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SheadayVeds – :
Lovvvve it. It really changed my perception of vetiver. But I don’t think I could buy it – I can barely smell it after 3 hours, unless I put my nose to my wrists. This is from 3-4 sprays of a sample atomizer from Chanel. I’m not looking for endless projection, but a few more hours would be nice. Consider yourself lucky if you get great longevity!
PoownSank – :
This is still my favorite of the “new” Les Exclusifs, and one of my favorite scents of all time. I just love how dry, natural and warm this smells! So comforting.
The transition from edt to edp did change it a little bit, but it still smells 90+ % like Sycomore to my nose, so it’s not that devastating of a change.
Thank goodness! I couldn’t bear to lose this scent!
For some reason it smells a little less natural, and somehow a bit more “perfumey” than it used to though…
I also smell something that reminds me strongly of salty liquorice, it’s pretty faint, but it’s in there somewhere.
Compared to the other Les Exclusifs, it’s also one of the better ones when it comes to sillage and longevity.
All in all, Sycomore is still a gorgeous fragrance!
alien.malov – :
Decent scent… Comparisons with encre noire are right on. I have both sport and the original, and I see no need to purchase this scent. Not only is it redundant for me, but way more expensive than encre noir.
pacifik86 – :
Does it remind me of Encre Noire? Yes, probably because that is the only vetiver-dominant fragrance I have as a frame of reference. Encre Noire, as I remember it, is smokier, darker, earthier, but also less deep and intriguing. Sycomore is more about the wood, it’s a dry, refined vetiver, reminds me of the texture and smell of chopped, dried birch firewood, with an underlying unisex skin musk. It reminds me of a hypothetical offspring of Diesel Plus Plus Feminine and Encre Noire where the kid inherited more traits from the latter.
blast67 – :
Before cutting into the review, let me share a piece of story with you guys.
Last month, I swapped some decants with a friend in which a 10ml of Guerlain Songe d’un Bois d’Ete provided by her was included. It’s interesting that the decant of Songe turned out to be highly diluted because the smell and the performance were so apparently inconsistent with my partial bottle. Then I tried to measure its density to get an accurate evidence: It might be the case that one unit of original Songe mixed with at least three units of alcohol if I measured it in a right way. Yeah, we both got fooled! End of story…
Sycomore EDT is known as a gorgeous and extremely balanced vetiver fragrance by skillfully finalizing the structure and upgrading the ingredients quality along the original Lalique Encre Noire. Even if it might not be widely considered as a masterpiece, however, it is surely not far from that.
Well, let’s go back to Sycomore EDP. You might have anticipated something happens again… That’s true! One thing to be different is that I get myself a 75ml size bottle, not a decant anymore. However it does not bother me to get fooled, by Oliver Polge this time.
All I get from Sycomore EDP definately reminds me of the experience from the diluted Songe decant. To be more specifically, Sycomore EDP is some kind of diluted Lalique Encre Noire a l’Extreme (other than Encre Noire the original, just get each of these and you will see). Apart from the fact of high quality Haitian vetiver stil being in use, all the rest has dramatically changed, no matter in quality or in structure. The EDP becomes a monotonely linear scent without any evolution and, I should say, it has exactly the same violence aesthetics of Lalique EN Extreme by utilizing the annoying (huge doze of) Iso E Super with a prominent chemical trace over all the notes. All the magics Sycomore EDT used to casting have totally vanished!
What else can I say to this completely dead scent? Maybe Chanel company needs to hire Donald Trump to make Sycomore great again…Rating: 5/10Typically, I am okay with reformulations because a fragrance to be reformulated is no worse than to be discontinued anyhow. Even occasionally, I find reformulations are slightly better, for instance in, Bois des Iles EDP, No 18 EDP, No 22 EDP and Bel Respiro EDP (someone may argue on this one, so let’s agree to disagree). But the point is that the reformulation in Sycomore EDP is beyond unacceptable. Period.
berbusari16 – :
For me this one was love at first sight. My heart soared when I first smelled Sycomore in the form of a free sample I got while buying Jersey. Smoky, woody, coniferous, with just a ghost of flowers and dry grass – it was strikingly familiar – it smells like Northern California during the dry, sunny summers I remember growing up. It lasts all day, and I can smell it on my clothes after i’ve taken them off until I wash them, one time a blouse sat in my hamper for about 4 days and I could still detect it. I’m overjoyed that the EDP is so nicely composed, as some others lost their soul during Chanel’s Les Exclusifs reformulation.
vasapupkin – :
Vetiver can easily come across as pungent, stern and overly dark when not softened properly. At Chanel, they took vetiver and put it into what I call their “cashmere machine”, and out came Sycomore smelling soft, nutty, creamy, smoky, and still pleasantly dark. A wonderfully timeless masculine; this will outlive many a fad. Smells luxurious, and it is. Compliment-wise, only Ormonde Man has garnered more praise over the past several years. (Note: The EdP is slightly fuller than the EdT, maybe even with a slight but rich dried-fruit note. But I can’t help but feel it’s essentially the same scent; I wore the EdT for a few years, and now the EdP for months at a time.)
