Comme des Garcons Series 3 Incense: Avignon

For nearly 70 years the seat of the Holy Roman Church was not arguably, but quite literally not seated in Rome. From the years 1309 to 1376 seven successive popes resided in the French city of Avignon due to the predictable conflicts between Church and crown. In the year 2002 Japanese fashion and fragrance house Comme des Garcon released their groundbreaking and well loved Incense fragrances series. Five fragrances chosen to represent five world religions. Interestingly enough the name given to represent the fragrance that would stand to represent the Holy Roman Church was not Rome but Avignon. Relique D'Amour is currently my favorite fragrance. Orpheon is my "signature" and how I'd like to be remembered. With that being said Avignon is one of my favorite fragrances and the BEST "church incense" fragrance. Church incense fragrances are a niche that I love so it goes with out saying that Avignon is often worn and often discussed. Perhaps no other fragrance replicates the smell of the smoke that exits the censers inside a church. While I do believe there are other fragrances that better represent the smell of the inside of a church itself, I can honestly state that I believe no other scent recreates the smell of the smoke itself as Avignon. Anyone familiar with church incense blends will know they often consist of three parts primarily. A frankincense, a myrrh, and a floral often a white floral such as chamomile or lily. Avignon lists its top notes as Chamomile, elemi, and Aldehydes. These opening notes, to my nose and on my skin, are accurately represented in the opening. The elemi introduces the fragrance immediately as being an "incense" fragrances with the chamomile bringing an unmistakable old world reverence into the picture. Lastly,the aldehydic notes in the opening, I feel, aren't talked about enough, without these aldehydes lightening the overall composition Avignon would be far to dark for most consumers. Avignon's aldehydes open up the figurative windows of the room allowing the guests to enjoy the art on the walls. Avignon has middle notes of French labdanum, spices, and Ambrette(Musk Mallow); and base notes of Incense, Olibanum. Virginia Cedar, Brazilian rosewood,, Patchouli, oak moss, Vanilla and Musk. Avignon's beauty is that it's a fragrance where the final drydown smell is best described not from its ingredients but from its creative intention, the SMELL itself. Plenty of people know what patchouli smells like, but more know what church incense smells like. Comme des Garcon set out to represent religions by their incenses in the case of Avignon they did an amazing job, perhaps the standard since its release. Warm, rich, smokey, and calming. Avignon is certainly a fragrance best worn in cooler weather or in air conditioned environments the heavier woods, vanilla and myrrh may be to cloying in high heat for most. Avignon provides an incredibly rich scent with out being gaudy in the least avoiding the inclination to overdose the spices or patchouli. There's enough smoke for this fragrance to never feel distinctly feminine and the smoke itself is rich enough for this fragrance to never feel completely masculine. Perhaps it is because this fragrance was created to replicate another scent itself and not as a "product" that it naturally avoids gender categorization by most noses including my own. Avignon is a fragrance I wear for me, sure, I love the few compliments I've gotten wearing it but this is a fragrance that allows me to feel a sense of comfort and calm, Avignon isn't experimental in this sense. Avignon isn't a head trip to help expand your conscience it's a warm cup of tea after you've journeyed enough and realize the trip isn't worth the gas. Avignon surprisingly has notoriety among not just us "fragheads" but among fans of The Smiths and their singer Morrisey. I've had two people in the past year who upon telling that I was wearing Avignon stated "Oh cool, I heard that's what Morrisey wears." Upon further research I can proudly say that what appears to be Moz's signature fragrance is certainly a favorite of mine as well. Avignon is by no means lacking attention, well known and well loved as the best church incense fragrance. The standard, the flag bearer. Avignon is a fragrance that changed me, Avignon is a fragrance that changed perfumes from something I used in my grooming to a piece of art I am able to incorporate into my everyday life. Avignon is a fragrance that has allowed me to fight my shadow of nostalgia by creating new memories. Avignon is a fragrance that I think everyone who has an interest in scent and perfumery should smell, and most importantly I think Avignon is a perfume that most would enjoy wearing and certainly smelling.

