Comme des Garcons 888 Gold

Perfumed Antoine Lie created 888, and they intended it to capture the smell of gold. They used Safraline, a molecular derivative of saffron, created by Givaudan.  Other notes are pepperwood, curcuma, coriander, geranium and amber.  It lasts beautifully and long on me, and it is a wonderful fresh, slightly peppery smell, with just a tidge of the metallic in it, which does make it smell like gold  — well, er, I think it does. I’m not sure I’ve ever smelled gold.  but this is why I think it should smell like in an ideal world — slightly fresh, a little metallic, with the geranium giving it that weird, funky, almost rubbery {!?!} vibe. I’ll be anxious for you Daddy Warbucks readers who have smelled gold to sniff it and tell me how close it is. As a scent, it works for me beautifully — it is fresh and appealing on the surface, but has some strange things going on underneath that surface. I think of it like one of those beautiful lakes from Lord of the Rings.  All pretty and mirror-like on the top, and some funky fanged fish swimming around underneath that beauty. It’s not as weird as some CdGs, but it has enough oddity to make it definitely one of their perfumes.

I’ve been playing in the Dawn Spencer Hurwitz scents lately, and I sampled their holiday fragrance that they sent as an extrat, Tamarind/Paprika. It would have never been a scent I would have picked out to buy or wear, and I’m not sure I would have even tested my sample if it weren’t for Anne commenting on it.  Notes of black pomegranate, paprika, tamarind, Bulgarian rose otto, Osmanthus, oppopanax, red wine notes, tobacco absolute and vanilla absolute.  Okay, so I’m not sure I know what tamarind smells like exactly, but I get the paprika and the pomegranate, and something that smells a little like orange that I presume is the tamarind? This is a great holiday, cozy scent.  it’s got some gourmandish qualities, without every tipping over into gourmand’s Evil Step-Mother.  The fruit in it is not too sweet or too tart. it smells like a spice box full of fruit, or yummy baked fruit pies.  If you like that sort of thing, and I do, I recommend you snap this up from her store since it appears to be a Limited Edition just for the holidays. 

But the DSH that surprised me was Piment et Chocolat. I know I hear mixed reviews on the DSH scents, but so far the ones I’ve tried, I’ve really liked. This one has notes of black pepper, paprika, pimento berry, red chili, cinnamon bark, clove bud, nutmeg, cocoa beans and dark chocolate.   Have I ever told you all that I despise chocolate scents in perfume? Seriously, seriously loathe them.  Not just a little, but a lot.  Love to eat it, think almost all perfumers get it totally wrong when they put it in a perfume. I’d sooner be spritzed in the most foul CSP vanilla overdose than wear most chocolate scents — Borneo being the exception because they threw cobwebs all over my chocolate and made it perfect. Chocolate perfumes generally have some note in there that just makes my nose hairs crawl.  Piment et Chocolate is another exception.  All of those spicy chili notes in there, along with the cinnaman, clove and nutmeg bring this to chocolaty perfection.  Maybe it’s because chocolate isn’t the dominant note or the one at the front. I wish I was one of those people that ate those chocolate things that have chilis and other spicy stuff inside of them. They always sound great, but not something for me to eat, but smelling this puts me as close as I’ll ever get to those and how I imagine all those tastes/smells collide in there.

Since I’m late to the game, are there other DSHs I should sample?   And speaking of samples, I have a bunch of DSH samples I can pass on. The two I’ve reviewed here, and some others like Lumiere, Sienna, Prana, Poivre. So if you’d like to be in a drawing to get them, plus a sample of CdG 888, just let me know in comments!

  • Cheri says:

    Yes, I know I’m a little late to the party but I had post this:

    I love DSH’s Menthe Moderne. Normally the thought of mint in a scent brings me back to the days when my parents would drown me in a huge layer of Vicks Vapor Rub to fend off a bad cold. b-( I must have felt daring the day I decided to jump out of my “comfort zone” and try Menthe Moderne. It turned out to be soothing :); the mint is hint of spearmint (no camphor notes) and is blended with a bit of dry citrus to take any piercing edge off the mint. The scent quickly dries down to light woodsy incense and green tea, with an almost benzoin-like finish. It has become my comfort scent for the days when I am not feeling well or did not get enough sleep.

