Description
Series 3 Incense was launched in 2002 and was devoted to the five main spiritual teachings of the humanity:
Avignon – Catholicism
Ouarzazate – Islam
Zagorsk – Orthodox Christianity
Jaisalmer – Hinduism
Kyoto – Buddhism and Shintoism
Each of the fragrances is named after the cities significant for those teachings.
Ouarzazate (to be pronounced as ‘war-za-zat’) meaning ‘the Desert Fire’, is devoted to Islam and named after a small historical town of Ouarzazate in Morroco. Ouarzazate brings the smell of precious sweet and intensive Arabian spices and aromatic desert plants. The fragrance becomes milder on skin. The grassy note of sage, a herb that Morroco is known for, wriggles through the spaces, calming pepper and nutmeg, and opening the space for mysterious frankincense.
Ouarzazate is a fragrance unusual to Europeans and people on the West. It is a combination of spices and incense, very warm and very intense. The main notes are incense, pepper, nutmeg, sage, musk, vanilla, labdanum absolute, and cashmere wood.
The nose behind this fragrance is Mark Buxton.
jgp063Unlogrere – :
Having spent several days in Ouarzazate during my last trip to Morocco, I was excited to give this perfume a try. It is lovely, although I didn’t get much of a ‘mosque’ vibe from it.
It has a certain feeling of ‘distance’, a bit austere and cold (as I imagine all ‘churchy’ incense fragrances do, regardless of what type of church, mosque, or temple they are trying to invoke). This speaks, perhaps, more to my own relationship with these types of smells than the smells themselves. This is not to say that it was unpleasant in any way, only that it didn’t make me want to curl in on myself the way a warmer perfume might.
What it DID do, and spectacularly, was transport me to a place of serenity. It’s not the type of perfume I would wear on a date night, but if I were feeling particularly quiet and reflective I’d reach for this in an instant.
Unfortunately, this perfume disappeared from my skin within a couple of hours. Perhaps that’s appropriate for this type of fragrance – I don’t know that someone would necessarily want to smell like this all day.
In the end, my return trip to Ouarzazate was all too brief, and for that reason I have to give this one a pass.
Listener199220 – :
Loved it, as I loved all of the CDG incenses – this one has a particular airy, dry, spicy sweetness and less resin than any of the others. On me it seemed to have a bunch of cinnamon sticks, too, but apparently not. Would be a straightforward want, except that the longevity on me was atrocious – skin only by 15 minutes in and totally gone in 45. Desert mirage that leads you on with promises of great things, but vanishes the nearer you get. What a shame, but I’ll start saving for some Tauer ADDM, or CDG Avignon, instead.
JKosepPE – :
Spicy woods with just enough vanilla and incense in the background. The best of the CdG Incense series, and would be one of my favorite fragrances period if its performance weren’t so bad. It lasts maybe a few hours with soft sillage until becoming a skin scent. I’m going to try it in the summer to see if the heat improves it. I would love to find a heavier version of this, but no such luck as of yet.
JHoqwazM – :
I love this one and is my favorite of the series. Mostly I smell fresh, cool, peppered woods mingling with an herbal greenness, some frankincense and some labdanum and a touch of vanilla in the base giving it a bit of sweetness in the drydown. I register this scent more as a “woods” than an “incense”. And of the outdoorsy variety. It’s a fairly quiet scent and lasts longer over a little body oil. Also great for layering with a rose or amber perfume/oil. I wore it layered over Aftelier’s Ancient Resins body oil tonight to a meditation group and it wafted softly around me while still being unobtrusive and was super calming and uplifting for me. I will add that I’ve gotten more compliments on this scent than probably any other that I wear.
mvi68 – :
The whole series is a must have for incense lovers. This one is a spicy incense with pepper and nutmeg. Evokes the perfume in Moroccan mosques. Beautifully put together with moderate projection and sillage.
3552744 – :
the first thing that strikes me is the incense without the burnt smell-beautiful….strong without overwhelming. the second notes i get are a tea and dry paper-i am reminded of going into a old used bookstore-with a teapot waiting wafts of jasmine faintly reaching your nose, and the welcoming sight of old books-proudly displayed, their pages quietly crackling as you turn them.
there is no sweetness with the tea-but there are spices-sage and nutmeg-mixed with jasmine-i don’t get any peppery and only the faintest of vanilla-barely there.
the smell of the musk rounds out the edges-this must be the cashmir wood-it reminds me slightly of a very dry cedar-i love it,
i am finding i enjoy the dry tea smells very much-as long as they aren’t sweet-or overly vanilla-it seems that is where i come to dislike these scents-
– i recently realized that the problem is heavily fake vanilla, sugar, tea and caffeine all blended together have a sad memory attached to it-and when i smell them-i actually get an physical ache in my chest- and it is a situation that is better off left alone.
