Comme des Garçons launched their second "signature" fragrance, Comme des Garçons 2, in 1999. Those who expected the brand to reach for a significantly wider audience may have been surprised by what they came up with; reportedly, perfumer Mark Buxton was told to create a scent recalling "black ink". The final product...
...is based on two olfactive categories: technological, which contains notes of ink and new aldehydes, and natural, which comprises incense, magnolia, patchouli, cedarwood, amber and labdanum. "The perfume is all about contrasts and compliments, and the duality expressed by the number two," noted Hawkins [Lisa Hawkins, marketing VP], who explained this was the intention of Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo. (Women's Wear Daily, 8/8/2003)
Other notes include green mate, angelica root, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, vetiver, bay oil and cade (juniper) oil.
Mark Buxton used headspace technology to capture the smell of Japanese calligraphy (sumi) ink, and in fact, Comme des Garçons 2 smells an awful lot like ink — think inky aldehydic floral, and you kind of have the idea. The top notes add a high pitched, nearly metallic buzz of aldehydic citrus, and in the dry down there is a rush of spices grounded by woods and incense, not altogether unlike Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum or White, albeit without the bitter undertone those two scents share.
It has a definite floral character (much more so than Eau de Parfum or White) but to my nose, it doesn't smell like any flower in particular. The dry down is earthy (lots of vetiver) and mildly powdery, and it stays spicy straight through to the end. Fellow cumin-phobes: it is noticeable, but not overwhelming.
Comme des Garçons 2 is a little weird, but only a little, in fact, it is remarkably wearable. Whether it is lovable is another matter. Personally, I respect it but I don't love it, and I suspect that Comme des Garçons 2 Man (more about which tomorrow) has a considerably larger fan base. By the way, do not be fooled by the fact that Comme des Garçons followed up with 2 Man — there is nothing particularly feminine about the original 2.
Comme des Garçons 2 is an Eau de Parfum, and the lasting power is excellent. It is available in 25, 50 and 100 ml bottles. There is also a matching body cream and body lotion, candle, incense and a body soap.
For buying information, see the listing for Comme des Garçons under Perfume Houses.
Mark Buxton rocks
And so do CdG, but many of their scents, including this one, I respect but don't love.
R, spot-on review! I have a large decant of this, and although I find it incredibly intriguing, I think I'm with you in the “respect” phase. There's something about it that's just off a little, something that keeps me from loving it.
Maybe it's the cumin, as I'm a fellow cumin-phobe! You're right again there, though, it's not really too much. No, I don't think it's that; I think the ink note is just a little too cold and dry for true love.
I have to hand it to CdG, though, for having integrity and not kow-towing to the masses.
M, do you love any of them?
I adore the opening of this one w/ its Sumi ink and incense notes, but I have to say that my ink loving soul prefers Odeur 71. It feels as if CdG 2 quickly comes to repent its beautiful, daring opening and backs away to a safe, conventional corner as it dries down and morphs into a lovely, but not overly interesting scent. The touch of cumin is all that saves it for me after the begninning. I'm guessing this is just due to an unfortunate draw in the skin chemistry lottery (citrus and floral amplifying), since I know the earthy and incensey notes do remain more prominent on other people's skin.
Wow. White? White is a delicate snowy floral with just a touch of wood and spice. 2? 2 is the loadest, sharpest, strongest, most bitter and one-dimensional and metallic vetiver/cedar/spice scent I ever smelled. In fact, it reminds me of nothing so much as mosquito repellant. It's not white, it's pitch black. It makes my nose ache. I'd easily call it the most difficult to wear of the whole CdG line, which might have to do with the fact that I own a bottle of it while I've never tried to spray the rest of them. But one spray of 2 and you'll knock the whole neighbourhood dead! And not with your feminine allure…
To each her own of course, I'm just fascinated that this is a scent frequently called “feminine”, “floral” and even “beautiful”. Fascinated and intrigued.
Interesting take on CdG 2 — I don't find it nearly as difficult as CdG EdP, but I wouldn't have called this one lovely or conventional. We are very nearly opposites, as the touch of cumin nearly ruins it for me
And I should be ashamed to admit it, but still haven't tried either of the Odeur scents. Hear they're great, and so should get on the ball!
Again, so interesting how different people perceive this one (see the comment by Elle just above). But you're not alone, I've seen the mosquito repellent accusation elsewhere too! It doesn't even come close to that to me, don't know why.
I was surprised when they released a men's version of this – 2 seems to be really unisex, despite the aldehydes.
I agree with everyone who have said that they think highly of 2, but that it just isn't quite right for them. Something about it just doesn't sit nicely on the skin.
Was a little taken back by the sample of 2 I got a few months ago, when I wore it to the office…the next day I wore my final sample out when I went dancing, and the mixture of sweat & CdG2 was quite mesmerizing – I can still remember that smell…
Not sure if I would ever use a whole bottle, though…but I love its subversiveness
Oooh! One of my big loves! Unfortunately I rarely find occasions when I can wear it, because of it's tendency to get so loud. I have the body cream as well and sometimes use that and one spray of the EdP to ease things down a bit. Love the inky part, love the metal. I've never ever done the connection with the original CdG EdP, but when I sniff my wrist now I can only begin to wonder why I haven't before. The ink and the aldehydes sure distort that part quite a bit.