    Oh yes, I love Tamarind/Paprika, too. This was another one that was out of my “comfort zone” due to the fruity notes. Somehow, it works. I think the lack of florals in this scent was a wise move on Dawn’s part. The paprika keeps the scent dry enough and tempers the sweetness. My only complaint is that I wish it was a little spicier.

    I was not happy with DSH’s Orange Blossom scent (Fleurs D’Oranger -the oil). It lasted only three minutes. :-< Ashram is a pure incense scent, rather reminiscent of a good Hindi incense. It's on my list for a small bottle. I have not had the chance to try the CdG 888. Perhaps one day!

  • ana says:

    i am new to these perfumes if you would please enter me in the drawing as well id appreciate it, thanks! cant wait to smell them!

  • Janet says:

    I love the idea of chocolate perfume, the reality has not yet lived up to my ideal. A 3 year old friend of mine loves my hand me downs though!

    Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!

  • Erin / Tigs says:

    Please enter me in the drawing – always wanted to try that Piment et Chocolat (seemed what Piment Brulant was supposed to be, and wasn’t – even though I love the summery sheer bell pepper of the L’Artisan.) The cost of the DSH seemed prohibitive, though – which is sort of funny now, considering all the spendy scents out lately. Also, that 888 sounds quite neat!

  • Susie R. says:

    I enjoy your blogs. Please put me in the giveaway.
    Thanks

  • minette says:

    hi. had a horrible physical reaction to a number of dsh samples a few years ago – a lot like getting sick on tequila and not being able to tolerate the smell of it for years – so i can’t advise, just know i don’t want them near me. great marketing stuff, though.

    please enter me in the drawing for the 888, though. thanks!

  • sweetlife says:

    Late to the party, but dying to sniff — please put me in the draw!

  • Anne says:

    Jeeze, running sooo late today. Don’t enter me, got most of these samps w/my Tamarind/Paprika purchase. Still loving it and glad to see others are as well. Not sure about the 888. I am sure I will break down and order a sample soon. I dunno, rocks have a smell to me so maybe gold does too. Like tmp00 I will have to take CdG word for it as a gold mens watch is the extent of my gold sniffin’
    :)>-

  • elve says:

    Interesting what you write about 888. I’d expect something definitely heavy and shiny, not fresh.
    Enter me in the drawing, please [-o<

  • Veronica says:

    Besides Borneo 1834 I like a hint of chocolate in Piment Brulant and I smell a bit of dark, dry chocolate in Joseph Statkus and Voleur de Roses that I think are due to patch presence. Some patchouly has a chocolatey-dusty undertone to it that I love.
    Would love to be in the drawing, thanks!

  • Gina says:

    Another great post, Patty, thank you. I agree with you about chocolate – except in Borneo, I’ve always hated it as a perfume. I could eat it every second of the day, but they don’t seem to get it right in perfume. Intrigued about the DSH, though. Do enter me in the drawing, please!

  • Style Spy says:

    Waaaaaaaaaaaant to sniff the 888!!!!!

  • Cathy says:

    Hey Patty! I’m inundated with samples, but plan to get to the never-tried DSH soon. Do you know if she has a storefront? We’re up in Boulder quite frequently because of the child and school, and boy I’d love to have my own little sniffa day up there. Guess I should check her website. I’d love to be included in the drawing…what a fun introduction to her collection that would be.

    Enjoy our sunshine today!

  • Theresa says:

    Love to eat chocolate but don’t usually care to smell like it either. But these sound intriguing. Please include me in the draw.

  • sunlit says:

    These sound so interesting. I would love to be in on the drawing.
    thanks.

