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

Jaisalmer has an Indian masala chai accord over the incense skeleton of the Incense series. This accord has notes of cardamom, cinnamon and pepper, besides other spices. This structure is present throughout its life on skin, with little to no transformation. Only in the dry down the spices soften and the fragrance becomes a little ambery.

Personally I'm ambivalent about this composition. I'm not a fan of barebone incense; but while it's more substantial than something ethereal like Kyoto, I cannot claim to be a fan of this particular interpretation of incense. In its favour is the fact that this is indeed quite a unique take on incense. Nothing great, but definitely worth checking out - particularly if one is a fan of incense.

Average projection and tenacity of 4-5 hours on skin from 4 sprays.

3/5

After first spray, I already like it better than Avignon. This is so much brighter, bursting with conifer-like incense. Sharp and spicy like CdG’s Black, but with more warmth, which gives this more versatility than either two scents. Unfortunately, I experience the same short lifespan as Avignon, but still a thumbs up!

This was once my signature scent, and even if i rotate between different fragrances these days i still return to this every now and then. And it's still one of my absolute favourites ten years after buying my first bottle.

To me it kicks off with an almost overpowering black pepper, quickly joined by other spices. Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger. Dry as gunpowder and floating around a core of different woods. Deep and dry, some fresh and resinous, others dry as charcoal.

I love the lack of citrus and "crowdpleasing" freshness.

To bad the longevity is poor. Not horrible, but disappointing nonetheless.

Genre: Woody Oriental

Comme des Garçons’ Jaisalmer opens on a balsamic-astringent accord that smells a lot like liniment. A dark, smoky frankincense note emerges quickly underneath, but its stony demeanor is tempered by sweet spices. The warm spice and camphoraceous liniment volley back and forth over Jaisalmer’s heart and so manage to keep the nose engaged through their constant, balanced activity.

With all this talk of liniment, I can’t help but mention Heeley’s recent Spirit of the Tiger, which plays the liniment-and-incense game in a more literal manner. So much so that it winds up smelling all too much like Tiger Balm. Now while there’s nothing wrong with the smell of Tiger Balm, why spend $150 US on a bottle of niche perfume when you can get the real thing for three dollars at your local drugstore? Jaisalmer doesn’t fall into this literalist trap, and its more subtle take on camphor, balsam, and frankincense makes it at once a more wearable and a more interesting fragrance.

While Jaisalmer is easily the most medicinal scent in the Comme des Garçons incense series, it is also (along with Ouarzazate,) one of the sweetest, and hence most approachable. It’s stimulating, yet also comfortable, with very little of the forbidding austerity that turns some people away from Avignon or Kyoto. A nice introduction to this line, or to incense fragrances in general.

A slightly more fruity and more ambery, less liturgical version of Avignon. Green balsamic breeze with a pungent hint of pepper and laurel oak on aromatic woods – and of course, a soothing, oniric, meditative incense fog all over. Another great scent among the must-have Incense Series.

8/10