Les Exclusifs de Chanel Sycomore

Jacques Polge's Sycomore is an attempt to respond, with contemporary architectural precision, to the name and atmospheric trace Ernest Beaux left behind in 1930. With the 2016 transition to Eau de Parfum concentration, however, this crystalline EDT has essentially vanished from circulation. On contact with skin, what rises is a silver-needle sharpness of cypress and juniper. Beneath it, the vetiver root begins to pulse—quietly, but with steady authority. The smell of a root freshly pulled from the earth and cut open, where green sap, damp soil, and faint smoke meet. This is not the concept of vetiver. What appears here is raw matter, presented with a quiet clarity, before any conceptual sublimation. The grounds for such direct presentation lie in the intersection of two aesthetics that have always coexisted within Chanel. One is the abstractionist tradition of Beaux and early Polge—the aldehydic halo of N°5, the sandalwood plane of Bois des Îles. These operations strip materials of their concrete character and elevate them into idea. The other is the lineage of Henri Robert (1954–1978): the directness of galbanum and lily of the valley in Cristalle (1974), the lucid classical chypre of Pour Monsieur (1955). Here materials speak as themselves, with dignity. Sycomore EDT is a dialectical synthesis of these opposed traditions. It inherits Beaux's material list (vetiver, violet, tobacco, aldehydes) while departing from his abstractionist method, and it connects to Robert's commitment to materials as themselves while introducing an architectural rigor that Robert's own works never possessed—a triple operation: departure from Beaux, connection to Robert, transcendence of both. The way vetiver stands upright in the opening—not veiled in mist but supported by structural scaffolding (cypress, juniper)—is the concrete embodiment of this third way. The 1930 formula is poorly attested, and our characterization of "the Beaux method" depends on Chanel's limited internal disclosures; I flag this as speculation. What enables this synthesis is the solution to a problem intrinsic to vetiver as raw material. Vetiver oil contains components of widely differing volatility—light terpenes and trace citrus-like compounds on one side, the khusimol backbone and α/β-vetivone side chains on the other—and the "audible" molecules change with time. Once the light volatiles disperse, a vetiver-soliflore left to itself collapses to its heavy residues alone; the perfume mutates into something else. Most vetiver-centric perfumes fall into "magnificent top, impoverished drydown" or its inverse precisely for this reason. In Sycomore EDT, each volatility tier is engineered to anticipate or inherit a different facet of vetiver. The coniferous sharpness of the top anticipates vetiver's anisic coolness; the heart presents the khusimol skeleton and α/β-vetivone side chains of vetiver proper; the synthetic sandalwood base—given the period and price point, plausibly a Polysantol- or Javanol-type blend—inherits the dry woody residue from khusimol. One hour in, two hours in, the wearer continues to hear variations on the same theme. Edmond Roudnitska (1905–1996, perfumer of many Dior compositions) theorized perfumery as forme olfactive—olfactory form—and took as his ideal a composition that preserves its theme along the time axis. Sycomore EDT is one of the more successful contemporary realizations of that ideal. And this linearity is a state of physical chemistry achievable only at EDT concentration. At EDP concentration, diffusion in solvent slows, the tiers superimpose along the time axis, and the linear architecture collapses into an undifferentiated "luxurious forest." Masterpiece status, in this case, depends on a specific concentration range. Complementing this temporal control is an inversion of the aldehyde function. In Chanel's tradition, aldehydes have served as veil: a sheath that covers the rawness of floral material and abstracts it. In Sycomore, the aldehyde functions as blade. Natural vetiver oil carries—depending on extraction conditions—a faint glandular suggestion: thin wool, the oil of human skin (this is thought to derive from trace sulfur compounds, though their presence in the specific lot used in Sycomore cannot be confirmed without disclosed formula). In Encre Noire (Lalique, Lorson) this haze is covered by Iso E Super; in Vétiver Extraordinaire (Malle, Ropion) it is swaddled in cashmeran and a woody-musk envelope. In Sycomore, it is simply gone—not covered, but surgically excised from the outset. The vetiver outline is preserved entirely intact while the human warmth and the animalic facet alone are selectively removed. A tool once deployed in the service of abstraction is here turned to purification. The most elegant of revolts. Parallel to this purification runs another operation: smoke as constructive inscription. One of Sycomore's central impressions is "dry smoke"—yet if the vetiver used is indeed Haitian (a claim by The Perfume Shrine and other secondary sources), the raw material itself is markedly less smoky than Javanese vetiver. The smoke at Sycomore's center has not been extracted from vetiver. It has been read into vetiver—by cypress terpenes, juniper pinenes, and very likely a trace guaiacol-class adjunct. A property the material did not possess is brought into being by structure. Technically, this is trompe-l'œil; critically, it is the sister theorem to the aldehyde inversion. Subtraction is not mere deletion—it is also the carving of contours the material never had. What appears beyond the pared warmth and the incised smoke is the absence of olfactory-experiential narrative. Not the absence of narrative. Chanel does provide Sycomore with a mythology—Auvergne’s volcanic landscapes, Mademoiselle Chanel’s childhood memories, autumn woods suspended outside of time. Yet this narrative remains largely external to the perfume itself. The fragrance is described mainly through texture and atmosphere: deep, smoky, earthy, warm. It does not dramatize its story from within. Compare this with other vetiver-centered compositions. Encre Noire constructs its ink fantasy internally: the name, the inkwell bottle derived from René Lalique's 1913 Biches design, and the fragrance materials themselves collaborate to perform "inkiness" as an olfactory effect. Vétiver Extraordinaire characterizes vetiver from within the accord itself—cold, metallic, mineral, almost pebble-like. Vétiver Tonka frames its warmth and softness directly through the texture of the perfume, while the Hermessence line as a whole is articulated olfactorily as "haiku-like" compositions. Timbuktu is perhaps the clearest example: the references to Wusulan ritual, Malian smoke ceremonies, cypriol, incense, and dryness are not decorative framing devices surrounding the work, but are structurally embedded into the perfume's sensory logic. In each of these cases, narrative is enacted through the vetiver itself rather than merely attached to it externally. Sycomore operates differently. The fragrance does not intrinsically encode Auvergne in the way Encre Noire encodes ink or Timbuktu encodes ritual smoke. Three hours into wear, what remains is less a place than a material presence: vetiver itself, suspended within the dry structural scaffolding already described. Forest, ash, and campfire imagery certainly arise in criticism and wearer testimony, but this does not contradict the point. If anything, it clarifies it. Because the fragrance only weakly scripts its own experiential narrative, it leaves unusually large interpretive space for projection. The wearer's imagination is permitted to move freely, while Chanel's official mythology hovers above the composition rather than being fully metabolized into it. The operation is structurally analogous to the work of Constantin Brâncuși. Brâncuși's Bird series and Endless Column preserve the recognizability of their objects while stripping away representational specificity—anatomical detail, expression, posture, anecdote. At the same time, Brâncuși himself surrounded the works with extensive philosophical, autobiographical, and Romanian-mystical discourse. There was never an absence of narrative around the sculptures. Yet the sculptures themselves do not perform those narratives internally. The object is presented prior to its story. Sycomore approaches vetiver in much the same way: vetiver is unmistakably present as vetiver, while the narrative attached to it remains largely a function of framing, interpretation, and projection rather than of the perfume's internal dramatic structure. Here it is worth recalling Luca Turin's review in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, which called Sycomore a "magisterial gloss" on Duchaufour's Timbuktu and awarded it five stars. His observation about the anisic, cool treatment of smoky wood is accurate; but the hallucinatory frankincense, inflected by karo karoundé, that lies at the center of Timbuktu is not what Sycomore carries forward. Sycomore's smoke is drier, more architectural, more impersonal. Turin's comparison gestures at syntax, not at theme. The work also admits another reading: as Chanel's structural counter-statement against the niche boom of the 2000s—the period in which perfume fell into the loquacity of "concept." In the end, Sycomore EDT's greatest achievement lay in its understanding that subtraction can possess greater expressive force than accumulation. What Jacques Polge constructed here was not a narrative of vetiver, nor even an idealized image of it, but a precise architecture through which the material could remain present without rhetorical excess. The 2016 transition to Eau de Parfum altered that equilibrium. As diffusion slowed and the volatility tiers began to overlap, the linear structure softened into a richer, denser atmosphere; beautiful in its own right, but no longer governed by the same crystalline discipline of time. The original EDT now survives mostly as scattered bottles, secondary memory, and the critical language built around it. Yet perhaps this is fitting for a work so fundamentally concerned with absence, contour, and restraint. To seek out Sycomore EDT today is less an act of nostalgia than an attempt to encounter a rare achievement in modern perfumery: a composition in which structure itself became the source of emotion, and in which silence was allowed to remain silence. 10/10

