Sycomore Eau de Parfum by Chanel
Men Women 2016
The olfactory pyramid
A guide to the opening, heart and lasting trail of the fragrance.
The community speaks
Compare the results and tap an answer to add your vote.
In the collection
Leading answer I own it
6,869 votes
What do you think?
Leading answer Love it
2,104 votes
Season
Choose severalLeading answer Autumn
2,144 votes
Time of day
Choose severalLeading answer Day
1,076 votes
Each question has its own vote count. You can choose several seasons.
It may remind you of
Ranked by what the community voted.
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How it wears
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Longevity
Leading answer Moderate
924 votes
Sillage
Leading answer Moderate
1,038 votes
Character
Leading answer Balanced
874 votes
Value perception
Leading answer A little expensive
710 votes
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Community reviews
10 reviews
Share what you noticed: opening, drydown, sillage and the moments when it works for you.
Luxury ingredients, but it just doesn’t work for me. It smells half-salty, metallic, and mineral, like a damp mine filled with crystals. Must be the smell of miners, hehe. Honestly, it lasts an eternity on the skin; even after washing my hands, I can still detect it. I tried Encre Noire and didn’t like that one either.
Sycomore is a first-class vetiver, the soloist in an orchestra of spices and aldehydes that give it freshness and light, especially at the start. It has a chorus of cypress and juniper as a base, and the floral violet adds depth and sweetness. Basically, it’s vetiver, cypress, and juniper shining thanks to the molecules that enhance the blend, creating a very well-made perfume. This is how they should all be. It doesn’t evolve much, but over time it gains a dusty patina that makes it more elegant. The longevity is good, but it’s missing two things: the price and a bit more sillage and projection; it stays very intimate from the start with little reach.
You only need to wear it for 30 minutes on the skin to see it’s light years away from any other vetiver. I love Encre Noire, Guerlain’s Vetiver, and Givenchy’s, but Sycomore is in a different league.
I’m going to write a review of this first-rate liquid… but @Espartaco has already put the dots on the i’s and the music to the party. Nothing to add, 100% in agreement, what a brilliant review, sir! I’ll just say this: I was gifted a 3 ml decant of Sycomore EDP and now I don’t want to use anything else. I can’t even think of anything else. Indeed… what a pain to be poor. ___ May 2025 update: I’ve succumbed. I found a (relative) bargain and bought a new 75 ml bottle with original packaging from the resale market. I’m ecstatic.
I was going to write a review of this incredible liquid, but @Espartaco has already put the dots on the i’s and the music to the party. Nothing to add, 100% agree, what a good review, sir! Just this: I was gifted a 3ml decant of Sycomore EDP and now I don’t want to use anything else. I can’t think of anything else. Indeed… what a pain to be poor. ___ Update May 2025: I succumbed. I found a bargain and bought a new 75ml bottle with original packaging at the resale market. I’m ecstatic.
It needs to be made clear: it’s a twin fragrance to Encre Noire. Perhaps you’ll notice slightly warmer spice and tobacco notes. When it dries down, it’s the same, with no major differences. The longevity does seem better than Encre. You have to consider whether you’re willing to pay much more for these nuances.
It’s not particularly original, but the scent is excellent and doesn’t tire. The main issue isn’t the price, which is very high, but the performance, which is quite poor. You can find much better perfumes with greater longevity and at a more affordable price. What a pity.
It’s not original, but it smells incredible and isn’t tiring. The price isn’t the problem; the bad thing is that it doesn’t last long. There are better and cheaper options with more longevity. What a pity.
What a pain to be poor. If I had to summarise Sycomore in one phrase: ‘what a bunch of bastards invented the expensive divisions’. I don’t remember if it was Dior or Hermès, but the truth is that the stuff above doesn’t always please, although the quality is exquisite. Putting Encre Noire next to it is like comparing a Chinese bag with a Loewe one. It’s a smoky, sweet, youthful oriental vetiver, spiced, with memories of smoke and suede jackets. After fresh notes of cypress and juniper, it turns into a semi-oriental infusion, like a vetiver tea made into perfume. I’m going to stop testing luxury exclusive lines; they’re better. No soft grapefruits or cheap ambroxan here, just expensive poetry. It smells like Encre Noire but more refined, like tea served in fine porcelain. Is it worth it? I don’t know, economies are like arses, we all have one. Does it smell expensive? Yes. Once Chanel had a perfume for everyone, now they don’t: for the 900-euro one they make Gabrielle, for the millionaire this exquisite treat that strips off the clothes and leaves only the skin. It smells like bliss, like a freshly coiffed baby. I fancy a bottle, maybe my wallet less. PD: Based on the EDP, they say the EDT was better, but to me this seems a jewel.
I received it with the excitement of a child with their dream toy. It is the vetiver of vetivers, a masterpiece by Polge and Sheldrake. I tried it at Chanel eight years ago and it impacted me; it had everything I was looking for. I thought the EDP would be as bright as the original EDT, just more concentrated. Serious mistake. This version is muted, doesn’t project as much, and isn’t as bright. It’s an incredibly expensive perfume. Don’t you see? Was it necessary to reformulate it? Conclusion: don’t trust your intuition, test before buying.