It is such a shape-shifter, always showing me new sides of it, concentrating one of subject more than the other. Just can't grow tired of it and feel it will stay in my top list for quite some time.
My bottle is the quite tiny 25ml/0.85oz, but oh my is it ever cute! Very dark brown/purple glass with “2 pocket size” in the same sketchy writing as on the bigger version. Definately my favorite packaging!
Hmm…After long and hard consideration, I must say that, no, I guess I don't love any of them, although I like almost all. Well, what I feel towards Zagorsk and Kyoto approaches love, but if I really loved them, I'd have owned them by now, wouldn't have I?
I'm endlessly fascinated by differences in skin chemistry, which olfactory receptors are open or just what deep emotional associations people have w/ different notes and scents. I spent much of my childhood in the Middle East, so I think that was what gave me my fondness for cumin and also may be part of why on my skin this seems so merely lovely (which could be great, but I wanted Sumi ink, which I adore, all the way through). I also agree w/ you in your comment to Ann that this scent should have been the one called White. But how intriguing that Solander sees it as black – and sharp, strong and bitter.
And on Mikeperez it remains nicely subversive, while to me it goes conventional (after the opening). Lucky man! I always like to test scents on my DH to see if they're different on his skin (they often are), but would love to get a whole group of people together to test just one scent and see what all the perceptions were and for what reasons. I think my non-perfume loving friends live in fear that I'll do this to them one day. 
Janey-come-lately just saying: it was so interesting reading the wildly varying opinions on several of the CdGs discussed here. I never even noticed the cumin the one time I tried this … I was too busy trying to puzzle the rest of it out. Now I'll have to re-try it! R, don't you lament, sometimes, not living in a place like Chicago or L.A. just so you can go randomly re-sniff things? And smell the new Chanels? sigh… I've got all the crappy traffic and none of the perks.
CdG has always said they don't believe in gendered fragrance…so I don't know where the “2 Man” came from. Wondered if it was a concession to Puig, who holds the fragrance license?
I adore cumin in food (Mexican, Middle Eastern, Indian, whatever) but on skin, only in very tiny amounts. I often think I have special cumin-amplifying skin, LOL…but honestly, it seems to me that the emotional associations are far more important than the chemistry. Just a wild guess, but thinking that Solander would find it dark even on my skin, etc.
And hey — do it to your friends! They might love it. I had a group over for a more widespread testing, and was so surprised at the scents that were widely loved and those that weren't. I thought they would all go for the “easy” crowd pleasers, but they didn't at all.
Oh dear, if I owned everything I loved, I'd be in even bigger trouble than I am, LOL…but that is another story.
But surprised, would have thought you would own several of the incense series.
Interesting…would think the sweat would amplify the cumin & the vetiver, so can see where that would make it subversive.
Funny, I don't think of it as loud exactly, but still I know what you mean. Like several other scents I can think of, I kind of like it better after I've worn it for an hour and then showered…unless you take special steps, most of it remains, but it is softer and less metallic, just a very pale blend of inky vetiver.
M, I used to mind very much being so far from decent stores, and sometimes I still do. But on the other hand, insofar as we will probably get 800 new fragrances this year, perhaps it is just as well? I can't keep up.
But hey, before you complain, think of who you're complaining to…your opportunities, crappy though they may be, are WAY better than mine!
Another thing I've noticed is that I used to want very badly to smell everything as soon as it came out, and now, I care about that much less. The likelihood of anything new being astoundingly good seems so minimal that it is hard to get excited about waiting a few weeks to get my hands on whatever scent. My list of “just can't wait to smell!” for 2007 is pretty darned short.
And p.s. on the cumin ~ don't think it is noticeable until the far dry down, and even then, it is pretty darned subdued. If it wasn't in the notes, not sure I'd have noticed it myself, but whenever cumin is in the notes, I go looking for it!
Just a short wait for your take on 2 Man, which should be fun: it's one of my winter faves, and it'll be interesting to see what you make of it.
That inky note in 2 and 2 Man is sort of maddening and addictive for me: can't decide which, though, heh! The Odeur 71 has a strange inky bit on me, too, though that one is so abstract and odd that who knows if it's really even in there at all?
Might be a longer wait than I'd planned — we're having a snow day so the whole family is home! And have to get my hands on 71 soon, I can't believe I've never smelled it…
I declared my love for 2 in today's post–but I wanted to comment on this. One of the most interesting things about going to a sniffa for me was finding out how RADICALLY different the same fragrance could smell on different people. I stood in a small group of people all wearing the same scent–and we ALL agreed on whether we liked it or not on each person–but whether we did really differed from person to person. And another time, a friend and I both put on the same scent–and NO ONE (including the shop owners, several perfumers, etc. ) could recognize it as the same; they all thought someone had made a mistake. But we tried again, and no one did.
