Comme des Garcons • Hinoki • Fragrances

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debrsl on 2/28/2013 11:12:00 AM more reviews by debrsl

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I love this wonderful wood fragrance. It smells so clean. It's just right when something sweet or floral would make you feel ill. Notes: Cypress, turpentine, camphor, cedar, thyme, pine, Georgian wood, frankincense, moss and vetiver (per Luckyscent)

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*TOP REVIEWER* apparently on 8/19/2012 11:55:00 AM more reviews by apparently

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I was expecting a lot of wood here, and am disappointed to find this frag so minimalist. Yes, the dominant note is wood, but I blasted myself with this and after twenty minutes of airy green sauna I had just the barest whisper of scent. At this price point, unacceptable. It is very unisex, however -- I did not get any harsh/aftershave to tip it into a men's frag.

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stephan75 on 1/28/2009 4:08:00 PM more reviews by stephan75

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

This scent makes me happy and feel special, self confident.
It doesn't get a lot of compliments, people only say "you smell like wood".
I just can't describe it.
Sillage is moderate, I guess it's why I don't receive many compliments: I'm the only one who can smell the interesting notes.
The lasting power is not incredible (only 4-5 hours) but that's still better than l'Artisan fragrances.
Buy a sample and try it on you, not to seduce others but just to feel comfortable.

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*TOP REVIEWER* rpolisk on 8/23/2008 11:02:00 PM more reviews by rpolisk

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

Spritzed this on as the end of a long afternoon of spritzing other things, not really expecting much. Well waddaya know? Very, very nice. Not earth-shatteringly interesting, but a very nice green woodsy smell. For me, it's the smell of a northern California summer. I'm talking the hot tubs at Esselin in Big Sur after you've been hiking all day in the redwoods, and you sit there surrounded by stone and a fragrant wood deck hanging over the edge of some of the more majestic and desolate cliff rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean. You sit in the baths and smell the swirling steam steeped in the cedar and redwood surrounding you and smell the spray of the waves below, a wood stove burning in the distance (this is not your Ibiza summer hot tub dip, this is rugged wild California coast which is cold at night, even in summer). Now, this is a scent MUCH better suited to a candle/diffuser/roomspray. Hell, even a shower gel would be better. As a fragrance, it's a bit odd, like rubbing campfire smoke all over yourself or something. Rather linear, and not a great sillage or long-wearing. Very evocative, for sure, of one of my favorite places to be, but not sure of how it would translate during a day at the office. However, for you lovers of smokey woodsy comforty smells; pull out the credit card, because you may just have met your HG.

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jemimagold on 8/19/2008 6:41:00 PM more reviews by jemimagold

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I've recently begun exploring Comme des Garcons' incense line and have been impressed with their mastery of this genre. So, I was pretty jazzed about trying a sample "Monocle One Hinoki" (whatever that name is supposed to mean) which I bought when one of the on-line perfume decanters had a recent sale. A full bottle of this stuff is pretty expensive - it retails for $145 for 50 ml.


Anyways, I am sorry to tell you that Hinoki was a complete and utter let down. It smells EXACTLY like the smell you get when you enter a musty old wooden attic filled with decades old debris (broken wooden rocking chairs, dusty cribs, yellowing books- you get the picture!). It is really a shame that CdG is marketing Hinoki as a precious fragrance worthy of such an astronomical price tag. I did detect a bit of leather in the middle/base note when the musty note faded away but in general, Hinoki didn't stick around long. Which was just as well.


For a leathery incense with a bit of verve, I would highly recommend instead CdG's Ouarzazate which is about a quarter of Hinoki's price and is much, much better.


Per The Perfumed Court, here are Hinoki's notes: hinoki wood, greenery, frankincense, moss created after soaking in a hinoki wood bath in Kyoto (!), turpentine, camphor, cedar, thyme, pine, Georgian wood and vetiver.

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*TOP REVIEWER* bellydancer on 7/1/2008 9:46:00 AM more reviews by bellydancer

Age: Unknown   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

Well, I knew I was going to like this one, and I was right. Lovely blonde woods like a sauna-- not raw at all-- smooth, dry, delicious. My only complaint is that I've had it on for less than an hour and it's fading, fading...

Edited to add that spritzing vastly improves the lasting power of this fragrance. It's not a dabbing kind of fragrance. And I ended up loving it enough that a year later, I'm the proud owner of a half full bottle. :)

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