Sycomore is a fragrance from Chanel’s Les Exclusifs, composed in 2008 by Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake around vetiver. Chanel presents the eau de parfum sold today as an amber woody scent in which the smoky, incisive smell of vetiver meets cedar notes and vanilla. Its name revives that of a 1930 Chanel perfume, long since vanished.
Victoria Frolova of Bois de Jasmin praised a rich, bold vetiver in 2008 without being won over; Elena Vosnaki of Perfume Shrine found an austere elegance in it, poised between the sexes. Both reviews concern the original eau de toilette.
Olfastory’s review
Victoria Frolova, Bois de Jasmin
In April 2008, Victoria Frolova recalled having long dreamed of a rich, complex vetiver from Chanel, and judged Sycomore to be that vetiver, bold and full of color. She smelled an almost chocolate-like root, lifted by pepper and smoke.
She found it dark in character, evoking both the dry tannins of red wine and the worn sheen of old wood, with real presence where other Exclusifs seemed thin to her. Given the wealth of vetivers on the market, she nonetheless admitted to little excitement.
Elena Vosnaki, Perfume Shrine
In September 2008, Elena Vosnaki saw Sycomore as a departure from the iris-heavy Exclusifs: a smoky vetiver with a patrician dryness that owes nothing to the house’s earlier hits.
Marketed at the time as feminine, it struck her as cleverly poised between the sexes, mysteriously chic and out of reach. She found it surprisingly long-lasting for the collection and, replying to a reader, credited it with an austere elegance that wins you over with time.