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alek24 – :
Best tree scent in the CDG Red series thicket, in my opinion – warm, complex, rich in all the right places, and seeming more organic and less abstract than is usual for the house. This is the one where all the things just went right, and the overall effect is welcoming and embracing and real. Deep notes of well-polished hardwood – no sap or wax or sawdust or anything else – just cleverly-worked, beautifully burnished timber. Didn’t get any specific rum notes, on my skin they’re just rounding out the whole thing to a beautifully spicy multi-faceted high-class hardwood extravaganza, with shades of cinnamon and nutmeg for savour. As with all CDGs the longevity could be better, but it’s reasonably resilient, hanging on for 5-6h, though never huge and always keeps its bark pretty closely stuck to your skin. Completely unisex and rather inoffensive, wouldn’t choke out or repel anyone, of any gender, and could be safely worn to work even if you’re a pretty conventional officeperson. I truly love and want it.
inflip – :
First of all, this definitely feels like a classic Comme des Garçons concoction. Like many of his fragrances, this too has an avant garde feel to it. It almost feels like an experiment with woods and incense.
I feel like this holds a similarity to incense Kyoto – also from CDG, but with toned down incense and fired up woods. The wood in this is almost sour smelling – like a wet oud and pine mixture. This is absent of sweetness.
Overall, I think this is nice – and I appreciate CDG for being one of the top designer houses around and never conforming to the mainstream.
nefaz – :
Being from Northern California (San Francisco), I am very familiar with the scent of redwood forests and sequoias, and this does not even come close to capturing anything that would ever make me think of them. Perhaps the fragrance is purely conceptual? An artistic impression or assumption of what that landscape might smell like in the mind of someone who dreams of visiting?
I get a huge floral scent that I thought was jasmine. You’d never smell jasmine in a redwood forest or anything particularly floral for that matter.
I’m also getting a lot of spice and sweetness. This is more like an Oriental fragrance than woody. There is nothing sweet, spicy or Oriental about a sequoia.
Also, where exactly IS the wood here? I smell everything but wood.
A better approximation to a redwood forest or sequoias is April Aromatics’ Precious Woods, Tam Dao, Tanoke, Redwoods by Elizabeth W (a San Francisco company who knows what redwoods smell like and is half the price of this terribly synthetic stuff), even Vetiver 46 by Le Labo (which I actually wore last time I was hiking in the redwoods, and it blended in beautifully!) but not this.
This smells like a wet dog as it develops, bringing back horrible memories of houses in the 70’s with faux fur rugs and cheap aftershave. Also has a soapy base, which does nothing to help.
Why anybody would put a white flower into a sequoia fragrance boggles my mind.
Wonderful concept with terrible execution.
(Edit: I definitely wore the re-released one. Perhaps it was reformulated? It smells nothing like previous reviewers describe. Woods and pine-like? No way, not in this bottle.)
Pymnsoynckar – :
It’s a much more well-rounded masculine woody scent than their Palisander, and (surprisingly) bears more resemblance to Aedes de Venustas Palissandre d’Or as well, although it doesn’t feel as complex or “fancy” in comparison.
I don’t detect such strong rum as the votes suggest (and no oud), instead more woods and opoponax; in fact, it feels like an upgrade from Demeter’s Mahogany!
wasyia – :
Sequoia has been re-released under their Comme des Garcons: Olfactory Library collection and is now available in 50ml bottles at LuckyScent. I have been wanting a bottle for the past four years so I ordered a bottle last night. Can’t wait to put my mitts on this one.
Update: I opened my bottle the other day with some trepidation since I have been wanting this fragrance forever and a day. Would love it or would I be disappointed since I had set such a high bar for Sequoia? Would it be one of those…”Yes, Yes, Yes” moments or would I have that confused look on my face after sniffing it as I searched for ways to convince myself that I really did love it? And would it be well received by my girlfriend and others….or would it just smell like any other fragrance to them?
Well, I LOVE IT…it did not disappoint…and I am thrilled to add it to the top-shelf of my Scent Armory. I haven’t spent much time with this fragrance since, to me, it’s much better suited for the Fall and not a balls-hot Summer day. However, when it opens is momentarily gives off some hints of a kinder and gentler Tobacco Vanille (literally just a flash of a few seconds) before moving into that gorgeous woody direction. Sequoia and Creed Bois du Portugal are going to be my go-to fragrance come this Fall.
