Sycomore

Chanel describes the current eau de parfum as a woody scent built around the smoky, incisive smell of vetiver. Cedar notes and vanilla accompany it and, according to the house, leave an authentic imprint and a deep trail.

The house does not assign these three materials to tiers. Vetiver, cedar, and vanilla are therefore grouped here as base notes, the place they usually hold in a woody fragrance.

The 2008 Vetiver

The 2008 eau de toilette was presented differently. Chanel then listed vetiver with sandalwood, cypress, juniper, and pink pepper; Elena Vosnaki noted vetiver, cypress, juniper, pink pepper, smoke, and burning woods.

She smelled a grapefruit opening, a fresh lily of the valley, and the Haitian vetiver of Guerlain’s Vétiver, in a halo of incense settling on conifer needles and rooty earth.

What the Label Declares

The list Chanel publishes for the eau de parfum has twenty-six entries. The first ingredient named after alcohol, fragrance, and water is tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, a synthetic wood; it also includes lemon peel oil and Santalum album oil.

It lists vanillin, santalol, a musky lactone, hexadecanolactone, and the regulated allergens, including linalool, limonene, eugenol, coumarin, citral, isoeugenol, and farnesol. It contains no colorant or UV filter.

What Is Left Out

The balsamic notes attributed to the 1930 Sycomore, along with its tobacco and violet, describe another perfume. The 2008 sandalwood, cypress, juniper, and pink pepper remain in the text: the house no longer cites them for the eau de parfum.