This is a comfort scent for me. It makes me feel calm, warm and comforted. On my skin it is fairly quiet. Doesn't project much, especially after the first hour or so, but it does linger most of the day. As others have noted, the vetiver is front and center from beginning to end. To my nose this vetiver is dry and smokey, almost incense-like. It brings to mind smoldering bundles of dried vetiver grass on parched earth, smoke rising into the air. But this smoldering vetiver is softened with the other notes that are blended such that I can't really make them out individually (but I'm also new to fragrances so my nose is partly to blame). But this softness makes the overall scent more plush and pulls the fragrance into unisex territory. To me it seems better suited to spring and fall than the more extreme seasons, but I think it could be worn all year (with some care in summer). In fact, I live on the equator, so it is always summer here, and I wear it without any issues. EDIT: The more that I live with the fragrance, the more I love it and the more I want to smell it. It's also now clear to me that the cushion of plush sweetness that surrounds the smoldering vetiver (and which actually outlasts the vetiver in the deep dry-down) comes largely from a sweet, creamy sandalwood. Likewise, I've also realized that much of the smoldering quality of the vetiver comes from a tobacco note. Previously I had been unable to discern any tobacco, but now I realize that it is seamlessly grafted onto the "back end" of the vetiver, making it hard to detect as a distinct note but contributing to the rich smokiness of the vetiver base. Finally, I have also noticed that if I wear clothing over the place I've applied the scent, it changes the character of the aroma. Since I work in a casual environment in the tropics, I usually wear short-sleeve shirts. However, one day when working in a frigid air-conditioned room, I was wearing a sweatshirt, and I kept getting whiffs of a bright, soapy scent. It took me some time to realize that it was actually the Sycomore. It was as if the thick sweatshirt was filtering out the heavier molecules of the base and only letting the lighter, shimmering ones through.

First things first, to you people that have only tried Sycomore once and didn't like it; please if you can, try it again! I got hold of a mini splash bottle a while ago and to begin with, all I could smell was stale cigarette smoke/ashtray.. Not exactly what I want to smell like! It smelled precisely like some dude coming in from a smoke break outside, plus a faint trace of his generic cologne. I disliked it immensley and felt a sigh of relief, money saved! However.. it grew on me LIKE CRAZY and only a couple of weeks (and trials) later, I found myself drawn to the dusty, dry warmth of Sycomre like a moth to a lightbulb and like being under a spell, I was completely unable to stop smelling it. Now I'm head over heels in love with this masterpiece, and consider it one of my absolute favorites from the Les Exclusifs. I haven't smelled Encre Noire which so many compare Sycomre with, but I'm sure that's a great one too. I mean, if it's related to Sycomore how can it not be? Sycomore smells dusty and peppery like dried hay in an old, abandoned barn, warm like freshly made cinnamon buns (without the sugar) and aromatic and "outdoorsy" like tree bark and smoky bonfires. To me Sycomore manages to smell otherworldly and natural at the same time, which is amazing! It's like a trip to some ancient forest, far from civilization. All is nice and relaxing except the temperature is a bit too high, the sky is overcast with dark storm clouds and everything seems just a bit too quiet. Wait.. did I just see something in between those old, mossy pine trees over there? A witch perhaps? The words that first come to my mind smelling Sycomore, are safe and comforting, however unsettling. It literally makes me feel like I'm being embraced by a huge hunky beast of a man, LOL! He might look threathening with his thick beard, huge arms and all that, but on the inside he is gentle as a lamb... or is he? That dark, unsettling streak never leaves the picture completely. It's always there, lurking somewhere in the background. As far as the Les Exclusifs go, Sycomore is one of the longest lasting ones and the sillage is moderate to heavy. A winner!

