Comme des Garcons Series 2 Red: Palisander

It's been a long time since I smelled this stuff, but I must say it was a real treat to revisit. The first thing I smell is a piercingly bright wood, cinnamony sweet but masculine, almost like Red Hots that were made with something that's very close to, but not quite, cinnamon. Soon, some florals wander in, and it transforms rather quickly into a more soapy, potpourri-like fragrance, a bit more feminine though still with the strong spiced (not spicy) wood component. It shares just a trace of the shampooey-ness that I find in things like Grabazzi, and is now what I would call legitimately unisex. It's as if Gendarme made a spicy soap fragrance to go with their line of green and floral soap fragrances. As it progresses further, I find it very hard to sense what's in the mix because it's so smooth and so well-blended; this is the point where other spice-centered fragrances might get tiringly sharp and insistent. It gets a bit weak unfortunately, and still maintains a slightly strident quality from the sharpness of the last remaining faux-cinnamon, but is at the same time somehow relaxing from the soapy quality. It's very good...a warm, sweet, happy, comforting smell, a lot like Egoiste in the base but less strained or on-edge. I'm especially impressed how much you smell the spices without feeling them burn your nose; maybe that's because they're from chemicals in the wood itself, and not the usual added spices. Truly unique and well-composed.

Palisander opens like a freshly-split log of wood, a flash of blunt realism, invigorating and bright. This eases into a flashback of my father's acoustic guitar, made from western red cedar and Brazilian rosewood. Palisander becomes a tonewood tone poem, a rhapsody of soft spice, pimiento and saffron. It's heart is earnestly wooden, with a notable facet that reminds me of the oil pastels that were used in grade school art classes. I sense just a touch of turpentine as well. Then, a carnation-like, soapy cedar-y, almost doughy dry down melds into my skin—a lasting, meditative hum.

Cleanliness, soapiness, and a little bit of sweetness, cannot seem to get over how amazing this scent is to my nose....

Woody red hots candy, dries down to smell like pleasant kleenex. Unusual but unfortunately fairly short-lived.

One of my favorites from this line. A soft powdery wood that ages well on me.