this perfume has been on for a couple of hours, and it shows no signs of fading into a skin scent-honestly-i thought it would do so within the first hour-i am glad i am wrong!
xmm759speagoessenda – :
Incense over a peppery, powdery, almost musty base. Smooth and polished. Dry but not dusty, like smoothly planed wood. At the same time there’s an herbaceous quality, not the zingy aromatic herbs but that of dry hills. Subtly soapy, a smooth, expensive soap. I accidentally dumped half the contents of a sample on myself but it’s not loud at all; started off with a very modest sillage and pretty much turned into a skinscent an hour later. I know this is supposed to be Morrocan but to me it smells like a Japanese temple, especially during the long dry down. A subdued and refined fragrance but not boring. Lovely and very wearable.
njrj-super – :
la serie 3 di CDG ha proposto negli anni variazioni sul tema dell’incenso, come nota comune di esperienze spirituali assai diverse (cattolicesimo, induismo, islamismo etc etc). questo che provo oggi, ispirato all’islam, è piuttosto diverso da quanto mi aspettavo. benchè centrato sul franchincenso, questo piccolo delizioso esercizio di stile, è poco invasivo: pur restituendo le impressioni di un magreb fatto di te alla menta, spezie e resine, ci riesce in maniera poco orientale. l’impressione è elegante, quasi si trattasse di un soffio leggero di brezza mediterranea, e si dipana attraverso sensazioni mai prepotenti. come già detto si rintracciano note di menta, legni, spezie e resine, nessuna in particolare, tutte a mostrarci un pomeriggio passato in un giardino con alberi di limone. molto buono, evocativo, peccato che sia davvero troppo leggero.
karabas-2 – :
Ah, the Incense series! Avignon and Kyoto get all the attention, but I think that’s just because those are the only two people aren’t afraid to pronounce. Ouarzazate is the biggest mouthful of the bunch, but while the name says come-with-me-to-the-Kasbah the style is 100% Comme des Garcons.
To me the opening impression is that of minty tea. There are just tiny hints here and there of sage and of something I think of as animalic that is probably the labdanum. It settles down pretty quickly into a peppery/papery version of the dry wood thing that CdG does so well. I do not find it very incensey in the way I normally think of incense (which is to say: “burning”), but it does have a resinous quality that I think is supposed to stand for unburnt frankincense.
The longevity and projection could be better, but in the world of nichey frags the price is surprisingly good. Yes, I how that CdG is technically designer. Shh! I don’t care.
frantis – :
If such a thing as Gucci pour Homme eau d’ete (or fraiche) had been released this would be it (not GPH II for sure). Peppery frankincense somehow turned fresh, joyful and transparent. Great stuff with bad longevity and high price. If it was more affordable I’d bath in it.
taxist1976 – :
Overall: 8.5/10
Here’s Why:
Smoky, Green, Soft, Strong and Vintage.
This is a cathedral of a fragrance. Sprawling and wide, open for interpretation.
Soft and bold all at once, spicy and musky. Its fresh without being overly green, its musky without smelling like an ’80’s powerhouse. Great Fragrance.
Plays well with others.
Lasts about 5-6 hours and dies down for another 2-3.
zfr927Unlogrere – :
A wonderful, sweet-smoky unisex fragrance, warmth tempered by the freshness of green tea. Soothing and beautiful. However, the longevity is absolutely dreadful, even by my standards (I tend to wear nuclear perfumes such as Poison, Loulou and Opium)! A few whiffs and it vanishes. Not worth the money unfortunately.
Kyoto and Avignon are the only fragrances in this series with any decent longevity / sillage. Such a shame, because they’re all wonderful scents.
aaurazov – :
A new purchase for me (just purchased the entire CdG incense series), and already one of my favourite incense perfumes. I love the sage in this one.
home_88 – :
This one is the sweetest out of all from Incense Series that I’ve tested (Avignon, Zagorsk, Quarzazate).
Starts off sweet-smoky, the sweetness is dominating, I’d say. It comes from guaiac wood-vanilla mix and probably some sweet fruits. Then incense comes into the game and starts its play. It’s smooth and rather quiet compared to Zagorsk or Avignon. The sweetness stays put and you can still feel it. Later on mild herbal-green notes appear, especially tea (which smoothens composition even more), sage, anise and labdanum. I regret that cashmere wood is so barely detectable, I love its smell and it would make the fragrance more appealing and interesting for me.
Sadly, this fragrance lasts approx. 3-4 hours on me. It’s the shortest lasting incense from CdG… Very, very sad.
