Red Series- Harissa

I don't like pepper notes, generally. They tend to remind me too much of actual food. I like gourmand scents when they pair something like vanilla with flowers or woods. But I don't want to smell like a curry or a pepper steak. So I've stayed away from Comme des Garcons Harissa. However, I ordered a sample on a whim because I've read so many glowing reviews of its …Read more

I really wanted to like Harissa after reading that it had a strong blood orange note. I love orange scents, in fact Frederic Malle's Bigarade Concentree is one of my all time favorites.

So, it was with much disappointment that I did not detect any orange note at all in Harissa. I vaguely got a smoky, spicy smell with a touch of saffron from putting it on but the whole thing died …Read more

At first sniff, green and sharply fresh like tomato plants. Spicy but refreshing. The next time I went to wear it, I pulled the cap off and smelled MARTINI!!!! I could practically taste the olives. It really smells like a gin martini in the bottle, but it's more like gazpacho on the skin. Not for everyone...

I didn't care for this at all. It's like a bloody mary in a bottle. Spicy and bold, tomato/acidic. Too sharpe and too foul smelling to wear on the female body. So I gave it to my husband. On him it was warmer smelling and the herbal notes came out. Not bad on him, but not the best either. Pass.

I'm finding it hard to enjoy Harissa....I definitely get the fresh tomato note, but everything else is artificial. The overall result is like smelling a Glade Plug-in room freshener. I was excited to sniff the pepper aspect, but sadly that never develops on my skin. V-8 juice and Glade Plug-ins...that is all :P

Hot, spicy tomato followed quickly by juicy orange. It's not how I want to smell, but Harissa is definitely one of the more interesting fragrances I've tried. I was shocked - my husband usually detests fragrances, but he liked this one.

Of the Red Series, Harissa strikes me immediately as being the most vibrant red. A brilliant red orange. It's so clearly associated with that color that I'm relatively convinced a lurking fashion police person would slap me w/ a demerit if I wore it w/ a clashing color like a dull mauve. I adore Harissa. This is a scent that is all about blazing sunshine, blue skies and relaxing in …Read more

Bold note of that powerful pinapple-galbanum aroma chemical which is so common in household products and mens lines. Allyl amyl glycolate, or cyclogalbanate if I remember right. Also, anyone familiar with Calvin Klein's Eternity for men will feel at home here. There is the same woody-fruityness(?blackcurrant) pointing to more aroma chemicals dominated by iso E super. Great, if you like aroma …Read more

This does, indeed, smell like tomato juice spiked with tabasco sauce. It's heart is in the right place, but it just doesn't work. It's extremely flat, and needs some more woods to round it out. It needs something. Too bad, because it had potential.

This one is "interesting", smells like tomato juice spiked with Tabasco! Saffron & cardamom add up that good ole nostril-burning sensation. Not my cup of gaspacho.(later) The drydown is surprisingly nice, very fresh and juicy blood orange! Must try this on hot weather, I can imagine this as a great summer scent.