I've got this, Kyoto and Zagorsk going head to head. Kyoto has a lovely, bright, clean, non-smoky, non-stinky, yuzu-ish or lemony incense resin thing going on. There's more than a hint of fruity bubblegum sweetness in the top but there's also a kind of understated fullness or roundness underneath. The fragrance reminds me of fresh ginger, cardamom, lemongrass (honeyed Indonesian lemongrass tea) and probably clean vetiver too but the rounder aspect makes me think of--I don't even know what--lemon candy? Honey, even? Beeswax? (Edit: it may be just immortelle.) At any rate the fragrance is not all top-end zing but I do think that's a huge part of what it has to offer. Zagorsk is more recessed and perhaps comes perilously close to lacking detail and being too dry or dark (though not at all in a heavy way) to make much of an impression. I don't get any big hit of sauna wood but the many descriptions I've read regarding walking through a coniferous forest in cold weather, more than likely with snow on the ground, with just a hint of a kind of greenish woody incense in the air (quite possibly, yes, from an Orthodox church) are on point. The touch of ambery powder here is nice. It almost makes me think of snow. The fragrance is quite soft, impressionistic and definitely reserved but I like it. Essentially I see almost a clear, bright yellow or green-yellow (straw) resin with the Kyoto, whereas Zagorsk is more green, like pine resin or mastic. Avignon is somewhat fuller, rounder and probably sweeter than either. There's citrusy sweetness in Kyoto but Avignon has the myrrh and so on, and essentially there's more ambery dark-resin sweetness in Avignon than in the other two. Avignon is the gummiest of the three--not in terms of bubblegum fruitiness but in terms of almost rubbery resin or balsam. It's still quite soft and impressionistic, but at its core, of the three fragrances, it probably does offer the biggest dose of incense of the kind that many of us in Western Europe or the Americas are most familiar with in the context of church. Is any of the three full-bottle worthy? It depends what you're looking for. Kyoto would probably be lovely in cool spring or autumn weather (but maybe more the spring for me). The picture that Zagorsk paints favours cold weather but I'm not sure the fragrance has quite enough presence to stand up to that, so for me it may be a scent that, like the original Encre Noire, is lovely but suffers a little from not being quite convincingly suitable for the kind of context where in principle it should most shine. Kyoto and Zagorsk particularly are quite delicate, though not in completely the same way. They would be great for indoor relaxation and reflection. Because it's a little fuller, sweeter and more opulent, with a little more presence--at this moment, it reminds me of the far, far bolder and less sophisticated Bentley Intense--Avignon may be the only one of the three that I would feel comfortable wearing in the winter as well as the autumn. Then again, I am a huge Smiths and Morrissey fan and was probably always likely to prefer Avignon. CdG perfumers, take a bow. There's always someone somewhere with a big nose who knows.

You did it. You finally did it. You finally pulled the trigger and buy that ticket to Japan for vacay. You had the PTO, the money, the hankering and it all added up to booking wonderful accomodations and amazing sounding tours in and around Tokyo. GO. YOU. Then from the moment your plane takes off from the airport in Atlanta on its' way to Toronto it seems as though everything that could go wrong DID go wrong. Weird smoke in the cabin (it turned out to be a cloud of baby powder???) triggered a return to the airport and hours of waiting and dread and stress being heaped upon you--brick by brick, hour by hour--while you stared at the clock wondering if you would miss your connecting flight. And guess what! You did miss it. And you'll be getting there not just many hours after the original flight. 3 DAYS after the original flight. The hotel food in Toronto was bland and cold as you hunched over it with your phone making cancellations and re-reserving tours and lots and lots of "I'm sorry. There are no rooms available"'s. You think about going back home but you don't. No. This is a bucket list item. You're doing it. When you're finally on the flight to Narita Airport you breathe a sigh of relief. Then 3 hours in you feel weird grumbly liquidy feelings. Diarrhea. The bland food in Toronto's vengeance was upon you. Barely able to sleep an hour at a time you land exhausted, dehydrated and defeated to a degree you've never experienced. This was a mistake. You get to your hotel in Shibuya swimming in sorrow. You quickly fall into a black, dreamless slumber for 15 hours straight. When you wake up you decide to try to see if something will finally go as it should. You go for a walk to explore the beautiful area around the hotel and you start to feel a little better. Maybe it wasn't a mistake. You work your way away from the heavily crowded touristy areas. You decide to let go and allow fate to lead you wherever it may. Not long after you do you walk near a fenced area with a small rock garden. Next to the garden stands a wooden temple with a tiled roof surrounded by beautifully groomed trees. The gate is open. You step inside. You are completely alone as you make your way towards the temple. You remove your shoes, make your way inside to sit on a small cushion and you begin to meditate. As you sit in silence you are enveloped by the smell of incense, the faint decay of unimaginably ancient woods felled and shaped with handcrafted tools and sacredness. You feel the most profound sense of welcoming, peace, compassion and acceptance you've felt in years.