Chanel Sycomore, for me, is point in case that our tastes are ever evolving. I first smelt Sycomore three years ago when I was at a Chanel boutique, but instead settled on No 22. If I relived that exact experience tomorrow, the outcome would be very different. I can no longer tolerate No 22 for myself and would pick Sycomore without any second thought. A few months ago I realised that vetiver is a smell I yearn for. I love its earthiness, greenness, and smoky facets. I came to this conclusion from burning pure vetiver oil in my room, the smoky freshness is absolutely sublime to me. Sycomore enhances the most beautiful aspects of the pure vetiver extract, but adds a particular Chanel chicness to make it into an utterly wearable work of art. Longevity is great for an EDT, I do a few replenishments throughout the day but I would do that with most EDT’s. I really enjoy it sprayed on clothes (particularly wool & cashmere). Vetiver is a traditionally masculine note, but I think Chanel Sycomore would be devastatingly chic worn by a woman. Sycomore is intriguing, chic, wearable, and addictive. Sycomore, to me, is not a skin scent nor is it a perfume that wears its owner. I do, however, find it an extremely assertive fragrance and you do need to really love and appreciate Sycomore in order to carry it off. I suppose when I had my first Chanel visit and settled on No22 I wasn’t quite ready for the world of Sycomore... Sycomore demands a strong sense of self from its wearer. Although I would wear it both day and night, I would never dream of wearing it in my ‘kick around’ clothes. It requires its wearer to have an assured presence to match the fragrance lingering around them. Sycomore is both modern and old-world to me, a juxtaposition I cannot verbalise but just a feeling it gives me when I wear it. I’m so happy I discovered Sycomore, its a true beauty. PS, I highly recommend pure vetiver oil used in an oil diffuser for those of you that cannot get enough of Sycomore.

Thank you, Chanel, for Sycomore. As someone who likes earthy, woody frags it's a gamble to find ones that aren't overly masculine. Initially, Sycomore is quite masculine, then veers more feminine. The opening has an appealing smokiness. I got some pepper, too, which fades quickly, but the smokiness persists. From there it morphs into a clever blend of cypress and juniper that creates a gorgeous dry woodiness. And oh, that vetiver! Lovely with the sandalwood. Mouchette said it well - "outdoor chic in a bottle." If smoke + wood + earth sounds masculine, it is. At first, I thought there were no softening florals, nothing to counter the masculinity, but happily wearable. When I realized I was wrong, I had to come back and edit my review. The vetiver came out to steal the show from the cypress/juniper, coupled with a wistful floral note. (Violet?) The earlier-century green Chanels are very manicured, like a well-kept 19th century mansion. There's nothing so posh or garden-y here. This is a dry wood where the crackling leaves mingle with the scents of the earth and the fragrant trees. Chanel tends not to work for me, never mind the price tag. I'm also wary of projecting anything that screams "high-end brand" as distinctively as some Chanels. Love experiencing them, would never wear them. Fortunately this is wonderfully complex and natural fragrance without having that quality. Still VERY sophisticated, though. Edit: Well, I've certainly learned my lesson about getting excited and writing a review before a scent goes through its whole progression. For every turn in the tale I came back to rewrite - bringing the grand total to an embarrassing eight edits. Sycomore has some beautiful surprises.

The opening is a fresh coniferous accord. Smoky tobacco and java vetiver, cypress and juniper bites right away. As it dries down, the vetiver, tobacco and cypress seem to coalesce, giving a very cool smoked vetiver vibe. I dint get much of the pink pepper though there is a spicy note in the dry down, but i dont sense any floral from the pink pepper. I do not get any powdery violet and only a subtle sandalwood smell after a few hours. Its very much a linear spicy smoky vetiver, and that is not bad at all! The vetiver is smoky where as Guerlain Vetiver is soapy green and Nishane Sultan Vetiver is more nutty green. I feel the three really encapsulate all the facets of Vetiver and its variants (Bourbon, Javanese, Hatian). If you are a massive Vetiver fan, owning all three would not feel redundant. Of the three, Sycomore's vetiver is masked slightly by the spicy accords and not as "loud" as in Guerlain or Nishane Sultan Vetiver. Its prominent, but not in your face like Nishane or central focus like Guerlain. It reminds me of a more vetiver centered, tobacco/spice muted Feuilles de Tabac by Miller Harris. Its a very aromatic "cool" smoky vetiver. I find this would be a wonderful fall and spring perfume. Absolute gem for the fall. I feel its a bit too dry and smoky for summer. Winter I feel works well as well if your into a cool vibe in the coldest months. Ita strong but not overwhelming. I feel the spice makes it lean very masculine and men into perfume will definitely ask what it is. Women will enjoy this on their man for sure. Its nice, its classy.