Nevertheless I like it and I like contemplating while wearing Quarzazate.
kosmoplan – :
The reviews of the Comme des Garçons Incense series never cease to amaze me. I cannot tell if “mistakes were made” chez decanters or it’s simply that the various components of these similar yet distinct perfumes are variously salient to different noses under different sniffing conditions!
To my nose, today–at 10:40 am EST, post-coffee and before eating, on a frigid day in the greater metropolitan Boston area–this one, Ouarzazate, is more woody and less green than Jaisalmer (which I was wearing yesterday and I have sprayed on the inside of my knees today, lol). I do find Ouarzazate to be herbal in a different way (no pine sap here!) and I also clearly and distinctly smell labdanum… Some reviewers find the herbal quality horrible; others don’t detect it at all. And where in the world are these claims about jasmine and florality coming from??? Good lord!
Anyway, whatever anyone else is smelling, I can affirm that my bottle is good (to my nose, today–at 10:40 am EST, post-coffee and before eating, on a frigid day in the greater metropolitan Boston area)!
SOKATTETFAT – :
A bit more floral than others in this series, and I get more pepper than incense. While it is nice, it didn’t wow me like Kyoto and Avignon did.
polkovnik03 – :
I’ve been eager to review this one because I remember it being different enough from the other four to treat it like its own entity. The first time I tried it, it was like no other fragrance I’d ever experienced, like ethereal jasmine on top of wood. It’s very tea-like and otherworldly right from the start…the top notes are a quiet, moderately sweet blend of flowery black tea and nicely grained wood, but not resinous, exotic wood. It’s very simple, but in a comforting way, not a harsh or minimalist way. I see an image of plainly finished but contemporary furniture and sleek tableware in an elegant home, and they’re made of solid conventional wood, with a non-edgy, semi-asian-inspired design. The scent has just a hint of something that reminds me of C. Howard’s violet candies, but not enough to bother me like some violet notes. I only start to notice the jasmine (lotus?) in the residue on the tip of my nose after sniffing my sample. It’s there, not as strong as I remember, but getting stronger throughout the mid notes. Oddly enough, the wood actually seems to fade out and the florals to fade in. I’m not sure if you could officially call it a masculine floral, but after trying so many of those that I didn’t like, this is really something that I could get lost in and also wear comfortably in the real world. I kind of wish it were stronger for how expensive it is, but the translucency, balance and restraint are just outstanding; it can’t possibly be so simple and yet so perfect.
pistols62 – :
Bright almost lemony/Limey citrus (from the labdanum perhaps?) in this is so invigorating! Very woody and then as you inhale deeper you get a spicy edge of incense and pepper.
Drys down to a lovely close scent which is unlikely to offend anyone…incense lover or not.
Ouarzazate was not what I was expecting at all. I thought I wanted this collection to go in a Stronger, harder direction but this much lighter offering is just the tonic and my favourite so far, from an interesting bunch.
This collection truly takes you on a unique journey with each fragrance and this one is probably the most conventional, and accessible wearable amongst them.
zahus641 – :
Smoky but lighter and airier than Avignon with a touch of very gentle (not syrupy) sweetness, probably from the green tea – ? It’s the smoke note that intrigues me the most. Even throughout the drydown, while it gets lighter and balmier, the smoke remains.
As it develops it begins to remind me of a frag I used recently and I’m killing myself to remember the name. Aaurgh, this is going to keep me up all night. Maybe ELdO Afternoon of a Faun?
Very nice but possibly too gentle for me. It seems a little too close to the skin to justify a purchase.
степаныч – :
Not at all what I expected – very citrus-like and fresh and green, none of the usual sensual and bewitchingly dark foreboding of frankincense. Come to think of it, WHERE is the frankincense? On my skin this is a playful, rather masculine citrus scent. Avignon got 10 out of 10 from me. Since citrus fragrances are not my thing, Quarzazate only makes it to 6/10. Still have to investigate Kyoto and Jaisalmer.
entreaty – :
Oh Ouarzazate what can I say about you? Only the best!
At least from the incense collection Ouarzazate is the nicest scent to my nose.
It opens up with a blast of citrus fruit and then later settles on to an incense tea combination. At the base there is also the guaiac wood there that gives it a woody character to round it up.
<3 this scent
Рябыкин Денис – :
Buy a bottle of pure cedarwood EO. That is what Ouarzazate smells like (I happen to have a bottle of the EO and compared the two. They’re identical). Nothing more. I really can’t smell the complex layers of notes that others describe. Terribly disappointed.
g261 – :
This is a lot like 2 Man minus the prominent frankincense note plus oranges and spices.
Ok, this is put very simply, but the difference between this and 2 Man is just way too small, i blind bought this and i own both this and 2 Man and there is really no need to have them both since they are very much alike.