A very well-deserved 9/10.
vladimir_2706 – :
Biggest waste of money that I know of. I have never smelled the discontinued edt, so I cannot judge that one. And i also haven’t smelled the original Encre Noire, only the Sport and Extreme flankers. What I can tell you about this Chanel edp is that this fragrance essentially smells like a less likable version and less versatile version of Encre Noire Sport. Encre Noire Extreme absolutely blows this out of the water in every respect, hands down. This is my least favorite out of the three that I have mentioned that I’ve smelled. It’s the only one that i do not like and would not wear.
sergey2597 – :
I smelled this in a wedding. In the UAE, there has to be a display of fancy perfumes at the entrance of every wedding hall. This one time, I went to a luxurious wedding,Sycomore was on display and I fell in love with how woody – aldehydic it is.. It is a heavy scent that would be perfect for winter, very long lasting too, it stayed on my clothes for days.
stj726elipseskism – :
When Chanel launched Sycomore Eau de toilette in March 2008, out of curiosity I was among the firsts to get the 200ml bottle. Since then, I used it during springs and layered it with Coromandel during autumns and winters. It quietly settled in my life and became a permanent resident of my skin. As years went by, Sycomore travelled everywhere with me as a quiet, loyal companion and an appropriate choice for any occasion. Moderate, restrained, Sycomore has neither been loud nor vulgar, it was always smooth, smoky, refined and noble.
Because of many full-bottles of Eau the toilette in my wardrobe, I’ve never considered buying a Eau de perfume version. However I ended up receiving an Eau de perfume version as a gift recently. The beginning is definitely different than eau the toilette, more harsh, more prominent, but if you wait approximately two hours, you get the good old Sycomore.
KOKLUSHA – :
Extremely overrated, can’t believe anyone would find this the least bit masculine…whatever floats your boat I guess
mad_PANda – :
Beautiful elegance, but I miss the bonfire smoke note from the EDT!
kolomoec03 – :
I’ve never smelled the EDT but I got a sample of the EDP with a recent purchase. I’m falling in love with this scent, it is dry and a bit masculine but I find it unique and refreshing in summer heat. Sillage is medium on me and longevity 4-5 hours.
I recommend you give it a try.
sidddddd – :
Amazing fragrance, masculine, smoky, woody green scent! If you want to go for something cheaper but identical.. and I mean identical go for encre noire! Which is also amazing!
Dinar2412 – :
I tried being as objective as I could when I tried the EDT and EDP. While the “smell” is very similar between the two, the EDP misses the whole point of Sycomore. The point of Sycomore, for me, is that it’s carefree, yet sophisticated. It smells of the earth, the sea, and the air. The reworking of the proportions in the EDP loses the carefree attitude because it feels so heavy and dense. We get the luscious, wet, and earthy vétiver, but the smoke we get in the EDP doesn’t evoke the same sense of bonfire smoke wafting down the beach from a far.
mbugger – :
scent : 10/10
sillage : 8/10
longevity :8/10
60% day / 40% night fragrance
nice smoky and vetiver scent
reminds me of encre noire
egik – :
I love the edp version of Sycomore. The vetiver is beautiful and floats around with maybe cypress on my skin for about six hours. The opening through the second hour is my favourite part. It seems like the sillage is fairly close to my skin, but someone commented on my scent today, so I will say it has a moderate sillage. I cannot compare it to the old edt Sycomore. It does not matter if it is different the the old version, because I do not have access to the edt.
YURICH – :
OK, I concur with everyone who says the EDP is a bit of a harsh deviation from the EDT. I agree wholeheartedly. Trouble is, I didn’t like the EDT! So for me, the EDP is pretty much a brand new perfume, albeit bearing the wrong name. A handsome stranger, wearing the coat and name tag of his very popular predecessor. So sorry devotees of the EDT, on the demise of your beloved fragrance, I have suffered such losses in the tsunami of reformulations, and sorry that I love it so much. But yeah, it’s bleedin’ cheeky. Should have been given a name of it’s own, cause you can’t let loose a filly in a field full of stallions without there being a rumpus. I love the sharpness of the EDP, I like the reduction in smokiness. I love the fact that this reminds me so much of a particular cologne the Greek men in Halkidiki wore in the early 90s, but better. The longevity is pants. Not good at all. You would spend a fortune trying to keep this baby sparkling on your skin, because it just goes walkabout too quickly. It has all the charm of Greece. Cypress, Juniper and pepper, with Vetiver lit up at the tail like a rocket with a sparkly sharp aldehyde which makes me want to run barefoot into the sea and flop, laughing, face first into the salty surf. There is a distinct tang of FM Angelique Sous la Pluie at the start – one of my all time favourites, which, I guess has drawn me to Sycomore EDP like a moth to the proverbial flame. The fragrance kept drifting back to me long after the main hit had vanished, a sure sign of the involvement of Iso E Super somewhere down the line, which is dandy, cause I love that too. Purists have my sympathy, but as a new perfume, this, for me, is at the top of the “want list” right now.
vazir86 – :
This edp is a shame. Sycomore is dead.
