Comme des Garcons 2 Man

@Deelecto I've never really had a noticeable headache from using fragrance but I have had contact dermatitis, even though I hardly ever spray liberally. It hung around for about a month and to begin with it was a bloody pain. Mine wasn't due to any of the usual suspects--the fragrance was on the turn and had changed chemically--but, though I love mossy fragrances, I absolutely accept regulation intended to spare people anything up to at least a few weeks' discomfort. I imagine there are people out there whose reactions are far worse. On my skin, something in 2 Man smells like banana peel, banana leaf, plantain leaf--something along those lines. Perhaps it relates to the mint--I don't know how that might be--because there's mint in Beach Hut Man too and I get a similar banana-type scent (among many others) from that one as well. There's also the possibility that this relates to particular woody notes, as, of course, both fragrances are very woody. Perhaps it's mint *and* woods?! Anyhow the combination of this banana-type scent and aromatic woods always makes me think of the Tropics and Subtropics--so while I can absolutely see why some say that this fragrance reminds them of church, a second-hand bookshop and/or possibly a showroom full of well-polished teak and mahogany furniture, it perhaps causes me personally to recall a coach trip I once took through the Yucatán rainforest. The coach stops at a tiny Maya roadside lean-to of a settlement along the way. There may or may not be some turkeys gobble-gobbling and trotting around. It's a dry, sunny day above all the exotic, aromatic trees. There's just the one modest little general store-cum-shabby little diner and inside it, in the rainforest climate, yes, the old wooden furniture smells a little like this scent. In the kitchen, someone is steaming some inobtrusively fragrant, sweet banana leaf or plantain leaf tamales. The thing is--and I do realise that it's almost ridiculous to say this--everything about this scent is just so... woody. Even the banana thing has rainforest ties. And most of the wood is dry, brown, dusty, hard--not even any temperate-zone conifers to juice things up. It's a lovely fragrance but, as is often the case with these super-dry-woody scents, I find myself wishing that it offered ever so slightly more--that there were just a little more top-note zest or zing to lighten or refresh the scent (without making it smell like furniture polish). It's not at all a gloomy fragrance but it can seem almost totemically wooden. It reminds me of being handed a block of wood in the workshop at school and being encouraged to--make something, anything out of it. Also, this fragrance's performance is only average--but in my case, that may be a good thing. It has just the right amount of sweatiness as it is.

I have a great deal of respect for Comme Des Garcons, they are one of the better "niche at designer price" houses at the current time. IMO, CDG 2 Man is the best work of Mark Buxton to date, although Sander scent 79 is really good. CDG 2 Man is the best truly "multidimensional" fragrance in my possession. To my nose Buxton structured this so that waves of varying notes and intensities would waft about concurrently throughout it's evolution. I guess I would say this fragrance charts a "wide olfactory swath".While I suppose many fragrances try to accomplish this, Buxton with CDG 2 Man nailed it so well that it caught me off guard, and when a fragrance does that to me, it is a very good thing! Initially I dismissed this fragrance as weak and unusual. But I rapidly turned from uninterested to infatuated. The execution of this fragrance is complex and interesting. Do not underestimate the role mint plays in this fragrance. It is brilliant. CDG 2 Man seems insanely strong initially only to play a bit of hide and seek a few hours later. I would describe the effect of this fragrance as initially confused, like the notes are all looking for a seat and bickering over who gets to set in the first row, slightly herbal and a little bit dirty/sweaty for a few minutes, only to quickly morph into a lovely multi layered incense driven, barely sweet, chilly white smoke, slightly peppered, hot balsamic infused wax, all contained in slightly minty crusted olfactory package. All the while faint "wisps"(I suspect the aldehydes)of perfumes past swirl about in your personal space. It brings so many things to mind, like my college girlfriend (years ago!) chewing mint gum with Aveda scented hair, new leather luggage, fine furniture, etc. It also has traces of Avignon, Zagorsk and even CDG Black to my nose. Though I think it is better than the aforementioned fragrances with the potential exception of CDG Black which is probably a tie with 2Man. I sometimes layer 2Man with Loewe 7 and the effect is quite pleasing for me with more than a few inquiries and compliments. I think easily worn by anyone who enjoys the fragrance, man, woman, It does not matter. If your properly moisturized skin seems to eat this fragrance, garments and hair seem to hold it quite well. To my nose the similarities to GPH1 are not that significant and I appreciate CDG 2 Man much more that GPH 1, not to say I don't also love GPH 1, because I do! You will never smell the same twice wearing this genius scent from Mark Buxton. 10/10