  • Aimee in Austin says:

    great to hear more about DSH — I’m curious about them! I’ve sampled a whole bunch of her designer duplicate vintage oils, and found two winners: her Deneuve and her Bat-sheba. The Bat-sheba is particularly nice — all soft waxy honeyed rose with an animalic drydown. And I love the basil in Deneuve. But I haven’t tried either of the originals, so whaddoiknow? I’m curious about the “Perfumed Court” collection — has anyone tried those?

  • Annette says:

    Did someone say chocolate? (Funny how you hear what you want to hear). For the sake of the blog, how about we combine the chocolate, gold, and diamonds?! What a scent that would be 😕

    I have been searching for a nice chocolate scent since a good friend of mine :”> *loves* chocolate. I tried Serendipitous but it only lasts a second and doesn’t have any surprises in it. It did however inspire me to try CdG Spicey Cocoa…hmmm…ahhh, heaven. However, the spice doesn’t last long but what is left is nice, not waxy.

    Covet by SJP, can anyone smell this? To me it’s like blowing a dog whistle. Nothing. Oh well.

    Any chocolate suggestions?

  • Denise L. says:

    CdG 888 sounds intriguing, as does a perfume including tamarind. If you’ve never seen them, I recommend Googling an image of tamarinds; they’re so funny looking. Please enter me in the draw!

  • Solander says:

    Hmmm, the CdG sounds interesting… And I’d love to be in the draw, I’ve thought of trying some of DSH’s luxe editions, having only tried the regular oils…

  • Marina says:

    I am intrigued by gold, in any of it’s forms 🙂 Including this one 🙂

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, gold fan here. 🙂 I would really like a lovely gold bracelet, necklace and earrings complemented with diamonds to go with my Cdg 888. 🙂

  • Obsessora says:

    What do you guys mean by “cobwebs”???

    • Patty says:

      I’m referring to the heavy patchouli in Borneo. To me, it smells like cobwebs in the way they’re rendered it in that, dry and a little dusty. Hope that helps. 🙂

  • rachael says:

    It’s hard to imagine a chocolate scent without THAT NOTE, but I’m prepared to believe you and give it a shot 🙂

    I’ve never tried any DSH’s, so please, include me in the drawing!

    • Patty says:

      Now, I’m not going to say it’s not in there somewhere, but it was virtually undetectable to me, the spices covered it up nicely.

  • Malena says:

    patty,
    like others mentioned before, you should give café noir a try. usually, i´m not the biggest fan of DSH frags, i don´t like their oils, because there´s something in the base of each scent i tested (& i tested many) which always smells the same – it put me off.
    then i received a sample of café noir & fell for it – to me it´s rather spicy, not too gourmand. i ordered a bottle of it.
    i´m very interested in CDG gold, don´t know if i´ll like it, but it seems to be definitely worth sampling!

    • Patty says:

      I like the cafe noir too! It’s pretty linear on me, but I still like it! I don’t always need them to be shape-shifters to be good. i’m finding the DSH a mixed bag. Some i like, some are okay, and some I love. But that’s seems pretty normalish. 🙂

  • Gail S says:

    Good morning! I may have to pass on the 888, metallic scents do NOT make me happy. I have a sample of the Tamarind/Paprika around here somewhere, obviously I need to go look for it :d I hope there’s a Piment et Chocolat too, that sounds yummy. My favorite DSH that I’ve tried so far is Sienna, but I guess it didn’t do much for you? On me, it smells like warm skin with just a hint of cinnamon and woods wafting up every now and then. Cimabue is baaaaad on me, smells like I’m wearing someone else’s clothes that don’t fit and are kinda itchy. Just wrong.

    I have a small confession to make (and please don’t throw me back in the spam filter!!). I really like the new B&BW Chocolate Amber. It’s the first scent of theirs that I have ever bought a bottle of the EDT. The drydown is just so soft and warm, not terribly sweet and altogether wonderful! And cheap! Yay!!!!

    • Patty says:

      I like the Sienna well enough, it’s a pretty nice straight-up cinnamon scent, but… well, that’s it. 🙂 Good for what it is.

      Agree on Cimabue, that stuff was just… well, I thought about including it in this review, but I couldn’t bear to put it on again to review it. I’ll try again maybe next week!

