Comme des Garçons Amazingreen is one of those perfumes that I knew I would have to revisit one day. I had hyped it up in my head pre-launch. I wanted to smell like gunpowder and pepper. When I tried Amazingreen, I didn’t get any of that. Nor did I get “Amazing” or “Green”. I was mad at Amazingreen. I was mad that it didn’t live up to my expectations. But, I was also mad that I *sort of* liked it too. Here I am in late summer 2018 revisiting this thing in the glossy emerald green bottle…
Amazingreen is a green fragrance, but it’s not what I typically think of when I think of “green”. This was why I was disappointed with it years ago! It opens with aquatic/melons and bitter, peppery greens. There’s juicy oranges and river rocks. If I had to sum up Amazingreen in just a few words, I’d have to say “mineral green”. It’s a mineral, wet green fragrance. As it wears, it’s like damp ivy, cobblestone and a bottomless brunch mimosa. As the fragrance wears, it becomes drier. It’s a green vetiver, calamus and something that smells a bit like caulk. And for some unknown reason, I like this. The dry-down is like white musk and vetiver. It’s not that exciting of a dry-down but it is pleasant. It provides a “sheer green” effect.
In the late 90’s, there was a huge trend of “minimalism” in perfume, which isn’t that different than perfumery today (i.e. Le Labo). However, that execution of these trends vary from the minimalism of today. Then it was all about these green-floral aquatics that promised some sort of zen-like experience, an escape from your stressful Generation X lifestyle. They often had strong overtones of “Asia”, in particular, Japan, and were launched by Asian design houses (usually… there were plenty of copies from all parts of the globe that followed). Amazingreen to me is incredibly retro. It reminds me of being a young adult in the Millennium. It smells like all the perfumes and fashion my cool minimalist friends wore to counteract the aesthetic of Christina Aguilera, Paris Hilton, etc. Amazingreen is throwback to those minimalist Japanese designer perfumes (CdG, after all, is a Japanese fashion label).
Notes listed include palm tree leaves, green pepper, dew mist, jungle leaves, ivy, orris, coriander, silex, gunpowder accord, vetiver, smoke and white musk. Launched in 2012. PERFUMER – Jean-Christophe Herault
Give Amazingreen a try if you like “watery” green-florals. Or perfumes like Kenzo L’Eau par Kenzo pour Homme, Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise for Men (RIP), Balenciaga L’Edition Mer, Oriflame Amazonia for Her, House of Sillage HoS N.003 and/or Serge Lutens L’eau Froide.
Projection and longevity are average.
Amazingreen comes in a few sizes with the 1.7 oz retailing for $103 at Luckyscent. Samples are also available for purchase.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – “Mineral green”. This ins’t one that I see myself wearing, but my spouse loves it as a “day” fragrance. It may not live up to my expectations, but that isn’t the fault of this perfume. It’s the fault of that avant-garde note list. When I think of it as a mineral, vetiver fragrance, I really like it.
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*Sample obtained by me. Product pic from the brand. Nadja Auermann pic from fanpix.net