Description
Comme des Garçons has launched the project Parfums Series 2000. Fragrances of each of the lines are united around the common topic.
In 2004, Comme des Garçons have again declared war to natural components and launched the next series of anti-perfumes, Series 6 Synthetic. The smells of a big city are captured in a transparent plastic bottle in which you can observe a garbage bag. Everyone finds something familiar, and even dear, in it, just as we like the strange smells of our childhood.
Tar is a smell of hot asphalt road that excites the passionate drivers, the smell of exhaust pipe gases, melted bitumen, and cigarette smoke. But, there can be a bit of nature, at least through the car window – sweet nuance of oppoponax resin and optimistic bergamot. Through all this chaos and polluted air of metropolis there wriggles the odor of wet soil after the rain.
In 2017 CDG Parfum brings back some of the long lost scents from it’s past, going back to 1996. The fragrance composition remains intact, packaging gets a new trendy look, though.
The main notes are aldehydes, bay leaf, kerosene, leather, plastic floral notes, vetiver acetate, Chinese sandal wood.
The nose behind this fragrance is Nathalie Feisthauer.
Вшлун – :
Holy hydrocarbons! It is what it says it is: warm, oozy, melted, aromatic tar, just like they use to mend the roads with. Doesn’t have the full acrid-smoke, chemical-weapon accord that you’d get from a brazier full of the molten bitumen stuff while resurfacing – it is just a little little bit more fragrant and laid-back than that – but this really is a photorealistic approach and tar is what it is all about. Moreover it’s super-black, industrial tar, rather than any kind of more woodsy tree tar or the fragrant, more floral, slightly more housetrained kind of medicinal-but-homely vibe you would get from products like Wright’s Coal Tar Soap or Victorian coal-tar shampoos.
So it’s a smell I happen to love, but the associations may be offputting to some people. Projection not huge (perhaps just as well) and longevity a bit limp though – you’ll need resurfacing with a new application layer after 3-4h in my experience. Glad to have tried it but it was a little too simple to be completely solid, in my opinion.
aih182speagoessenda – :
I finally get a bottle of Tar. Tar is definitely not a mainstream perfume but more a ”statement” perfume for an urban girl like me. I always had the frantic habit to smell everything…vinyle was no exception and I like that smell.The beginning of Tar really smell like new and ”fresh” rubbber/vinyle. Tar is very special but the presence of bergamot make it more wearable and less strange. For me,Tar is far more wearable compare to some sirupy cheap perfume that are often sold today in drugstore. Tar, it’s the beauty of urbanity in a botte.
gorinhell – :
I was really curious to smell the perfume’s of the synthetic line and I was also expecting to dislike a perfume about tar. At first sniff it smell really unusual and quite strong. I was not sure to like it.After a while Tar’s really calm down and become a nice scent with lemony and leather notes.
Zopemesomanum – :
Keeping it very brief, the 2017 reissue of Tar smells identical to the original version – upon doing a 1:1 comparison … keeping in mind the massive throughput difference of the spray of the 75ml bottles vs. the much tamer 2017 spray top.
renya – :
Basically, a rich man’s Bulgari Black. Good performance, I just wish it was… “tarrier” I guess
tsi876speagoessenda – :
micavana’s review pretty much nailed it
ГелийИванович – :
Putting this one starts my journey. I am walking down the side of a freshly paved road on a hot day. I pass by a factory of some sort, perhaps an automobile tire manufacture? In the parking lot there is a test track, where a driver is testing a new set of tires on the pavement, leaving long black trails. The scent of rubber fills the air, mixing the the fresh tar from the road. The sun beats down on me causing me to perspire a bit. I remove my leather jacket and throw it over my shoulder. I slowly walk along the roadside leaving the factory behind me as the test track rubber scent begins to fade. The path along the road start to diverge slightly from the road, taking me inland and away from the fresh asphalt, leading towards a pond surrounded by blooming flowers.
Tar is a casual scent IMO. Anywhere from trendy casual to that ratty old T-Shirt with the hole and the mustard stain. But I do not see this in formal. I am glad I did not wear a sports coat today. And my coworkers are glad I did not wear the mustard stained shirt…
I get good longevity on my skin. Tar projects well for the first few hours, then becomes more of a skin scent. While I do consider this to be unisex, I find it to be more masculine than feminine.