On my skin: Top + Middle + Base: Vetiver 70% Pepper like scent 15% Creamy-like scent 10%, Tobacco-smokey like scent 10% Sweet like scent (a little touch of flower) 5% All the way, 24 hours. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful scent. Creed, and other niche fragrance like Bond No. 9 or Amourage, you have a contestant. Is this for women? I don't know, but for sure, I LOVE IT ON ME. The first spray on my skin, I get nothing, quite disappointing, but after like 5 minutes, the scent pops up. And it stays like this forever!!!! For work? YES For dates? YES For casual meet-ups? YES To bad, this scent is so classy, that it cannot be in the clubs. No freaking way. I won't use this now, I am for sure to young for this. Maybe when I hit 29 onwards, I will buy this. It's kind of, 'powerful' scent. I can see a manager, or some big shot for a corporate figure pulling this off. Ladies think this is a weird scent, to grassy to them. Most of the guys say 'dam its so good, that when I am smoking, this one cuts my smoke for sure'. And yes it did. OMG, omg, omg, omg. Awesome longevity as I mentioned. 100% attention grabber. The country I am in has no 4 seasons, so it is either hot or cold weather. This works very well on both. My rating (base on 5 stars) Scent: 5 (Vetiver has never smelled so good). Sillage: 5 (OMG). Time length: 5 (24 hours, shit). Occasion: 4 (all rounder jack of trades, but not for clubs). Overall base on mathematics: 4.75/5 Throw away your all your vetiver stuff. This is a winner I maybe should try on Vetiver by Christian Dior =p

I fell very deeply in love with this scent upon first sniff; it's nothing like anything I've ever smelt before. For me, this is a very evocative and mysterious fragrance. It's incredibly sensual, like the beautiful and smoldering Lauren Bacall. Effortlessly sexy, like the sharply tailored suit caressing her willowy figure. Passionate, like her soul that makes it's presence felt through her steely and shimmering eyes. I could even imagine Lauren Bacall wearing this. Sycomore begins with a brief puff of smoke. Vetiver dominates, and it's very aromatic and light, with an earthy dryness, that develops into something a little more spicy and creamy with some smokiness in the background. It's always smooth and well-blended, with that signature sophistication and elegance associated with Chanel. The scent is mainly smoky woods on me, but that's okay; I'm wondering if I'll be able to unscramble some more notes during the warmer months. This perfume does venture a little too much into the masculine spectrum for me, which means that I can't really see myself wearing this regularly; although sometimes, nothing but this seems to do. A man could definitely appreciate Sycomore and I wouldn't hesitate at all to call this unisex. Soft sillage (this would probably improve when it's warmer); lasts for about 7-8 hours. Please note: I am still yet to smell Encre Noire.

Sycomore is a beautiful, vetiver-forward offering from Chanel’s Les Exclusifs collection. I received a sample and, even before trying the rest of the line, I knew this would be a serious contender for a signature scent. After wearing it, I visited the Chanel fragrance boutique near my home and purchased a bottle without hesitation. The note breakdown on Fragrantica feels accurate, but rather than focusing on individual notes, I’d rather describe how this fragrance makes me feel. Sycomore evokes the image of an ancient library — a quiet place where knowledge has been gathered and preserved over centuries. It feels thoughtful, composed, and inward-facing. This is something I would choose to wear in moments where I need to exercise authority or demonstrate expertise, but never in an aggressive way. With just one spray, it stays with me throughout the day. Not loudly, but consistently — almost like a steady companion at my side. There’s a sense of reassurance to it, as if it’s offering subtle support rather than demanding attention. Although I’m still early in my fragrance journey, Sycomore already feels like an essential piece in my collection. For me, it’s firmly S-tier. I genuinely dread the day this bottle runs empty — not only because it’s expensive, but because it has quickly become something I associate with calm confidence and inner resolve.

Chanel is perhaps one of the fistful of brands that still throws big money in perfumes. There is always room for a vetiver fragrance but for a brand that is marketing its high-end line to women composing and delivering a vetiver was surely their boldest and most ingenious act. Wearing Sycomore causes ones heart to flutter. Like the first time you fall in love where you feel a gap, a short of emptiness, underneath your chest and your surroundings become more emotionally vivid. Sycomore is foremost an object of beauty; a perfume that sets into motion the senses and not the logical reasoning. Technically, it is a smoky vetiver, refined to the bone and done in the grandest manner but actually it is more of an experience, a festivity about things that you can sense/smell and not say about. This is a fragrance that doesn’t need to be broken down or be discussed in parts. It is a sum of ordinary parts, parts used before in many fragrances but here fit so ideally, reminding us that uniqueness is hidden everywhere and not only in the exotic. For a vetiver composition, a traditionally solemn and unbending note, this experience was to me one of the greatest surprises of my perfume journey. Sycomore is a deep and mysterious perfume which exudes charisma and manages to deliver a profound emotional impact, lifting the senses as no other. MASTERPIECE

my favorite of the exclusive line next to coromandel. Its been said so many times but yes it can be compared to encre noire but dont get it twisted. They're both telling a different story. I don't wanna take away from the magic they both posses by saying that one is better than the other. neither lack in quality, althou what you are getting in sycamore what encre noire doesnt is the iconic use of chanel aldhydes. like the best way i can describe is that encre noire is like a dense, dark difficult to see in forest. and sycamore is like that exact same forest but with light shining thru the tree branches. the one is looking up and the other is looking down. however sycamore has a few more tricks up it's sleeve. it has a slight velvety / tabacco giving a smooth classy quality in the dry down. The opening is a lot brighter n fresher with pink pepper and the junipers adds a lot more green fresh aromatic tones in a way that makes the forest ''more visible'' as mentioned above. sycamore is elven while encre noire is vamperic i gave encre noire extreme a theme song so i will also give sycomore one from the same anime Berserk (1997): Susumu Hirasawa - Earth beautiful, both are beautiful creations wood elf/10

I have a small sample of Sycomore that allowed for 2 wearings; I feel that wasn't enough to really get to know it. So I want a larger quantity as soon as possible, because after those two wearings I am sure that I love this scent. It seems to be intriguingly complex and elegantly simple at the same time: it's all wood, but there's so much going on in all that woodiness. I feel like I smell like furniture polish, but in a sophisticated way. It seems impossible, but it's true! I love the vetiver in this, it's very strong while remaining perfectly unisex. In fact, I don't really understand why this is "for women"; to me it seems as unisex as they come. That's impressive, by the way, and makes me very happy, because I love the smell of vetiver but most strong vetiver fragrances tend to be too masculine for my taste. The supporting notes are also great: I get both dry woods and greener, moister forest smells. Altogether they make for a scent that is mysterious and full of hidden depths, but at the same time easy to wear. Great for all seasons, I think. Uplifting and quite powerful in a subtle way; it doesn't radiate but the whiffs I catch of it throughout the day always instantly improve my mood.

