Monocle Scent Three: Sugi Comme des Garçons 2013

Surely not coincidentally, the symbol of the internet/magazine Monocle, which is embossed on the packaging of the three Monocle fragrances by Comme des Garçons, corresponds to the Enso (Japanese for "circle"), which embodies emptiness and completion in Zen Buddhism and serves as a metaphor and symbol of Zen.

In contrast to classical religions, Zen does not offer an actual doctrine, no clear answers to questions, but it can help to resolve the confusions created by the never-silent voices of our thoughts and our illusion of a "self".

It seems to me that with Sugi, the ideal connection between Japanese aesthetics and European perfume tradition has been achieved. The clarity, simplicity, and radicality of the fragrance, without complex philosophical overtones, has none of the Catholic-Baroque solemnity of many fragrances, none of the floral playfulness of European garden tradition, and none of the melting sweetness of Arabic-opulent scents. The fragrance is reduced to the essentials, is fragrance in itself; seen this way, it is closer to Zen tradition than most other fragrances I know.

In analogy to the Zen-dedicated Japanese tea ceremony, I offer here a suggestion for the appropriate enjoyment of Sugi.

Prepare the fragrance. At first, do not pay attention to it. Be completely yourself.

Wander through nature. Prepare yourself for the enjoyment of the fragrance by shedding the everyday. This takes you to the first stage of enlightenment.

Retreat with the fragrance into a quiet room that grants you the necessary calmness. Turn inward.

Once again, turn to nature, even if only by looking out of the open window.

Avoid any haste when testing the fragrance.

Ensure that you are cleansed both internally and externally. Wash your hands and face again if necessary. Make sure that no other scents distract your concentration on the essentials.

Sit down in the Japanese seiza position. Find your calm. Leave your restlessness behind.

If you feel hungry, light foods are ideal for preparation: fruits and raw vegetables.

Place the fragrance before you, open it without haste. Focus on the scent.

Spray Sugi on your cleansed skin, particularly suitable is the surface of the forearms with their fine hairs.

Wait a short while.

When you now smell the fragrance, treat it with respect. Take your time in your judgment.

What do you smell? I do not know what YOU smell, but I smell something that closely resembles the successful description in the comment below: the alcoholic sharpness of gin, which initially dominates the fragrance development.
Then coniferous notes (pine and/or cypress, with the latter seeming to be dominant).

The pepper indicated in the fragrance notes is rather present through a certain sharpness. The tingling that pepper occasionally evokes in the top notes of some fragrances is only subtly perceptible here, while the alcoholic sharpness does not dissolve from the fragrance and accompanies the wearer, who, like most CdGs, hardly experiences any significant development.
Floral elements remain discreet and underlying.

The woody note, which is also recognizable from the beginning, corresponds to the faint yet perceptible scent of hard, dried wood, less so that of freshly cut or rotten, moldy wood; nor that characteristic forest scent, which blends with green plant notes. The wood tone remains cool, dry, elegant. The image of gin in a turned wooden cup from the aforementioned comment seems to me ideally fitting.
I also feel somewhat reminded of the wood in front of our fireplace, which fills the room with a consciously barely perceptible yet present wood note that one would only notice if the wood were no longer there, if the presence were filled by an emptiness.

However, one should not be deceived by this description: Sugi is not a quiet fragrance. Sugi has character and is a clear statement with which many, both men and women, surroundings and wearers, will not feel comfortable.

Moreover, Sugi is not a fragrance that reveals itself casually. Zen offers no simple answers. Zen is life, meditation, immersion, concentration. This principle is embodied by the fragrance better than any other.
The approach described above is not meant ironically. It is appropriate to the fragrance in its aesthetic clarity.