The Smell of the Garden

Review by Kelley Comme Des Garcon’s Peppermint (Sherbet Collection) This is my new spring favorite. I remember working in the garden with my grandmother when I was little. We belonged to several garden clubs and were always working in her greenhouse or in her backyard getting ready for an exhibition. I remember training chrysanthemums to trail over pots by wiring them to chicken wire and even training them to be bonsais. One of my chores was to water all of the plants a couple of times a week. She had the pots scattered around the house in several places to see where they grew the best. Every year, like clockwork, we had to pull the mint because it was truly a weed at her house and filled all of the flower beds (along with another of my favorite plants, the deadly poisonous night-blooming Datura). The smell of the dirt and the mint would get all over my arms and I would throw away bags full of mint plants. Actually, I love the smell. Comme Des Garcons has mysteriously bottled the smell I remember. When I spray this on I can smell the crushed mint leaves and the tough stems. I smell the dirt and the cool green sap! If you have ever grown mint, you will be transported back in time. This is a magical scent. The listed ingredients are: curly mint, peppermint, bay rose, white pepper, cardamom, amber, white musk. I only smell mint. If I close my eyes I can sort of smell the amber and white musk but that’s about it. This starts off very fresh and minty but then dies down to a very green galbanum and light musk scent. I wish the silage was a little more potent but it lasts fairly well although it stays close to the skin. If you know of any other mint fragrances that last longer, please let me know… Peppermint is available at Luckyscent.com for $40 for the 30ml spray which is perfect for a purse or backpack. Comme Des Garcon’s Harrisa Harissa is from the CDG Red Series which includes Rose, Carnation, Palisander, and Sequoia. Harissa is a spicy red paste that originated in Tunisia . It is made from chilies that are sometimes smoked (makes me think of chipotle chilies which I can no longer eat but dearly love and have grown in my garden) mixed with garlic, cumin, coriander, caraway and olive oil and sometimes tomatoes. Fresh out of the bottle, this one smells like tomatoes. I smell the harsh dirt-like smell that tomato leaves often exude and also the ripe red fruit. This is the smell of a vegetable garden in the blazing summer heat. It opens with a spicy tomato smell which probably smells like a Bloody Mary but there is also a funky tomato leaf accord which I find very unusual and fascinating. The vegetables soon are overtaken by the luscious smell of blood oranges. This stays a spicy, citrus scent for hours. This is very, very spicy with tons of nutmeg and chili and cardamom and even some saffron. Here, the citrus sticks it out to the very end…which I love. The scent easily lasts 6 to 8 hours on my skin and is a wonderful addition to the spring/summer scent wardrobe. It’s very unusual and highly recommended. The ingredients are listed as: harissa, blood orange from North Africa , red chili pepper, angelica, saffron, nutmeg from Grenada , cardamom, and finally tomato. Here is a link to a wonderful recipe using harissa paste, called “Harissa Chicken & Butternut Squash” Comme des Garcon’s Harissa is available at Luckyscent.com and comes in a 100 ml bottle for $84. The photos of both bottles are courtesy of Luckyscent.