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Fond memories rediscovered
I first tried the original Comme des Garcons not long after it was first released in 1994 when I was just starting to get into fragrances. It was love at first sniff. My girlfriend at the time also loved it. I immediately bough a bottle. My girlfriend would spritz herself whenever she visited.
My then uneducated nose had not smelled anything like it. And at the time, there were probably few fragrances on the market like it. It smelled like a delicious, pungent Indian curry: cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and other spices but nothing with heat such as chilli. All softened slightly by honey.
I wore it regularly in cool weather for about 10 years.
When it was then discontinued for a while it was like the death of an old friend, and a marker of the end of my youth. I missed it often.
CdG then re-released it again about 10 years ago. Rediscovering it again was re-uniting with an old friend you hadn't seen in years. Again, I immediately bought a bottle.
But by then I was 20 or so years older than the first time I wore it and my nose was somewhat more educated. The 'curry' smell was still the same and still potent, but it now clearly smelled like a simulation of 'curry' made from some natural ingredients and a lot of aroma chemicals. It smelled good but I now had other fragrances that were clearly better.
My girlfriend from the '90s is now a dear old friend. She still 'borrows' it whenever she visits.
So I still wear it occasionally, but more for the fond memories it recalls than its smell.
I suspect many readers here have a similar relationship to a fragrance they wore many years ago: one that reminds them of an era and their youth.
My then uneducated nose had not smelled anything like it. And at the time, there were probably few fragrances on the market like it. It smelled like a delicious, pungent Indian curry: cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and other spices but nothing with heat such as chilli. All softened slightly by honey.
I wore it regularly in cool weather for about 10 years.
When it was then discontinued for a while it was like the death of an old friend, and a marker of the end of my youth. I missed it often.
CdG then re-released it again about 10 years ago. Rediscovering it again was re-uniting with an old friend you hadn't seen in years. Again, I immediately bought a bottle.
But by then I was 20 or so years older than the first time I wore it and my nose was somewhat more educated. The 'curry' smell was still the same and still potent, but it now clearly smelled like a simulation of 'curry' made from some natural ingredients and a lot of aroma chemicals. It smelled good but I now had other fragrances that were clearly better.
My girlfriend from the '90s is now a dear old friend. She still 'borrows' it whenever she visits.
So I still wear it occasionally, but more for the fond memories it recalls than its smell.
I suspect many readers here have a similar relationship to a fragrance they wore many years ago: one that reminds them of an era and their youth.
Wordsmith
