Comme des Garcons x Undercover Holygrace

HOLYGRACE is an expensive and interesting little piece. It has this weird quality of being kinda enchanting just to slip away to return few hours later. On my skin (and I did spray almost 8 times from my sample vial) it has such a skin-scent quality that within an hour I do get to the point that I don't feel it anymore. Then I just forget that I put something on just to be surprised a bit later that HOLYGRACE is still on my skin. Even 7 hours later I do get hints of it. The scent itself is not bad, it's kinda "as good as your skin", but a bit on the dark side - there is incense and spices, but also amber (the soapy and clean kind!) plays a huge role. It does get a bit boring as it doesn't bring anything new to the table, but the "dissapearing act" adds an edgy, playful tone to the scent. Worth a try, but I don't think it's worth the 85EUR/50ml this retails for. 5/10

For some reason I was expecting something papal, church-incensy and spiritual with a name like Holygrace, but it was not to be. Images of the mutilated doll in the first Toy Story movie did come to mind though after reading the description. The fragrance opens with fresh ginger and earthy spices which has a purifying quality. Jasmine (in description but missing from the pyramid of notes) and a touch of vanilla and incense then enter to add a little sweetness. The drydown is rooty and soft with just a shadow of a powdery flower petal. This was today, during daylight. Yesterday when I tried it for the first time it was all dry spice and rather acrid. Maybe because it was after dark while the doll's demonic spirit was awake. It was more woody like Pinocchio in Geppetto's musty old puppet shop. Interesting to say the least. I'm undecided on this one too.

Given the fact several of the notes involved in Holygrace are definitely not amongst my favorites, I was so surprised to like this better than its counterpart Holygraphie. The opening is actually a bit *too* scratchy floral to my tastes but once the initial hyper-synth blast settles down, the fragrance unveils a nice balmy middle phase / drydown all based around juxtapositions between transparent / cold elements and warm / opaque-ish ones. Bewteen the overall clean vibe and smooth, kind of leathery / body-odour types of facets probably provided by a combo of spices and styrax. Moderately sweet, kind of sharp and dry but definitely not screechy. Very nice. Rating: 7/10

The first two minutes I kind of felt that I missed buying this one out of pure interest. It was earthy, bitter and too flowery. I immediately thought this was an "outdated" type of scent and started thinking of who give it to. But it opened up after ten minutes into an amazing 'white warm' scent that I would now gladly wear myself with a white shirt.

years ago as a ecco2k fanboy i tracked this down, little 2 ml sample, it smelt like soap and flowers, fairly boring

Not that great, goes with the alternative marketing spin on the brand. Quite a harsh and strange perfume that has fleeting moments of warmth mixed with pangs of spice. So it is confusing whether or not it is actually something one would like to wear or even smell.

I've tried this one several times, and while I'm not interested in wearing this scent I find it fascinating. Holygrace is evolving on my skin, and feels classic in its layered construction. But the stages I sense smells to me absolutely modern, verging on futuristic. The initial almost girly scent of ambery flowers becomes challenged with smoky notes of incense, pepper and aromatic cardamom. What dolls come to mind? The sweet pink dolls you find rolling their eyes in scary movies. Doesn't mean this scent is ever unpleasant, but the different notes form a drama of contradictions and suggestions to me. Drama enough to make me doubt if there is room for another person here (- like the wearer). The final stage on my skin is a powdery ginger, with an pinch of vanilla and pepper in its company. Interesting!