Scent Three: Sugi

This is probably the most beautiful woods-based fragrance I own and have ever smelt. Sugi, as with anything minimal, is actually really tough to describe. The opening is a sharp, angular lemon cypress note that sticks out quite vividly and sets the tone for the dry-down. There's a tiny bit of spice from pepper, but it's not strong and doesn't last very long before it sits way, way back in the overall fragrance. As the top settles in, a creamy Iris that feels a little old skool and soft cedar dominate, whilst the lemon cypress just rests in the background. The pine is there throughout giving the whole thing a lovely coniferous vibe but the vetiver is very minimal. I love vetiver but here, it's no bad thing that it's not at all dominant as I feel like it might have been way too heavy for this fragrance if it was stronger. For the most part, that's due to the lightness of scent 03, it's simple, traditional but modern and extremely ethereal. That's about it really. It's extremely transparent and minimal and that may sound boring, but it's anything but. It's pure class in blending. I have to admit, there are very few fragrances anymore that move me the way this one does. Utterly beautiful. In an effort to be objective, this is far and away from anything "beast mode", so if you're looking for that, you'll leave disappointed. It's a very light fragrance. Whilst it does project quite well, it isn't dense or bold in any way. It also doesn't last very long, three, four hours tops. Very safe for office wear and possibly one of the best work fragrances available. I'd also dress it up for the evening, though I think it works best during the day. It's expensive for it's poor longevity, but I still love it.

Perhaps from the three Monocle - the most daring. The first "audition" in my head has jumped the thought - who is put on this one? For a long time in puzzled state I bypassed this fragrance... But it turned out in my future favorite! A terrible bitterness and acerbity of the first notes (Cypress? - by the way, Japanese sugi smell is not so; have checked!) scattered on the skin in about fifteen minutes. All that can I hear in the beginning - it's sharp needles of cypress, freshly picked carrot cobs and jets of strange citrus. Then flavor unbanal disclosed in the dry pine forest on a sand spit. Feel dry long needles under the bare feet, thirty-degree heating, a strange speech and soap root under the nose. After 5-6 hours, when it seems that the scent flew finally, gently but firmly out of the coniferous cypress flooring starts to crawl mono-iris flavored with vetiver (I understood it lately). Here, iris delicate and at the same time, coniferous. Noble and slender iris. And totally unexpected. In general, it is difficult to describe this fragrance. So it is unpredictable in its disclosure, but depressing its apparent instability. After 8-9 hours, even at low dosage application, being in a small airspace it unexpectedly sharply back, reminding me of themselves with pristine vigor. *** After a while, looking at the pyramid, I come a little puzzled. So much wood, and a "no woody" in the aura. Fresh, sharp at the start, the composition is like no other. And in later notes it combine in a special way the softness of vetiver and astringency of needle. And the most important task for me - it's not annoying and does not exhibit, Sugi cope perfectly well.

I wore this daily for a while. it is perhaps not the strongest, or my personal favorite, but maybe the "best" of the four cdg x monocle fragrances. if you can only get one, and your reason for wanting one isn't simply to Smell like Wood, you might want to make it this one. it immediately grabs the attention with black pepper and cypress, not much else, and it does so in a way that is more forward and bold than other peppery fragrances, but that is sweet and aromatic enough to keep it from feeling abrasive. it then dries down to a more subtle, cooler, woody, floral scent. it is simple, but bold, and in my experience, it lasts the longest and smells the most broadly appealing of the cdg x monocle line. Yoyogi probably projects more, but this smells less niche. i think hinoki smells the most perfectly like damp cypress wood, and that one remains my favorite, but it dries to a skin scent very quickly - nobody will really smell it an hour after it's been sprayed. this is a wonderful, appealing fragrance, that will get you a lot of compliments. most niche scents don't get me many compliments - this is the biggest exception. I tend to wear this more at night, and more in winter and spring - to me, it doesn't feel right wearing a simple, spicy fragrance like this during the day or during extreme seasons.

My absolute favourite from CdG and one of my most favourite scents. Don’t expect a thick dense forest, Sugi is a single ancient cedar tree that stands in an open space full of light in the middle of a very quiet forest, and you can see little rays of sunlight peeking through the canopy. It’s undeniably a woody scent, but not the typical dry woods. Its the type of living woods, a branch of tree that still have the sap running through its veins. I also like its soft and minimalistic and modern character of the scent, and from all monocle scents, this one may represent best the style and the aesthetics of the magazine. Its definitely a scent for fashion-conscious crowd with a tendency for scandinavian/japanese minimalism. The projection and longevity seems poor at first, but after 7 hrs i still occasionally smell a waft of sugi. Many reviewer has stated this very strange property of the scent, its somehow lurking underneath and catch your nose by surprise, and not necessary when you look for it 10/10

Cool, pale wood with what smells like Asian bathhouse to me. It has a soapy quality, but not in the usual sense. It actually reminds me of Japanese soap; softer, cooler, and almost aquatic. This is a fairly quiet fragrance, even after immediately putting it on (and a fairly generous amount). Etheral and abstract. It also has a very strange quality of smelling differently up close and further away; when I hold my hand to my nose it has that Japanese bathhouse quality, when I'm just going about my business it's more of a spicy/woody fragrance. Up close, this is overwhelmingly cool and wet, with pronounced minerality. Further away it's dry and almost incense-like. It also diverges weirdly in it's longevity depending on if you're smelling up close or further away; even though I can barely smell it when close, it's strangely persistent when you're not really paying attention to it. Another fascinating modernist offering from Comme des Garcons.