руха – :
Pleasant, sweet, spicy. Not offensive, not fantastic.
DIMA KOSONOGOV – :
When I was a small boy, my parents packed up our Volvo station wagon and we set out to tour the US for the summer. It was a fun trip for me and my brother. Our parents introduced us to a lot of new things, outside of the world that we knew at the time. One of the new discoveries where national parks across the country. We would find a new park and pitch a tent for the night or a few days, before continuing on the journey. I remember one park in California that had this scent. Being a small boy, I do not remember the park, but I do remember the scent of the park. This fragrance reminds me of that park in CA, years ago. A good memory for me.
Fast forward, several years later and I am at Universal park in Orlando with my daughter. She was a little girl at the time. We are going on the ET ride. As we wait in line, we are taken through a forest. The scent in that line was similar to (not exactly the same as) the scent I remember from the park when I was a boy. A combination of waiting to ride ET, being with my little daughter and the scent from standing in line brings me right back to being in that park in CA.
Fast forward, several years later (yes, I am old) and I try the fragrance for the first time. WOW! I am a small boy once again. In a happy time and a happy place. I am very glad I was able to find a bottle of this!
In a nutshell, Red Sequoia is a fresh, clean, sweet wood with a touch of booziness. It is very much a unisex scent. I can easily see this worn by a man or a woman. I can also see wearing this in casual or formal wear.
I get good projection and great longevity on my skin.
Bottom line: If you can find a sample of this one, try it.
Zzener – :
Well I really wanted to try this, but that seems to be impossible now. I guess I’ll just have to keep checking eBay ..
sapurna – :
Its very well designed,
I can smell 4 notes:
Fresh Cut Wood, Oud, Rum and Sweet Amber.
Its like you took a walk in a semi light/dark forest full of pine trees in the months of Fall, The earth has a layer of dried twigs, Moss on rocks, cold earth floor, Red scarf around the neck and you are wearing your grey jacket and grey jeans.
and Behold, the lumberjacks had just cut and fell a very large tree. There is freshness coming off the oozing sap (amber). The initial whiff is wet and immediately followed by a very dry hint of (toned down) oud and thirdly rum. The rum brings in a gentle sweetness to the simple composition.
The perfume is linear and probably lacks a soul. But I like it. It is distinctive
Mezhs338InsuffBooni – :
So Duchaufour beat Cavallier and Morillas to the punch on introducing “oud” to the Western hemisphere. M7 is thought by many to be the 1st but that is simply untrue as this was done a year before. M7 is way more popular as well all know but they both get a 4.31 rating. That seems kinda odd. However, this is much more wearable IMO as the booziness sits at center stage and oud being in the background. This also can be found on Luckyscent for much cheaper than the discontinued M7. If you are tired of all the rose/oud combos then check out this original!
DIKSON – :
I smell menthol and cloves. It has the same nasal clearing/burning properties as eucalyptus oil. Very refreshing for my nose but not what I would choose as a perfume, more for a pleasant and expensive sinus clearer.
hz001 – :
I adore this scent. It’s woods woods woods which I needed for my collection. I went to buy it online, but it’s nowhere to be found. Luckyscent’s website says CDG asked them to make it unavailable until 2015! Is this normal for them? Is it discontinued forever? Just when I was about to get it!
bizonne55 – :
Just got my sample my first impression, its similar to Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone!
SoyhomeHomhen – :
I’m getting a lot of booze in the top notes of this one, like a straight, peaty scotch just for a minute or two. Soon the actual notes arrive, and initially it’s smooth, sweet wood. Not the usual woods + vanilla masculine oriental type, and not the CdG harsh, dry woods with a blast of smoke, but somewhere nicely in the middle. There’s just enough resinous sap to remind you of a real conifer tree, but it’s not like some scents where a bully at summer camp shoves your face into the side of a pine tree. Unless I’m fatigued from too much reviewing, there’s surprisingly little here. It’s not that strong, but it doesn’t need to be because it’s just a big tree, not a stick of incense burning in a monastery that demands your full spiritual contemplation. There’s some sweetness, but not too much; it’s still well within the territory of mainstream masculine wood scents, like Rocabar decided to lay off the sugary christmas cookies. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that there are a lot of things that Sequoia *isn’t*, because it’s just a pretty tree in the woods. The simplicity of sweet wood is somewhat of a relief before I try and conquer their Incense series, and now I understand why this was put in the Red series: because like Palisander, it’s about quiet, happy warmth.
lena_gorodnich – :
I realize the only thing that sequoia has in common with Spicebomb is the leather, but man… the opening is identical with some booze added in for good measure.
