Les Exclusifs de Chanel

Sycomore Chanel 2008 Eau de Toilette

Version from 2008

Sycomore (2008) (Eau de Toilette) by Chanel

Bottle Design:
Jacques Helleu

Ranked 80 in Women's Perfume

8.3 / 10 512 Ratings

A popular perfume by Chanel for women, released in 2008. The scent is woody-spicy. The production was apparently discontinued.
Pronunciation

Main accords

Woody

Spicy

Green

Earthy

Smoky

Fragrance Notes

Vetiver

Cypress

Juniper

Sandalwood Spices

Spices

Aldehydes

Pink pepper Tobacco

Tobacco

Violet

Perfumers

Jacques Polge, Christopher Sheldrake

Ratings

Scent

8.3512 Ratings

Longevity

7.9378 Ratings

Sillage

6.9371 Ratings

Bottle

8.1344 Ratings

Value for money

6.646 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 07/29/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was part of the collection "Les Exclusifs de Chanel".

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Sycomore (2016) Eau de Parfum

Encre Noire Eau de Toilette

Nero Vetiver

Encre Noire à L'Extrême

James

Écorce d'Argent

Reviews

14 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/06/2012

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 6
Scent

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

Very helpful Review 6

Earthy and masculine vetiver

I absolutely adore rich, woodsy, smokey scents, especially those with tobacco as its most dominant note. Chanel's Sycomore fits this description, however in my opinion, this fragrance is far more masculine than feminine. I'm usually accustomed to gender-bending scents and I often wear fragrances marketed towards men, however Sycomore is far too masculine for me to even touch and the funny thing is, Sycomore is a female fragrance.

Despite the initial surprise, Sycomore is rather enticing. The fragrance opens quite strong, with the vetiver and tobacco notes making a rather loud entrance. Once settled on the skin, the sandalwood and cypress blends in with the tobacco and vetiver creating an interesting dryness.

Every time I brought my wrist to my nose I detected a powdery woods note, rather like the scent of fresh saw-dust. I was very relieved to see aldehydes as a listed note here, which proved that I had not been misled into making up ingredients.

Smokey, and in some ways, bitter, Sycomore reminds me of a recently burnt Australian bushland after a rainstorm. It is the scent of a scorching hot Summer, however I can't say that I'd wear this anytime other than Winter.

There are many words to describe Sycomore; dry, smokey, salty, earthy, masculine, nutty, dark, classy and balanced are only just the beginning. On each individual, Sycomore seems to differ. On a man, I'm certain that this fragrance would shine. I'll just put it out there that Chanel's Sycomore is and should be unisex.

12/21/2012

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 9
Scent

Drseid
821 Reviews

Drseid

Helpful Review 5

A better (And Much More Expensive) Encre Noire...

Extremely similar to Encre Noir but a bit softer and more polished. Sycomore most likely uses more natural ingredients. As Encre Noir is one of my favorites and Sycomore is slightly superior to it naturally I love it. That said, Encre Noir is easily the better value and is probably good enough for most folks. If money is no object and you want the best in your collection, then I recommend Sycomore. 4.5 stars out of 5.

05/27/2016

BrianBuchanan
351 Reviews

BrianBuchanan

Very helpful Review 4

Impeccable roots

A creation of the utmost elegance, executed in the grand classical manner. Forged from the most luxurious materials yet infused with an almost monastic austerity.

This is Coco's high class miserablism wonderfully transposed into scent; shades of dark green, touched off by anise and aldehydes, rounded by woods, resin and smoke.

What rescues Sycomore's tightly bound chic from the sterility of other minimalist ventures - of the sans fleures, sans sucré, sans vie variety - is the underlying human warmth hidden behind every detail.

It's as devastating as any Little Black Dress, and what's more - its for men.

A landmark.

03/20/2013

5
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 7
Scent

Miaw2
339 Reviews

Miaw2

Helpful Review 3

Wonderful vetiver, but...

Comparisons with Encre Noire are inevitable.

