• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Comme des Garcons Luxe series: Champaca & Patchouli ~ new fragrances

Posted by Robin on 6 October 2007 23 Comments

Comme des Garcons Patchouli Luxe perfume

Comme des Garçons has introduced the Luxe series, consisting of two fragrances, Champaca and Patchouli, debuting under the tag line "the true sign of luxury is rarity and quality".

Champaca is based on the "mythical flower of India", also known as the "Joy perfume tree", and includes notes of champaca, white pepper, angelica, bird pepper, cardamom, tuberose, white musk and iris.

Patchouli (shown) uses Sumatran patchouli "of the best quality in existence". The notes include white pepper, fenugreek, lovage, patchouli, oak, oppoponax, cedar, vanilla, vetiver and sandalwood.

Comme des Garçons Luxe Champaca (€170) and Patchouli (€190) are available in 45 ml Eau de Parfum. Each scent is available in one of two bottle designs, both in black crystal. (via colette.fr, achatvip, purs-sens)

Other recent releases from Comme des Garçons: Play.

Update: see a review of Comme des Garçons Luxe Champaca.

Filed Under: new fragrances
Tagged With: comme des garcons

Advertisement


23 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 11:33 am

    Um, these sound fascinating and uber expensive (given it's CdG, the former not surprising, the latter a bit surprising), but my overwhelming question after I read: what in the world is “bird pepper”? Admittedly not a positive initial reaction from me….

    Log in to Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 11:40 am

    Bird pepper: http://tinyurl.com/36rfkq

    I may calm down eventually, but my initial reaction is utter disgust. When even CdG is delving into the “We’re going for fewer customers, but customers with deeper pockets” mode of perfumery a la Tom Ford, the world is truly going to h*ll in a handbasket.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 12:41 pm

    Yes. I'm dying to try the patchouli, but the price tag is killing me…

    Log in to Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 12:59 pm

    The slogan “the true sign of luxury is rarity and quality” has the advantage of making just as much (meaning as little) sense when rearranged.
    – the true sign of rarity is luxury and quality
    – the true sign of quality is rarity and luxury
    Blah blah blah!
    I agree, this trend with niche fragrances to go for expensive is a bore. Boo on aspirational pricing! But if the Champaca uses the low-temperature extracted champaca that Luca's friend Peter Wilde makes, the stuff I smelled a few months ago that knocked my socks off, then it might be mindblowingly good. OK, forget I said that. I'm just going to go smell the stuff and stop speculating.

    Log in to Reply
  5. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 1:26 pm

    At the moment, I'm not even interested in trying it. Will probably bow to curiosity in the end though…

    Log in to Reply
  6. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 1:34 pm

    The true sign of luxury in today's fragrance market, let's face it, is often ambitious pricing and nothing more.

    Log in to Reply
  7. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 2:12 pm

    No kidding!

    Log in to Reply
  8. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 3:33 pm

    Champacca is worth smelling! and for the concept, they just follow the trend. “true sign of luxury” it's already a stereotype.:)

    Log in to Reply
  9. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 3:45 pm

    Ah, but CdG is not supposed to follow trends. They're supposed to set trends. I'm still disgusted!

    Log in to Reply
  10. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 8:46 pm

    Crikey! Both sound fantastic!

    Log in to Reply
  11. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 9:03 pm

    Tsk tsk…you're supposed to say they're too expensive and they sound boring anyway ;-)

    Log in to Reply
  12. Anonymous says:
    6 October 2007 at 11:38 pm

    They're way too expensive. My last venture into Champaca (a room spray) was beyond boring; it was horrifying. I'll sit this one out.

    Log in to Reply
  13. Anonymous says:
    7 October 2007 at 9:08 am

    Was that the Voluspa one that Kevin liked?

    Log in to Reply
  14. Anonymous says:
    7 October 2007 at 12:39 pm

    That's the one. One person's poison is another person's chocolate cake (or champaca).

    Log in to Reply
  15. Anonymous says:
    7 October 2007 at 12:52 pm

    You know, I didn't love that either, and was very surprised because Kevin & I usually have at least fairly similar tastes. Ah well.

    Log in to Reply
  16. Anonymous says:
    8 October 2007 at 7:39 pm

    Intrigued by the patchouli, but not by the price. I'm really surprised I haven't seen fenugreek in other fragrances. The scent of a new, fresh bottle of fenugreek seed is addictive.

    Log in to Reply
  17. Anonymous says:
    8 October 2007 at 8:22 pm

    It is true, you don't see it listed very often. The smell really is lovely.

    Log in to Reply
  18. Anonymous says:
    7 January 2008 at 6:29 pm

    dont know if anyone will see this comment since the post was from so long ago, but i just tried the patchouli and i absolutely love it, which is obviously a shame because i cant ever see myself shelling out that much for a fragrance. any suggestions for similar fragrances?

    Log in to Reply
  19. Anonymous says:
    7 January 2008 at 7:38 pm

    Over at Perfume Posse they have compared it to Serge Lutens Borneo, although Borneo isn't exactly a bargain either.

    Log in to Reply
  20. Anonymous says:
    7 January 2008 at 10:27 pm

    i seem to recall having heard about some sources for non-export sg's but i cant remember.

    by the way, these are my first posts and i just love the site. thanks.

    Log in to Reply
  21. Anonymous says:
    7 January 2008 at 10:30 pm

    i mean sl's, not sg's. oops

    Log in to Reply
  22. Anonymous says:
    8 January 2008 at 8:35 am

    Welcome, then, and thanks! You can buy decants or samples at The Perfumed Court, but can't think of any other easy sources other than to watch eBay for whole bottles now that eBay doesn't allow selling of decants.

    Log in to Reply
  23. Rick says:
    18 April 2011 at 12:11 am

    Well, it’s available at Luckyscent now, so maybe someone will want to read this late comment. They threw it in as an unexpected sample in an other order, otherwise I would have never known about it. Right now it’s $290 for 45 ml. Yikes! However, I must say this is one really smells that expensive. A friend of mine once worked at an old wooden warehouse where he packed mail orders for an exotic spice importer, and this smells an awful lot like that warehouse, with lots of dry spices, a great patchouli with a deep, rich smell, and a lot of sweet dry wood in the base. I’ve got too much perfume already, maybe it would be worth it to save up a few months for something like this.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

From NST at Twitter

  • "Adam Driver on new Burberry Hero scent: “I have a big nose, but I don’t put it to use very often”" (esquire middle… https://t.co/N4qVvv54ME, 21 hours ago
  • "The Best “Green” Fragrances Are a Walk in the Park" (gq) https://t.co/7rBKhhUVwT, 21 hours ago
  • "10 show-stopping oud perfumes" (harper's bazaar) https://t.co/3YUmxwkqio,
  • "New scented pencils could put students in the mood to learn" (cbs8) https://t.co/XGYSWpl98S,
  • "9 Special Perfumes Editors Predict Will Be The Next Baccarat Rouge" (refinery29) https://t.co/8ZAHGqlTMX,

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

TBA September ~ fall swapmeet

TBA October ~ fall splitmeet

List of upcoming Friday projects

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2022 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.