Neutral Reviews of parfums*PARFUMS Series 3 Incense: Kyoto 
Comme des Garçons (2002)

Very green - cypress and vetiver, and something almost minty (not fresh but like the remnants from mint tea.) Similar vibe to Floris 1962. There's a slightly acrid undertone (teak oil?) that's not offensive but enough to make this not a go-to fragrance for relaxing. I don't really get the pine forest vibe - it lacks the warmth and sweetness (to my nose) - Mechant Loup (another Duchaufour creation, I think) does this much better. It also lacks the depth of a real outdoorsy fragrance like yatagan or cleanness of AdP Colognia Club. It's interesting and worth checking out to appreciate the creativity, but it's difficult to think of the circumstance that would make this my first choice to reach for.

I enjoy wearing this pleasant, soft scent. It is dry and light, though unfortunately I get none of the smoke and incense feel from this one, unfortunately my skin turns it into a soft, very sweet, light fruity musk scent.
Too sweet for me unfortunately.

Kyoto is a very dry, austere incense fragrance. Sometimes even ethereal. Upon application one immediately senses a cloud of incense over some greens and faint woods. It is subtle, vaguely warm and cool at the same time, and stark. While I appreciate the composition, I find it too abstract and minimal for my tastes. Almost a skin scent, and longevity is average.

Kyoto confroms to a stripped down Japanese aesthetic, where purity of purpose and expression must speak for itself. It opens like a thin, wavering line of smoke from an incense stick crossing a backdrop of green trees – dry, transparent, diffusive. This is a perfume that is more state of mind than of body, meditative rather than earthbound, likely more suited for special contemplative days rather than the usual mundane business of being human. As the green backdrop fades, there's an emphatic line of syrup under the clean smoke, also pretty Japanese.
The main drawback for me is how the synthetics in the mix remain so resolutely synthetic. There are limits to honesty.

This one starts out with a blast of incense followed by a cypress note giving a woodsy aspect to this fragrance.

In the drydown the burned wood aroma still present and so, the fragrance stays until the end. The coffee note which was the note that awakened my curiosity about this fragrance was not detectable on my skin, sadly.

Comme des Garçons Incense Series 3 KYOTO is burnt wood incense perfume with a slightly less burnt drydown in which tea appears also to be present. The composition does not have an oily or resinous texture at all, unlike most of the oudh perfumes I've tried. KYOTO seems to me sometimes of incense ashes liquified but also, in turns, crushed sticks of unburned incense. That's about it for the development trajectory, though, as this is a fairly simple affair. I do not detect any floral notes at all, just incense in one form or another–there can be no denying that, as advertised, incense is the focus of this creation!

Despite the lack of a significant oily base, KYOTO has good staying power and fairly big sillage. I would not call this perfume either masculine or feminine but rather omnisex--or perhaps even asexual. Definitely a better choice for the fall and winter months. I'm not sure how this would work in the heat.

A very well-made modern fragrance, the epitome of 21st century niche: incense, wood, iso-e-super, transparent, short-lived, skin scent, very light, slightly sweet base. The approach reminds me a lot of Acca Kappa's Cedro, another low-key minimalist modern fragrance (greener and woodier, though). A lot less irritating than most of what's on the market, but does not trigger the supsension of disbelief I'm looking for in perfume.

Its just as it says, basic incense. I don't know why anyone would want to go around smelling like this.

Very nice top notes, but you have to keep the bottle in your pocket because the longevity is mediocre.Should be thumbs down, but I still give it neutral for the nice scent.However, if you like this fragrance, you should give Hinoki a try.In my opinion, it is similar but smells better, more expensive and lasts longer.

An incense scent with a fruity side. Its fruity side somewhat similar to Terre d'Hermes. It does not last very long but has good sillage.

Incense and woods. Very dry woods. Like in an old temple with large wooden crossbeams. Has a sweet tonka bean like base to it. Great but not impressive enough for a bottle.

Bright, woodsy, and natural smelling. It's like sitting at a temple in a forest on a crisp cold morning, with your nose being the catalyst to the rest of your senses. There's a prickly note of pine that gives way to Japanese incense with the slight hint of smoke to it. There is a dry coffee note in there to further strengthen its woody and green personality. I was somehow expecting more, but still it's not bad fragrance at all.

At first I like it, a very pleasant incense scent, quite exotic and quite sweet. Unfortunately it goes sour on my skin with time and and up with a note resembling mosquito repellant. It's not the first CdG to do this to me. However I have only tried it once and I need to try it more.

Still undecided after the third sampling.It really kicks off like the lovechild of Messe de Minuit and Sequoia - clear medicine heights close to cough syrup, along with a strong incense base.While the mixture is quite interesting and it works quite well, I wasn't too excited about it because I felt it was really similar to Sequioa, which I already own.Time passed but this unique cough sirup scent did not pass nor developed any further. What a surprise, though, when it reached its base after 2 hours - the medical touch was gone, only leaving some minor fresh note in the midst of a very smooth, soft wooden incense base. Very comfortable, very pleasant. Nothing sharp here, nothing offensive. I see this in autumn and winter or early spring and while it is wearable as unisex scent, it is clearly more masculine. Could be worn as niche formal scent but could also work as more passive scent for evenings or even clubbing. It works more as ambience, not as offensive "in yer face" scent.Coming from club culture I would compare it to a good remix of a good track [Sequoia], but if you did not like the original you won't find too much new here for you. Although my gf digs for Kyoto and I got similar comments from other female colleguages I still did not buy it because for me it shares too many of Sequioa's notes in the first 2 hours to make it really unique. Great drydown, though.