I got a little story to tell with this review. When I started out hanging around Fragrantica and buying decant and samples I had a secret perfume recipe that made the best vetiver scent: 2 parts of Chloe Capucine and 1 part of Hermes Vetiver Tonka into a decant. The end result was a smoky, green, slightly sweet and nutty vetiver concoction that I could never get tired of. ... that is, until I ran into Sycomore. Once the tobacco note settles down I am left with the most gorgeous vetiver with a hint of freshness from juniper and hues of soft spices and wood. The cypress and sandalwood are balanced perfectly, and there's even the slightest hint of powder lingering in the base. It is just enough to keep the composition not overly masculine. It evokes the exact same feeling I got from my secret recipe; I am not a perfume genius like I thought, after all. I have a huge 6.8 oz bottle but I'll be backing this one up like crazy. The new EDP is no where near the original EDT. EDP smells way too synthetic (lack of tobacco note and nutty base) and does not last nearly half as much as EDT. Ah, why do I have to love you so much Sycomore?

I'm really not sure I'd ever want to smell like anything other than this ever again. What am I supposed to do with my drawers full of other scents that have just instantly faded into black & white? This is love. A perfect fragrance dominated by an exquisite vetiver note, and supported by an all star cast of sandalwood, pepper, juniper & cypress. There's some violet peeking through also, but this thing is more than just the sum of its parts. All the various notes are so well synchronized as to create the illusion of a single virtuoso dancer. This is designated as a feminine scent, but I'd suggest completely ignoring that, this easily swings both ways... I've had the pleasure of keeping company with a variety of amazing vetivers, thinking I had seen the best of the best from a variety of niche houses. I'd actually resisted the Chanel variety, thinking that surely the more obscure and hip my latest example was, the better it had to be. Oh how wrong I was! A masterpiece in my book and an absolute must for not only vetiver lovers, but anyone at all who is interested in the idea of an olfactory epiphany. 10/10

Gorgeous scent I mean letterly gorgeous! Nature in a bottle and not so linear as Dior Vetiver for example which is very close in the drydown of this. It’s nothing like encre noir if you really use your nose and enjoy scents so deeply. It’s rounded very well. The opening could remind you of that dark harshness of encre noire and encre noire extreme, but it’s not so harsh that it offends you... you just get more and more curious.. the vetiver blast in the opening with some spices is amazing.. it’s dark and makes you excited, and slowly the tobacco comes out and plays with the notes.. it’s balancing the scent and it becomes a soft, but sweet peppery vetiver, but so well blended you just smell pure pure masterwork here! I mean close your eyes walk outside in the nature and no review is needed. Thanks for this masterpiece Chanel! Longevity is beastmode 12+ hours, but projection is very weak on me like all vetivers except for sultan vetiver from Nishane thats a nuclear bomb of vetiver. Anyways I like it and outside I can smell it better and don’t mind that point.. it’s about the smell and that’s gorgeous

My favorite Chanel perfume of all time. Earthy, dark, warm, woody, and a tinge of spice to add some flair. As expected from the Chanel DNA, the airiness of this perfume is what makes it stand out from other vetiver centric perfumes I have tried. Imagine being embraced by the earth itself, on the cooling floor of a deciduous forest. It's fall, the leaves are turning brown. You find solace in solitude that only nature can provide. This perfume pulls on my heartstrings for reasons I can't pinpoint. As an introvert, this perfume speaks to me. As weird as it sounds, it is my escape from the chaos of city life, in a bottle. A few sprays in a quiet room and I'm instantly transported to a haven, a refuge from all the noise and all the attention demanding aspects of my day. It brings me peace for a short blissful moment. I love everything about this scent except for it's ridiculous price. And yet once again I fear I may still purchase a bottle one day. This is Chanel through and through, and I love it for that. A masterpiece for the story it tells, in the way only perfumes can tell.

Time for my favorite game, a format comparison. On my left arm is a new Sycomore EdP and on my right is the original Les Exclusifs EdT release. I can keep this very simple: these are very nearly two different perfumes. The EdT is one of the driest and woodiest vetivers I’ve ever smelled. The similarities to Encre Noir are significant. In true Les Exclusifs EdT style, it’s full of air and space. The very woody vetiver stretches from the top to the base of the perfume, and in the final skin scent it pairs beautifully with sandalwood and purple violets. The EdP uses the same woody vetiver but seems to use less of it. It’s decidedly floral, heavily leaning on the aldehydes and violet flower note in the top and heart. The final skin scent is very similar to the EdT but softer, more floral, a bit sweeter and wetter. The EdT is a very strident, stately, and stiff character to the EdP’s very pleasant, relaxed and easy beauty. These two formats aren’t the same perfume; think of them as siblings with very different personalities. But, just like a parent, I love them both.

