Avignon or Cardinal? Why?

They smell nearly identical to me. I'd pick Avignon though, because it's CdG and I like their quirkiness.

Cardinal because it's better IMO.

Avignon is overal darker, thicker and with a strong cedarwood (iso E super) base. Cardinal smells very similar but it's more transparent, kinda fresher/cleaner end, most of all, definitely lighter. Two great fragrances though...

The only difference I can tell between the two is that Cardinal is simply lighter and less synthetic (the high quality synthetic accord CDG is renown for). Another one to consider is Around Midnight by Mark Buxton.

Out of the three I prefer Avignon (only because its more intense) then Cardinal then Around Midnight.

To my noise Cardinal is much more complex and has many things going on in it than Avignon

Another reason to prefer Avignon may be the price point. $80 gets you in the game with 50 ml of Avignon. You'd have to spend $150 for a bottle of Cardinal, as they only sell 100 ml bottles.

I prefer the cold, stark incense of Avignon - it pulls no punches, and doesn't care if you like incense or not.
I find Cardinal to be a bit more forgiving, and to use a somewhat cheesy expression, I see Cardinal as a perfume-lover's incense, where Avignon is an incense-lover's fragrance.

May I suggest trying Montale's Full Incense? It has the super-strong, stark Catholic mass incense of Avignon, but adds a little bit of warmth and spice.

The sharp, somewhat gothic intensity of Avignon is more intriguing.

+1 on alfarom's comment! & also the price is an issue, cdg avignon's a lot cheaper.

Yes...a new bottle

I think I am in the minority in that Cardinal smells more synthetic, to my nose (I'm not saying it is less synthetic, just that it smells this way), which is why I prefer Avignon.

Gosh, I need to get a new bottle of this, one of these days. I miss having it in my wardrobe.

One more vote for Avignon.

Initially i was very disappointed with Avignon, as you can read here, but something happened that changed my view on this fragrance completely. Recently I went to the South of France and visited the city this fragrance was named for: Avignon.

I was sitting in the beautiful sun on a terrace on the big square right in front of the impressive Palais des Papes when I noticed a very familiar smell. I immediately recognized it as the smell of CDG Avignon. At first I thought I must be imagining things but no it was pretty clearly the smell of CDG Avignon and it fitted that particular moment so very perfectly. Now there could be several explanations for this, either someone else on the terrace or the waiter was wearing CDG Avignon, or perhaps they sprayed the terrace with this fragrance to set the atmosphere, or could it possibly be that CDG has managed to capture the scent of the city of Avignon so perfectly in their fragrance? I don't know and to be honest I don't really want to know. From that moment on whenever I smell CDG Avignon it reminds me of and will forever be associated with that particular moment and the wonderful time I had in Avignon...

I've worn it a couple of times after my trip and my view of it has changed a lot. I still think it's not an easy wear and I still have some issues with projection and longevity, which I can slightly solve by a few more sprays, but the wonderful memories and feelings it evokes for me has given me a whole new and special appreciation of it.


About Cardinal, I liked that one a lot. It's pretty similar to Avignon but less harsh and more 'rounded' and I think it's more versatile and easier to wear.

i find them quite similar too! though i prefer cardinal, don't know why. i'd proably buy avignon if i bought one, just because the cost diffference and how little i can distinguish between them

Agreed.

I much prefer Cardinal but own Avignon.
Avignon to me is colder yes - but also spicier - it is this spice that puts me off. It has this uncomfortable open-ness to it that I'm sure for some makes it appealing - I find it uncomfortable (not because I don't like it's gothic quality - in fact I don't find it gothic at all - more that it feels half empty). I also have been told numerous times that whilst it does obviously smell like frankincense, percieved by others it is merely a spicy cologne.
Cardinal is warmer and brighter (which is why I initially thought I wouldn't like it and bought Avignon), but it is far more peaceful, serene, representing the churchy quality more so too me. I find it meditative and really beautiful. Not that it's the most important thing to me - but I also find longevity better, but it does wear close to the skin.

Avignon is hands down the best incense based fragrance I have ever tried. If you are looking for a more reasonably priced incense based fragrance than Cardinal try Full Incense. Full Incense is a far better option than Cardinal IMO. However, nothing compares to Avignon if you are looking for a incense based fragrance.