After about 5 minutes, the rum chills out and you are left with spicebomb. Albeit, Sequoia smells a bit more more full, less sharp, and lacking the honey.
About the 10 minute mark something that smells like some king of resin is introduced and sweetens up the whole fragrance. NOW there is very little difference between sequoia and spicebomb with the exception of the afore mentioned; sequoia smelling more full and less sharp.
Ultimately, this is everything I wanted spicebomb to be
smit076 – :
This has to be one of the most pungent openings I’ve ever smelt. Rancid apple juice to my nose. That just lasts for a few minutes and then the woods come out. It’s a magical transformation really. This one ages well on my skin and I feel shower fresh all day.
WeannyWilandarfvc – :
For me, this is more reminiscent of a wooden bench on a scorching hot day rather than a tree. I love it and it wafts meditatively around me all day almost like an incense perfume. Absolutely stunning in Summer.
Карпович Саня – :
I love this one. It’s a soft, boozy wood that is never intrusive or harsh. Just a delicate, lovely perfume. It doesn’t actually resemble trees in any way, but it’s like a tone poem of one, perhaps. Lovely.
darida1952 – :
I get a very balmy opening with a slight amount of booze. Just underneath is some strange synthetic wood type scent, that reminds me of some of the wood in Molinard’s Teck. A very damp wood. CdG always seems to me like they have very interesting unnatural smells to them, and this is no exception. Interesting, yes. Do I want to smell like this? No.
I can’t discern any oud in this, at least nothing that stands out. A few times I felt as if I smelled the vibe of oud, but it is sufficiently mixed with more powerful camphorous cedar aromas. The synthetic vibe of this reminds me of A*Men…not the smell, but the plasticky feeling. I would be very happy to smell this occasionally, but it is not a scent I would like to project to others. Worth a sniff, but not a bottle.
newsome481 – :
A light, non-intrusive woody composition that shows the CDG’s fingerprints all over. A sligh boozy accord of rum and woods (mainly cedar) joined by spices and some patchouli (?). Hints of oud somewhere, incense and other resinous notes with just a tad of sweetness. The cedarwood is just perfect, never sharp or overdone. Overall Sequoia has a consistent body but avoids the typical heaviness of other conpositions in the same vein and it’s a perfect candidate for anyone who’s looking for an easy-wear with a good amount of character. Moderate lasting power.
Sequoia may result pretty linear but it’smasterfully executed, thoroughly enjoyable and most of all, immediately recognizable.
Rating: 7/10
maria1107 – :
This is my favourite in the CDG Red series. Lovely fresh, rummy, sweet but short opening followed by a slightly abrasive, synthetic woody drydown. Love the first spray but the drydown makes me hesitate about a purchase.
votoniRF – :
Starts out with wood and incense, mostly aromatic cedar wood. There’s also something sweet, possibly contributed by the rum accord that’s listed in the notes, but it doesn’t come across as at all boozy. Gradually the sweet and resinous notes fade away, so that what’s left is mainly a woody scent that remains linear to the end.
I have a sequoia tree growing behind my house, so was able to compare the crushed fresh leaves with the perfume, and have to say there’s a certain resemblance. Both have a sweetish, resinous, balsamic fragrance, but the perfume has more woody basenotes than the leaves do. Of course, I couldn’t smell the wood of my tree, so it may be accurate in that respect, too, first creating the leaves, then the wood of the trunk. Sillage is moderate, with the scent lasting at least 6 hours. I find Sequoia to be simple, pleasant, wearable, and fairly true to its name.
lammer – :
Every good word about it is true, but wouldn’t wear it. I guess it just doesn’t have the “wearability” that great fragrances have. A good parrallel would be a great experimental music piece that will never get airplay because it doesn’t “fit”.
I think I will give the candle a try.
vf37ru – :
Woohoo!!It reminds me birch and woods,but rum is that which stands out.Indeed if you want to feel like a primitive in his natural enviroment you should pick that one!
Namber_18 – :
This is pretty much the fragrance equivalent of a walk in a Giant Redwood (sequoiadendron giganteum) forest. If you love coniferous trees, you’ll probably love this. Rather linear, but very interesting (as most of this line is), you’ll think you are John Muir’s relative when you wear this, and might suddenly have the urge to hike Yosemite!