I only have assumption why some people may compare it with EN. I do not want to offend someone, so I may guess that the reason can be in shortage of the personal olfactory experience. When I first smelled Sycomore I was shocked by its unpleasant bitterness and irritating smokiness. It felt as I got drunk, felt asleep in a camp fire and woke up in the morning with a headache, disgusting myself. It cost 200+ EUR per small bottle. Insane! I got back to Sycomore in 2 years since I had sniffed it first time. It was one of the best moment I'd ever experienced with fragrances. I remember I felt in love of what I smelled. It was so rich, so complex and it transformed in time differently that it is hard to explain (I literally do not know English well to be more descriptive than I'm able being now)! I really hope that someone may have experience similar to mine, because that was that kind of moment the human could enjoy their lives. There is a list of fragrances that changed my perception of smell and Sycomore is definitely in that list.

Sycomore is a very special fragrance. It's different to many of the main perfume house's vetiver offerings. This one is a peppery, green vetiver. The mossiness of this is not subdued by the bite that is offered by the pepper and green notes. This, to me, reminds me quite strongly of Fat Electrician by Etat Libre d'Orange. While there's not much in common notewise, the vetivers in both are quite creamy. The creaminess seems to come from the aldehydes and sandalwood, which make this more than three dimensional. The violet and what I detect to be iris offers a lovely powder accord and the tobacco is just gorgeous in this. May even be a bit cigarette like. The EDT is, in my opinion, much stronger than the EDP. The EDP just doesn't last on my skin which is sad, because it offers an easier to wear version of this. It can be layered underneath the EDT. Less bitier and much less green. I've just secured a 20% full 200mL of the original formula EDT and I'm so excited to see how it relates to the other versions.

I've been spending a lot of time with this one! I tried it at the suggestion of the Chanel rep. I normally don't think much of vetiver, although I appreciate it as an aromatherapy ingredient. Anyway, she thought it would work well with my skin chemistry and so I took home the sample. Well, turns out she was right. This is vetiver that doesn't attack and overwhelm. It is woodsy, yet has a lightness to it that makes it seasonless. While I don't get much of the individual personalities of the notes because they fuse so seamlessly to create a singular smell. That is my true hallmark of a great fragrance. I find myself reaching for it a lot and every time I wear it, I get compliments. Sycomore is a classy lady with a casual flair. She is a professional, 30-something, she likes walks in nature, and she commands attention without intimidating. It is very flattering that the rep pegged me as one who should wear Sycomore. FB worthy for sure.

Green, spicy, earthy, with a heart of cypress and wood – this is Chanel’s intoxicating Sycomore. Sycomore is an incredibly elegant scent. Utterly sublime! Opening with full bodied vetiver, Sycomore soon presents notes of pepper, sandalwood, juniper, violet and Italian cyprus. Chanel has here emphasized the green and nutty facet of the vetiver root in a way that is wholly modern where the spicy, smoky woodiness is so well synchronised that at no time does the fragrance become dark. The eventual dry down is a soft smoky scent with a delicate aldehyde powderiness. Sycomore is by far the most masculine of Chanel’s Les Exclusifs range; a perfectly unisex fragrance dominated by that exquisitely silken and sophisticated vetiver note. Uncluttered and straightforward it exudes a quiet and purposeful strength. Pure class. Longevity is excellent with heavy sillage on first application that mellows to moderate after the first hour. 10/10

I had the same experience with Sycomore as I did with 02 L`Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer Perfumes. At first sniff I thought “Oh how masculine”. Both I bought blind. I’m not one to accept failure however. I decided to live with each one for a couple of days, learn its idiosyncrasies, and become intimate with it. Then something happened in both cases. I became hooked. Now how can a woman wear Sycomore? Well on my wrist vetiver is center stage and everything else is a backup singer. What the backup singers do is make the vetiver light, bright, and kind of airy resulting in dancing vetiver. And dancing vetiver is why this works well on a woman. What kind of woman can wear this? Well certainly not a girly girl. I would say a pragmatic woman; one that has to interface with the “Boy’s Club”, one that knows what to do, when to do it and does it. Can a man where this? If I was a man I would wear it in a heart beat.

I picked up a sample of this along with Jersey, Boy, and Cuir de Russie. I was attracted to Sycomore because I'm an outdoor kind of person and not overly girly, though I am definitely professional, so I figured it might complement my personality. It does! For me this starts with a blast of juniper, which smells clean, extremely fresh, and only slightly masculine. After 20 minutes I start getting pepper, spice, and a lot of vetiver. The scent lingers for several hours, but does not really radiate out. The effect is like hiking through a forest in the summer. Though many people have listed this as a winter fragrance, most winter scents to me have a warm undertone of amber or honey or vanilla. This does not; it's just plain old fresh. Nonetheless, I'd totally wear this in Spring, Summer, or Fall! I just wish (like with all Chanel's Exclusifs) that it lasted longer.

This is my stone-cold armour and a magic "thou art a heartless b*tch" potion for any kind of a challenging situation I might have planned for the day. I think this is a beautiful, classy, dark and smart perfume - a foolproof option for strong women (and men!), especially when there are intimidating Alpha men you need to take on. Smells like a modern secluded house somewhere in a deep Russian forest to me - juniper, birch, fir, smoky sauna and a glass wall facing the woods. Excellent for a job interview, you will feel like kicking the door open and owning any meeting. Love love love this. My husband wears Encre Noir, I wear Sycomore - if I had to compare, EN melody sounds like a lone violin, maybe with a piano accompanying it, while Sycomore would sound like the same melody performed by the finest orchestra.

This review is for the newer EDP. This is my first (and only, for now) Chanel Exclusif, and it was a love at first snif for me. I was at the Chanel counter and the SA was introducing me to several of the scents based on my preferences, and then she slipped this one in, which is completely different from what I already own. My immediate reaction was that this smelled fresh but had depth and some warmth, like a rich, dark green forest when the sun comes out after the rain. It has this sparkling, fizzy quality and subtle powdery touch that other vetivers I tried in the past lacked. I love vetiver scents and while I know ladies who rock Terre d’Hermes, for example, I find the dry down too sharp and masculine on me. This is different. This is the ultimate unisex vetiver. I love it on my boyfriend too!