For sure, one of the most underrated perfumes. Amazing and I consider it as the “fresh and happy” version of Bentley absolute. In Arabic: لإن العطر غير منتشر وتردده بين محبي العطور ليس بتلك القوة لذلك ربما كانت قيمته الشخصية عندي مختلفة، كأنك تحتفظ بشيء خاص بك والاحتفاظ هنا هو احتفاظ الخصوصية والتعلّق لا أعلم عدم شهرته، هل التسويق لم يكن بتلك القوة؟ أم أن الدار لا تمتلك متابعين كثر لها؟ أم أنه ببساطة اختلاف أذواق؟ أقول كل هذا ونادرً ما أجده على رفوف محلات العطور الموردة له في ملبورن وحتى في فرع الدار هنا لم أجده لانتهائه — هو عطر ناسبني كثيراً في مكان العمل، قد تكون بدايته بنكهة جلدية خشبية دخانية (خصوصاً مع وجود جوز الطيب والكراويا) ولذلك تماماً لا أنصح بوضعه خلال عملك أو قبل بداية عملك لإن البعض قد يتحسسّ من هذه البداية، لكن هذه البداية تعطي شعور عن عمق العطر والسر كل السر عند جفافه، الجفاف هادئ بشكل مختلف بعد تلك البداية، هدوء ليس بنكهة صيفية مفكّهة، هدوء فيه بهجة ومختلف وربما هذا يعود لوجود خط خفيف من النعناع والألدهيد في طبقته العلوية مع الرشّات الأولى لكنها تكبر مع جفافه، عند جفاف العطر يظهر النعناع والألدهيد والزعفران بشكل متفاوت وهذا ربما يفسّر هذا الانتعاش وسط هذه الزحمة من الخشبيات ——- ربما من العطور المشابهة هو عطر Bentley for Men Absolute لكن بدون الملمس الهادئ من النعناع والألدهيد وجوز الطيب كذلك يشبه Encre Noire لكن بفخامة جلدية خشبية أخف بكثير من إنكري نوير المعروف بقوته ——— الانتشار والمسار والثبات جميعهم ليس بتلك القوة (ولذلك اعتبره لطيف لمكان العمل)، ٤ ساعات وستضطر جاهداً للبحث عن رائحته من عيوبه شكل علبته المزعج في تخزينها، نعم مميزة ومختلفة لكنها غير عملية عند التخزين. ———- هو عطر ذكوري رغم تصنيفه للجنسين، لا أرى هذه الرائحة أنثوية إلا إن كانت لارتدائه بالبيت ——— هو عطر ترتديه لمكان العمل بشرط وضعه قبل فترة جيدة من بداية عملك، هو عطر يناسب ارتدائه لمشوار أو زيارة قصيرة والتقاء عصريّة .. أو ربما فقط لتعديل مزاج يومك بالبيت ——— الأسعار: من المميزات سعره المعتدل كونه من قائمة عطور النيش في أمازون السعودية وجدت علبة ١٠٠ مل بـ ٤٨٥ ريال وفي موقع نمشي بـ ٥٩٨ ريال في أمازون علبة ٥٠ مل بـ ٣٧٧ ريال وموقع نمشي بـ ٣٦٥ ريال (عليك الانتباه من تشابه العطر في شكله مع عطر آخر مختلف من نفس الدار) هل هو عطر تتجنبه أو تفكر فيه أو تضعه في قائمتك أو تذهب فوراً لشرائه؟ هو عطر يتأرجه بين أن تضعه في قائمتك أو أن تفكّر فيه الشراء العمياني هنا غير محبذ لتحسس البعض من الكراويا بالبداية الرأي الشخصي: شخصياً .. هو عطر مميز لي لدرجة إني فقط أقوم بشمه لإضفاء هذه البهجة، هو عطر تماماً لن يكون علبتي الأولى منه، هو عطر اشتريته فقط بشم رائحته بدون أن اقرأ عنه قبلها

