous and the minty-incensey steaming sort of effect is reinforced by the usage of earthy vetiver which exudes, in according with camphor, the typical smell of wet earth. This is a great and unique fragrance slightly comparable, because of its aromatic feel, to the woodsy but more incensed Zagorsk and Cardinal. The longevity is  great, the projection is moderate.

18th October, 2011. (Last Edited: 22nd November, 2011.)

I love how original and intriguing this smells.
Nice dry resin sweetness and musty aromas turns this into really masculine and elegant scent. Reminds me of how the small wooden flyfishing clubhouse smelled as a child. An absolute favorite.

20th May, 2011. (Last Edited: 2nd July, 2011.)

In the little shop where I use to buy Comme Des Garcons fragrances Hinoki seems to be an absolute best seller and as I love CDG's creations I was ready to buy it without even try it first. I was waiting for my turn at the counter when I decided to spray Hinoki on a paper strip...

In the opening I got Turpentine, Camphor and a "wet" pinewood / cipresswood note. Interesting. Then frankincense joins the party adding an even more resinous feel and some depth to the fragrance. In the drydown cedar reveals itself clearly and with Pinewood turns the scent into a sort of mellow version of Escentric 01 (iso E super?) with a pencil shaving effect. You may now think you've already been into all of this, but believe me, Hinoki's interpretation of the theme it's quite original and distinctive. It has a thin structure but it's bold at the same time. A subtle and yet persistent and austere allure. Well Done.

Unfortunately, or maybe I should say fortunately, while I was still waiting in that little shop for my turn to buy Hinoki I also had the chance to test this fragrance on my skin. What a disaster!!! On my skin Monocle 01 turned to be weird (in a bad way). The wet woods effect I smelled on paper emphasized to cross the border of mouldy woods, after that everything turned into a cloying (yet not sweet) and long lasting drydown.
What a big disappointment! I really wanted to like this fragrance, and i was ready to buy it, but it really doesn't match with my skin chemistry.

Overall, Hinoki is a recommended and quite unique fragrance but make sure to try it before you buy it.

15th April, 2011. (Last Edited: 8th November, 2011.)