CEHE – :
Three words: Iso E Super.
Xeroxouggf – :
Utterly depressed with this new EdP – it simply doesn’t deserve to be called “Sycomore”. For the last several years, Sycomore EdT has been my reference vetiver – and quite possibly my single favorite fragrance. The smoky, creamy facets of Sycomore distinguished it from virtually every other vetiver fragrance out there. With this terrible reformulation, Chanel has obliterated the uniqueness that distinguished a modern classic.
Please don’t misconstrue what I’m trying to communicate. This updated “Sycomore” still smells of dense, high-quality vetiver. But the wings of the true Sycomore have been clipped – there is very little of the airy smokiness in the opening, and not enough of the creamy sandalwood in the base. Gone as well are the sharp aldehydes that gave Sycomore its glow. No – this is now essentially a $300 version of Guerlain’s Vetiver or Lalique’s Encre Noire. It still smells nice, but why would Chanel reduce a contemporary titan to an also-ran?
I still have about 150 ml of the real stuff – which I will now be more selective about using. Had I seen this tragic lobotomy coming, I would have splurged on another giant bottle of the EdT.
Vasilii43 – :
A very nice vetiver, woody, peppery and slightly smoky.
Compared to other EPD of the Exclusif line, this one has a good longevity and a fine sillage.
I didn’t get the chance to encounter the original EDT, so cannot comment on any reformulation done, but indeed I agree that this scent is a little less unique than the other Exclusifs. I’ve somehow met this one before, maybe not the exact replica but something rather close.
Still, a very lovely and unisex chypre perfume.
dmitriy777rus – :
I tried the new edp today at the counter; one spray on the wrist and one on a paper strip:)
the initial blast had me smiling back at the SA “oh it’s still the same sycomore!” the opening blast is similar, maybe a bit more dense though, but… as minutes go by, the differences start to “unravel”;
overall, the new edp is more “mass-nose friendly”. It has less vetiver percentage in the composition, with the rest of the original “accents” of good’old sycomore (sandalwood, pink pepper, cypress) amped up. The smoke is toned down, and overall it’s easier but lost some of it’s edge. I’m almost tempted to layer Encre Noire on top of it now to have some more “earth”. The edt was just perfect. Whatever Chanel!
scent: 8/10
longevity: 5/10
sillage: 5/10
ingakozak – :
Absolute travesty. Gone is that gorgeous smoke. Gone is the unique take on Vetiver. Now it smells like any generic, cheap vetiver frag. My husband has Royall Vetiver, and it has the same harsh, spicy, super masculine smell of that. I used to wear the EDT all the time. This smells nothing like it. I almost started crying at the Chanel counter. The salesman felt my pain, and low key agreed it was a terrible reformulation.
SMDH
alexfzr – :
I genuinely think people are just speaking from memory (which can be vastly deceiving)..
After trying both versions (again) alongside Encre Noire and Guerlain, I have to say the EdP is closer to Guerlain, only because the vetiver is stronger and sweeter, whereas Encre Noire and the EdT both have more cypress (therefore closer).
I think the new EdP is the perfect hybrid between the EdT (90% similar) and Vetiver Tonka (70% similar); it’s still far from generic. Since my favorite is actually Dior, I never settled for either runner-up, and now I have the chance to kill two birds with one stone 🙂
Fista.Gvozdeva – :
I can’t believe this happened. A perfect masterpiece turned into a generic piece of ####. And they dare to ask 335 euro’s for it as well.
Gone is the lushness, the boldness, the sparkle & nuttiness. What’s left is a dry vetiver that’s simular to famous vetivers like Guerlain’s or Tom Ford’s.
I never got the simularity with Encre Noire, but I really get that feeling now. I think I even prefer EN to this one. Especially considering the price difference of 250+ euro’s.
Chanel really has lost the plot here. This would have been a great release under a different name and for a normal pricetag, but this surely is not an amped Sycomore EdT.
Bye bye signature scent!
*cries*
Edit: got myself 3x 200ml of the EdT, so I’ll be ok for a while… 😉
ViekAbess – :
I just received my bottle of Sycomore EDP today. I purchased it on Chanel’s website.
Having not tried Sycomore EDT previously, I had no preconceived thoughts about this fragrance, other than having read that the EDT is more smokey and the EDP is more woodsy.
