What does “floriental” mean to you? I think of a warm, ambered fragrance with a classic floral heart and a touch of fruit. I count on baroque flourishes and maybe even a bottle with a tassel dangling from its neck. It won’t surprise you that Comme des Garçons Floriental is none of that. Instead, Floriental purports to center itself on a flower with no scent — the cistus flower — and it is straightforward and linear with a decidedly urban edge. No tassels here.

Floriental’s notes include labdanum, sandalwood, vetiver, incense, pink pepper and plum liqueur. You’ll notice the absence of floral notes in this list, and I don’t smell anything blatantly floral in Floriental, either. Instead, I get a sharp, incense-tinged top floating above a sweet, round sandalwood base with a touch of spice. And that’s about it…

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