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Chanel Sycomore

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Chanel's Les Exclusifs line has been, for the most part, fairly impressive. I took note, before sampling Sycomore, that quite a few women gave Sycomore the thumbs down in reviews that I have read. It stands to reason for me since the gender line is being blurred more and more.....and sometimes completely reversed as is the case ( to me) with Sycomore.

I find Sycomore very masculine......and also very good. As I wear this scent, I understand why some of the female persuasion are put off. Sycomore is vetiver dominant and vetiver has always been a masculine note in my opinion. That's not to say it can't be implemented effectively in feminine fragrances. As a standalone or dominant note, it comes off very butch.

At any rate, Polge created Sycomore in 2008 and I find it an excellent rendition of vetiver. I can't wear many vetivers, even if I like them in small doses or sample wears. A good example is Villoresi's version. Lorenzo's style is rough, crude, unapologetic and in-your-face, whereas Chanel's fingerprint is smoothness. Sycomore is about as smooth a vetiver dominant as I've tried so far. It opens with a smoke and vetiver combo with a slight saltiness lurking in the shadows. Pepper seems to provide a nice contrast to the salt note and then there's the interesting woodiness courtesy of Sandal, Cypress and Juniper. Mind you that salt is no where in the listed accords, but I smell it regardless....and phantom note or not, it's very nice.

Vetiver fans need to sample Sycomore. Do I find it bottle worthy? Yes......I do. More than likely, I won't purchase one since it's not my favorite note, but Sycomore is one of the best vetivers I have smelled in awhile. Big thumbs up for Chanel's Sycomore from Aromi.
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  1. HenriqueDecember 19, 2010 at 1:03 PM

    Sycomore is one of my favorite vetiver fragrances. Different from Encre Noire, Sycomore is capable of keeping the dry, leafy, smoky aura of vetiver for a long time. I think that it's better in winter, for some reason this scent seems to create a comfort aura for me.
    I'd recommend buying a decant of it, since the price per ml is not so high nad 15-20ml last a long time.

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  2. AnonymousDecember 31, 2010 at 12:45 PM

    Ah, vetiver! I love vetiver so much I kind of overdosed on it in 2010. Having a FB of Sycomore will do that to ya. But Sycomore is definitely a fall/winter go-to for me, and it is also wonderful if you need to "REPRESENT" as a nice soothing comfortable unisex with those masculine overtones you mention. (I love wearing it for meeting days at work... people don't tend to give me as much grief... probably boosts my self-confidence.) Sycomore struck me first as all about the fall, smoke, the earthy smell of the damp leaves, and of course that oh-so-smooth vetiver. I'm +1-ing your thumbs up.

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