Comme des Garcons Series 3 Ouarzazate Review

It's has been a long winter thus far and I am feeling it. I just want to stay in bed and read or watch movies on my Kindle and not go anywhere. But alas, I can't. My elderly Lab isn't doing too good. She has always been a sturdy dog but in the past couple weeks, her age has caught up to her. She isn't too steady on her feet due to an inner ear issue and arthritis is causing some trouble on top of it. My family and I are giving her extra love and attention and her four legged buddy is giving her extra love too and she is milking it for all it's worth. I'm hoping that she will be OK for the next couple months so my sister can see her one more time.

I've fallen into a perfume rut for the millionth time of wearing the same few perfumes. Then I started to crave the Comme des Garcons incense line. I'd remembered that I hadn't tested one and had to go for it. Ouarzazate is the last on my list and  days, it's what I have been wearing on and off for the past few days. I have really enjoyed the series and kind of sad that there aren't more in this series.

Comme des Garcons isn't really known for flashy bottles or ad campaigns but I find the bottles to be utilitarian than anything else. But it's what's inside the bottle that is more interesting. I still have to look at the bottle because first impressions can be everything. But let's get to the perfume.

Ouarzazate starts out sharp and a little lemon like but there is no lemon note listed. I'm not quite sure what note is giving off that vibe. Then I notice the labdanum and vanilla off set that lemony note and soften the dominant note. The incense is huge in Ouarzazate but it seems rough and maybe a little crude. But with the labdanum, it becomes a little softer and more wearable. But with many EDT's I don't get much of a lasting power, only about 2 and a half hours at most. Quarzazate wears close to the skin. I can't see this one being added to my collection anytime soon.

CdG Jaisalmer EDT Review

Since I have been very slowly working my way through the unworn bag, it means that I am really not getting to finish trying CdG's Incense line. I have loved or at least liked what I have smelled with the whole line. On the perfume blogosphere, Avignon and Kyoto get the most love out of all. Now, it's time to look outside of those two perfumes.

I've spent the past couple days wearing Jaisalmer and now it's time to review it. Thus far, I have liked the CdG Incense line and Jaisalmer is no different. Jaisalmer is dry but not exactly bone dry, sweet but not really. The note that really dominates is the wood note. It's guaiac wood but I interpret it as cedar chips. If you ever had to change a guinea pig cage, you'd know the smell. With the wood, I get whiffs of what I think is pine trees. Then the incense starts to come out in droves and plays nicely with the wood. I do get cinnamon in the whole thing. The cinnamon keeps thing warm and adds a touch of sweetness without it being a dessert type perfume. My biggest gripe would be the lasting power. My skin eats EDT's within 4 hours and I only get 2 hours with Jaisalmer. If there was a lasting power greater than 2 hours, I'd probably be buying a bottle. At $95 and 2 hours of lasting power, I won't be getting this.

Comme des Garcons Avignon EDT Review

It was time to break out of my rut to try something new. For some reason, I was really craving Kyoto but decided that I had to try out Avignon instead. I do keep hearing about Avignon and Kyoto on Now Smell This on what people are wearing for the day. But after hanging out at with the perfume crowd online, it seems like Comme des Garcons Series 3 seems to be the best loved out of all the CdG offerings. Yes, next up on my list is Avignon. I am slowly working my through the line.

I have full bottles of Kyoto and Zagorsk and love them both, even though I really don't wear them often. Zagorsk and Kyoto are dry and Avignon is no different. Avignon is definitely not a happy perfume nor is it sad. I find it somber and not very uplifting. The incense note is even more massive and domineering than Kyoto and Zagorsk. I do smell some vanilla and cistus labdanum to keep Avignon from being too sad and dry.

At this point, I find after 4 hours, this one peters out and leaves me wanting more. Do I love it? Yes! Do I want it? Yes but can't afford a new bottle of perfume right now. CdG isn't one to impress anybody with this line's choice of bottle. Yes, there is no bottle swag to grab anyone really. But Series 3 is worth seeking out.

Comme des Garcons Series 3 Incense Zagorsk Review

For a while I've been flirting with trying the Comme des Garcons line but always found it to be a little annoying. Annoying in the how many series and lines do you need under your name. If you say, Chanel, it's either the regular stuff (no. 5, no. 19, etc) and the Les Exclusifs line and that suits me but what 30 million lines? It's over the top and maybe a little arrogant. But, let's get to the review.

I had bought Zagorsk from Luckyscent, unsniffed. I thought, for $80, not a bad price for niche even though it is an EDT. When I first spray it on, I get a massive blast of the iris. It's not the no. 19 in extract form or iris, which is on the plush side. This iris is like the blast I got in Serge's Silver Iris Mist, that hissy, carroty, maybe a little earthy blast. Truth be told, I kind of like my iris to be on the hissy side. The iris stays mostly front and center during the wearing. Then the pine needles start to come into play. The pine isn't what you get from the air freshener things you hang in a car but the walking in a pine forest and sniffing the needles and the sap. I'm not sure exactly where the incense is because it's been quite a while since I've set foot in a church for a mass but Zagorsk is on the dry side. Not as dry like Sycomore and a few others that I own are dryer than Zagorsk.

What bothers me about Zagorsk is that it might be an EDT, there is no real lasting power on skin. Even with lotion, I get maybe 3 or 4 hours at best, if that's the case, I'll have to spray on clothes. I've had Chanel EDT's at comperable prices and have lasted much longer. In that respect, I might hold off on trying any more of the Comme des Garcons line even though I really did enjoy Zagorsk.

*Sorry for the spelling mistakes, spell check doesn't want to work at this moment.