Revelatory. Even for a 21st-century sceptic raised atheist in a historically Protestant country, this is Old Church personified. It is some time in the early fourteenth century and you are right there in the opulent, grandiose, world-changing court of the Avignon Anti-Popes and big things are happening. Most notably a massive gilded thurible is swooshing all around your head, wreathing you in sacred smoke and the odour of sanctity. Truly exceptionally beautiful, fresh and fizzy frankincense up top (and/or mimicked with aldehydes) which is somehow cool and green and aerated, as well as golden and honeyed and resinous. This might be the smell of an old stone church but there's not a whisper of damp or rot: it may seem dark and hallowed but it's dry too, dry as dust, dry as the crumbly pages of the parchment books and the most erudite scholars' wit. It swathes you in history, swaddles you in heritage, saturates your skin and clothes with thousands of years' worth of scent memories of reverence. And it also has that usual Duchaufour magic of letting the air and the light in, too: somehow you can sense the sunbeams, slanting in through scriptorium windows, which allows even this apparently heavy and "thick" atmosphere of resins to open up and sing, like the choir invisible. It's not all solemn ritual (like say Trudon Olim) - there is true joy and spontaneity there too. Glory be! Definitely shines most beautifully on warmer days in my experience, as you get the full rounded richness of the bottom end more clearly. But basically heavenly any time. (Has there ever been a Pope Bertrand? On the basis of this I think there definitely should be.)

Bought blind, taking advantage of a great offer, I fell in love with it at the first spray and was particularly impressed with its performance on my skin, both in terms of projection and longevity. It is a powerful and extremely evocative scent that puts you in a church during a service. It is not just incense; it carries with it all the suggestions of the liturgical environment. Sweet, yet cold and icy thanks to its surprising balsamic characteristics, it recalls the dense smoke of incense grains burning in censers, with the addition of masterfully blended notes capable of perfectly recreating the scent of the interior of a majestic cathedral: wood, moisture, sharp lights and shadows, the choirs of the faithful, silence, the altar. It explodes on my skin, spreads out for at least half a meter and remains there, imperishable, for well over six hours, while rather than smelling it on me, I feel it around, like a mystical aura surrounding myself. I find something devilish in its perfection, between the sacred and the profane: it is the sheepskin the wolf wears to infiltrate the flock, the fancy dress the swindler wears, the smile of politeness of one who refuses a favor, the witchcraft that hides deception. Yet its light remains dazzling, its icy coldness sweet and attractive, like a lantern for moths. A weapon to be used wisely, rather than a perfume.

