Easily two of my favorite fragrances of the years 2008 and 2009 were the collaboration between Comme des Garcons and the global affairs magazine Monocle. Prior to Comme des Garcons X Monocle Scent One: Hinoki’s release I had never heard of Monocle. The Editor-in-Chief of Monocle Tyler Brule and the longtime Creative Director at Comme des Garcons Christian Astuguevieille hired perfumer Antoine Maisondieu to helm the inaugural effort and a year later Comme des Garcons X Monocle Scent Two: Laurel arrived also signed by M. Maisondieu. I was looking forward to yearly “issues” of this fragrant magazine but since 2009 there hasn’t been a new addition. At the end of the summer I received my sample of Scent Three: Sugi, again composed by M. Maisondieu, and have completely exhausted my sample. This is the best of this very exemplary fragrance collection.
Antoine Maisondieu
All of the Commes des Garcons X Monocle Scents share a common theme of sophisticated simplicity. There are so many fragrances which have as a stated goal to achieve an Eastern minimalism. Comme des Garcons X Monocle has never claimed to be one of those but almost effortlessly achieves it without overtly trying. The name Sugi comes from the Japanese name for Cryptomeria, a member of the cypress family. Like Hinoki before it that sense of a singular woody note as an almost meditational focal point is what makes this series stand apart. It starts off as a raw plank of cypress and over the hours on your skin it is elided down by time to a smooth polished plank.
Jomon Sugi A > 2,000 yr. old tree in Yakushima, Japan
The opening of Sugi is a mix of cypress and black pepper. There is a hint of the almost mentholated grace note that comes off freshly hewn wood and the pepper is there to make that persist. The early moments are enjoyably quirky and the more I wore this the more I looked forward to my imaginary Paul Bunyan swinging his axe to level another cypress tree. Then M. Maisondieu takes a fantastic orris and like olfactory sand paper it rounds off all of the rough edges and turns Sugi into a sweetly woody middle phase. This is as simple a pairing as you could encounter but M. Maisondieu lets the orris impose its will transforming the cypress into something more refined. Now that we have a nicely elegant wood it is time to stain it dark with vetiver. The vetiver really doubles down on the wood but in an extremely understated way.
Comme des Garcons X Monocle Scent Three: Sugi has all-day longevity and deceptive sillage. It feels so light I often thought it had worn off only to find it again like a long-lost friend.
As you read through the description above I can imagine you’re thinking this could be overwhelming but it is as light as a feather and that is the magic M. Maisondieu pulls off with Sugi. It really is the Zen-like aesthetic so often spoken of. Every time I wore Sugi it was a perfect companion for the day; a fascinating conversationalist but it also knew when to be quiet. Sugi caps off a great 2013 for Comme des Garcons and has cemented its return to the top of the niche heap.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Comme des Garcons.
Thanks to our friends at Luckyscent we have one sample of Sugi to giveaway to one US reader. To be eligible leave a comment on your favorite Comme des Garcons fragrance and that you live in the US. The draw will end December 8, 2013.
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.
-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor