Comme des Garcons — Comme des Garcons 2
Essence
A landmark 1999 avant-garde fragrance by Mark Buxton for Comme des Garcons, famous for one conceptual trick: an “ink” accord built using headspace technology to capture the smell of Japanese sumi calligraphy ink. Conceived as a play of light and shadow - luminous aldehydes, citrus and magnolia against dark ink, incense and woods - CdG2 is a cool-toned, translucent, abstract floral-woody with a metallic, “man-made” sheen. Decades on it still reads as futuristic and singular: an enthusiast touchstone, widely cited as one of the house’s defining olfactory artworks.
Scent Profile
The catalog’s long note list (aldehydes, angelica, tea, mandarin, mate up top; ink, magnolia, nutmeg, West Indian bay, coriander, caraway, cinnamon in the heart; incense, patchouli, vetiver, cedar, amber, labdanum in the base) resolves in wear into something more unified and abstract than the pyramid suggests - reviewers consistently note the listed notes seem to “cancel out or alter” into a singular, hard-to-pin character. It genuinely evolves rather than sitting linear. Opening (first 10 - 20 min): a high-pitched, nearly metallic buzz of aldehydic citrus - bright mandarin/orange peel “magnified tenfold,” with a fizzy, effervescent quality many compare to cola or “aldehydic orange PEZ.” Robin Krug at critical coverage summed the concept: “think inky aldehydic floral, and you kind of have the idea.” Green mate tea and angelica add a cool, rooty, slightly musky-herbal lift. The famous ink note is present early - cold, dry, metallic, like permanent marker or sumi ink - sitting against the bright top in deliberate contrast. Heart (1 - 3 hrs): the aldehydic sparkle settles and a “ghostly,” non-specific floral emerges - magnolia gives a creamy sweetness but, as Krug noted, “it doesn’t smell like any flower in particular.” Dry spices (coriander, caraway, nutmeg, a touch of cinnamon and a noticeable-but-not-overwhelming cumin for some) and the West Indian bay/bay-rum facet thread through. The ink reads here less like wet ink and more like dried ink - “subtle and smooth,” keeping everything cool and slightly austere. Drydown (3+ hrs): earthy and mildly powdery - lots of vetiver, dry cedar, patchouli, with a wispy, “shadow”-like incense drifting in and out and a soft amber/labdanum warmth. It stays spicy to the end and becomes, per several wearers, surprisingly “cuddly and cozy” given how spare and synthetic it is.
Performance
Performance is generally regarded as good for such a translucent-seeming scent. Projection is moderate, with a metallic, diffusive opening that has presence; it softens to a closer wear after the first hour or two but remains detectable. Krug observed that even after showering, “most of it remains, but it is softer and less metallic, just a very pale blend of inky vetiver” - a testament to its tenacity. Longevity is solid: wearers reports commonly land in the 8 - 10 hour range on skin, with one wearers wearer citing “8 - 10 hours” and great projection, and it persists notably longer on clothing (where the woody-incense base clings). Sillage is moderate - a real but not aggressive wake.
Wearing Context
Best in fall and winter, and in cool urban settings - multiple reviewers frame it as a scent for “concrete city streets,” art galleries, and creative/intellectual contexts; one wearer discussion wearer pictured pairing it with avant-garde fashion (Yohji Yamamoto, Ann Demeulemeester). It’s a cerebral, “considered” fragrance with a faint air of pretension (in taste, not morals, as one reviewer put it) - it suits someone who wants to wear a concept. It works day or evening but leans thoughtful daytime/transitional; a few find it an evening or head-clearing morning scent. It falls flat or feels wrong in hot, humid weather (metallic/cumin amplification), in conventionally romantic or club settings (it’s anti-seductive and cool rather than sexy), and for anyone wanting warmth, sweetness or easy crowd approval. The most relevant social-perception skew: a recurring “grandmother / old-fashioned” or “mature” read from some (tied to its aldehydic-retro DNA), which coexists with a “retro-futuristic” read from its fans - genuinely polarizing.