Avignon has become the reference incense for fragrance enthusiasts, and its hard to deny that compositionally it is evocative of a thurible swaying amongst the devoted in a Catholic church. It is a bit more than that, though, as it has elements that make it more impressionistic, more a perfume than purely a novel incense facsimile. We are not talking Demeter here. Chamomile in the top note through the heart, lends a certain ineffable quality that reminds of its use in Aromatics Elixir, soothing and almost imparting a 'pastoral' feel that contrasts with the stark, stony chill of the olibanum and elemi overdose. The top, with the coniferous, spiky Aldehyde C-12, also lend to this chill that is soon warmed as myrrh, labdanum and what I can detect as cistus (the oil from the leaves rather than the resin of the Cistus ladanifer). In spite of the Iso E Super that lifts everything, Avignon is to my nose impressively imbued with naturals. The mildest shade of animalic, dry vegetal ambrette musk in the base makes for a really comforting skin scent in the dry down. I now realize that this will be in my collection as not merely as a reference, but a true joy to wear. The cold yields to warm throughout its development, making it not quite as linear as has been suggested by others, and it surely suits me to a T during this snowy day in New England.

I'm writing this having sprayed myself with a generous amount of Avignon this morning (lovely, lovely, lovely), then did an hour's vigorous gardening in coolish conditions ... and now can barely smell the fragrance on the skin, let alone sense it perfuming the air around me. You may say "What sort of person perfumes himself to do the gardening ???" to which I would reply, "The sort of person who loves incense-based fragrances and wants them to enjoy them for as long as possible before respraying." Eaux de Toilette such as Avignon present a perfume at a concentration of between 5-15% and persist for 2-4 hours on the skin. Extraits de Parfum, on the other hand, have the highest concentration of perfume oil – typically between 20-40% - and last up to 12 hours. With that in mind, even though Avignon and its incense -based sisters in the CDG studio are delightful at first impact, they are not as long-lasting as products such as Heeley's Cardinal (admittedly and Eau de Parfum, with a slightly lower concentration) or Sorcinelli's LAVS (The Very Best Incense-Based Perfume In The World, in my humble opinion). Put simply, though more expensive, these other fragrances last longer, so they may prove to be a better investment - a little goes a long way!

Pinnacle incense smoke condensed off of cold marble Arguably the best incense/olibanum note ever created. The perfect amount of smoke, tartness and resinous density. There is something particularly divine about Avignon that is hard to describe, on one hand very similar to the Jovoy incense offering and Cardinal, but simply better, truer in terms of balance and proportion. Not the most naturalistic or high quality, rather perfectly manipulated to create more so the experience of smelling frankincense smoke. While it definitely encapsulates the smell of a catholic church, it doesn't remind me of mass as much as the smell of a church several hours after mass, perhaps on a cool afternoon, where the smoke has slowly condensed, almost like an imaginary icy distillate forming on cold marble pillars. Very meditative and otherworldly, on the other hand, possibly off putting when smelt on a human, austere and highly introverted, cosmic almost. On my skin it has a curious effect of emerging a few minutes after spraying. I dont know if it is a matter of the perfume oil heating up, but I get the most robust performance about 1-3 hours in. Before that it feels shy and after that more so intimate, although surprisingly long lasting.

Love at first sniff, I am so addicted to this smell. The opening reminds me a little of l'air du desert marocain, but with vetiver switched out for cedar, and a beautiful cedar it is. So calm and meditative. I get this tension of a bright uplifted feeling while being very grounded. To me this goes to something pagan in a redwood forest, and yet very much a communion with myself. I will wear it whenever wherever, I really don't care, this is not the kind of perfume you use to impress anyone, but if it does so much the better! It's cozy and comforting wearing a little before bed. On the chance that I do wake up in the middle of the night, it's absolutely soothing. I wear this for myself and it feels very personal with the low sileage. Others have said it doesn't last long, which I found to be true on my wrists, but spritzed under my shirt it lasts hours, getting little wafts of it throughout the day. Again, that feeling of personal and intimate. It doesn't feel like a perfume in the classical sense, but rather photographic and fairly linear throughout. It's quiet and unpretentious.

