Series 3 Incense : Kyoto
Eau de Toilette, Comme des Garçons (2002)

CdG's Avignon and Kyoto frequently get compared, as they should since they are part of the same line in the brand intending to present incense in its various religious contexts. Kudos should be given to the brand and to Duchaufour for the precision employed to make sure each one is distinct. Kyoto shares an identical structure to Avignon, but, again, is quite distinctive from its Christian brother. It smells wonderful. Gentle pine and cedar woods, touches of green and aromatic vetiver, a bit of yellow and radiant light from immortelle, and, of course, incense. The last part is where things get interesting.

In Avignon the incense was clearly pointed out to be olibanum/frankincense, but in Kyoto the incense is not named and the generic description is kept. This has since been changed on CdG's website so that all Series 3 perfumes now say incense. I have a suspicion that what I am about to say next, and this fact of intentionally vague information, are connected. Kyoto is Japan's spiritual home, and there is incense everywhere. Though there are various types of incense available in Kyoto, they generally have significant similarities in their olfactive notes with the small differences only on display usually per seasonality or intention. The most famous maker, Shoyeido, which has been around for centuries, has a handful of offerings that are largely the same but, for example, one offering has a cherry blossom note while another offering has a pine note - but the flesh and bones of both incenses are almost identical. A key differentiator to Kyotoan incense is the use of oud as one of the materials, which is ubiquitous amongst Kyotoan incense. The touch of oud in conjunction with other staple materials makes the profile very distinctive. CdG's Kyoto misses that mark. There is something very vaguely fungal fruity in the short, early stages, but otherwise at no point smelling Kyoto did I get an oud impression anywhere. Woods, certainly - see the notes listed above - but nothing resembling oud.

As a whole the perfume is very nicely put together; it smells great, and it is very sufficiently different from Avignon. But am I convinced of Kyotoan incense? Hardly. Wear this if Avignon is a bit too "in the dark" for you, since Kyoto is a bit lighter-hearted, a bit sweeter, and has a sunnier disposition. But don't wear it expecting Kyotoan incense.

Beautiful again. Woods, green outdoorsy feeling, incense here is not no.1, but it is prominent. It has a slight smoked bacon feeling, reminds me somewhat of Gaiac 10 by Le Labo.

Ever read a haiku? Been granted passage to some sacred, holy temple? Suffered the dull, enduring pain of carpel tunnel?

With Kyoto, you will.

A mysterious Haiku, but you’d better be a speed reader.

Temples invite sacred calm. Be prepared to meditate deeply real fast. Doors shut too soon.

Do you own a wrist brace? You know, the ones for carpel tunnel? You’ll need it as you reflexively twist and sniff your wrist to death trying to determine if you’d ever actually spritzed it.

If 2017 banned perfumery bliss, 2025 should unlock it: How about mandating innovate standards in exchange for all the prohibitions? Minimum projection, sillage, and longevity across all brands, across the world. Let’s name it PSALMS: Projection Sillage And Longevity Mandated Standards.

Simply put, in Kyoto I wanted to actually read the haiku and deep-breathe the temple without hurting my wrists.

It was the summer of 2010, I was dancing in a club, and a handsome man approached me to flirt. He was visiting from Spain, was arty, and smelled so good. I asked what it was, and he told me it was Comme des Garcons Incense Kyoto. I took him home with me, had a great time, and his scent was left behind. I was so hooked I needed to buy some of it for myself. It became a no. 1 go-to scent for several months thereafter.

I loved how it smelled so calm and clean, meditative and grounding. This was such a contrast to the turbulent life that I led at the time, with so much escapism, sleeping around, and untended wounds. I long since ran out and never replenished Kyoto; I am almost afraid it will transport me to that time, and I am not so sure I am ready for that. But I do look back fondly, and can still smell it in my mind.

Kyoto starts off with a mixture of frankincense, cypress and cedar, before the incense slowly reduces to lingering smoke and a vetiver core reveals itself. It's like a slightly more restrained version of Encre Noir, and there are also hints of something floral (maybe that's the Immortelle). It dries down in a pretty linear and speedy way after that, so I am guessing, like Encre Noir, that this relies a lot on the Iso-E. But I don't mind that: if it smells good I don't care how it's achieved chemically.

NB: I would just add to all you very imaginative folks out there, that I have spent a lot of time in Japan and in Kyoto, and there is nothing 'Kyoto' or even particularly Japanese about the smell so far as I can tell. It doesn't smell like Japanese temple incense or temples or shrines, or Japanese forests or whatever other fantasy Japonisme you have in mind. Some of those would be very interesting scents to capture but this isn't doing that.

Very green - cypress and vetiver, and something almost minty (not fresh but like the remnants from mint tea.) Similar vibe to Floris 1962. There's a slightly acrid undertone (teak oil?) that's not offensive but enough to make this not a go-to fragrance for relaxing. I don't really get the pine forest vibe - it lacks the warmth and sweetness (to my nose) - Mechant Loup (another Duchaufour creation, I think) does this much better. It also lacks the depth of a real outdoorsy fragrance like yatagan or cleanness of AdP Colognia Club. It's interesting and worth checking out to appreciate the creativity, but it's difficult to think of the circumstance that would make this my first choice to reach for.