In other words, this is an unbiased review.
I have been wearing Sycamore for about 7 hours now. I must say, Sycomore smells AMAZING!
It is a dark woodsy fragrance, with fresh green and a warm medium smoky scent. The scents seem to switch back and forth between the vetiver and cypress, with a slightly spiced tobacco and juniper poking out here and there.
Though it is listed as unisex, this is seems to be more of a masculine scent. Due to its refined scent, I would gauge this best for age 25+.
With two sprays, the sillage was about 6′ (2 meters).
If you feel like wearing this to the office, I would suggest limiting yourself to only one spray, as it is nicely potent.
As I said, I have been wearing Sycamore for about 7 hours now. The scent had a really strong sillage for about four hours, and then mellowed out a bit. It is not as potent now, but is is still detectable from about 3′ (1 meter) away.
9/10
Note: I read on the Chanel website that all the EDTs from the “Les Exclusifs de Chanel” line have been reformulated into an EDP. The only one that was not reformulated, was Les Exclusifs de Chanel Eau de Cologne.
Typok12 – :
A real pity this has been messed with – quite a bit actually – the opening and first 30 minutes bring up associations with (current) Guerlain Vétiver and a juniper sort of note, that makes it all smell more mainstream, trendy and masculine then before. The disease to turn everything into EdP these days should have been executed here just with more care, this, together with the unavoidable increase in price, an unnecessary nuisance. Yes, it still is a good Vétiver, but hey, this used to be more than that !
corvin2000 – :
It is NOT SYCOMORE! Together with 28 La Pausa these are the 2 fragrances that are the 2 most wrecked by the reformulation.
And my 2 signature perfumes. I’m furious. Thank you, Chanel.
BTW: Fragrantica, are you being precise in giving information on who did the reformulations? Was it really Jacques Polge? Can’t believe it…
gdf316Unlogrere – :
Good news to all! This is still good–if not better!
I’ve compared both (side by side) a few times now, and these are my findings:
The EdT opens sharper then cypress quickly swoops in, it’s smokier (tobacco?) but not by a lot. The EdP opens with more juniper (very gin-like) then turns woodier (sandalwood?) with the vetiver & cypress still prominent. The biggest difference though, is that Sycomore is now sweeter!
I personally think it’s a great thing; makes it more balanced and further from Encre Noire (The EdT is obviously better than EN, but still too similar for 4x the price)..
And thank goodness the EdP strength is not a hoax; the projection is more consistent (the original goes in and out) and lasts 1-2 hrs longer 🙂
It is definitely not “wrecked” unless you’re a die-hard fan who cannot stand any change whatsoever. Please give it a try.
ocw795Diobtetty – :
Where do I start? Well, Sycamore EDT has been my signature fragrance and all-time favorite fragrance for about a year. Words cannot describe how much I adore Sycomore.
I really wish I would have purchased a backup bottle of the EDT. I received a nice sized EDP sample and within a half second of the first spray, I knew it was different. Considerably different. First of all, the aldehydic blast that I grew to love and crave is G-O-N-E. So sad.
The vetiver note is still exquisite, undoubtedly ultra high quality, undoubtedly a reference “dry vetiver”.
The spices are amped up quite a bit. In the initial 10 minute opening, it almost feels like a different fragrance. Very similar to other high-quality niche vetivers I’ve tried, but I cannot put my finger on an exact comparison. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I get whiffs of Guerlain Vetiver (that would be an absurd comparison to the EDT version… no offense to the brilliant Guerlain Vetiver)… a testament to the amped up spices.
After 10 minutes, a more familiar vetiver-cypress dominant fragrance takes over, with tobacco poking through.
I keep going back to smelling my arm and without a doubt I’m smelling a really GREAT fragrance. A full-bottle worthy fragrance. But this is not Sycamore. This is a clear attempt at making the original Sycamore, a true unisex fragrance, into a more masculine, mainstream spicy-vetiver fragrance.
I have yet to experience an EDT to EDP change that didn’t significantly alter the smell of a fragrance. This is contrary to what every Chanel representative claims.
If you are a Sycamore EDT fan, DO NOT blind buy this. You may very well love it – you might even love it more than the EDT…. but it is a different scent.
IllesyWep – :
I was devastated to know that Chanel has officially discontinued their productions of Les Exclusif line. Then I felt the urge to grab hold a piece of this masterpiece. I was too late, apart from a couple of dubious issues on Amazon I failed to find it anywhere in US/Europe/Asia market. I felt only pity for myself. Well, little did I know about it’s re-emergence in a new EDP formulation. I’m just overwhelmed with joy. Though I’m yet to test spray this juice, but I have no doubt in my mind that it’s gonna be equally awesome, if not better. Long live Sycomore.
The whole world is welcome to blind buy this one.