Comparisons & DNA
Within the house, CdG2 is the cooler sibling to the original Comme des Garcons (Eau de Parfum) and Comme des Garcons White - Krug noted its dry-down is “not altogether unlike” those two but “without the bitter undertone” and far more floral. The house’s later ZERO is mentioned by one wearers wearer as delivering the glossy “magazine” inkiness more than CdG2 does. For the ink/conceptual-cold lineage outside the house, the closest reference points named by the wearers are Byredo M/M (Paris) “Ink” (cold, strange, inky) and Cartier (one wearer discussion reviewer gave Cartier “the upper hand” on a damp-ink accord). For those finding CdG2 too “grandmother,” a wearers commenter suggested Nasomatto Blamage as a similar-spirited but un-retro alternative. Lineage and influence: Luca Turin framed CdG2 as “a slimmed-down, ascetically spare version of the great fluorescent roses of the 80s (Parfum de Peau, Knowing)” - i.e., a minimalist, cool-toned descendant of big 80s aldehydic florals. Buxton and Bertrand Duchaufour are jointly credited as early movers of the late-90s “smoky dry woods and minimalism” niche trend that CdG2 helped define.
Reception
Reception among enthusiasts is strongly positive, though not uncomplicated. Robin Krug found it “remarkably wearable” and only “a little weird,” admiring the inky aldehydic-floral concept while landing in the “respect rather than love” camp because the ink felt too cold and dry for true love. Admirers often treat it as a work of art, an abstract painting, or a time capsule, repeatedly surprised that it dates to 1999. Common praise centers on originality, the ink concept, the effervescent metallic opening, and longevity. The friction points are just as clear: some read it as dated rather than retro-futuristic, some miss the ink entirely, others find the machine-shop metallic quality alienating, and cumin sensitivity can split wearers. It is a good gateway into Comme des Garcons conceptual perfumery for adventurous noses, but not a blind buy for anyone wary of aldehydes, cold metal, or incense-vetiver dryness.
Versions & Reformulation
Long-running since 1999 as an Eau de Parfum, so some batch variation and reformulation is likely over 25+ years, and wearers discussion supports it: one wearers wearer who has bought multiple bottles reported a recent batch (code 01181) smelling “more linear, smoother, richer” with “much less… incense… and that ink opening” and a more noticeable iris-like facet, versus an older bottle (code 92871) with a harsher, more direct opening - a strong signal of reformulation or at least drift. Buxton’s original used headspace tech for the ink accord; current production is under Puig (which now markets CdG fragrances). No widely-confirmed official reformulation date is documented in sources, but buyers chasing the “classic” inky/incense-heavy profile should be aware later batches may read smoother.
Acquisition Notes
Pricing level: niche (accessibly priced for niche - a recurring “expensive but grounded, not ostentatious” wearers read). Commonly sold in 50ml and 100ml EDP, with collectible small formats historically available (15ml flacons, ~0.3 oz minis, and the special “Beads” bottle that contained the same juice, per Black Narcissus). Decant ecosystem: well-served for a niche scent - broadly available through niche e-tailers and decant/sample channels (The Perfumed Court and similar carry CdG); samples are easy to obtain, which matters given its divisiveness. Counterfeit prevalence is moderate; buy from authorized niche retailers or department-store CdG counters. For authenticity and to navigate the reformulation question, check batch codes - wearers actively compare them (e.g., 92871 older vs.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The defining story: per Women’s Wear Daily (8/8/2003, as quoted by critical coverage), reportedly Mark Buxton “was told to create a scent recalling ‘black ink’,” and the brief, set by CdG designer Rei Kawakubo, was built on duality - a “technological” category (ink, new aldehydes) versus a “natural” one (incense, magnolia, patchouli, cedarwood, amber, labdanum), with marketing VP Lisa Hawkins noting “the perfume is all about contrasts and compliments, and the duality expressed by the number two.” Buxton used headspace technology to capture the scent of Japanese sumi calligraphy ink - the conceptual centerpiece and the reason the whole composition exists.
- The fragrance is inspired explicitly by the art of Japanese calligraphy (light/shadow, ink/paper).
- It’s part of the broader Buxton-era CdG run (original CdG, White, and later 2 Man) widely credited with helping launch the dry-woods/incense minimalism that shaped 2000s niche perfumery.
- wearers imagery for it is famously vivid and sci-fi - “Windows 95 operating system,” “robot’s breath,” “the Jetsons,” glossy magazine pages, Rothko paintings - underscoring its status as a perfume people experience as conceptual art rather than a pretty smell.
- No celebrity or viral-TikTok angle of note; its fame is the enthusiast/critic kind.