Sampling and getting to experience the differences in the five (5) scents from Comme des Garcons Incense Series has taken me some time. Partly due to the fact that my nose was very untrained when I joined Basenotes and learned about the Incense Series and how great everyone thought they were. Also, when I first smelled them all, they smelled too alike for me to make any clear decisions about them.
I read a lot of reviews of all five (including Indieguys thread about Jaisalmer vs. Ouzarzate here: http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=173357) and ended up owning Kyoto, Jaisalmer and Avignon (in that order).
l love all 3 for different reasons.
Kyoto is just so sweet and cuddly root beer good, but it's a scent I really have to be in the mood for (right before bed, cold weather) and also it has a strange soapiness to it that lasts all the way into the drydown. Jaisalmer is just spice, spice spice - NOT a hot (jalapeno, chili) rather the more kitchen spices I sniff when I'm baking or cooking indian food (cardamom, cumin, allspice?). Then in the drydown perhaps a little ginger, or something that is bubbly to my nose, so much so that it tickles my nose when I sniff it close and I sneeze. Avignon (I have just owned it for a week now) is perhaps my favorite of the three as of yet: practically biblical in its use of incense, I like the fact that it doesn't veer far off this course. It is incense and there is no mistaking it for anything else. It also saddens me slightly (as a few of you mentioned) like when I play a Cocteau Twins album or watch the rain fall outside in a thunderstorm.
Now that I have these three (3) thoroughly processed in my head (why I like them, what I like about them, etc) I've turned my focus towards the last two Ourzarzate and Zagorsk. I had the opportunity to test them side-by-side today during my lunch hour.
Ouzarzate: Is this something hot (spicy) I smell at the top note? Like a dried poblano pepper? I got the image of curry (like Arabie, but no honey or fruit, just the spice part of Arabie). Then it, IMO, turned into a Jaisalmer Light...which was really disappointing. Perhaps it was the way the nutmeg emerged that was identical to Jaisalmer. But from the middle to the drydown there is nothing at all that differentiates it from the other Incense fragrances. Marc Buxton did this? Really?? CdgWhite puts Ouzarzate to shame.
Zagorsk: First thing: The drydown of Zagorsk reminds me strongly of the drydown of Tom Ford for Men Extreme, the one I raved about last week on that thread. The animalic part of the drydown is JUST like Zagorsk. Perhaps TFFME is a little stronger and more dense (you almost feel like you can taste the musk in TFFME), whereas Zagorsk's is more evenly pitched. This incense note is (like Messe de Minuit by ETRO) woven together with a wax note, reminiscent of melted candles (in a church?), for a truer goth feel, but oddly Zagorsk has not much smoke to it. The melted wax note is a little 'plasticky' (hey, this is CdG remember) but it's subtle. Perhaps if you smelled it quick, you may not even smell the wax note. I instantly liked Zagorsk for the chunky drydown and felt myself drawn towards it over the Ourzarzate and can easily imagine adding this to my Incense Series this fall/winter.
Your thoughts/comments?
I read a lot of reviews of all five (including Indieguys thread about Jaisalmer vs. Ouzarzate here: http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=173357) and ended up owning Kyoto, Jaisalmer and Avignon (in that order).
l love all 3 for different reasons.
Kyoto is just so sweet and cuddly root beer good, but it's a scent I really have to be in the mood for (right before bed, cold weather) and also it has a strange soapiness to it that lasts all the way into the drydown. Jaisalmer is just spice, spice spice - NOT a hot (jalapeno, chili) rather the more kitchen spices I sniff when I'm baking or cooking indian food (cardamom, cumin, allspice?). Then in the drydown perhaps a little ginger, or something that is bubbly to my nose, so much so that it tickles my nose when I sniff it close and I sneeze. Avignon (I have just owned it for a week now) is perhaps my favorite of the three as of yet: practically biblical in its use of incense, I like the fact that it doesn't veer far off this course. It is incense and there is no mistaking it for anything else. It also saddens me slightly (as a few of you mentioned) like when I play a Cocteau Twins album or watch the rain fall outside in a thunderstorm.
Now that I have these three (3) thoroughly processed in my head (why I like them, what I like about them, etc) I've turned my focus towards the last two Ourzarzate and Zagorsk. I had the opportunity to test them side-by-side today during my lunch hour.
Ouzarzate: Is this something hot (spicy) I smell at the top note? Like a dried poblano pepper? I got the image of curry (like Arabie, but no honey or fruit, just the spice part of Arabie). Then it, IMO, turned into a Jaisalmer Light...which was really disappointing. Perhaps it was the way the nutmeg emerged that was identical to Jaisalmer. But from the middle to the drydown there is nothing at all that differentiates it from the other Incense fragrances. Marc Buxton did this? Really?? CdgWhite puts Ouzarzate to shame.
Zagorsk: First thing: The drydown of Zagorsk reminds me strongly of the drydown of Tom Ford for Men Extreme, the one I raved about last week on that thread. The animalic part of the drydown is JUST like Zagorsk. Perhaps TFFME is a little stronger and more dense (you almost feel like you can taste the musk in TFFME), whereas Zagorsk's is more evenly pitched. This incense note is (like Messe de Minuit by ETRO) woven together with a wax note, reminiscent of melted candles (in a church?), for a truer goth feel, but oddly Zagorsk has not much smoke to it. The melted wax note is a little 'plasticky' (hey, this is CdG remember) but it's subtle. Perhaps if you smelled it quick, you may not even smell the wax note. I instantly liked Zagorsk for the chunky drydown and felt myself drawn towards it over the Ourzarzate and can easily imagine adding this to my Incense Series this fall/winter.
Your thoughts/comments?