I really regret not trying this, or any CdG for that matter, a lot sooner. This stuff is absolutely gorgeous, wearable, and masculine. It stands out without ever feeling brash or out of place, and is blended so perfectly that you could smell like this 24/7 and never get annoyed or bored of it. The industrial, grey, aldehydic opening that CdG and Buxton is known for is very prevalent here, but it doesn't come off as soapy as the original CdG 2. Paired with that is a fresh-spiciness that smells extremely similar to Blackpepper by CdG. Since black pepper isn't listed as a note, I assume this is the caraway. And like caraway, I've never smelled a kumquat either, but there is a subtle unique fruitiness living in the top that comes across as mild and complete, being pithy and juicy at the same time. It sits right in the middle of citrus fruits and rich, sweet fruits. I adore it and pick up on it the more I wear this fragrance. As it starts to dry down, you get hit with a ton of vetiver. I'm generally indifferent to vetiver, as I often find it to be too raw and earthy for my taste. However, I really enjoy it in this context. It's light and abstract, a creative take on vetiver that's extremely polished. Balanced with that is a touch of dark hardwood and this intoxicating, cold incense resting at the base. The iris and mint serve as a nice textural "bridge" between the clean, almost sterile aldehydic top and the darker base notes, with them both shining through more as the fragrance settles. Performance is alright, most CdG fragrances aren't powerhouses but it's definitely adequate for daily wear and lasts quite a while. There is Iso E in here, so yes you can go noseblind to this very easily. With this, and many other fragrances, if it just "disappears" in 30min it's often from overspraying, or even applying too close to your nose (chest or front of the neck). Also, it's worth noting that this is a pretty well-rounded and mass-appealing scent, so don't let the people saying it smells like a church deter you from trying it. The incense is actually pretty subtle and I wouldn't call it "churchy" at all. Some people make this sound like a Sorcinelli-esque creation that the pope would wear... Obsessed with this absolute work of art, perfect 10/10 in my books.

I was initially disappointed with 2 Man because it’s so different from CDG 2, which I adore—I felt like labelling this as a flanker is misleading since it’s almost a completely different scent. I also found this one to be less adventurous and original, its masculine flavour a bit too close to more commercial mens’ fragrances. After spending more time with it, though, I have to say it’s grown on me. I’ve come to appreciate how it *does* share some of the same DNA that I love in CDG 2: mainly the interplay of aldehydes, spices, and incense, though it subtracts 2’s complex cybernetic florals for a subtle iris and does away with the tea accord. Though it doesn’t include “ink” in the official description like 2 does, I find it still gives a hint of that “magazine-page” scent that I like so much in the sister fragrance. Plus, as the weather cooled into fall and winter, I really started to appreciate its leathery, slightly smoky spiced-amber drydown, which is satisfyingly warm and resinous—a lovely twist on the signature clean-incense base of so many CDG perfumes. I find it to be a sophisticated, somewhat bookish masculine fragrance that’s neither too loud nor too conservative. My only complaint is that the aldehydic top notes are both fresh and powdery in a way that reads a bit too much like deodorant (which is what initially put me off)—I prefer how it smells after an hour or two, but the longevity is actually not tremendous, so the drydown phase doesn’t last that long. I also eventually discovered Eris’ Scorpio Rising, which feels like it took the drydown phase of 2 Man and made it sweeter, richer, and more powerful—it’s three times the price, but (unfortunately!) I think it might be worth it.