I love vetiver I have experienced various perfumes with this note and Sycomore was what I liked most, so that became my signature scent. I have a bottle of 75 ml and bought another of 200 mL. I think i have Sycomore for life now. Has a prominent note of vetiver, but not as aggressive as Encre Noir, is smooth and geniously blended with woody notes. It is a unisex fragrance, very elegant, luminous and comfortable. I spray 10x sometimes and not bother other people around. It has a moderate projection and lasts a lot, all day long, if not more ! along my journey to find the "best" vetiver, i've tried around 12 fragrances, my top 3 is: 1) Sycomore > 2) Sel de Vetiver > 3) Vetiver extraordinaire. Sycomore is a masterpiece and other 2 are highly recommended. 5/5 stars

It breaks my heart that Chanel discontinued their sublime Sycomore Eau de Toilette in favour of the reformulated Sycomore Eau de Parfum version. This page is for the original EdT which is more complex, the vetiver calmer, smoothly blended with sparkling gin-like juniper and smoky cypress notes. The whole thing feels better balanced in the more diluted form and I've worn it year round as my signature scent since it came out in 2008. The eau de parfum is much heavier on the vetiver, less sinuously smoky, and goes rootier / sour on my skin — I can understand those comparing it to Encre Noire . So I'm finally approaching the end of my last bottle of the EdT and then that will be it. Impossible to find this masterpiece now

This is a masterpiece. A lady in a Chanel boutique told me a story about the origin of Sycomore (not sure if I believe it but it has an element of mystery and romance): Supposedly a small crystal flacon of this magnificent fragrance was found in Coco Chanel’s boudoir after her death and is believed to have been her personal favourite. The reviews below capture the beauty of this composition with infinitely more eloquence than I could. As a lover of woodsy frags I fell head over heels in love with Sycomore. To my mind it evokes sensations of elegance, sophistication, and warmth. This an exquisitely beautiful scent that can be worn by men and women, and really does elicit compliments from strangers.

Had an intimate, lovely experience with this herbaecious and green vetiver this evening. Had a date that was the third in total after breaking up with the love of my life: it ended with a 'sorry, don't feel the spark' Currently having a few drinks to make myself feel a little better. But I have Sycomore with me. I spray on a bit and instantly feel invigorated. Warm. Loved. Kind. People talk about the green biteyness making this difficult to wear, I have never found it more beautiful. Soft violet, tobacco from my cigarette and this, pine and sandalwood. Just beautiful. I'm sniffing my arm in public like a gigantic numpty. Do I care? Not at all, really. Oh, and obviously vetiver

I won't spend many words on Sycomore as it deserves at least a try. This is an absolute masterpiece, one of a kind type of stuff and should be a mandatory purchase for any true fragrance lover. An outstanding and superbly crafted, smoky yet fresh vetiver centered composition enriched by hints of incense and a considerable dose of sandalwood. The usual aldehydes/iris roots "signature" bu Chanel is there but works subtly to provide the right amount of sophistication. Dry yet plush, immensely satisfying. Together with Vetiver Exctraordinaire and Route Du Vetiver possibly one of the best around. Absolutely intoxicating and addicting, don't look any further. Rating: 10/10

I sampled 4 of the exclusif line, and I was sure Le Lion would be my favourite. Well, I love to be positively impressed. Sycomore is my favourite of the ones I sampled (le lion, coromandel, comete and sycomore). Everything is so well put together, that I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It opens very green, sharp, straight a way forest, also a bit of gin tonic like. Then it gets darker, but in a cozy way. Like you are in a cottage in the woods, it is late winter, almost spring, it is raining outside, and you are wearing a light sweater. There is a bit of sweetness to it. Not much, but enough to make it addicting. For sure getting a full bottle!!

I smelled this by accident when trying other fragrances in a Chanel boutique. I tried it on and instantly knew it would be my go to scent. There are fantastic reviews here that describe it in many better ways than I could, the reason I love it, is because it’s unique, it’s dark, smoky, earthy and one that you can’t forget once you have come across it. For me it reminds me of an autumnal walk, when you smell the musks and smoky essence that are released when you tread through the damp leaves and smell the open fires people have roaring. I love collecting fragrances and have tried so many but this is the one for me.

I was sent this sample by mistake and cannot be more grateful! I’m still learning what my favorite notes are in perfumes. Never thought vetiver would be apart of that group. This is a beautiful scent. Truly unisex. Not super strong on the spice or mossiness like I’ve heard before. I really love it but not for the price point!! Something about it reminds me of the original hollister cologne ‘so cal’ for men. I wore it in highschool and it was just one of those that I knew it was for men but it was such an addictive smell. This is that but grown up and for the office.

I don't know what else to tell you other than this smells *amazing*. I am untainted by earlier EdT formulations, having only ever experienced this using the newer EdP. The same day I finished my sample I went out and bought the largest bottle of this available. Just adding that to let you know that this is an incredible fragrance in its own right, no matter how mythical the EdT may or may not have been. Take a beautiful, sharp, classy vetiver. Smoothen some of the sharpest edges and add a soft woody, spicy, slightly floral base to tie it all together. Pure class.

This is what Encre Noire becomes when she decides to go to the ball at the Emperor ́s. ̈Refined ̈ as others have said, Encre is the rough sharp diamond, Sycomore is luminous. I love them both, two takes on gorgeous vetiver. I imagine an english gentleman from the 1850-1930 era smelling like this, after coming back from expeditions in some exotic foreign land. Or what princess Sibylla of Jerusalem would project while drifting through her palace ready to make an entrance. Rich and elegant, but never pretentious; serene and white gold, perfectly unisex. A true gem.