Of course, emotional associations (and whatever else goes into making up that thing we call “taste”) are very important, too. But I am constantly surprised by the difference skin chemistry can make.
Oh, yeah–after reading Elle's comment, I definitely have to try 71.
Yes, I know you are right, have certainly noticed the same thing when shopping with friends. Have one friend on whom almost anything with jasmine smells like crap (literally). But also think that the emotional component matters, as does the incredibly unspecific language we use in describing scents…often we mean the same thing, we are just using different language. So for instance, when one person says “dark” and another says “light”, I often think it is just a matter of how we've learned to describe things, not skin chemistry. But I could be wrong
Talking about Ink fragrance, why do not you write articles on “Odeur 53” et “Odeur 71” which are entirely made on unorganic materials ??? :
Odeur53 : an abstract anti perfume. The latest technology is used to clone odours from inorganic materials. Smells never before used, with no precise name only abstract ideas.
Odeur71 : the second anti perfume. A deeping of the research into solid phase micro technology cloning inorganic smells from modern daily life and mixing them with natural ingredients.
I do need to do 53 & 71, and will at some point — there are so many fragrances out there worthy of review, and will never catch up
I absolutely adore Comme des Garçons 2. I write ads for fragrances as part of my job, and this fragrance is one of my very, very favorites.
What a fun job you must have!
hey everyone,
…please tell me where i can find this on the market for sale.. I have done a google and didn't even see this silver container ed brand..only I guess the first one.. ( red bottle0 .. Its for a friend in Brasill who wants me to get it as a souvenir for him. thanks ….my email is waterknave at hotmail.com. ps. I live in Japan…
There is a link at the end of the article to CdG under Perfume Houses, that will tell you who carries the brand in the US, but I don't know where you can buy it in Japan, sorry.
I have just gotten two cute bottles of Comme des Garcons 2, they are both cute 15 ml flacons. One will be my friend's gift, one I decided to try for myself. I am very suprised to say but I absolutely love this stuff. I was wondering about that ink and aldehydes… I am not a big fan of aldehydes… I usually try to avoid them even if it's being said that they are modern and new. This time I am so pleased with everything, it is such a beautiful scent. Very long lasting, very interesting, it develops into a gorgeous fragrance. I get a lot of incense in it, I do get amazing floral notes – but like it's stated in this article, it does not smell of one particular flower. I think that it would be my favorite perfume from the whole line (next to calamus of course) if not one of the best perfumes I've ever worn. Wow! I am really starting to love Comme des Garcons!
It's such a fun line to “discover”, isn't it? Really looking forward to all the new stuff they have coming out later this year.
My heart is all a-flutter! I was cruising ebay, bad thing for one with no cash! but I saw an unopened tester of 100 ml of 2 for $40. My bank account is empty, but then I saw I had a coupon, which would make it $36. I still agonized, and when it got down to one bottle I went for it. Well, I forgot I had $14 in my Paypal account, so I got it for just over $21, with free shipping!!! I definitely enjoy this enough to pay that much for it – I was looking at that purse-sized one for $50! Yay – my first perfumista-in-training ebay score!!
Hey, excellent deal, congrats!!
I have the opposite problem! I love cumin, but my skin sucks it straight up and I never smell it!
I am wearing CdG2 right now and am loving it, but am not detecting the cumin. I love its gentle inkiness and buzzing aldehydes. It makes for a unique scent on a male.
I don't find the cumin heavy in this one either — and agree, unique scent on anyone.
I just got my Happy Pillow bottle today and I LOVE it. I am so glad I finally broke down and bought it. Does anyone else see a similarity between CdG 2 and YSL M7?
I never thought of them together, but now I’m curious. Unfortunately am sick & can’t smell a thing at the moment or I’d try that out…
I think it’s the combination of the smoky incense and the vetiver. The CdG obviously has the inky note but for some reason (unfortunately) I don’t pick up ANY of the aldehydes in CdG. I picked up M7 while overseas in Paris and fell in love. It would make sense I would like CdG 2 as much because I was sniffing my wrist all day trying to figure out what it smelled like to me. It took all day to realize it was M7. I will try them side by side tomorrow (it is very rainy, damp, and cold in Michigan this week; perfect M7 & CdG weather)!
That makes sense — let me know how the direct comparison goes!
OK, Robin, so I’m testing it out right now. They actually aren’t as close as I thought they were. The woody base is about it. The M7 is much more ambery than CdG2, which I don’t think has any amber in it, which makes it a lot sweeter. Would you still consider them in the same vein though?
Interesting! Well, would guess they’re both in the woods fragrance family, so sure.
the only unisex perfume that i love to use.
It’s a great scent
I like very much commes 2. Is other. Many a time I feel warm incense notes, but elegant, many a time similar notes to sisley. Is beautiful…..
So glad you like it!
I wanted to love this one so much…the notes looked really appealing. I got 2 limited edition bottles for more or less 30$ (a friend worked in the house that makes em so she could get them really cheap!) but….eww….i want to love it but i can’t..i just rubbed my wrist with fairy take it off, because omg..it is so strong!
Oh, sorry you got cool bottles but don’t love it!