Bottom Line: This one is worth a sample.
Edit: I am wearing this one again today. This wearing I am picking up a faint barnyard stink lurking beneath the paved road scent. Almost like there is road kill on the fresh tar, but off in the distance. The really adds to the feeling of walking down a fresh paved road on a hot summer day.
Veyron09 – :
Rubbery industrial smell, a spot on tar likeness. Very soft.
slefin – :
the perfumers that created Tar are: Haqif Molla and Myftar Bubullima!
NemEvithemese – :
Pretty cool if you ask me! Love this type of avant garde perfumery. Not for everyone, but certainly reminiscent of an industrial, pungent scent win a little sweetness. Happy to add this to my collection.
Recover – :
Please help me on this: Who is the prfumer of TAR?
ulw628speagoessenda – :
my favourite fragrance of all time. it has a ballardian vibe of fresh urban decay which i as a post-punk fan find irresistable. surprisably playful and wearable while remaining suggestive and apocalyptic.
now that i lost my bottle and it’s nowhere to be found i’m in mild distress. i find cdg black offers solace as a light-weight substitute, but far from the real deal. if anyone has tips on a good replacement or stockists of tar i’d be forever indebted 🙂
Atoa – :
I remember the summers of my child hood when me and my friends, were digging with our naked big toes in the melting tar strips of the street in the hot sun…sticky, gooey, glooey!
ROARRR…god, I love it when u mix with my summer perspiration, Hot – Hotter – Tar
ershka – :
With some perfumes, there is no point in enumerating the notes that the perfumer used to try to get where s/he was going. It’s better just to say what it really smells like and leave dithering about ingredients to perfumes that just smell like perfume.
For the first couple of minutes I smell a decided overtone of brand new vinyl shower curtain, but then Tar gets down to business and smells just. like. tar. I am very, very impressed. Then some burned rubber, like hot rod tires on a sun-baked street when a driver has just peeled away from the curb.
Amazing, just an amazing job of truth in advertising…if Bond #9 was really interested in creating perfumes that smell like the districts they are named after, I can think of several parts of NYC that would be fine candidates for the honor of having this scent as their namesake.
npv96 – :
yes, the entire Synthetic series (and Tar is surely the best of the series) has been discontinued for some time, and now the deadstock is also running out, but I think you can still find it.
WoodWood in Copenhagen still had a decent stock a few months ago — they are quite unusual in always carrying the entire CdG line, more than even Dover St Market in London. They don’t do online sales, though (as a point of principle).
DIMASAHA30051980 – :
So today I’m wearing Bvlgari Black and I happen to receive my large sample pack in the mail kindly delivered by fellow connoisseur of fragrances and good friend of mine, Walkdogg, and inside is this gem, CDG Tar. On one wrist is Bvlgari Black and on the other wrist I applied CDG Tar. It’s fascinating how strikingly similar the two are however the CDG Tar has so much more depth and fulfilling/intoxicating notes of leather, asphalt, and burning tires that is somehow blended in a way that it is overwhelmingly attractive. I am not detecting any notes of the cigarette smoke. What a fascinating layer this is Bvlgari Black & CDG Tar. Both are perfect for each other and arouse my senses putting me in an uplifting mood. Recently, I’ve been turned on to Comme des Garcons fragrances and at this point, I will admit that I am hooked. So quickly, it became an obsession and a goal to own the entire line.
sachko074 – :
Just a little add (I don’t edit my previous review because this is not about the review itself) :
In only 1 day, it left no one indifferent. Every people I met today asked me what was it, first time it happens to me… Some love, some hate, but with that one (and I said, as it’s not loudy, you won’t disturb anyone, just intrigue), trust me, you will left an impression to your entourage.
For me, a perfume has 3 main purposes :
– Smells good (for you, mainly).
– Feel good (and confident) as it’s your alter-ego, your second skin.
– Leave an olfactory memory of yourself in the minds of people.
In only 1 day, this perfume reached all of them.
aksir – :
Review in one sentence ?
POLLUTION HAS NEVER SMELLED SO GOOD !
Review summarized in one song ?
Sons of Anarchy theme song.