The first icy blast of the top notes from this fragrance remind me of a bracing, ice cold Gin & Tonic. Juniper and quinine, thirst quenchingly then immediately dry. That's literally the first second of application then it becomes a combination of bright pine, dry cedar and sappy cypress, with earthy peppery qualities of vetiver. This woody combination makes for an uplifting, cerebral, incense like scent which stays close to the skin in a peppery laid back drydown. These are all fairly common elements in perfumery but when brought together in such a way they sing, it's a very good achievement, akin to writing a hit song from three common chords. I didn't get huge projection or superb longevity from this fragrance but I enjoyed it for what it is and will be sampling again properly soon.

It opens very fresh and lemony. No lemon listed. But I enjoy the lemon and green herb opening blast. It's rare that you smell a true lemon in fragrance. So it's unique here. I'm always looking for a good pine or evergreen fragrance. Here it smells mostly synthetic. You can't pick out the pine and cypress distinctly. But it's a pleasant synthetic smell. There is a vague iris smell and something maybe peppery. It's a well crafted and unique cheepo fragrance. A bit overpriced for what it is. But I like this better than most designer fragrances. PS: My smell was only 70% when I got this. Now after 20 months since having covid and smell loss, it's almost back. And this smells better. It's cypress and cedar pencil shavings, with a nice lemon and Iris. Rating: 7/10 God bless. John 3:16

This perfume played on my mind for a long time. I developed an obsession with finding a perfume that would surround me in a mystical Japanese woodsy air and I had to try this. Tested it in Liberty, the opening was a little sharp and dry and I felt sad, but moments later a beautiful waft hit me and I thought about purchasing it for weeks. Finally gave in this week and I’m so glad I did. It’s a beautiful scent, it’s sheer but definitely there - an ethereal woodsy cool scent. I feel like I’m walking through a Japanese forest on a cold day at times, at other times it’s soothing and musky with a hint of citrus. It doesn’t last that long and is rather overpriced but I adore it anyway. I also find that it comforts me.

The perfumer has done some greats such as Burberry Brit and Armani Code and plenty of other work as well. None of the notes will jump at you at once but it's more like one of those collaboration CD'S. A few Isley Bros hits, some Smokey mixed with some R.Kelly and Brian McKnight. Very smooth and laid back. I get a piney woody and vetiver drydown in which neither sticks out but they all play it's role. For thise that like woody but not too woody,piney but not Polo, vetiver but not too dirty this will appeal to you a it does to me. I have only had it on for about 2 hours and it's not a projection beast but will appeal to Liquidnight fans I think.

i think this might be one of my top favourite woodsy-aromatic fragrances. The iris really comes out to me and gives this a slight soapy/clean touch to the cypress and pepper (two notes I've surprisingly really come to love in a fragrance). I love the smell of the forest as someone from the PNW but I don't really want to smell like straightup trees and dirt. This is a great inbetween. I see some people aren't stoked by the lack of projection but I personally like that it sits close to the skin.Too bad it objectively lacks longevity.

A bright woodsy composition designed to evoke the ambience of the Japanese Cypress (Sugi) this airy beauty from CDG has a central cypress note which is beautifully layered with cedar, pine, pepper and vetiver to create a modern, immensely wearable and unusual fragrance. The bright lemon colored bottle is a masterpiece of modern design in itself. This is for wood lovers and those who are into unusual orientals. Moderate sillage and projection, so try layering. Beautifully done without being overbearing, true Zen like experience.

The rave reviews posted here are spot on. This is a beautifully nuanced serene perfume. It's like a personal trip to the wildwoods, and quietly floats up and around you all day. It captures a mysticism like that experienced when you've spent a day with nature and come back centered and calm. Gorgeous wood and conifer.

Beautiful long lasting cedar and iris scent. Anyone can wear this..very unisex. A scent for fall and winter in my opinion and one of the best from this house.

Interestingly, this smells like mango skin on me with a hint of pepper and fresh, sappy woods. I love it and only wish it lasted longer on the skin!

Every review below is accurate. It smells like all those things: pepper, woods, ice, magazine, vegetables, iris, soapy water, carrot sexy. Yes

A cedar scent with a refreshing feel, but it's a bit too faint. Both the diffusion and longevity are not very good.

vegetal smelling....but in a good way To me its smells like if you were planting a carrots garden

Sugi has an incredibly beautiful, elegant opening of cypress, pepper, and iris. It almost sparkles! I love what the subtle floral does to the clean, refined woody notes, and the pepper gives it just a little kick without being as intense as many other peppery CDG top notes (Blackpepper especially). The cypress shifts into cedar and the iris sticks around for the heart notes as the pine starts to creep in, but—as most of the other commenters here note—the longevity on this fragrance is truly weak. You get to enjoy just a couple minutes of top notes, maybe an hour of the lovely iris+cedar heart notes, if that, and then it virtually disappears, leaving just a touch of pencil-shaving cedar and the faintest hints of pine and vetiver. By the second hour, you'll be lucky to still detect anything at all, which is really a shame, because I would otherwise say that it's my favourite of the CDG x Monocle line.

It's really comforting, woody, fresh, i coud easily imagine it fir the daily wear — but probably I'd need a whole bottle or two, and spray it 5-7 times on skin, and renew throughout the day over my clothes and hair. Currently I got a sample, and 3 sprays disappear completely after ca. 90 min, I can't even find the spot where i sprayed it. Such a shame, because it's actually lovely. But too expensive to use it as a "body mist".

Honestly Sugi smells great, but the performance is very weak. Black pepper and fresh pine trees combine to make it smell like you just woke up in a forest at the base of a mountain. As for the performance, it lasts maybe 3 hours for me and the projection is very weak. After 30 minutes I can barely smell it on myself and that's with 4 sprays. Overall 7.5/10. Definitely a great scent, but the peformance brings it down for me.