Artek Standard
Comme des Garçons (2009)

This fragrance has a slightly industrial yet sweet scent. Many others have mentioned a metallic vibe, which I also detected, but found it pleasant. It definitely feels like it belongs in CDG's lineup. I would recommend trying a sample.

This was one of the first things I tried when I ventured into the World of Fragrance (as opposed to the World of I Have a Single Scent I Wear Until the Manufacturer Does Something Terrible to It or Discontinues It) — I ordered a sample set of the CdG incenses and threw in another couple of interesting-looking things from the house while I was at it. I enthusiastically finished the sample, but then mostly forgot about it.

I was reminded of it recently, and ordered another sample. After I'd gone through that one, and following much internal debate, Artek won the Avignon/Artek CdG full bottle ring match and joined my collection. But what's it like? you ask.

The first spray of Artek is a civilised sort of tart. It's less like anything specific and more like a discreetly flavoured water in an expensive café, crisp and elegantly refreshing. It's quickly joined by a dry woody note that often reminds me of fresh-sawn plywood or pencil shavings — but that isn't, really, quite like any actual wood. After a day of wear, the wood warms up just a touch, with the addition of a little something that might be the ginger coming out.

It's a pretty austere scent all in all, refined and minimalist in an almost ironic way. It doesn't project much, but it's pervasive, and will linger if allowed till the next day, a restrained carpentry freshness. And overall, there's just something about it, a sly sidelong lampshading of its own pretension, that I enjoy. That, and the way the sleek synthetic "wood" warms up to me in the wearing — like some Extremely Designed piece of furniture, it doesn't look like it should be as comfortable as it is.

An interesting oddity, Standard kicks off smelling like aldehydes, but not in the usual way. Aldehydes are usually used to add lift and sparkle to musks and flowers, but here, they're just alone. Without the extra stuff, they smell kind of eggy and metallic. Meanwhile, there's a big dose of iso e super happening, with its disembodied smoke, while a hint of pepper serves as the only recognizable non-chemical smell happening in the swirl of weird synthetics.

There's some sort of faux lemon in the heart, which I'm assuming is limonene or linalool, and the drydown is basically what iso e super dries down to - creamy faux frankincense with hint of cedar - enriched with ambrox.

This is fun because all of these ingredients are incredibly common in perfumes of all types, so, even though this intentionally smells very weird, it has a certain unexpected familiarity, like a sense that I've smelled all this before, but never in this way. I've enjoyed getting to know it, but fully understand all the bad reviews. Standard is definitely weird for its own sake, especially if the familiar elements don't register, but it scores a thumbs up from me.

soulless and cold

substandard performance, a futuristic concept, but then again...only a concept ..no substance!

I've been wearing this fragrance consistently since I acquired it and will likely finish this bottle before anything else that I have in my collection. This and Dry Clean are my favorites of the CDG line. What can you expect with Artek Standard? It is sharp, especially in the opening and you are immediately hit with a poignant lemon-y tea metallic accord with a cedar backbone. The saffron appears clean and a floral musk supports these quirky notes. Artek shares some characteristics with Santal 33 by Le Labo (both have that sharp woody backbone) but there is no sandalwood at all in this fragrance. I've layered this with CDG Synthetic Series 6: Dry Clean and some how they work wonderfully together. It is very clean and versatile. With respect to performance, you can spray this 10x without offending anyone yet it isn't a weak concentration either. The fragrance is weird but very attractive and easy to wear. Who is better at creating abstract/avante garde fragrances than Comme des Garcons? I really recommend this to any CDG fan....