Absolute masterpiece. Truly like walking into a sacred cathedral, but also it is a very old one build half into a cave. There is incense, but not like smoke. It is cold, almost you can feel the cold walls and even the cool cave air as you walk to the side chapel which is built into the cave. Truly a must have for church scent lovers. It is quite strong, not overwhelmingly, but please dont wear this to an airplane or somehing haha. I TESTED THREE CHURCH-LIKE PERFUMES: Avignon: Full on sacred cathedral, exactly as described. Not an everyday fragrance, but stunning for sure. Long lasting, quite strong sillage as well. I recommend to all churchy smell lovers. 10/10 Heeley - Cardinal: A priest uncle who went from the service to smoke and whiskey, maybe he is a little sleezy even. The scent is not overwhelming, but is long lasting. Chapel Factory - Heresy: One of those incense shops that also sells crystals and mandalas, definitely incensey but not in a churchy way for me. Most wearable from the three for daily wear. Poor longevity though.

I am in love with the combination of sunny, comforting, pineapple-y herbal chamomile and labdanum in elemi, olibanum, and myrrh resins, along with fragrant hardwoods; together creating a cool and aromatic incense scent for the ages. While similar, Avignon is not as heavy on the cedar as Full Incense. I love both in their own right- but I find Avignon to be the softer, more wearable of the two. Avignon has a fresh and balsamic feel- and evokes a sense of being in an intimate cathedral, set in an evergreen forest in rural France. High rafters within are crafted from cedar, the pughs of aromatic hardwood. The atmosphere is lit only by candles; censers of resins are alight, the smoke billowing. Bundles of herbs lay nearby, drying for some ancient rituals. So, soooo very comforting and beautiful. I am dying to try "Zagorsk", but it's a bit challenging to find decants in the U.S. Anyway, in no way did this disappoint. One of my favorite fragrance experiences ever- out of hundreds! 🗝️⛪😶🌫️🖤

When it comes to incense, especially church-inspired incense, one of the most frequently mentioned names is Comme des Garçons Series 3 Incense: Avignon. As a fan of incense and resins, I had to try this iconic scent. Right from the start, I was greeted by the Roman Catholic style of myrrh and olibanum, instantly recognizable from the countless hours spent in church with my grandmother. It perfectly captures the solemn ambiance of gothic cathedrals, with their vast, high halls and tapestries that have absorbed the sacred frankincense aroma for centuries. Surprisingly, it doesn't turn dark like many church incense fragrances do, and I think this is due to the chamomile. The chamomile and vanilla in the dry down make it lighter and more airy as it settles. I can see why this is considered a benchmark in incense fragrances. More than 20 years old and still going strong, it’s a contemplative and timeless masterpiece. A must-try for all incense lovers.

Pretty awesome. Opens as if its a cedar frag. A sharp cedar, almost lemony tart. Oakmoss and patchouli are very forward on the open as well. Very fresh and airy opening while being weighty(its always the contrast that we appreciate in art). After about 15mins, you really start to smell the incense. This is 100% Catholic church incense. Transports you to Mass. But still in a light and airy perfumey way. The myrrh and frankincense smell real. Anyhow - its amazing. Smells awesome and worth its 4.3+ rating. The only drawback is the performance. Its important to note--- This thing is beast-mode for longevity on SKIN. Normally, things last long on clothes and not so much on skin for me. But this was detectable on my hand after 13 hrs. Sillage/Projection are a different story. Both are extremely poor. It doesnt last long on clothes either. Despite the mixed performance -- its a 9.5/10. Just bring a decant and spray an ml every 2 hrs.

On my second bottle and will absolutely be buying a third. It is every bit worthy of its acclaim. A transcendent, intoxicating, dare I say sexy fragrance. So spicy and mysterious and dark but not heavy. It is smoky but not ashy - more so very true to incense, full of spice and warmth. I agree with reviews saying it has a cola aspect, but it does not come off as gourmand to me. I would like to smell like this for every second of every day if possible (but it is not, because it disappears SO quickly). The bottle is fairly small so I have to ration - it doesn't help that if I'm feeling very serious I will spray multiple times in a day. If it was longer lasting it would be an absolutely perfect fragrance. But it's probably for the better, because I would be far too full of myself if I smelled like this all of the time. Highly highly recommend trying if you're on the fence.