  • Vida says:

    Coriander! Used to hate hate hate it, now it’s comforting. Bought an on-sale bottle of Gourmet Kitchen by Upper Canada “Sweet Paprika Coriander”, and the first sniff, I nearly CHUCKED it across the room! Mom taught me to never be wasteful, so I held my breath and used it at the kitchen sink. Now I’m savoring the last few drops; it’s become a comfort scent, and unfortunately, they no longer make this combo.
    So coriander is an acquired taste (although GOLD is not) and I can’t wait to try 888. Please enter me in the drawing! Can’t seem to get enough samples (can you tell I’m new at this?!)

    • Patty says:

      You know, the coriander must be well hidden in the 888. I’m really not detecting it as a distinct thing. Maybe somewhere around the edges?

  • March says:

    So that’s what you were talking about with the gold!!! I didn’t realize it was a CdG!!!! Duh. Well, thank God they’re back to doing something weird and potentially unwearable. Another scent like Play and I’d be really worried.

    I like Cimabue (although it’s strong) but I am pretty sure you think it’s crap.:-“

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, the Gold thing! I’m not sure how weird you think it will be. it’s not as weird as some of their stuff, and you have to snuffle around it a while, but I’m finding it wearable and very likable, nosing around Play territory, but with enough weirdness to it to keep it interesting.

      Cimabue? How shall I say this? Um, correct! It was just a big old mess on me. Couldn’t sort it out from top or bottom, just… well, no. No, no, no.

  • Carol Sasich says:

    I just spent some time over at DSH website and would love to be included in the drawing.
    The scent of gold…you made it sound interesting…something to wear when drinking that liquor made with gold flakes in it.

    • Patty says:

      Okay, what liquor with gold flakes? This sounds like something I should be laughing at. 🙂 or I can just spray on some 888 and have a Miller Lite instead. 🙂

      • MattS says:

        Goldschlager–cinnamon schnapps with tiny flakes of gold floating around in it. Guaranteed for a rough Morning After. Kinda gruesome and popular with the youngsters. You’re better off with an icy Miller Lite, lowering in carbs and goes with just about anything.:)

  • ReneeM says:

    I would love to be in the draw too. I’ve never tried DSH’s scents, but have read about them and been to her site. The Tamarind/Paprika originally sounded more intriguing to me than the Piment et Chocolat but you have me curious! I like Covet, which has a little chocolate in it so…..

  • carlene says:

    I love DSH Bois du Chocolat (Chocolate/Sandalwood) and Filigree (Incense). None of her lighter scents appeal to me at all; I only like the oils.

  • Louise says:

    Would love to try the 888, but am leery of the “scent of gold”; the only time my gold jewelry has an odor is when I need to clean it. Also…metallic never seems to work on me, even in Iris (which hates me, anyway). But…the notes appeal, sounds worth a spin.

    The DSHs always sound nice, but never seem to work well with my chemistry somehow, or end up smelling rough and unblended to me. I’ll stick with my Borneo for chocolate, or Chocolat Amer for a slightly sweeter treat, tempered by incense.

  • chayaruchama says:

    Hi, Patty !
    Agree w/ Elle, re; Oeillets Rouges; another lovely spicy number is Lumiere. Cimabue has many fans, and is beautiful as well.
    And Minuit [? I might have an incomplete name, here] is delicately pretty.
    DSH has many offerings- enough to boggle the mind.
    All are well-made, and many are likely FBW.

    • Patty says:

      I know Cimabue has a lot of fans, but I gotta tell ya… so far it’s just not working for met AT ALL! I was expecting from it what I got from the Tamarind one.

      Okay, I’m sold on the carnation one, must have now!

