Chanel • Sycomore • Fragrances

Where To Buy?

sillage on 5/10/2013 11:40:00 AM more reviews by sillage

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I got one of my biggest compliments ever, in public, from a total stranger, while wearing Chanel Sycomore.

Let me begin by saying I don't like or wear Green perfumes. At all. Except for Sycomore -- this is Green at its best. I don't like green foliage-y perfumes, I don't like vetiver, I don't like chypres. But Sycomore is made so well, that I do wear it once in awhile -- not often -- just occasionally, in the Fall. Therefore, I feel my 2oz bottle will last me forever and I'll never need to repurchase.

I have tried -- and still own -- bottles of Chanel #19 EDT (which I can't stand, ugh!!, this is perfume??), EL Azurée original, EL Aliage, EL Private Collection. I don't like these -- I just don't do Green. Yet I keep them in my closet *just in case* my tastes change or the mood strikes.

I wore Sycomore when I took my cat to the vet in November or December of last year -- because I thought it fit the occasion. I figured people who work in veterinary offices were nature-lovers who would probably appreciate something natural and outdoorsy -- so I wore a small spritz of Sycomore.

After the appointment, when I was standing at the front desk waiting to pay, a vet tech ran out of the room I'd been in -- she'd been cleaning up -- and she said she LOVED my perfume and asked what it was. I told her Chanel Sycomore, and she said "Well, you smell just LOVELY!"

It's green & leafy & foresty & vetiver -- yet with some campfire smoke too. When you feel like hiking or camping or visiting Gatlinburg in the Great Smoky mountains -- wear Chanel Sycomore -- it just fits.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* bleuday on 1/23/2013 5:17:00 PM more reviews by bleuday

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

Green androgyny.


I voted yes on repurchase, but there's a single note in this that gives me pause and knocks this down to a four: juniper.


Love the smokey wood. Love the vetiver. If you love a wallop of smoke, green, wood, and vetiver, this one's for you. The smoke is really earthy, sometimes dry, sometimes a little wet in the first five minutes, but always present under that megadose of vetiver.


But then there's that single note that just rings too loud for me, because I really don't care for juniper. And it's not a kind of clean, subtle juniper that one finds in a good gin, it's all pungent and sloppy to my nose. Dries down eventually to more of a citrus, but I am not a citrus fan, either.


I prefer Bandit over this for a wallop of bad girl, trouser wearing, cigar smoking femme chic .... however, the smokey wood in this is quite seductive, and will keep drawing me back.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

sanduhra on 11/15/2012 7:44:00 PM more reviews by sanduhra

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Medium   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I find it difficult finding fragrances that don't make my throat dry, even in small quantities, but this is amazing. Wearing it is like wearing a comforting atmosphere. I do not experience the abrupt grassiness that others mention. On me, this fragrance becomes quite sweet - a natural, crisp, green sweetness - almost immediately. I'm not a fragrance expert by any means, so I'll leave the note descriptions to others, but I highly recommend this fragrance to those who find heavy florals/aldehydes too intrusive. Don't let the piercing scent on paper deter you. On the skin, you wouldn't even believe it's the same fragrance!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* highrise on 8/16/2012 2:12:00 PM more reviews by highrise

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other, Fair, Cool   Hair: Other   Eyes: Brown    

I would have to say that for a wallop of wet, inky vetiver with woods and smoke, I much prefer Lalique's Encre Noire (the men's version). To me it has more movement and depth, whereas I found Sycomore to be a little flat and one-dimensional, and the vetiver to be rather oily and sinister, for some reason putting an image in my head of black, coiling tentacles. Guess I should stop reading Lovecraft before bedtime.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Andee on 8/5/2012 8:17:00 AM more reviews by Andee

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm   Hair: Red, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I do not like sweet fragrances and I tend to like slightly masculine fragrances with a hint of tobacco or leather or both. While I could be dead wrong about that in Sycomore, I am really enjoying this one and reaching for it almost exclusively lately. I was afraid it would not last based on the reviews, but it does last on me. On me, I think it smells sophisticated, fresh and sexy (hopefully).

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

lalki1 on 5/5/2012 8:47:00 AM more reviews by lalki1

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

To me Sycomore is a fresh green vetiver, very suitable for a man but to my taste,too green for a woman to wear. and it is similar to Cristalle eau vert.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* ljanelle on 12/30/2011 11:27:00 PM more reviews by ljanelle

Age: 44-55   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I thought this was a lovely, quite unique woodsy fragrance; though not something I would reach for often. My daughter joined me a bit after I tried it. Right after she walked into the room she wrinkled her nose and said, "Eww, what is that awful smell? I told her it was a new fragrance I was trying. She replied, "You know how black licorice tastes? That's how you smell!" Then in case I did not fully realize how horrid that really was, she brought me a black licorice jelly bean to taste to further illustrate her point. Like most 10 year-olds, she prefers sweet perfumes, but she usually responds more like, "you smell like Nana" when I wear a vintage perfume, or comments that it smells like it's only for grown-ups, etc., but she has never had a reaction quite like that. I decided not to wear it to work and risk offending my co-workers or first graders, since apparently it does not become me!