While Encre Noire smells much more a raw and earthy vetiver, Sycomore is brighter and lighter.

I guess the main difference is about the supporting
notes.

While sandalwood turns this into a creamy fragrance, the cashmere wood makes Encre Noire darker and heavier.

If you have enough money it's worth having both them. Actually if you dont, i'd stay with Encre Noire.

10/02/2016

7
Bottle 4
Sillage 5
Longevity 5
Scent

Oriane
139 Reviews

Oriane

Helpful Review 2

Discontinued Sycomore EdT

Yesterday, I finally tested the Sycomore EdT sample gifted me by a kind and generous fellow fragrance lover (thank you again!), and I wanted to share my impressions which may be more helpful to the ladies than it will be to the gentlemen, but who knows? The gentlemen may also find what I have to say useful.

Upon initial application, the top notes were quite strong and projected quite well. I think they were helped in this respect by a soupcon of aldehydes. They were very green and woody; however, the woodiness was not the woodiness I expected. Instead of the woody trunks of the cypress and sandalwood trees I expected, I smelt the green foliage of the cypress and what must have been the vetiver note, but I detected no sandalwood whatsoever. I also detected a lot of smokiness and possibly pink pepper. I am not familiar enough with the pink pepper note to be sure if I smelt it or not. The top notes dried down quite quickly as one might expect. Within thirty minutes, insofar as I could tell, as there was no one around to ask, Sycomore dried down to a complete skin scent on me. Overall, I found it quite linear.

Sycomore's greenness and smokiness persisted into the deep dry down, but I was never able to perceive any floral note(s) in it whatsoever. About three hours later, I reapplied it and had the same experience as the first time. I continued to press my nose against my wrists every so often over the next four to five hours to see if I could detect anything else, but I was unable to discern anything else. Sycomore EdT persisted on my skin for a solid four to five hours but only as a skin scent. Again, I wished I had had someone nearby who could have offered me some input on the longevity and projection. In the end, I found I liked the deep, deep dry down of Sycomore best as the greenness finally began to fade away a bit.

Now, as to the question of whether or not Sycomore is a "masculine" scent or not, I would argue that it is not a masculine scent per se. However, if I had not known anything about Sycomore in advance of smelling it, and if I had closed my eyes and smelt it on someone near me, I would have guessed I was smelling it on a man. I think it would definitely be attractive on a man. Yet, it is nevertheless "unisex" as I could see a woman wearing it as well, but I cannot conceive of a venue/occasion where I personally would wear Sycomore except perhaps if I were camping in the woods and wanted to blend in with the natural ambience of my surroundings.

I spent a lot of time yesterday smelling and thinking about Sycomore EdT, and n my opinion, Sycomore has Sheldrake's signature all over it. It smells much, much more like a Lutens's fragrance than a Chanel fragrance, and I had to wonder what did Polge contribute to it? I do not detect any influence from Polge aside perhaps from the fleeting, light aldehydes in the top notes. If I smelt Sycomore at random and did not know that it came from Chanel and had to guess from which house it had come, I would have guessed Serge Lutens.

Mind you, I still consider myself to be a beginner in this hobby, but these were my impressions of Sycomore, and I can see why out of all the Les Exclusifs Sycomore is the one most beloved by men. Would I enjoy this on the men around me? Yes, I believe I would do. Would I wear Sycomore? Well, I think I might wear it once in a while if I had it in my collection, but I doubt I would reach for it very often. Many people describe it as an Autumnal fragrance, but I would not associate it with any season in particular. I think it could be worn all year. I read one review in which the reviewer said she initially smelt No. 22 and Sycomore and opted for No. 22, but years later, she tired of No. 22 and fell in love with Sycomore. For me, it would be the other way around. I cannot conceive of ever growing weary of the gorgeous No. 22, and equally, I cannot conceive of ever falling in love with Sycomore EdT. That being said, I have yet to test the new EdP which according to one commentator is vastly different from the EdT and is more "feminine." I may like the EdP much more. It remains to be seen, but I plan to test the EdP at the soonest opportunity.

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