  • Elle says:

    Was very ready to fall hard for 888, but somehow had missed the fact that it had cor**nd*r as a note. This has become my new skull and crossbones, potential kiss of death note for a scent – *something* had to fill the vacuum left by geranium’s departure from that category. Still, maybe I just won’t notice it – want to love this.
    I’m w/ you on Piment et Chocolat. Adore it and I do *not* like chocolate scents. I do, however, adore pimento berry as a note in scents and this has a nice, hefty dose of it. Tamarind/Paprika is one I tried recently and hated immediately. Dismissed it as a Yankee Candle scent – something cheap, horrible, suffocating me at a mall. I do, however, really love several of Dawn’s Beaux Arts scents and I felt bad about dissing it like that. I’m also compulsive about retrying scents over time. Consequently, retried it two nights ago. 5 minutes later I was at my computer ordering the one ounce bottle. Suddenly it had become all about pine trees and holiday scents in an ideal parallel universe (not the one I find myself in). Am *loving* it and praying my sample lasts till the bottle arrives. Have you tried her Oeillets Rouges? It’s an absolutely brilliant, uber spicy carnation scent. I’m also very fond of Poivre, Hinoki, Gelsomino and Parfum de Luxe (a rich, tobacco scent despite that floral sounding name). And I think her rose scents from the Beaux Arts line are excellent – it’s a note she works particularly well w/ imo.

    • Patty says:

      yeah, that tamarind snuck up on me. I tried it once, then went back to it, thinking I must have missed something, and now I’m addicted to the blasted thing!

      Thanks for the other recommendations! That carnation one sounds pretty yummy.

  • Abigail says:

    Oooh….a gold based scent sounds fascinating!

    I just sniffed my palladium wedding ring and it smells sweet – I think possibly I’ve managed to perfume it somehow.

    I have had a chocolate with cherry and pepper – that was nice. Sweet and warm without ow ow ow burning.

    Please do enter me in the drawing 🙂

  • Lee says:

    Metallic notes put me off things. I associate them with Creed and they make me shudder. Can’t do them – unless it’s irisy metallic, which is the one type of cold perfume that seems to work for me. So my desire for 888 is tempered by that fact.

    I’ve only ever sniffed two DSHs, but don’t need to be in the draw as there are currently too many scents in my life to make time for and I wouldn’t give them the sniffage time they deserve.

    • Patty says:

      I’m still trying to decide if you’ll like 888. Despite some metalicity, I don’t find it overly metallic in a way that’s obnoxious or abrase. Maybe it’s because it’s a derivative of saffron, it’s almost.. well, warm?

  • MattS says:

    I just got a sample of Borneo and smelled it for the first time and I’m crazy about it. I’m interested in trying the CdG Gold. Oh, and I got my decant of Silver Factory from TPC. Ordered a full bottle the next day. Life is grand. Please include me in the drawing and enjoy the holiday.

    • Patty says:

      Isn’t Silver Factory wonderful!? Hey, just remember, you heard me raving about it first when I got my wee sample back in August or September! 🙂 I can see why it won’t work for everyone, but I really adore it and find myself reaching for it a lot.

      Don’t tell March you love Borneo, she’ll ban you. 8-x

  • annie says:

    :”> I totally love DSH Tunsian,and Tibet musks and received so many compliments at work,I was totally distracted all day (such a pity!)…Cafe Noir is very well done for what it is….would love a cross betweem that and Jo malone Cafe….light on the vanilla….wore it in many super-sillage orentials,for so long,that my nose totally rebels…gak…..plesae enter me in the drawing…evrrything sounds interesting…am wishing ALL of you great people a very MERRY CHRISTMAS(not ‘politally correct’.but I WANT to hear it dammit),,,and if I am bombarded DAILY,by the ever gruesome HAVE A NICE DAY,I may have to deck somebody…SO insincere…..well, now that I’ve vented.I feel MUCH better!

    • March says:

      There’s one clerk at our Trader Joe’s who says “have a nice day” like she just spit on your apples while you weren’t looking. Oddly, her checkout line is always the shortest. She scares me.

      Merry Christmas./:)

    • Patty says:

      Merry Christmas to you too, Annie. I’m a big one on the Merry Christmas wishes. Holidays are a great thing, and just because they are religious in nature, I’m happy to be wished the joy of any holiday, whether I celebrate it personally or not.