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* cerulfox on 10/18/2011 3:34:00 PM more reviews by cerulfox

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Tan, Warm   Hair: Black, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Black    

Sycomore is all juicy dark greens and lush woods, like walking through a deep dense forest after a storm. I'm delighted to finally sniff a blend where vetiver is front and center, and not just an afterthought. In Sycomore it is lush and wet, like biting into a bitter under ripe fruit. To my nose it's a bit citrusy also, like the calamansi juice I've loved since childhood but minus all the sugar typically thrown into it. As I normally can't smell citrus on my skin as the notes turn to ash on my skin, I'm delighted. The sandalwood and tobacco prop up and support the vetiver, and overall I'm reminded of hot summer evenings in Florida chatting around my aunt's wood table as her numerous lime and lemon trees sway in the humid breeze.


I may buy a bottle of Sycomore one day, should I run out of my decant. I think I've already established in my reviews I like a masculine slant to my scents, and Sycomore is no exception--no florals whatsoever here. This is what I wanted No.19 EDT to be, but 19 EDT's sharpness pushed me away. I'll be using this when I take on the boardroom. I wouldn't rebuy though as I doubt I'd ever finish a bottle.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* ccspringer on 8/11/2011 5:44:00 PM more reviews by ccspringer

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Sycomore was my 'gateway' perfume. I still remember the day I casually spritzed my wrist at the Chanel counter in a department store. I hadn't even left the store when I lifted my wrist to my nose and stopped dead in my tracks. I had never smelled a fragrance so unique, strange, and assertive. From that point onwards, I tumbled headfirst down the rabbit hole of perfume obsession. If there's stuff as good as this out there, I've got to find more!
Now, what does Sycomore smell like? Overwhelmingly, it is a rich and smoky vetiver. It first brings to mind a faraway whiff of burning wood on a cold winter's day. Sycomore starts out as bone-dry wood and vetiver. As it dries down, the vetiver becomes less smoky and more bright, even slightly tangy. Overall the rich, nutty, golden effect of the fragrance is addictive.
Also, just a note: Sycomore doesn’t smell like the sycamore tree. I would know – I embarrassed myself when a neighbor caught me sniffing a peel of sycamore bark in the park. Unfortunately the bark, although beautiful, is no substitute for the fragrance.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

blacklikemyheart on 8/7/2011 2:25:00 PM more reviews by blacklikemyheart

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I fell hard for this at first sniff in a Chanel store, and DH surprised me with a full bottle for my birthday later that year.

Pros: heavy wood, leather, long lasting
Cons: smoke and tobacco

Sometimes when this is on I love it, and sometimes I dislike it intensely. I have a very sensitive sense of smell and taste, so maybe it is a body chemistry thing that provides the love/hate dichotomy in my reaction, maybe a time of the month issue. I have it on right now and am loving. next week?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

celegia on 7/9/2011 12:28:00 PM more reviews by celegia

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

This scent is my new summer addiction. I must confess that at first spray I thought it was ashy and weird. Soon after that weirdness became something amazing. A fresh blend of incense and green leaves perfect for the wet heat of these days. At the end Sycomore warms lightly becoming powdery and ambery. I can even smell a hint of iris in it.
Totally hooked, I started researching about it, finding that many men wear it. Strange! For me this fragrance is all about feminine sensuality.
The first idea of Sycomore belongs to 1930 when stunning androgynous beauties of the big screen like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich were admired by everyone. Sycomore would have been the signature scent for that kind of woman.
Imagine a party with Mademoiselle Chanel and her decadent, rich friends. Opulent drapes, velvet carpets and girls with oriental dresses and pearl satoires smoking long cigarettes. When I wear Sycomore I feel like I'm back in such a voluptuous time!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

ellacinders on 1/21/2011 5:36:00 PM more reviews by ellacinders

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Red, Curly, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Sycomore, to me, is waking up in the morning under evergreen trees while camping far far away from civilization. And it's been a LONG time since I've done that but the association was immediate from the first sniff. It's last night's campfire clinging to your clothes, a patch of flowers around the corner but just out of sight. The opening is sharp and edgy, but the scent sweetens and smooths out as it dries down. I smell no tobacco, just a blend of woods, pepper, and a hint of flower.