Avignon is HUGE! One of my favourite scents of all times. The opening is absolutely distinctive with an intense explosion of severe frankincense and myrrh, almost harshing but incredibly fascinating. The catholic church effect is pushed to the limit and persists during the drydown while camomille provides an extra dose of mystery and warmness smoothing the general harshness. Cedarwood and Iso E Super are clearly remarkable throughout but they're never overdone. A meditative scent that surrounds you with its intense warmness and deep resinous allure. As a trendsetter, Avignon became one of the most imitated straight forward incenses of the last 10 years (Heeley's Cardinal, Mark Buxton's Around Midnight, Biehl's MB3, Montale's Full Incense). Another Bertrand Duchafour's masterpiece! Note: Avignon has a wonderful sillage and an amazing lasting power! Rating: 9/10

My first fragrance (not counting the bottle of Polo Blue I found on the street at 15). I got a sample of this and fell in love immediately, it transports me exactly where it’s supposed to. The frankincense, myrrh, smoke, the quiet patchouli.. just a beautiful scent. I wanted it to have longevity, projection, and sillage, but sadly, all three are lackluster, which reduced what I hoped to be my signature scent to a comfort scent I wear to bed / around the house. CDG is an outlier, and I believe they are producing art with their fragrances, but this and Wonderwood both suffer from poor performance. I still give this a 4/5, simply because of how truly incredible it smells, but don’t make my mistake and think you’ll be special and have good longevity. I don’t regret buying this, though, and I recommend it if you’re willing to re-apply liberally throughout the day.

The more I wear this, the less it seems like an entirely literal take on the smell of a Catholic Church, and more like a subtle beautification of that smell. It’s almost impressionistic. Monet’s paintings, for example, capture the essence of light and nature, transporting you to the scene—but he exaggerates and simplifies certain tones to create an overall harmonic effect. Similarly, with Avignon you immediately understand that it’s a church incense fragrance, but that incense is supported by the dry woodiness of cedar and a vague warm spiciness (cinnamon? nutmeg? I don’t know). This is one of Comme des Garcons’ greatest strengths as a house, that they can make something that straddles the line between an edgy literal representation and a perfume-y sort of familiar style. Wear this if you’ve ever been called “pretentious.”

Avignon captures an exact moment in time. It is the last whiff of church incense, one second before smoke and resin is snuffed out of existence. The crumbling coldness of ancient cathedral stone juxtaposed against the warmth of scared vapors. This captures light and dark, and is seductive in a way that feels like taking a lover in a darkened crypt during Catholic mass. I detect some cirtusy Frankincense in here, stacked on some beautiful beautiful resins. The combination of smoky powder and dense, gummy rocks of resin makes this one of the most gorgeous photorealistic incense perfumes I've ever set my nose on. I understand why this is the reference incense for so many- it's sacred and sensual, and absolute perfection. Need a full bottle. UPDATE: I got the full bottle. 10/10

I was not raised Catholic, so I have no reference for the smell of incense, but I do love ceremony, pomp and all the grand edifices that the church created so I suppose I am coming at this fragrance with romanticized version of Catholicism in my head and so I experience this perfume as a kind of olfactory cultural artefact. It is dry and has almost no sweetness. As a smell its almost aloof because it doesn't smell like you're supposed to be wearing it and creates an intimate sillage that's almost medicinal in its character. I suppose if I were writing a scholarly article about this fragrance, I would say that Avignon turns your body into the sacred space and seems to be meant for a purifying or ritualistic experience in a very personal way.

Yes it's the exact smell of walking into a cold, Catholic church. It's so spot on, it has to be called a masterpiece. I'm not a Christian, so it doesn't evoke anything more to me than the smell of the church when I go there on Sundays to watch concerts sometimes. I do wonder whether others may find it strange that I smell like this in my general life, especially as I live in a catholic country, so this is mostly reserved for cosy times at home. It bangs out strongly for about an hour before petering out quite abruptly. I've seen others complaining about this, but for me this is exactly how I want a scent like this to perform, as it's 100% linear and quite overwhelming at times, so to be short-lived and not very tenacious is quite welcome.