      Cafe Noir is awesome. Not a lot of development, but it’s pretty straightforward on what it is, totally agree.

      I better go try those two musks. ARe they skanky at all, or just a white musky type? I’m okay with either one, just curious!

  • rosarita says:

    I just received my first sample order from DSH yesterday. I got all essences, I think, which are oils, which I didn’t understand were oils; there are several different lines from which to choose sample packages and I apparently got confused. Anyhoo, the one I wore to bed last night is Inner Sanctum, which smells just gorgeous, deep and peaceful and rich. I need to order another sample pack while the 20% off sale is on, but in the meantime, I’d love to be entered in the drawing!

    I’m no fan of chocolate in perfume either, but the exception would be Bulgari Blv Notte, which has a dark chocolate note that I can’t pick out. I just love the overall blend.

  • Maria says:

    Patty, don’t you like my new good friend Elixir des Merveilles? You gave it a positive review when it first came out. =((

    Usually I, a chocoholic, abhor what they do with chocolate notes in perfume. I once tried a Bath and Body Works chocolate lotion that nauseated me. But when a chocolate note is mixed with spices, orange, salt, or patchouli, I seem to do fine.

    I’d love to be in the drawing. I’ve never tried any DSH fragrances. They sound interesting.

    • Patty says:

      Oh, I forgot Elixir! I do adore that one beyond belief, it has some weird addictive quality. So that’s the third chocolate’ish scent – though throw some salt in anything, and I’m happy — scent I like.

  • Flora says:

    Oh, I would love to be in the drawing! I have the same feeling about chocolate in perfume – there is only one I like so far that’s heavy on the chocolate, and it’s a a recent discovery, Neonatura by Yves Rocher, which I think is because of all the vanilla it also has in it. I would love to find another good one. (I cannot abide Jo Malone Blue Agave & Cacao, and even Montale Chocolate Greedy sets my teeth on edge, as I lunge for the open air.)

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, most chocolates pretty much kill me. 🙂 Chocolate Greedy I wanted to like, but … bleah. Though I do like the Jo Malone one pretty much. So if you can extrapolate between those two, you might be able to tell if this piment chocolate thing will work for you. 🙂

  • Kim says:

    Would love to be in the draw. I agree with you about the chocolate notes – usually waaaay too sweet for this dark chocolate lover.
    Only like it so far in Lutens Borneo and Chanel Coromandel, Coromandel having fewer cobwebs than Borneo but still not too sweet. I don’t know that gold has a smell – thought it was an inert metal, hence its use in dentistry? Okay, so shoot me for being a realist!

    • Patty says:

      Well, I keep thinking gold doesn’t have a smell either, except the smell it picks up from those handling it? But I dunno!

      • Vasily says:

        An interesting article on why some metals smell:

        http://www.physorg.com/news82229855.html

        Don’t know if this applies to gold, but as I recall it does interact with skin acids to a slight degree. Oh yeah, add me to the drawing, too. 🙂

        • Kim says:

          fascinating article!! Thanks so much vasily – adds more support to the belief that skin chemistry affects perfume! If I remember correctly, gold is not as reactive as iron due to gold’s fuller valence shell (same with silver) which is why I guess it can be used in/on the body and iron can’t.

  • tmp00 says:

    well. I’ve never smelled gold anything larger than a watch so I can’t answer that one.

    That completely useless sentence was merely to get me in on the draw…

  • Marie says:

    Forgot to put this in my previous comment. DSH is running a promo until January 5th, 20% off purchases with the promo code HOL7.

  • Marie says:

    Patty, I just got 5 DSH samples in the mail today. Loved the tamarind/paprika. It reminds me of SL Arabie, perhaps the tobacco notes. I also liked Parfum de Grasse and Cafe Noir (coffee & vanilla mixed beautifully). Please put in the drawing for a sample of Piment et Chocolate, would like to give that a try, it sounds worthy.

    • Patty says:

      Tamarind/Paprika and Arabie? Bite your tongue, no way!!!! 🙂

      Forgot to mention the discount code, thanks for posting that!