I'm dosing from a sample as the retail bottle is above my pay grade. However if I had the cash to spare, I'd shell out for the big bottle. It's a stunner.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Reese325 on 11/2/2010 6:16:00 PM more reviews by Reese325

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

I so wanted to love this; alas, it makes me smell like an ashtray. Bone dry with a smokey scent on me. I don't get any leather-y smells, just ashes. Really, on me this is total scrubber; fortunately it doesn't last too long on my dry skin. I don't have the best nose for picking out individual notes, all I can say is that this was a huge disappointment to me. The descriptions and reviews I read made it sound really sexy and intriguing, so not the case! Very glad I had purchased a sample instead of the entire bottle.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

victoriakarkoulas on 8/4/2010 10:22:00 PM more reviews by victoriakarkoulas

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

I'm so fussy when it comes to perfumes as I frequently get headaches- so certain scents really bother me. But Sycomore has this woody freshness that is seriously lovely.

Perfect for summer with a tangy note but then again beautifully warm for winter...kind of reminiscent of Issey Miyake which I was never completely fond of but there is something about Sycomore that really grabs me...

My mother in law is always picking me up samples of beauty products which is always great & over a year ago she sent me a Sycomore sample, after she realised how much I loved it she bought me the 200mL bottle...an absolute luxury which will seriously last a lifetime!!!

Apologies for the hopeless description I'm not very good with the perfume 'vetiver', 'notes', lingo! If you enjoy something woody but also tangy and fresh this is the one for you (& if your bank account allows for it- it's a little heavy on the pice tag!)..♥

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 7/11/2010 2:51:00 PM more reviews by tessture

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Light smoky wood. A great one for summer, but seems a bit simple for Chanel. It doesn't change, it isn't layered and it never reveals or becomes. It goes on light smoky wood and stays that way the whole ride. Pretty, but I'm not loving it with drool and lust.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* yum_yum on 7/1/2010 6:30:00 PM more reviews by yum_yum

Age: 30-35   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This comes on strong but dries down to a soft, sweet, smokey vetiver. I get a slight fresh note from it, which could be the cypress or juniper, and the pepper note is obvious at first but fades to a manageable pitch on dry down.
The main focus of the scent is an earthy, root-like, woodsy smell, that transforms into a great vetiver-skin-scent on me. Most vetivers dry down well on me -- from the classic Guerlain, to Sel de Vetiver to Vetiver Extraordinaire -- the Chanel is no exception.
It's very well balanced, in my opinion, and although the earthy greeness and smoke is clear, they never seem to overpower the other elements -- the fading of the topnotes helps it achieve this balance. It is a scent made with the dry down in mind, and it works really well. I prefer scents like this on women, but it's clearly made as a unisex scent.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* AntFarm on 6/9/2010 7:12:00 PM more reviews by AntFarm

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Red, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

This was what I was hoping Ormonde Jayne Woman would be. Sycomore is as fresh and foreboding as an unexplored evergreen forest. Really, really like this one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* suzi2qs on 4/22/2010 9:38:00 PM more reviews by suzi2qs

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

Sycomore is a soft, woody vetiver which I really do like. It is green and uplifting, a very thoughtful scent. However, I have known Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental and find this to be a far more complex, longer lasting scent. Sycomore is similar to VO only in that it is a smoky rendition of vetiver, it is softer, more approachable and lasts all of ten minutes on my perfume sucking skin. For the money, I want to smell and be smelled, gotta go the the Serge. It is still a very nice scent; if you like vetiver and your skin doesn't devour perfume as mine does, this could be the one. Worth a sample.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

izika on 2/17/2010 11:14:00 PM more reviews by izika

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

Oh how I love this fragrance, but then I love vetiver. If you love vetiver too then you should check this fragrance out. The initial top notes are very unique a smokey vetiver, but later as it dries down and evolves this fragrance ends up being quiet fresh.
The dry down actually reminds me a bit of the middle notes of Terre d'Hermes which seems a bit strange because you would expect that the base notes would be heavier not lighter. A bit topsy turvy but I don't care a truly beautiful vetiver one that you can sink your teeth into, LOL, much better than Guerlains which now smells watered down to me.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Wyrmiax on 11/22/2009 10:00:00 PM more reviews by Wyrmiax

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

Wonderful. It smells like a beautiful tree, with a bit of the dirt it's growing in. However, unlike, say, Un Bois Sepia, it does work as a perfume--it's very wearable. It is simple and "natural"-smelling, so it doesn't seem very Chanel to me--I associate Chanel with "perfumey," although in a good way. This seems almost like something by L'Artisan.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No