Walking through a woodland this morning, mid-autumn. The leaves are deep yellow, golden brown and russet, and about half have fallen to the ground. There's a sweetness in the air from the leaf sugars breaking down, and a nuttiness from the damp soil and soggy twigs. The trees in the wood are mostly deciduous, but there's also a coniferous tinge to the air. And something like petrichor, except not from rain but from the cold mist that had settled as dew but is now rising in the sunshine from the trees and surrounding fields. Chanel bottled this.

Really enjoying this. I ordered a sample online and I was pleasantly surprised by it. This does share some similarities with encre noir but I will say that it's more of a semi-soft sibling rather than a duplicate. This shares Chanel DNA with their other offerings and if they repacked this as Chanel no. 5 for men, it would honestly be a good descriptor (on my skin anyway.) It's grossly overpriced but I wouldn't be opposed to saving my pennies for a bottle. I would reach for it a lot more if it were more affordable. 9/10 for me, it's gorgeous.

Hands down the best Vetiver fragrance ever fashioned. And while I can see how some people detect similaries between Sycomore and Encre Noir, the Chanel creation is in a class by itself. Next to it Encore Noir smells like a cheap immitator. I happen to love Encre Noire but Sycomore is a much more satisfying fragrance, and given the price it should be. I have yet to smell rooty Vetiver like this, and it absolutely floored me at first sniff. The Sandalwood is perfectly matched to the Vetiver. A rock star of Vetiver/Woody fragrances.

Sycomore screams VETIVER BIG time...very green and gritty earthy tone. After you spray it on your skin and it settles a smokey/spicy scent giving it more of a masculine aroma thou it's sold as a women's frag. An excellent long lasting juice which is definitely a woodsy/spicy frag all around. Chanel produces high quality long lasting fragrance, I would love to own a bottle...can't wait. When I tested it out in a boutique, it lasted the entire day and I could still after 9hrs. Rating this juice is no question high quality 10/10

A fuller, creamier, softer version of Encre Noire. If you like EN (like I do), you'll definitely love this, it just feels like an upgrade to it. Same monster sillage and projection (at least for me). Unfortunately, the price tag may deter some lovers. It's also so similar to EN, that many could think: "why should I buy this when I can buy EN for 1/10 of the price?" Nevertheless, my advice is this: have a full bottle of EN, and a decant of Sycomore. Can't go wrong.

my favourite!! if they took away all the perfume in the world but said: 'you can choose one to remain', i would cry 'keep sycomore!' tobacco + tea leaves. (sandal)wood and varnish. makes me feel like i've walked into an art supplies shop. i love it so hard. devastating on a man. on a woman? she's an artist. a joyful doer. this is creativity that moves and makes, no languid sensuality but active life. the juniper drydown is sweetyums.

Opens with a warm embrace of varnished, hazelnutty vetiver, like peeking your head inside a freshly carved wardrobe. A resolute violet and fatty aldehyde provide a delicate soapy freshness, beneath which lies a dark, dusty sweetness - sandal, tobacco and a slight pinch of leather. It's like a really faded "Cuirs" by Carner, but with this wonderful textured woody note up front. It's perfectly balanced and totally unisex. Love it!

Directly from the exclusive niche collection of the Maison Chanel: Sycomore by Chanel evokes an enchanting walk in the woods, a sinuous and impervious entry with warm woody and chypre notes, cypress, juniper and sandalwood welcome intoxicants and open the horizon towards lively aromatic notes and a present and very pleasant tobacco wrapped in aldehyde hints and fresh violets. Woody and aromatic sillage. Appreciable durability.

A truly remarkable scent. In no way shape or form a women's fragrance. This is as masculine as it gets. Sure a women could wear it, but I wouldn't classify it as womanly. The vetiver in this is the star. It's dirty but wearable. Classy and wild at the same time. It's last and last and lasts. The only downside is the price tag. Does remind me of Encre Noire but is no where near as dirty. Give it a try. Happy Hunting!

Originally upon smelling this, I thought I smelled sunflower. The tobacco brings a wash of golden, curled leaves (and petals) covering the ground. The sweet nuances remind me of arizona green tea with ginseng. I want to wear this all the time. When I wear Sycomore, a bubble of early morning autumn sunlight and mist travels with me for hours. That’s how the light gets in. 5/5

SWOON. This is a really gorgeous perfume. Great longevity and sillage. Aromatic, sweet, sharp, green with a divine sandalwood dry down. It is pricy but it is special. £210 for 200ml in harrods. I shouldered the expense because I couldn't resist it. It's just wonderful. I sprayed it this morning at 10am and almost 12 hours later I can still smell it. Terrific.

I love this scent. It's has a great smokey opening, full of juniper and woody vetiver. I did not really get the tobacco notes that others have noted. This may be a little brighter and slightly more complex than Encre Noir, but in my opinion, not enough to justify the increased cost. If you like Encre Noir, you will like this and vice versa. Rating: 8/10.

Encre Noire meets YSL M7. It has the same smokiness and earthiness of Encre Noire, but slightly less harsh. Yet at the same time it has a slight sweet cherry/woody/hay side to it, which rounds out the smokiness brilliantly. Basically, it's a much more wearable and enjoyable Encre Noire. I'm not sure why this isn't marketed to men though?!

I'm so frightened that it will lose it's quality in the new edp version that I just bought a 2nd 200ml bottle. I can't imagine living without it... Probably changes are not so dangerous with Sycomore anyway, because the material is not the most expensive one. Maybe I should be more worried about my second love of the line, 28 La Pausa....

By far my favorite vetiver scent. To be honest I dont even like vetiver. This is the exceptIon. Is it worth The money? . I’m torn. But read all of the Chanel exclusive reviews....i bet they’re similar in complaints for the cost. But I’ll tell you one thing. It does NOT smell like Encre noir 🤮(thankfully)