Comme des Garcons Series 3 Incense: Zagorsk

In the quest for the perfect incense fragrance, Zagorsk often gets recommended. The raw, lemony-smokey incense that most people in Western countries are used to (Avignon, Sahara Noir) is not to be found in Zagorsk. Instead, a pine-like, cold, crisp, resinous (almost powdery) accord is what Zagorsk offers, which is quite accurately described by the accompanying marketing. The scent is supposed to immitate a snow-covered Russian Monastery in the city of the same name. It remains quite linear throughout and develops little to my nose. The Russian-style incense is totally justified in my opinion, so most Orthodox people might feel at home with this scent. But this is no 'one size fits all' incense. However, it may well be one of the most appropriate cold-weather scent in a long time: one that is zero sweet and a million miles from oriental ambers or ouds. Comme des Garcons should be praised for their objective to create a fragrance for each of the world's largest religions, although I wouldn't associate Russian Orthodox with everything Orthodox Christian. That said, this scent is one of the closest things a fragrance can get to without actually burning anything. Therefore, it gets the thumbs up from me. Other similar scents to check out might be Polo RL for the pine note (although quite different to Zagorsk) and Amouage Jubilation XXV and Breath of God by LUSH for incense in general.

Zagorsk is not my favorite cdg incense but it's damn good. I picture a russian church, blanketed in snow, surounded by coniferous trees. The opening is very interesting. There is spiciness but overall it smells remarkably cold to me. Almost slightly metallic, like cold metal. The pine incense combo creates a strangely transparent, almost clovey airiness over top. This opening lasts a very long time, almost hours but eventually the pepper and other woods emerge from hibernation and it becomes much more inviting. The drydown is interestingly contradictory. Theres the cold airiness of the opening but theres also a spicy coziness. In the opening you're trudging through the freezing taiga. After hours of walking you finally see in the distance a large, gothic cathedral. The drydown comes as soon as you enter it and slam the large, heavy door closed. You can still sense the cold, biting air outside, but it is muted by the heavy wooden door and the warm scent of incense and a cozy fire within. While I love this, for some reason I dont feel the urge to wear it very often. Maybe it's a little too serious, lacking in charm. Performance is on par with the other incenses, being above average in both duration and sillage. All in all this gets a 7.5/10 from me for its transportive, if overly sombre qualities.

Boy, tough break for Zagorsk considering how much everyone loves the other four! It's definitely got the deep, dark pine forest going on right from the first whiff...makes me think of Polo almost. I find it to be a very natural, organic confer scent, even after it moves indoors, into the log cabin, losing some of the brisk coldness after a minute or two. This is what life smelled like in remote Hudson Bay Company forts in the wilds of 18th century Canada, pipe tobacco and all. It's slowly getting sweeter, with a single sweet note, almost like grassy vanilla, that stands out like the spring shoots reaching up through the last of the snow in March. But after the woods from the top notes dissipate more, this grassy vanilla note does get a bit one-dimensional, almost like a He Wood flanker. The dynamic, fresh-hewn log cabin smell ages a few hundred years to leave that sweeter but heavily-worn remnant that you smell when you visit that same old fort today, on a tour at a national park. If you took all the gourmand elements out of Zirh Corduroy, or maybe even out of Rocabar, you'd be left with something like this. It's much less "my thing" than some of the others in the series, but I'll still give it a thumbs up because I think it's well-balanced for the sweet antique wood genre.

So far I've tried this and Avignon, and I expected the latter to be my runaway favourite. However, I think Zagorsk has a cleanness and contrast to it that elevates it slightly higher for me than the more sweet, straightforward notes of Avignon. My initial impressions were of sharp pine and cold smoke, and I'm obsessed with how it dries down. Perhaps I'm doing Avignon a disservice due to the very small sample I'm working with, but Zagorsk is still the one I keep reaching for despite having a similarly tiny vial. While I'll likely buy a full size of both to get more used to wearing them, I can see Zagorsk remaining my favourite going forward and becoming a staple of my wardrobe in the colder months. It also makes me very curious about the Orthodox incense that inspired it, since I'm someone who was raised primarily around Lutheran and Catholic churches, so Avignon is far more similar to what I'm used to. I'd recommend this fragrance to folks who want a less typical churchy incense and who enjoy sharp, woodsy scents... and for any in the witchy and gothic crowd that want a more melancholy (to use CdG's word) incense fragrance than the lighter and sweeter Avignon.

Zagorsk is wonderfully unique. Both as a city and as a fragrance. I've been there and I don't particularly remember how it smells like, but Comme des Garçons definitely nailed Eastern European Orthodox vibe of our monasteries with this one. It opens green, fresh, dry woody and settles down as gorgeous austere incense. The birch note (or is it hinoki?) is a tiny bit scratchy and harsh for my nose but at the same time it's immensely nostalgic, too. I own Avignon from Series 3 and it's so wonderful to see the contrast between the smell of pure Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Pompous, dark and gothic Avignon vs light, fresh and modest Zagorsk. I find it interesting that people associate Zagorsk with snow because usually when it's winter and snowy in Russia, there's no particular smells around, let alone "green" smells or smells of wood. So for me this is more of a spring/summer memory, when the sun is shining and it's still might be a bit chilly in the mornings but everything is already blooming. CDG nailed it, I have nothing else to say. Lovely poetic fragrance which evokes the long gone memories of peaceful times in Sergiyev Posad (Zagorsk).