You want a full review ? M’okay ! =)
Yes it smells like tar, and smoked tires, with a leather touch. Like a biker, wearing proudly his new leather jacket, who smokes his cigaret after a ride in a big city on his metal monster.
But wait ! Why this bad boy have made this ride ? For his girlfriend, and he doesn’t come empty hands, he has a very delicate bouquet of flowers on his hands. Not that one which smells a lot, but those ones, white, with a perfume almost fleeting.
So voila… A very masculine, virile smell, leather, tar and rubber with a lovely flower note.
The sillage is ok, just enough to notice it, but not too much, so you don’t have to worried about asphyxiate people who won’t love this particular “urban” smell.
The longevity ? Awesome.
agasich – :
Tar is actually much less scary than it may sounds. Yes, it smells of pure asphalt and it is somewhat weird but, as usual with Comme Des Garcons, it results wearable, absolutely unique and very distinctive (assuming you’re fine with the typical avant-garde aspect of most of the house’s deliveries).
Upon application, Tar delivers an industrial accord of black asphalt juxtaposed to a slightly strident note of bergamot. The overall effect is remarkably modern, sort of urban-industrial in a very artistic way, unconventional yet very compelling. In this phase Tar brings to mind of large clean basements, modern art exhibitions at the Hamburger Banhoff, minimal techno parties taking place in ex-warehouses now turned into alternative clubs, brand new modern buildings, high speed trains, cabs, temporary Guerrilla stores, rainy days, wet asphalt. Tokyo, Berlin, New York…
The fragrance evolves into an amazing styrax driven drydown that while being slightly more approachable than the opening, it’s still far from resulting conventional. Insensey, woody with just a hint of sweetness and with the typical synthetic facet that’s the house’s hallmark. Probably not a fragrance to anyone’s taste but, if you’re up for something really avant-garde, there’s nothing like it.
Once again, when it comes to the binomial “weird and wearable”, there’s nothing like Comme Des Garcons.
Love it!
Rating: 8.5/10
vaga91 – :
Tar and Dry Clean are my favourite in this range and both very wearable. This is very similar to Odeur 71 but not as sweet and much more rubbery. You get a lovely fake rubber opening note that settles into very soft and slippery leather scent. It lasts well and is never cloying or overpowering. I would recommend this to anyone who has a thing for leather fragrances but wants something velvety soft (and doesn’t mind a good dose of rubber).
zoli – :
I LOVE this fragrance, unfortunately I believe it is discontinued in the stores (as I bought the last one).
It is a great layering scent, adding a bit of mystery to the otherwize trivial or typical scent in your fragrance wardrobe.
I would describe the scent as a mixture between poison, printer toner, burnt rubber, india ink, and car seats.
The packaging is AMAZING (the liquid is held inside of a black plastic bag encapsulated by the outter plastic tube.) And the spray with one spritz is refreshingly gratifying as it has a wide yet light range of spray.
If you like CDG odeur 71, you’ll love this addition to the synthetics series (which is actually seperate entities which make up the odeur 71 fragrance to the best of my knowledge.)
The price is also great, running way less than your average CDG fragrance at 50-60 dollars.
I wouldn’t reccomend this to someone who fears smelling..well shal we say ‘different’ or does not want to stand out. My only concern with this fragrance is that I’m not confident with its sillage or its lifespan, as I often forget I’m wearing it, however this may be perfect for a more intimate occasion; a scent someone will definitely remember you for.
If you’re a fan of strange, unique, yet sophisticated scents like I am, you’ll find great joy in a bottle of Comme Des Garcons Synthetics:Tar.
newsmeker – :
Another CdG fragrance that is amazing. And really hard to describe offcourse…
Love it, love it, love it!
It is like sitting at the sidewalk in a big and busy city, it is summer, hot, crowded but right across the street is a green and flowery park… But I think I´m to lazy to leave my place in the shadow. Close my eyes and imagine that I am in New York or maybe Buenos Aires…
My biggest problem with this fragrance is that it´s smell almost better on my husband! It suites him terrific, when he wear it I get all soft and weak… He smell dangerous, sexy and just about to take a ride on his HD. Please let me follow!
It isn´t hard to wear, actually it is really likeable and in a way easy.