If i had to choose between this and 2 Man it would be the latter though, this is more fresh while 2 Man is darker and paradoxically more incense like then Ouarzazate.
Scent: 9/10 great, gentle, soft, versatile.
Originality: 2/10, 2 Man is basically the same with few different elements.
The sillage is not good though, it fades away from strong and very in your face to almost a skin scent in less than one hour.
Doomklouse – :
Opens with amber and frankincense. After few minutes tea becomes apparent. It also has floral notes, probably the jasmine. The frankincense is very strong and stays until the end. The floral and tea part reminds me of GPH2.
frenzy – :
Mmm… I’ve had this one for 3 months now and it’s becoming harder and harder to choose it for any occasion… it’s got certain interesting moments which last for many hours but zero projection and the worst part for me is its herbal vibe. Herbal as in a thick chicken with bitter herbs all around and guaiac wood so loud… I sound contradictory : Is it a strong or soft perfume? well… you barely notice it but when you smell it from very close, it’s chicken and herbs. Perhaps my being vegetarian doesn’t help to enjoy this fully, lol… but it’s so annoying when you have to apply half a bottle to get a hint of a perfume… and even worse when the actual smell borders on bitter food. It could be a great male scent if they took that part away… and it’s quite unpredictable when applied to women. Sometimes it gives them a certain allure I would at least try in case you girls were tired of sickly sweet and floral perfumes.
A very bad start for CDG Incense series in my Carestinian life… I’ll check the other ones and comment on them. I didn’t even feel this as an incense anyway… disappointing.
Chico61 – :
Ouarzazate opens up with a clearly anise note that disappears in a blink of an eye giving space to a guaiac wood note accompanied by spicy notes, specially pepper.
through time this combination almost completely disappears leaving a herbal/incense tone which gives a very peaceful sensation in a wonderful drydown.
stepnn77 – :
Ouarzazate is less particular than Avignon, and more playful than Kyoto, the only two others in this series I know. It would actually make a great mainstream men’s fragrance, and I mean this as a compliment. It’s balanced, subtle but noticeable, beautiful to smell but not extravagant, and a fragrance that straight men wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear in a group of straight men. All the attributes of a classic men’s scent.
irretahip – :
Right out of the gates this slight little thing is linden bract, pepper, and jasmine. “Alright!” one thinks, “This could be my day!”
2o minutes later, the dry/let-down is nearly identical to Mr. Buxton’s 2 Man, which, though excellent, make one wonder if that vivacious, sweet/green/astringent opening was just a lovely dream.
I love it, but I don’t trust it!
ninokirssswer – :
Starts out mildly green and a little resinous, but quickly blooms to reveal frankincense resin pure and simple, in its raw form, not burned. After a half hour some spices are added to the mix, mostly nutmeg, and a sweet vanilla-labdanum amber with hints of dried fruits becomes apparent. There’s very little sillage at any point, but the faint drydown does last for 5-6 hours on skin. Ouarazate is a warm incense-resin amber that’s light but lovely.
chaos899 – :
Just like Jasper, I bought a decant of this frag “out of curiosity and educatioanal purpose”. The opening is indeed very peppery, dry, even bitter and smoky. But as time goes by, it becomes sweeter, woody and very feminine. I would even say sexy. On me it has a very good sillage. I can smell it on my wrist all day long, and I can`t stop sniffing :-).
hbo139bedyWelty – :
Not bad at all. I could consider buying a small bottle for its originality. Very green, more than I tought.
My opinion changed…I LIKE THIS like all incense series by CDG.
4/5
lordsasha7 – :
All i get from this is black pepper. I honestly detect no other notes at all. It actually made me sneeze after getting too close a whiff. Its boring and poorly done in my opinion and the bottle looks cheap, like an axe/tag body spray.
Tamoffs – :
Surprise, surprise! I didn’t expect to like this, just bought a tiny decant out of curiosity and educatioanal purpose! 😉 I test Ouarzazate along side Avignon. The top note battle won by Ouarzazate. It opening softer and light. But the drydown is even nicer, smooth and warm incense. There is just a tinge of sweetness in it which would make this scent unisex.
glx1 – :
This one paralysed me instantly. So much pepper surrounded by spices and incense, the note of sage gives the fragrance some nice bitterness, nutmeg – some sweetness and all that blends into a very unusual and unique aroma. I’ve never been to Maroco but if that’s what its markets smell like, then they smell truly divine.
I can imagine myself wearing this fragrance on a very warm summer day.
DillMoigh – :
I tried this fragrance once and feel in love with it. It is unique and enjoy fragrances that not everyone is wearing.